I still have my songbook from the day Tobias Jesso Jr. taught piano lessons at South By Southwest. It was March 20, 2015, just three days after Jesso released Goon — his first and only album, which turns 10 years old today. Jesso was the star of a Tumblr-sponsored event at Ironwood Hall in which electric pianos were set up around the room, each one stocked with the sheet music for all 12 tracks on Goon. The tall, bushy-headed singer-songwriter roamed around instructing people how to play his songs, then gave a short concert of his own. It wasn’t a staggering performance, but being up close and personal with a rising star — and being tutored on piano by a guy who had taken up the instrument less than two years prior — was the kind of fun curio SXSW used to be known for. (Sigh.)
