#22 – Tobias Jesso Jr. vs. the World

Tobias Jesso Jr.'s story is made even more unlikely when you factor in that he was a musical novice.  “My sister had a piano at my parents’ house,” he says. “When I got the impulse to write a song, I just sat at the piano and note-by-note figured it out.” The process may sound typical, but the reality is anything but: Tobias has never played more than “Chopsticks” at the piano. Nevertheless, he immediately felt comfortable. “It was a lot easier, ‘cause it was sort of a more linear type of understanding,” he says. “Bottom to top. Guitar never made much sense.” His first attempt proved he was a natural:

 
After getting positive feedback from friends, Tobias sent “Just A Dream” and a few other rough demos to Chris “JR” White of the now defunct San Francisco indie rock band Girls. White immediately offered to work on an album. In the interim, the demos circulated online, drawing comparisons to John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, and a host of other 70s singer-songwriters Tobias never really listened to—he’s more of an Adele fan, which made that tweet all the sweeter. 

Tobias and White finished the album last year. Goon is out March 17 and Tobias is touring Canada and the United States to support it. It’s a victory lap he’s looking forward to, but there’s a chance his crippling performance anxiety will get in the way. “My singing voice goes away when I get nervous,” he says. “And I get nervous before I sing.”