What began as a simple challenge — write 12 songs in 12 weeks — became something much more personal for blues-rock guitarist Eric Jerardi. The result, The Game, is an introspective blend of blues, soul, and rock that grapples with grief, mortality, and aging, drawing on the storytelling traditions of Tom Waits and John Hiatt.
The challenge originated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when canceled shows left musicians looking for ways to keep writing and honing their craft. Jerardi said his friend Todd Clemmer encouraged him to participate in the 12-week game.
Set for release on October 30, 2026, the album is largely autobiographical, as is typical of Jerardi’s work, though he also invented characters to round out the project. Ultimately, he said, The Game is about the human condition, filtered through his own perspective and expressed through the blues.
Although much of Jerardi’s earlier songwriting drew directly on his own experiences, The Game pushed him to create fictional characters. He estimated that roughly 60–70% of the album was autobiographical, a departure from his previous work. The shift broadened the record beyond his own experiences, he said, allowing him to explore the human condition from perspectives beyond his own.
“It really is a snapshot of a guy in his later 50s. People start passing away and your perspective changes,” Jerardi said. “I lost my two best friends shockingly within several years of one another, and it just changes your perspective when you realize that you have fewer days in front of you than behind you. It was much deeper than a game.”
Pushed to write songs through the challenge, Jerardi employed stream-of-consciousness thinking, bringing dormant emotions and feelings to the surface. Songs flowed out of him, he said.
“Hard Being Here” took just five minutes to write, inspired by the death of Jerardi’s close friend Rob from pancreatic cancer.
“I was so devastated, and I lost my only brother to cancer, and I probably suppressed a lot of it. It was really hard for me to go see my best friend because it reminded me of going and seeing my brother as he rotted away from cancer,” Jerardi said. “But I had to face that as well.”
“Thorns and Roses” presented Jerardi with a different kind of songwriting challenge. When the prompt came up, he struggled to find a personal connection to the phrase, which felt out of character and “cheesy” for his usual writing. In response, Jerardi created a fictional character, pushing himself to tell a story from someone else’s perspective. The resulting track was one of his favorite songs on the album.
Jerardi has always straddled multiple genres. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, his early influences included Jimmy Reed, B.B. King, Little Richard, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest. In high school, a friend taught Jerardi “Living After Midnight” by Judas Priest, with a two-finger power chord, and from then on, he never put the guitar down. His first performance was the high school talent show, and he moved on to form a band, the 18th Emergency, while at Ohio University.
Critics labeled Jerardi’s 2019 release, Occupied, soul blues, and he said he is interested in using soul music chord changes, and that he is inspired by Philadelphia soul and Stax Records, particularly Otis Redding.
“It just seems every time I would pick up the guitar, that’s what would always come out. This hybrid rock with blues and soul influences, and it was never intentional,” Jerardi said. “I was never happy being just a blues guy. I can play that and give it the respect it deserves very well, but it doesn’t fulfill me as far as writing more interesting music with different kinds of gospel-soul changes.”
Jerardi said he has matured as a guitar player over the years. Twenty years ago, he said all he cared about was being a “blazing killer guitar player,” with a focus on wild live performance, solos and eight-minute songs, and the perception that he can wail. Now, he values songcraft and vocals. With a more restrained approach on The Game, Jerardi finds himself with only a few bars and limited solo space. As a result, Jerardi said it’s some of his finest guitar playing on record – “short, sweet, and thoughtful.”
Jerardi said his sound is constantly evolving, and while he started his career firmly in the blues-rock world, he has leaned more into soul. In the immediate future, he said he is preparing to be able to play all of the songs on the LP live, at an exceptional level. Even with more than 30 years of experience, Jerardi said he still gets the jitters before performances if he can’t maintain the pace of playing three or four shows a week. After COVID, he has slowed his pace of playing gigs.
Jerardi has been compared to songwriters John Hiatt and Tom Waits, comparisons he said he welcomes. “I’m a Tom Waits fanatic. I honestly do not listen to guitar players really that are noodling. It doesn’t turn me on,” Jerardi said. “But listening to John Hiatt and to Tom Waits turns me on because of the story that they tell.” For Jerardi, The Game is one of his most balanced albums to date. Of the 15 friends who heard the album early, he said, all 12 songs emerged as someone’s favorite track.
Jerardi said the album acted as a mirror and agent for self-reflection. “It was a big confidence builder. I realized that I’m a lot better writer than I probably thought I was,” Jerardi said. “With some discipline and some help from the vocal producer, it made me realize I’m a much better singer.”