The Good Fortune’s eclectic, energetic and electric vibes

By senior year of high school, Jeremiah Tsering had built a studio in his parents’ Roseville garage. But he never thought that by senior year of college, he’d already front one of Sacramento’s most promising, up-and-coming synth-pop acts and headline one of Midtown’s biggest New Year’s Eve parties.

His group the Good Fortune’s first “real” gig—not at a cafe or DIY show—was THIS Midtown, opening for Los Angeles electro-pop artist Kauf this past summer. In other words, the Good Fortune pretty much came out of nowhere.

“Everything that’s happened so far has been a huge surprise to me,” Tsering says. “We literally had no expectations.”

Tsering, influenced by acts like Passion Pit, Flume and the Strokes, started writing music in high school. But the Good Fortune is his first legit project, and it came about accidentally about a year-and-a-half ago. A buddy who ran an underground venue needed a slot filled, and he asked Tsering to fill it with whatever. Tsering gathered a few friends, performed what was meant to be a one-off and immediately realized they needed to take it further.

The Good Fortune released its Social Crowns EP in the spring, and it grabbed the attention of the folks behind Lipstick, THIS Midtown and Le Twist Tuesdays at LowBrau. For good reason: Social Crowns features catchy indie-pop songwriting, with airy vocals, dancey beats and magnificent synth.

“The EP is all Jeremiah’s head-child,” says guitarist Mark Johnston. “The lyrics, the compositions, everything. It was sort of like a locked-in-a-tower passion project for him.”

The upcoming full-length, however, is a different story. The new songs were written in a more collaborative way. Eclectic influences abound. Johnston, for example, has a history in punk and hardcore. Synth man Dave Moskalets’ background actually reflects spent years as a solo country artist. Still, the Good Fortune doesn’t plan to veer too far from its original, dreamy roots.

“There’s a good energy there,” Johnston says. “There’s something kind of untapped. When I try to find something that fits that emotional niche, not a lot of people are doing it.”

There’s no name or release date set for the full-length yet, but they’re shooting for spring. The tricky part isn’t writing new material—it’s that Tsering’s catalog is already so deep, and he’s constantly adding to it. His phone is full of ideas, quick notes and partial songs.

“You should hear my voice memos,” he says. “I sound like a crazy person.”

“They’re amazing,” Johnston counters. “The last one was him in his car, singing a melody and trying to beatbox the rhythm under it at the same time.”

“I sound like I’m having a stroke,” Tsering says.

As for future big goals, the Good Fortune hopes to play bigger venues someday, including the electronica-heavy TBD Fest—though Tsering says he tries not to think about it too much. But he certainly shares the fest’s ethos.

“I believe in Sacramento,” Tsering says. “That underdog mentality definitely drives us. I want to show to the world that we’re not a second-class city.”