As usual, Southern California’s Ease Up has been hard at work playing countless local shows and releasing 3 brand new singles within the last few months. The newest releases, all recorded and produced by Lew Richards at 17th Street Records, are titled “Undercover Lover”, “UCSB”, and “One Of Those Days”.
On August 5th, “Undercover Lover” became the first of the three singles to be released. Meanwhile, the second single, “UCSB”, has a much faster tempo and more of a reggae-rock or ska feel to it. Released almost 2 months later on September 29th, Ease Up’s bassist, Nathan Ledgerwood, gave The Pier more insight on the story behind UCSB. He explained, “UCSB is ironically about a trip to SLO that we did back in 2011. ” According to Nate, there was a mix up with where the band was 
supposed to stay at after the show, leading them to drive to Santa Barbara. After falling asleep at the wheel, driving passed their destination, and barely escaping a nasty accident, the band created the meaning of UCSB, which now stood for “You see Santa Barbara?” Nate added, “I can laugh about it now but at the end of it all, we left with a new understanding of the consequences of having too much fun on the road.”
More recently, Ease Up’s newest single, “One Of Those Days”, was released on October 28th as part of a compilation for the Rexfest Foundation. Rexfest Records released the compilation in an effort to raise money and awareness for Down syndrome and its struggle associated with aging while using music as a means of therapy.
“One Of Those Days” features Jon Olazabal of The Dirty Heads on percussion while Rico Estrada trades vocals with Moi of Tomorrows Bad Seeds.
Pete Jensen, the band’s manager, had to this to say about Ease Up’s future plans. “We are talking to a well-known San Diego band about touring together in November and another band on the east coast about a National Tour in 2014. As for our new album – this is our first-full length album, we want to make sure we put out the best possible album we could. Working with Lewis Richards has been an honor for us and we couldn’t have thought of anyone better to produce it than him. With that said, we will have it completely finished and available on iTunes by early Spring 2014.”
Make sure to check back with The Pier for more updates and news in the reggae community!
Ease Up Links:
Ease Up Facebook
Ease Up Reverb Nation
RexFest Foundation Website
RexFest Foundation Facebook
Article By: David Garcia
Photo By: David Norris
Listen: Ease Up- Undercover Lover
Listen: Ease Up- UCSB
Listen: Ease Up- One Of Those Days (ft. Moi of Tomorrows Bad Seeds & Jon of The Dirty Heads)
