PRSNA

Long Island pop-rock outfit PRSNA — pronounced “persona” — certainly personify what it means to constantly be fighting. They’ve gone through a little bit of everything in their brief career thus far. Since 2011, PRSNA has released 2 EP’s, 10 singles (accompanied by music videos), and have shared the stage with acts like Third Eye Blind and Twenty One Pilots.

But with that, has come some speed bumps, if you will. They went on a brief hiatus and came back in 2017, with a fresh lineup and a better understanding of who they are and what they wanted to be with their sound. “We were putting our hearts & souls into this and our personal lives were taking a toll and falling apart”, explains vocalist Tom Spartinos.

“Taking a step back from this part of my life for a little hurt, but I needed that period to fight my demons & heal the wounds in my personal life” adds guitarist Costas Themistocleous.

So when things get back to rolling within PRSNA, they face a lawsuit filed against them by an artist going under same, original name of “Persona,” and this made the shift to PRSNA. Like I said, the band hit their share of speed bumps — but have still managed to come out the other side, emerging from the shadows with a fiery vengeance.

With that, Substream is excited to be teaming up with PRSNA — consisting of Spartinas on vocals/guitar, Themistocleous on lead guitar, Sam Trestman on bass vocals, and CJ Kostaras on drums — to debut their new single, “Cut Throat.” It’s an incredibly enticing, catchy pop-rock single that is the perfect example of a band that has gone through it all, and chooses to use their infectious guitars and songwriting to cope. The result is good for the rest of us, as you can hear the single for yourself below.

“Our music scene is held hostage by a group of people pulling the strings that serve their own personal agendas. Promoters pass on bands who are buzzing for a band they are friends with. The scene stagnates because the audience is tired of seeing a bill with the same 6 bands playing the same recycled songs. We are told not to say anything. We are told to keep quiet and hope it gets better,” PRSNA tells Substream. “‘Cut Throat’ is the voice for anyone who feels this way. ‘Cut Throat’ is an attack on these issues that plague our scene. ‘Cut Throat’ is the notion to anybody going through something like this. Speak your mind, fight back, come together, face everything and rise.“

PRSNA is now firing on all cylinders, with the release of “Cut Throat,” and another single to follow-up, an acoustic EP, and DVD documentary before heading into The Barber Shop Studios in January 2020 to record their long-awaited 3rd EP with Gary Cioni. - Logan White, Substream Magazine

Persona’s personal song “Not That Bad” (Persona) isn’t just the Hicksville band’s new single, it’s the start of a conversation.

“We’ve gotten a lot of messages and a lot of comments about it from people who relate to it,” says Persona guitarist Costas Themistocleous. “Especially when people get a little personal about it and say what it meant to them. That is always cool.”

“Not That Bad” reflects both how the indie-rock quartet has been feeling and what it sees around them. “It’s not easy living on Long Island — there’s the opiod epidemic, the costs of being here,” Themistocleous says. “Mental health is a serious thing. Everybody handles things differently. But it seems like it’s been more spoken about. People ask, ‘How are you really feeling?’”

The single is Persona’s way of kicking off 2019 and sets up a tour that includes East Coast dates and shows in Canada. When the band returns, it will focus on recording a new EP, the follow-up to 2013’s “Mayday, We Crashed.”

Themistocleous says the band is working on plenty of songs, many of which reflect the same raw emotional depth of “Not That Bad.”

“It’s not really hard to be honest,” he says. “It’s a way to let our emotions out. Then, when people hear it, it takes on a life of its own. It’s interpreted by the listener. They bring their own experiences to it. That’s why music for me is therapeutic.” - Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

Persona is a band I only came across a little over a month ago and they are without a doubt one of my favorite up-and-coming bands! Their unique ability to create music that doesn’t stick to one genre is something that needs to be recognized! When asked what direction they hope to take the band in, Persona responded “we want to reach and impact as many people as possible. To us, if we reach one person on a deep level, and have changed their life, mood, or feeling, we have done our job. There is nothing more fulfilling than receiving a message or comment from a fan telling us how much we mean to them, or how much their song changed their mood or perspective.” - The After Hours Review

“Ready To Leave” uses pop-punk melodies to tell the story of a fresh breakup. The music video features the band jamming on the beach as they inevitably run into a band member’s exes as he’s trying to get over them. The overexaggerated video will give you a laugh as you sing (or cry) along to this all-too-relatable song. Complete with a feature from the Dangerous Summer’s AJ Perdomo, this song is everything we need right now. - AltPress