Owen - Slacker Anthem
Owen 1996 - Doug, Steve, Tom & Munchie
Slacker
Anthem was originally unleashed upon the college indie music scene on May 5th 1995 as a
seven inch record and a cassette single. The cassette single garnered a favorable review
in Billboard Magazine on May 27th (in Pop Records) and also began its assault upon Campus Radio
all across Canada, attaining its highest chart position, #8, at CCRS in Sudbury,
ON. (It charted at 3 different stations) The internet as a marketing tool was still years away, and unfortunately the band didn’t
have the marketing budget or technical savvy to keep the momentum for the single going. The band continued to harass campus radio DJ's and ended up playing live in the studio at two stations over the summer of 1995, but then things went dormant.
Flash Forward to February
23 2011 where Slacker Anthem gets a second life as a digital single via the
internet at many great websites; both MP3 purchases and streaming. Owen is at i-Tunes! Fifteen
years may have passed, but the single is now brand new to a whole new
generation. Owen may even return to the stage with original members Tom
Ryerson, Doug Hainer, Andrew "Munchie" Hainer and Steve Wright with super special guest Stan
Vee Antone. Hell, Jeremy Chambers and John Speechley might want to jam out too!
The Owen 'Little Guy' Logo was designed by Jeanette Ryerson, who was 7 years old at the time!
Lyrics by Tom Ryerson (1994)
Recommended digital
download & streaming sites for Owen & Tom’s music:
24-7
Amazon MP3
Apple i-Tunes
CD Baby
Deezer
Emusic
Lala
Last.fm
MediaNet
Muve Music
Myspace Music
Napster
Nokia
Rdio
Rhapsody
Rumblefish
Spotify
X-box Music
Owen 1996 - The Golden Line-up
Munchie Hainer - Bass Steve Wright - Drums Doug Hainer - Guitar Tom Ryerson - Vocals/Lyrics
Short Bio (All Music.com)
The indie rock outfit Owen
began playing music near the end of 1994 when singer/songwriter Thomas Ryerson
and guitarist Jeremy Chambers dissolved their previous band, Saint Judy.
Natives of Woodstock, Ontario, the members of Owen had gathered a solid stack
of original material and began recording two months later. The 7" single "Slacker Anthem,"
issued on May 5 1995, was critically acclaimed in Billboard and a favorite at
local college radio. The band‘s second single in July ’95 was an ‘in the
studio’ live version of “Guilty,” which was a regional hit in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
By the spring of 1996 Owen
was now a four piece band and issued their third single, “The Prophecy,” which got limited airplay in London, ON. In August of 1996 Owen issued their fourth single,
“Surreal,” which was drawn from the CD compilation, "Hard Rock Indie Comp" with several
other local bands. Owen contributed two
songs to that set, the other song being “Smalltown,” which was issued as a
fifth and final single after the band broke up in October 1996. At the time both Surreal and Smalltown were ignored by radio, but to be fair the marketing plan was next to nil.
The Owen commemorative
singles release, Hit Factory 1993-1996 was issued during Christmas 1997, and
this remains to be the sole full-lengther from the band.
Owen went on hiatus at
this point for the next twelve years. Ryerson worked with Stan V. Antone in several bands during
that time; Cholera, Living in Fear, Fancy Dancers, Two Evils, Absolute Beginners and
Witness for the Prosecution. He has also
released solo singles under the pseudonyms Thos. Christian, Thom C. Stage, and Thomas Thomas.
As part of a fifteen year
anniversary for the Slacker Anthem single, the original record was re-issued on
February 21st 2011 as a digital release, including i-Tunes. The members of Owen are hope that a
whole new generation of fans will appreciate the song and make it a genuine
massive world-wide hit. The band plan to reform with the 1996 line-up with the addition of rhythm
guitarist Stan V. Antone and play select shows based on demand.
The 1995 vinyl 7" is now
available again for $10 (including postage) by dropping Tom Ryerson an email at paganlove@traveloguebook.com
Tom Ryerson (vocals) & Jeremy Chambers (guitar) - Owen 1995
