Fresh from leaving the band he formed after moving to Los Angeles from Massachusetts in 2009, singer/songwriter Nico Rivers took his dynamic folk/Americana sound on the road and launched his solo career playing everywhere from The Freakin' Frog in Las Vegas to The Tipsy Crow in San Diego's Gaslamp to the House of Blues on Sunset Strip. He took a full-fledged production approach to recording his debut EP Thicker Than Water, but quickly realized that his unique "one man band" vibe-playing acoustic guitar, harmonica, kick drum and even tambourine-was evolving into a more organic style than he showcased on the EP.

True to its title, Rivers' upcoming EP To The Bone features stripped down acoustic twists of two of the songs from his debut ("Hey, Josephine" and "Molotovs & Medicine") and three new tunes, in addition to two bonus tracks featuring his former band, Pine Mountain Casket: "Demons Croon For The Mississippi Moon" and a full ensemble version of the EP's lead track "Birds In Trees (or the solid ground)." The singer plans to release To The Bone in March 2013 to coincide with his next major tour, which will include a stop at South By Southwest in Austin. "Having trained and worked as a studio engineer," he says, "I love being able to layer harmonies and melodies - but on the new EP, I really disciplined myself to convey the emotion of these songs without all the textures, bells and whistles. As a songwriter, I simply try to write about life, what I've experienced and what I've seen others go through, plain and simple. To The Bone is almost an autobiography in a way, though some of it may not be directly true."

Rivers brings a unique personal and musical history to his songwriting. Fueled by a volatile blend of emotion, experience, imagination and intuition, Nico Rivers has been haunting the stage since his early years in New England. Packing his car full of guitars and a few sentimental possessions, he wandered back and forth across the U.S. three times (including a soul searching stint in Cambridge, MA) before settling in L.A. where he and his brother formed Pine Mountain Casket. The band released one album (Viscera For A Reason) and played throughout Southern California, everywhere from "coffee shops to bars to basketball courts"-laying the foundation for Rivers to reinvent himself as a solo artist and tour the Southwest during the early part of 2012 before hunkering down to record the new EP.

Rivers' most recent composition on To The Bone is the wistful, easy rolling "Heart Was Just The Start," which he wrote spontaneously one night after getting home from a gig, reflecting back on his teen years and romanticizing the days when his life was more carefree and emotions were the things that mattered most. Another track with a sweet longing for simpler times is the passionate, harmonica-laced "Molotovs & Medicine," about his experiences as a mischievous teen, joining friends in sand pits in the woods and throwing molotov cocktails at abandoned cars. "Hey Josephine" uses the imagery of a girll with a frantic suitor as a metaphor for desperately wanting something meaningful in your life, whether it's money, a girl or a certain job. Leaning towards social commentary, "Oildrips" finds Rivers capturing the perspective of friends and relatives who fought in the Iraq war, telling the tales of battle subjectively from their unique points of view.

"I define my music as a blur between singer/songwriter, folk and indie rock," he says. "It has much of a rock feel and vibe, but a base in folk and Americana. Some of the vibe comes from my love of the South, the Blues, American folk music and folklore. I love to tell stories through song and I think that has a big part in the sound as well. Connecting with the audience is the most important thing to me. Looking them in the eye and knowing they get it is one of the greatest feelings in the world."