Eric Tessmer

Languid guitar chords give way to Tessmer’s gloomy assessment of his past life: “Seems like every day’s the same/ I want everything but me to change/ I don’t want to be the way I am.” Tessmer finally finished the song and achieved his sonic vision with the help of multiplatinum producer Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson). “Good So Bad” is a radical departure from the guitarist’s earliest recordings--bone-dry live performances showcasing the six-string wizardry that first earned him attention when he crash-landed in Austin 15 years ago. Tessmer still flexes his furious fretwork on “Good So Bad,” but the song’s slinky hooks come from a different instrument: his voice. “Sean got the best vocal performances because he was like, ‘Don’t do anything to your voice; just relax and sing the song,” Tessmer says. The starkly confessional tone of “Good So Bad” also shows how far he’s come as a lyricist. “It got me thinking about being the elephant in the room,” Tessmer says. “Oh gosh, why am I always drunk all the time? I’m just a musician. That’s just what we do. But no, it’s not, really.” The mournful, stuck-in-a-rut Tessmer of “Good So Bad’ is far removed from the real-life Tessmer, whose sobriety lent him a newfound clarity while writing. “I wasn’t hiding behind anything.” Life hurts, sure, but sometimes it does work out-- as long as you’re willing to show up and put in the work to get the results. Eric Tessmer wanted to be good so bad. This is his journey.