Owen's Debut CD - April 22nd 2014
Finally the debut CD by Owen
is out, and it only took 20 years! With the exception of the studio
recording of ‘Slacker Anthem’, these tracks have never been released
before. (Even Slacker Anthem is different; we featured the extended DAT
version here!)
For 17
of these songs, this is their debut. Slacker Anthem has been available
on i-Tunes since April 4th 2011, and has been racking up lots of
streams, now if we could just generate those into actual sales! (We’re
on i-Tunes) The song ‘Has to be’ not only makes its debut here, but we
offer three versions. (no apologies as Joe Jackson would say). Track 1
is the studio version with a drum machine, but I think this is my best
vocal. Track 6 is the demo version, and track 18 is the final version,
which I hated and is the reason the song has never been issued till now.
Owen has two lives; me & Jeremy Chambers (1994-1995) and
then me & the full band (Doug Hainer, Andrew Hainer and Steve
Wright), 1995-1996. I wish Jeremy and I had been able to record more, he
is a great songwriter as the demos on tracks 6 to 13 show. I also had
an awesome time at CKMS in Waterloo with the beautiful and talented
Celine, which is where we draw tracks 3 to 5. Thanks to Bob Brown for
his help with ‘Slacker Anthem’ and ‘Has to be’, I just wish I had more
confidence back then. By May 1996 I had that confidence I needed, as
the 4 tracks drawn from Owen’s show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto will
attest to.
Later, I had such confidence I laughed when Tyson
from the Embassy in London suggested we open for Scratching Post. We
were the mighty Owen, we weren’t opening for any shitty London band!
But, by rejecting that offer, we screwed ourselves in the Forest City.
Just another lousy decision of mine!
At any rate, I’m proud to
offer you the discerning music buying public these 18 tracks from my
past, may they also be my future. (I still wanna rock and roll!)
About
the CD cover; you may or may not know that most of my CD covers feature
photographs that I myself have snapped. This cover is no exception. The
photo is question was taken on July 26 1986 at a family gathering in
London. Left to right is my 1st cousin Sherri Dixon, 2nd cousins Heather
& Janet Laursen, 2nd cousins Kelly and Kim Laursen, and my sister
Lisa Ryerson. The little Owen guy in the center of the photo was created
by my daughter Jeanette in 1994. Thanks for reading!
The next Owen
CD is planned to be called ‘Back Tracks’ and will feature music from
various projects 1990 – 1993 as well as Owen demo’s from the fall of
1994 featuring Adam Arsenault, Stan Antone and Robb Hoyland, and I hope
to feature the then-planned single, ‘Rock Star.’
Please visit
the Owen blog at http://this-is-owen.blogspot.ca/ and look for all of
our music at i-Tunes, Amazon, and of course CD Baby!
Also have a look at my website, http://www.thomasryerson.com/
Tom Ryerson, April 11th 2014.
For the record, here is how OWEN like to start the day on tour!
Owen's newest CD 'Choose Life' is getting some negative feedback as folks
