Slam Poet and Singer Songwriter
Lyrics That Explore Human Nature & The World Around Us
Gena Perala sees poetry in everything. She is the product of a Jewish mother, born and raised in the Bronx and a Canadian father, by way of Finland who left his home in Toronto at sixteen and joined a Carnival. Perala grew up as a Carny Kid touring all around Canada on the fringes of society with her family.
Having spent her formative years with a traveling fair, Perala had the unique experience of being immersed in a counter culture full of grit and beauty. Perhaps this explains her comfort with the unusual and her astute lyrical insight into human nature and the world around us. She is a serial observationalist, loves real talk and believes in the DIY or DIE way of life.
"Her writing is brilliant, incisive and funny yet somehow utterly mortal. The transitions from navel gazing pastiche to manic hope are perfectly conceived and executed.”
Wildy's World
Gena Perala was cast as herself in a feature film entitled "Love Happens," starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart and was the winner of the "Rock the Vote" audio contest, winning $1500.00 for her poem expressing the importance of voting.
Her full length album "Exactly Nowhere" is the inspiration and soundtrack for the independent film "Beyond Four Walls" currently in production and she recently released a down tempo electronic synth EP "Not Perfect," with accompanying visuals in 2019. Perala works with the youth in her community doing poetry workshops and has published three books of poems.
She is currently releasing a pop covers project and has begun recording a new full length album of original material set for release sometime in 2021. Gena will be performing live stream concerts from her living room in the very near future.
Check out Gena Perala's recent release "Not Perfect" here.
Check out the video for Gena Perala's cover of
"We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus
"From the off it is obvious that Gena Perala has a certain thing about her, an eccentric poetic mind, a tinge of something strange, and a great uncontrollable creative streak. Having grown up traveling the carnival circuit, there's no shortage of explanation for this character, but it was the sheer frank sincerity of her lyricism that made her stand out to me. She is obviously unafraid to share her feelings, and unlike many musicians, she does it believably. She is like the bridge between anti-folk and pop, like a Canadian Emmy The Great, or Rae Morris with a bit of punk spirit in her. Basically, Gena is someone you want to be your friend, but you'll have to settle for her great music. - Thank Folk For That, Josh King
"Gena Perala is not your average songwriter and helps blow away barriers and stereotypes that one may associate with a solo musician who sings and writes about love, heartbreak, and emotional struggle. Her material is so unique and differs so much in scale, it can be really hard, if not impossible, to properly identify Perala without sounding pretentious and a little ridiculous at the expense of multiple genre-headings and sub-headings. Perala shows off her musical diversity and fearless exploration and adventurism without exactly 'showing off', but rather does so with confidence, charm, and great modesty, never reaching for anything out of step and as a result each track, no matter what direction, is just as good as the last.
Despite the immense musical diversity, Perala is always able to tie it all together with her comforting, strong, Southern-rooted vocals that adds her own touch of personality and character to each song. As well, her songs are intensely honest and Perala never strays away from touchy subjects or beats around the bush, always upfront and concise, her willingness to sing things, thoughts, and ideas that we may at first think of 'weak' or 'desperate', come off as stronger and more charismatic than ever. Never sugar-coating anything yet always able to sing with a sweetness that is hard to match, Perala has a natural knack for storytelling and opening up about certain subjects that others just cannot pull off or whom would never dare."
- MV Remix, Joe Modzelewski
