WILL OWSLEY BAND PROMO PHOTO Semantics Zavelow House Hard Way Sonny Boy 8x10

Description

Description:
- Rare and fantastic vintage WILL OWSLEY PROMO PHOTO!!!
- Authentic original publicity/press pack photograph provided by the record label.
- From the files of a defunct music magazine.
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When the Semantics formed in the early '90s in Nashville, their punchy, accessible brand of Southern power pop seemed destined to follow like-minded Southern bands like the dB's and Let's Active into the power pop history books. Led by two songwriter/vocalists, William Owsley III and Millard Powers, the band initially began recording demos for their debut album with a then-unknown drummer named Ben Folds, who — contrary to legend — was never officially a part of the Semantics. Folds soon left to form Ben Folds Five and was replaced by Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey. The band signed to Geffen and recorded their debut LP, Powerbill, but weeks before its scheduled 1993 release, the label decided not to release it, effectively ending the band's career. For most bands, the story might've ended there. But Starkey went on tour with his father and later joined the Lightning Seeds as their full-time drummer. Amy Grant, a fellow Tennessean and then-superstar who obtained a copy of Powerbill, called Owsley shortly after the album's botched release and lavished praise upon the record and asked Owsley to be one of her touring guitarists. In 1996, while Ben Folds Five were becoming worldwide alternative rock superstars, Powerbill saw a belated Japanese-only release and sold over 20,000 copies, despite that the band had already disbanded and that there was little, if any promotion, backing it. Owsley and Millard Powers each respectively recorded their own solo debuts while paying the bills as backing musicians for the likes of Grant and Charlotte Church. Owsley initially issued his debut album in 1998, but it was repackaged and reissued in 1999 with mightier distribution and it even managed to produce a minor hit single in the charging rocker "I'm Alright." After the relative success of Owsley's self-titled debut and Powers' exposure from working with Folds, Japanese copies of the now out of print Powerbill became major cult collector's items and belatedly became one of the most influential and most well-regarded power pop records of the '90s. Alabama born multi-instrumentalist Will Owsley followed a career path not unlike Sheryl Crow's, by backing up big mainstream pop artists, collecting the rewards and channeling them into his own solo work. Owsley plied his wares in the bands of Shania Twain and Amy Grant in the mid-'90s, then recorded his own material at home, and offered the finished product to record companies on a take-it-or-leave-it basis -- just like Tom Scholz did with the first Boston album, Owsley noted. Giant Records took it, and released Owsley's debut in 1999. Another of Owsley's old bands contained Ben Folds, and their likemindedness is hard to miss; this album's "Zavelow House" and "Sonny Boy" are practically Ben homages. While both craft pop hooks which make similarly instant impressions, Owsley toughens them up with meatier singing and crunching guitars, avoiding the occasional maudlin sensibilities of Folds' stuff -- the "wimp factor" is wisely absent here. Owsley's power-chord crunch and serviceable soloing amplify matters in songs like "Oh No the Radio" and "I'm Alright." Owsley's sonic references originate in the '70s: there's Todd Rundgren's keyboard melodicism, the offbeat arrangements of 10cc, and even a throwback to the stylized country-rock of Dave Mason. In terms of amplitude and attitude, though, this album is a direct product of the late '90s. Owsley is about as ideal as pop solo debuts get; like Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown and the first Folds album, it introduces expert tunesmithing and by an unassuming musical personality. Smart, tasty, and guilt-free.
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