Riley Etheridge Jr's forthcoming EP "Better Days"

NYC-based Americana singer-songwriter Riley Etheridge Jr. will be releasing a four-song EP, "Better Days," in digital format via Rock Ridge Music on January 24, 2012 (see track listing below).  The EP will be available through the usual digital download portals.  Instead of utilizing a full band, or performing the songs as solo acoustic guitar arrangements (Etheridge's original idea for the recording), he opted to work with a trio lineup, which included drummer Dan Rieser and bassist Tim Luntzel.  Felix McTeigue (who also co-wrote the title track) produced the EP. 

 

Says Etheridge of the process:  "I am really pleased with the 'live' and spontaneous approach that we took.  It was a completely different experience for me, which I enjoyed.  I met Dan and Tim after seeing them perform in NYC, and, on just a few days' notice, they agreed to meet and track these songs with me at a studio in Brooklyn.  It was done live over two brief sessions. I love how simple the arrangements are.  We picked this group of four songs as our favorites out of about seven songs and 'rolled the tape' with no charts, click track or rehearsal.  We at most did two or three takes of each track.  One friend who heard the tracks called it 'real people playing real music,' and I viewed that as a major compliment, and the result of an experiment that paid off."

 

"Better Days" is the follow-up to Etheridge's 2011 release, "Powder Keg," his sophomore album.  Etheridge may call New York City his home now, but his music sounds like he's still living down South. A South Carolina native, Etheridge spent many years living - and playing music - in Louisiana.  "Powder Keg" deftly blended together rock, country, blues, soul, and folk into a rich Americana sound.  Etheridge's first album, "Things I Used To Know," came out in 2010. Atlanta's A-List has compared Etheridge to Radney Foster, Billy Joe Shaver and Uncle Tupelo, while Owl Magazine lauded Etheridge's "blues/country fusion that just plain grooves."  Innocent Words praised Etheridge's lyrics, saying, "…nothing grabs your attention more than Etheridge's clever word play and finesse with the language of love, lust, and loss. …[Etheridge is] a songwriter with real intellect who makes you want to hit the repeat button again and again to catch what he said."

 

"BETTER DAYS" TRACK LISTING:

"Even As We Fall"

"The More Time Passes By"

"Roll With The Tide"

"Better Days"

 

www.rileyetheridge.com