Owsley is not a band, but rather a man also known as William Owsley. Will is a 30-ish singer-songwriter from Anniston, Alabama who writes power pop music as well as being a guitarist.
In 1990, funk-pop pioneer Judson Spence introduced him to Ben Folds. Folds introduced Owsley to Millard Powers, and the three of them formed a band. Folds, the drummer at that time, then left that band to pursue other interests.
The Semantics became Will Owsley, Millard Powers, and Zak Starkey. Working with producer Peter Asher, the Semantics recorded an album for Geffen Records, but it was never released in the U.S, being regarded as "too pop for alternative and too alternative for pop."
Afterwards, Owsley toured with Amy Grant and also worked with Mutt Lange and Lange's wife, Shania Twain. During this time he saved up enough money to create a home recording studio, where he recorded an album, which was self-released. Respected pop music store/label Not Lame carried Owsley's self-titled album in their catalog.
Owsley eventually landed a deal with Giant Records and scored a minor hit with "I'm Alright." Not only was Owsley's self-titled album was a critical favorite, topping many best-of-year lists in 1999, but Owsley was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Engineered Album."
He's currently working on a follow-up album.