Derry band Tessio release their new single 'She used to love me'

Tessio are two college boys, Jude McCandless who has been playing around Derry since he was 13 and Callum Feeney a pianist turned guitarist, playing since he was 10.

The two got their start in St Columb's College, Jude remembers: “If you were ever free in the college, there were the music rooms, loads of pianos, loads of guitars. Just mess about for hours, that's where me and Callum started to play together and it hasn't changed since.”

Together they're Tessio. Although they did not start as Tessio. Jude said: “We decided to do a gig in Bennigan’s.”

“A one off kind of thing,” Callum comments.

Jude explains: “It wasn't like this is gonna be our first gig kind of thing, we were called Drake and Josh, we did the Drake and Josh intro as our first song.”

Dropping the Drake and Josh style, their first gig as Tessio was upstairs in the Grand Central. “Callum literally learned guitar for the first gig that we did,” said Jude.

Callum explains that he was shaking through the gig only playing the C and F chords.

“You obviously get better playing together. Back then we weren't doing harmonies and that's kind of our thing now.”

When talking about their sound, they recognised that they both have a different way of singing but are often influenced by each other. “I think our voices are completely different, but sometimes when we listen back to a song I'll be convinced that it was Callum singing, and he will think it’s me. It's weird but I think they work really well together,” said Jude.

Callum said: “When we are singing together we try to match each other.”

Their new track ‘She used to love me’ came out on Friday April 26 to a positive reception on social media with comments saying they love it, that it’s brilliant and also a desire for a T-shirt based on the song.

Describing how the song came together Callum said: “It’s not too serious or nothing, it’s a sing along.”

Jude explains it coming together: “We’ve always played it live. I started it 3 or 4 years ago when we were making our first songs, me and Callum were recording one time and we just battered it out together and finished it. It’s just good craic more than anything. We’ve tried to record it a good few times. It's exactly what we wanted it to sound like. We’re really happy with it as well. it’s not too serious.”

A lot of artists draw on their personal experiences to create tracks, however Tessio looks at making music another way. “I’ve never written a song that is about myself. I like to create characters and stories through his songs. Everybody puts their own viewpoint in a song, everybody has a different impression of what it is and that's really the point of it,” said Jude.

Callum commented: “Recently I've been doing more of that kind of thing, sometimes you might start with a personal idea sometimes you write lyrics that are not really about anything, you just try to make a story. It's nice to put yourself in people's shoes, wee fake characters.”

Touring is a big part of being a band, sharing your music across to new audiences, but also home grounds are important to Tessio, Callum said: “We had a gig at Christmas time in Derry and people were singing the words back to us, it's madness. When we go to Belfast you can be less nervous because you don't know the people. Playing different venues makes you think about doing the set a bit differently.”

Being a Derry band is part of Tessio but they do get outside of Derry, talking about playing at Belfast and across England, Jude said: “I feel you have less to lose when you don't know the people as much.

“Last summer we did a tour in England, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield. I feel like they were our best gigs, we had nothing to lose but everything to prove to everybody.”

Coming up in Derry is a gig for Gaza which is supported by many Derry bands, Tessio is one of those bands, Jude said: “We were delighted we got asked to do it, we’ve done a few gigs for Palestine. It's really important to us. It will be a great day for a great cause.”

“Being a Derry band, supporting causes like that are big,” said Callum.

The two both explained their musical influences, Tessio wants to be seen as part of the Irish music scene, as their influences come mostly from Irish artists such Andy Irvine, Paul Brady, two of the largest Irish artists. They explained that it's more than being a Derry band, that their Irish identity is a strong part of the band, musically when writing, singing and performing.

Looking towards the future the two shared the same viewpoint and philosophy, that Tessio isn’t a business or their way to stardom. What they want from Tessio is to play music, tour around different venues from Ireland, England and even Germany. It’s about meeting new people, freedom and having fun.

You can find Tessio’s new single ‘She used to love me’ on streaming services.

If you want to find Tessio and their new single you can find them here.