ACHS sophomores, Gemma Pianesi and Molly Payne are local singer/songwriters that go by the name musicbymollyandgemma. They perform shows across Alexandria.
Q- Why do you like to perform music?
A- “I find performing really fun, and it’s a really good escape to just be yourself and just have fun on the stage. … Even if you’re feeling sad you’re just like, oh, I’m going to sing a happy song. I just have so much fun dancing on stage and performing and stuff like that.” – Payne
A- “It’s really fun to be in a band with people, especially with friends. People just really appreciate live music, especially nowadays, because it’s not as prominent anymore.” – Pianesi
Q- What is your goal or what do you wish to achieve by performing music?
A- “Our goal is to always have fun and be able to get music out there and get ourselves out there.” – Payne
A- “Ideally, I would build a career out of it and live off of it.” – Pianesi
Q- Do you believe you could become famous musicians one day? Why?
A- “I don’t want to not believe in myself. I want to be confident, but it’s really hard to make it in the music industry. So maybe if I worked really hard at it and I tried to find some connections, maybe I could, but it is very difficult.”- Molly Payne
A- “I think I could. I think that I care about it enough to try it hard enough and to, just basically fail until I don’t. But I also am aware that a lot of the music industry is just based on luck. You could be incredibly talented and still get absolutely nowhere just because of the way the industry works.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- Do you enjoy playing in front of bigger or smaller crowds? Why?
A- “I usually like playing in front of bigger crowds because it feels less one on one. I don’t really like performing one on one with people because then sometimes you make eye contact and it’s really awkward.” – Molly Payne
A- “Probably bigger crowds because somehow there’s less pressure. It’s kind of hard to explain. Playing in a room full of 20 people versus playing in a room full of like 100 or 200 is completely different because when it’s like 100 or 200 people, they’re not all paying attention to you. But when it’s like a smaller group of people, they all feel inclined to look at you and stuff.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q-Who are you trying to get your music out to?
A- “Pretty much just teenage girls, my age, or people that are in high school” – Molly Payne
A- “Honestly, anybody that will listen to it. I don’t have a specific audience that I want to cater to just as long as I cater to somebody.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- What drives you to perform?
A- . ”I just have so much fun performing and it’s a really good way to have, stress relief and just be happy and have fun. And yeah, it’s kind of something I wanted to do ever since I was a kid and I want to take advantage of all the opportunities that I can right now.” – Molly Payne
A- “My main motivation is that one day I could be playing stadiums” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- What drives you to perform?
A- “We usually reach out to different managers, like the manager of the farmers market. We just look online to see if there’s any signups or submit an audition to be featured in the show and then we’ll submit auditions and email with different people. If you want to get different shows, just really put yourself out there and email people, go to different venues and knock on the door and be like, ‘Hey, I want to perform here,’ and they’ll let you.” – Molly Payne
A- “What’s most important with that kind of stuff is just connections. … If you know people that are involved in live events and parties or stuff then they will usually consider you if you just kind of like throw [your name] out there.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- What is your favourite show that you’ve ever performed? Why?
A- “My favorite show I’ve ever performed was probably the Rock Del Ray Christmas show in December because I loved singing Christmas music. It was overall just good vibes and the acoustics were really good and there were lots of people there.” – Molly Payne
A- “My favorite show I ever performed was a show that I did last March, which was our first headlining show in a lounge. It’s basically a venue in Del Ray called the Evening Star Cafe, and it was really fun. We played for like an hour and all our friends came.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- What type of music do you most like to perform?
A- “I like to perform pop music. I do like to do a good ballad, a good pop ballad is good, or as a band we usually like to play some more indie rock kind of stuff, but individually I’m more into pop.” -Molly Payne
A- “I like more upbeat stuff, even stuff that’s like rock. Rock is really fun to play. Also types of indie music, pop music, stuff like that.” – Gemma Pianesi
Q- Do you play any instruments?
A- “I’m trying to learn guitar right now. I’ve been playing guitar for two years, I think, so I’m trying to get better so then I can hopefully play more with the band.” – Molly Payne
A- “I play piano, I play bass. And then maybe someday I’ll learn how to play, like, banjo. I mostly use guitar for sure though.” – Gemma Pianesi
Their next performance is September 28, for Wilderness Kids Alexandria Fundraiser, in Pat Miller square. If you enjoy listening to amazing live music go check them out!
