The Bill Owens Five died in December 2008, but they’ve returned as Ghosts.
As the band notes on its Facebook page, 2009 will mark a new musical direction for the band formerly known as Bill Owens Five. The Hoboken-based rockers have a new lineup and a new name – Rosewood Ghosts.
The group invited its fans to rename the band in its “Kill Bill Owens Five” contest, but in the end, it was the members themselves who came up with the new moniker.
“Locking ourselves in a room and fighting over names brought us closer together,” said guitarist Saul Slotnick, who grew up in East Brunswick but now lives in New York City.
The change came because of the band’s new direction and a general dislike for the former name.
Who is Bill Owens anyway?
“We got tired of answering that question,” said bassist and Morristown native Steve Brown.
Slotnick and drummer Matt Teitelman, a New Brunswick resident, joined the Ghosts at the end of last year.
“The talent of the band was raised tremendously,” said guitarist Jamie DiTringo of Hoboken. “We’re more edgy sounding now.”
DiTringo started the band in 2004 with Brown, lead singer Joe Montague of Trenton, and Bloomfield resident Adam Weissman on keys.
The Bill Owens Five occasionally had one guitarist and two keyboard players, but the revamped lineup has changed some of the members’ roles.
“There becomes a noticeable difference when you have keyboards filling out rhythms,” said Weissman. “I don’t have to be as prevalent now; I can be more particular and tasteful because I don’t have to back Jamie up, because Saul will do that.”
In addition to singing, Montague plays harmonica but he put down the guitar a few years ago to explore more creative melodies and help him interact better with the crowd.
It appears to be working. At their first show as Rosewood Ghosts on Feb. 21 at the Bitter End in New York, two girls couldn’t help but jump up on stage to dance with the band towards the end of their set.
“We all thought that someone knew them,” said Montague.
