Ghost Town Silence shows off new lineup, EP

By: Mary Kate Dorr – Asst. A&E Editor

Dayton-based rock ‘n‘ roll and Americana band Ghost Town Silence will play the Oregon Express in Dayton’s Oregon District Saturday to promote the release of its new EP, “Shadows.” Playing with Ghost Town Silence will be Akillis Greene and ToddtheFoxMusic, a solo acoustic performer.

All performances feature a bass player and Akillis Greene and ToddtheFoxMusic feature a wash board player.

Tom Gilliam, lead guitar and co-lead vocalist of Ghost Town Silence, is looking forward to re-entering the bar scene after playing at various music festivals, including the Dayton Music Festival and a performance at the University of Dayton’s McGinnis Center.

“Being on a college campus offers a different audience,” Gilliam said. “You know they are there to hear you play your music and at a bar. It’s not always like that.”

This will also be the first time Ghost Town Silence plays a bar  venue since its recent lineup change.

Ghost Town Silence had the same keyboard player from late 2005, when the band was established, until November of 2013. Nathan Warden, the current keyboard player, joined the band the following spring. Current percussionist Brian Winter entered the band almost immediately after the previous drummer left last June.

The lineup isn’t the only recent change for Ghost Town Silence. Formerly known as the Rebel Set, the band changed its name last year after receiving a Facebook message from a band under the same name.

“They basically said that they were big time now and had a radio label in California,” Gilliam said. The Rebel Set had purchased the trademark in 2010 but waited to contact Ghost Town Silence until last year.

“We tried coming up with new names, but it was mostly just stupid, funny stuff,” Gilliam said. They wanted a name more representative of the band and a name that another band could not touch.

“Ghost Town Silence” was the name of a song recorded by the band when it was still known as the Rebel Set. After searching the Internet, the only result for “Ghost Town Silence” had been the band talking about the album with that song.

“It wasn’t worth suing anyone over,” Gilliam said. “We play music for fun, but all have careers. It just wasn’t worth pursuing.”

Gilliam described the production of the new EP as a quick and painless process compared to previous albums. The band was able to record at In the Red Recording, located close to UD and closer to home for the local band than Franklin, Ohio,  where they recorded previous albums.

The energy for this EP was different for the band as well.

Gilliam described a particular song that the band was struggling to record: “The vibe just wasn’t there.” Instead of playing the song countless times in hopes of finding one they liked for the album, the band took a break and went outside to re-energize and focus on the music. “When we came back inside, it sounded great. We ended up using that take for the EP,” Gilliam said.

Ghost Town Silence is looking forward to seeing how the new music is received by Dayton music fans in the Oregon District, above anything else.

“We’re mainly just excited to be back at Oregon Express,” Gilliam said.

Ghost Town Silence will play at the Oregon Express Saturday at 10 p.m.  Its new EP, “Shadows,” is available on Spotify and the band’s website, ghosttownsilence.com.