Melissa etheridge tours with brand new band

Ara JansenThe West Australian While she’s not ready to share yet, the next Melissa Etheridge album is going to sound a little different. One of rock’n’roll’s most-loved female

guitar-slinging singer-songwriters put a new band together about a year ago and credits the star-studded quartet as having more soul and funk than her previous outfits. Etheridge’s backing

band features bassist Jerry Duplessis, who produced the Fugees smash album The Score, his production partner Arden Altino on keys plus young gun guitarist Brandyn Porter and versatile

drummer Brian Delaney, who has worked with everyone from New York Dolls to Delta Goodrem and the Wu-Tang Clan. The 54-year-old, born and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, says the awesome

foursome has allowed her to re-imagine some of her older songs. “I’ve been looking for a new sound to push me into this more rhythmic and soulful place,” Etheridge says from her Californian

home. “Then these people came together in this band and I’m just in love with their playing. “We’ve made some new music together already and put it in the vault. You’ll probably hear it some

time around March. I’m not really going to talk about it until I get it more in focus but I’m so excited about the music and what’s coming out.” Next year, Etheridge will bring this new

outfit to Perth, where she winds up her worldwide tour promoting last year’s This is M.E. album after appearing at the Byron Bay Bluesfest. “I love touring with the band but I also love to

tour solo,” she says. “When I play solo I learn so much because every night I’m practising my guitar playing and I’m learning things about my songs. That makes me a better performer. I can

take that back to the band and I love that.” Etheridge is also excited that after hundreds of performances of her songs they still manage to bring her something new and reveal new aspects.

“Come to My Window was big in the US and I remember thinking ‘Why?’ I didn’t quite get it,” she says. “But after years of playing it and looking at it, I started to see and really understand

the song and its appeal. “It made me very happy to get it. I see that song with more meaning because I now understand what people responded to.” Ever on the hunt for the perfect song,

whether writing one herself or feasting on other artists’ work, Etheridge says she’s been getting to discover music all over again in different ways with this band. She credits their

abilities to being able to throw a song into the set just because it’s fun. “I’ll surprise them, look at them and kick into a Marley song and it’s just great to let go.” When it comes to the

perfect storm of a song, from her catalogue she’d choose Like the Way I Do but two of her hands-down favourite songs are Springsteen’s Jungleland and Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes. Melissa

Etheridge plays Riverside Theatre on April 1. Tickets from Ticketmaster. GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THEWEST.COM.AU IN YOUR INBOX. Sign up for our emails