A guy named Jamie DiTringo, guitarist for a band called Rosewood Ghosts, recently wrote to me saying that he reads my column regularly, and was wondering if I would be interested in giving his band a listen. So, I clicked on one of the two links that he emailed me, which led me to the band’s MySpace page, myspace.com/rosewoodghosts, where I got to hear some of their music. My guess is that these boys are so new that they haven’t even been into the studio to record a CD yet because the only music that they had posted to listen to was music from their live shows. The songs “Too Late,” “Sunday Prophet,” and “Walking Lightly” are labeled post classic rock, but I heard more of a country rock feel to these songs ala the Black Crowes. The songs are very well written and seem to have a bit of a kick behind them.
The roots of the Rosewood Ghosts stem from another Hoboken-based band called the Bill Owens Five, which disbanded in December 2008. As the Bill Owens Five, the band shook venues up and down the eastern seaboard for four years. They noted on their Facebook page, “2009 will mark a new musical direction for the band formerly known as Bill Owens Five.” Bassist Steve Brown was quoted as saying, “ We were just sick of answering the question ‘Who is Bill Owens anyway?’” Earlier this year, the original four members of Bill Owens Five—singer Joe Montague, guitarist Jamie DiTringo, keyboardist Adam Weissman, and bassist Steve Brown teamed up with drummer Matt Teitelman and guitarist Saul Slotnick to form their best line-up to date. The Bill Owens Five died in 2008 only to return as the Rosewood Ghosts in 2009. Very interesting!
I actually didn’t realize how new these guys were until now! No wonder they posted live songs on their MySpace page! I am sure recorded versions are to follow! You can catch the Rosewood Ghosts live at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ, on Thursday, April 16. If you can’t wait that long, log onto myspace.com/rosewoodghosts or rosewoodghosts.com to find out more about this band.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
Eden Star, the band that I featured in last week’s column, will be celebrating the release of their CD, Skin, with a CD release party at the Clash Bar in Clifton, NJ, on Saturday, May 16. This should be a fun night so get on over to The Clash Bar. For more info on this event, log onto edenstarmusic.com.
Speaking of CD release parties, The Compulsions will be celebrating their latest release, Been Through Hell, with a CD release party of their own down at The Mercury Lounge in NYC next Saturday night, April 11, with the boys from Killcode and Midnight Fistfight. There will be free copies of Been Through Hell given out with the price of admission while supplies last. In other news from The Compulsions, MTV shows like The City and Parental Control have been using a few of The Compulsions’ songs off of their Demon Love EP. If you want to hear new songs from The Compulsions latest, log onto myspace.com/thecompulsions.
And finally, just a reminder, this Saturday night, April 4, a couple of very cool shows happening! First at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ, WDHA’s Scott Evil hosts the CD release party for Black Water Rising with special guests Piston Driven and Saint Caine. This should be a really fun show! The second show happening this Saturday night is down at the Starland Ballroom: Factory Syndicate will be making their debut opening for Dethklok, the animated band from Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse. Tickets are still available so log onto myspace.com/factorysyndicate to get your tickets before they’re sold out.
That’s all for now! And remember, if your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your demos and press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140 Little Falls, NJ 07424. No cover bands, please!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
NJN Concert Calendar:
4/3—HelenaMaria—The Record Collector, Bordentown, NJ
4/3—Mercury Morning—The Chance Theatre, Poughkeepsie, NY
4/3—All Parallels—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
4/4—Black Water Rising/Saint Caine/Piston Driven—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/4—Rahway—Club 35 Player’s Lounge, Sayreville, NJ
4/4—Factory Syndicate—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
4/4—Diablo Royale—Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ
4/7—Reverse Order—United Skates of America, Seaford, NY
4/10—Hybrid Dawn—The Cherrywood, Clementon, NJ
4/10—Bled For Glory/Liquid Violence—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/11—Shadows Lie/Diablo Royale/Black Water Rising—Crash Mansion, NYC
4/11—Killcode/The Compulsions—Mercury Lounge, NYC
4/11—Ippy and the Project—Dublin Pub, Morristown, NJ
4/11—Rahway—Red Star, Brooklyn, NY
4/16—Rosewood Ghosts—Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
4/17—Suicide City/Full Scale Riot/Voodoo Terror Tribe/Without End—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/18—Echofission—The Thirsty Toad, Lodi, NJ
4/22—Mercury Morning—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
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