Adrian Smith, Richie Kotzen announce 'Better Days EP'

Set will be released for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event

Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen are back as Smith/Kotzen with four previously unreleased songs. The Better Days EP will be released on limited edition 12” black vinyl on November 26th, in conjunction with international Record Store Day’s Black Friday event. The EP reflects the ongoing strength of the dynamic writing and recording partnership between these two world-class musicians, following their eponymous debut album released in March 2021 to media and fan acclaim, charting in the Top 20 in markets such as UK, Germany, US and Canada; a tremendous accomplishment for an inaugural collaboration project.

Better Days continues this trajectory with its huge hooks and driving riffs, coupled with the pair’s now-traditional vocal trade-offs building to crescendo with its soaring, unforgettable chorus.

The final two songs on the EP were recorded at Windermere on Turks & Caicos Islands in March 2020. “Better Days” and “Got A Hold On Me” followed at The House recording studio in Los Angeles in April 2021 when S/K were finally able to reconvene after lockdown and to shoot an accompanying video for the title track. As with the S/K album, the EP was produced by the pair, and mixed by Kevin Shirley.

“When Adrian came over to LA earlier this year, we got together and started throwing ideas around and we very quickly came up with the new songs,” Kotzen shares. “‘Better Days’ almost seemed to write itself. It’s got a nice groove to it. Adrian came in with the riff and we came up with a melody for the chorus together, pretty much working to the same formula we used when writing the S/K album, bouncing ideas off each other.”

“‘Better Days’ is a song I’m really excited about,” Smith adds. “I think its slightly different to the songs on the S/K album – it’s kind of heavy but melodic. I’d played Richie the riff and I was looking for a reaction, and I got one! Kind of like the old grey whistle test scenario – there was a spark and we started building the song from there. I’d have an idea, then Richie would have an idea and we’d go back and forth, like building blocks.”

The “Better Days” video was filmed at Mates studio in Los Angeles and was directed by Jeff Wolfe, who successfully combined an action career onscreen with an award-winning director’s role behind camera.