John Willis is a throwback to the era of singer-songwriters who did not focus on genre, but instead letting the mood and theme of quality songs lead them to the appropriate style.

After the success of his solo EP “King of the Cocktail Party” he and Late Romantics, his relatively new band have a new EP, “Bad Boyfriend.”

It comes out on March 21.  To commemorate the occasion, he and the band are having a performance party at Whitewater Tavern tonight at 9:30 pm.  Also peforming that night are Listen, Sister and DJ Baldego.  All in attendance will get the EP for free.  After that, it will be available on iTunes.

Recorded at Jason Weinheimer’s studio, Fellowship Hall Sound, “Bad Boyfriend” features Willis with Late Romantics.  The band was formed last year for the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase.  It includes Jack Lloyd (bass), Mike Motley (drums) with Sarah Stricklin and Sydney Hunsicker (backup vocals, additional percussion).  As Willis told Mitchell Crisp in a recent interview, “we’ve transitioned into a band where everyone is collaborative, rather than one where everyone just plays my songs. So all of the songs were written by me, but it’s the effort of everyone involved.”