Jan Owen
Singer/Songwriter with soul and a rockin' beat!
1
songs
171
plays
Carry On Carry On
"Gee, you're good!" says Director/Actor Ron Howard.
"An artist in his own right!" says DJ Jimmy Fink.
"Jan and his music ... works great live! It's so reflective of the great 60-70's Beatles, Costello era and is certainly "hooky" and melodic. As well, Jan's a solid singer!" says Valerie Main, Sparks Entertainment, NashvilleBand/artist history
Born and raised on Long Island, Jan Owen knew he wanted to become a musician after seeing The Beatles on the "Ed Sullivan Show," and spent teenage years performing with his first band in a local exotic dancer lounge. (The gig with the topless dancers ended when a TV repairman came to his family's house and recognized him in front of his Dad!) He's a two-time Beatlefest sound-alike contest winner, has appeared on Jimmy Fink's 92.3 K-Rock radio show in NYC singing his originals and a Beatle song, has been interviewed by Kelly Quinn of Star 99 in Connecticut, and was an extra in the camp classic film, "Toxic Avenger 2!" (He was actually chosen to play a speaking role, but his mom had already booked tickets for him and his family to come out to Colorado for a visit the same week the film was shooting!)
The man who shot Luther Vandross to fame, David Cravath, told Jan, "You're the songwriter I've been waiting for eight years!" and had the contracts all drawn up to manage Jan's career as he had done Luther's, when he died suddenly of a heart attack.
Then there's the time Jan was chosen to audition for the TV show, "Star Search," and went across the street to get a cup of tea prior to his turn. Thinking it was already prepared (with the tea, milk, and sugar in it), he took a big ol' slurp of boiling hot water into his mouth! And when the producer told him it was his time, he could barely talk, much less sing! They showed him the door soon after.
Ever hear the ATV Custom Auto Parts radio jingle? It played for a good 15 years on major radio stations in NY. Jan sang it and also punched up the lyrical arrangement. For his efforts, Jan made a whopping $75 and no royalties!
But, he's gotten rich in other ways. There's the time Jan was playing his version of "Come Go with Me" by the Del Vikings at a small club in New York, when a gentleman came up to him and said, "You did a great rendition of 'Come Go with Me', and I should know." Jan replied, "Thanks, but what do you mean by you should know?" The gentleman responded by saying, "Because I sang lead on the original recording with the Del Vikings. I'm Billy Viking!" Good thing Jan sang it before he knew Billy was in the audience, or he wouldn't have attempted it all!
Others have come up to Jan while he's performing and complimented him, too, like Sid McGinnis, the lead guitarist of Paul Schaffer's "Late Show" band on the David Letterman show, and Emmy-winning actor Stanley Tucci, who saw Jan play at a private party. At another private affair, Matt Dillon came up to him and said how much he liked his performance, and then proceeded to bum cigarettes off of Jan, while talking music for a half an hour! Jan eventually quit smoking - not cost effective.
Recently, Valerie Main, A&R at Sparks Entertainment, Nashville, had this to say about Jan's music: "Jan and his music ... works great live! It's so reflective of the great 60-70's Beatles, Costello era and is certainly "hooky" and melodic. As well, Jan's a solid singer!"
And there have been numerous times that Jan has wanted to quit the business all together, but never gave up hope. There was the night that Jan played at a club in Greenwich, CT, and no one was listening. He even played his show-stopping solo version of The Beatles, "A Day in the Life," and still no response. Ready to give it up forever, Jan goes to the Beatlefest the next day, and is persuaded by one of his friends to get up and do a song for the sound alike contest. Jan reluctantly does, wins first place(out of 45 contestants!), and that's when MC Jimmy Fink(of 92.3 K-Rock) comes up to him afterwards and says, "I've never heard a voice like that before! You're amazing! Would you like to appear on my radio show?". Jan did, and during the show, Jimmy tells the audience that Jan is an "artist in his own right," and has Jan perform the contest-winning number, as well as one of his own original songs [you can hear them at Jan's website, www.janowen.com]!
Perhaps one of the reasons he never did give up totally was his experience as a young man attending the 1973 Madison Square Garden Rock 'n' Roll oldies concert, featuring Chuck Berry, Herman's Hermits, and a guy named Rick Nelson, who proceeded to sing some of his new material for an audience (which included Bob Dylan and John Lennon), and was booed off the stage because the crowd wanted to hear "Ricky" sing only his oldies. Very shortly thereafter, Nelson wrote "Garden Party" about that experience and had his first number one hit in years, thus effectively ressurecting his career!
Jan's personal philosophy is to paraphrase The Beatles - the reason he became a musician in the first place - by saying, "You've got to take a sad song and make it better, or you're just lost." A Rock 'n' Roll survivor, through the years, he's held every day job you can imagine, from telemarketer, to animal shelter caretaker, to receptionist - where he penned his one (and only) parody “rap” song, "Put Me Tru to Roe!" - to lab guinea pig, to chauffeur, to photographer, to Santa Claus, and every stop in between!
Along the way, he's shared the bill with Andy Kaufman at "The Improv," hung out with Diane Keaton, opened for Roger McGuinn, got drunk with Harry Nilsson and Jimmy Webb, and even been run over on second base by Al Pacino at a local softball league game! (In between innings, he ran into Diane Keaton again, who remembered Jan from the Improv and pulled out her photo album to show him some pics of her and Al.)
When not being knocked down by major actors, Jan raises his two kids, and continues to play almost every night. He's written over 40 original songs, ranging from the intensely personal and melancholy "No One Wants to be the One", to the bitingly wicked "My Eyes". In addition, he has a repertoire of over 1,000 cover tunes he can play on any given night.
Besides his usual shows featuring his original music and unique covers, this year Jan is going to be primarily focusing on his one-man Celebration of the Beatles, called "Jan Owen's Fab Fouray". As Jan puts it, "Seeing that this is the 40th anniversary of the year the Beatles landed on our shores and effectively changed the course of music and even the world, I want to spend as much of my professional time this year celebrating this, and turning people on to the unbelievably rich and diverse canon of the greatest band in the history of music!"(once again, check his website if you want hear some of the Fabs' tunes he does, or wish to have him perform one of his shows in your area).
In his spare time, he performs close-up magic for his friends, and collects autographs. Jan has an uncanny knack for meeting celebrities - just not being one(yet, that is) and one of his favorite memories would have to be that of sitting in Abbey Road Studios in London, playing "Hey, Jude" on the piano Paul McCartney used to record that famous song.
Jan Owen a Rock ‘n’ Roll Survivor, taking a sad song and making it better.Have you performed in front of an audience?I play all over the Tri-State area. Check my website, www.janowen.com , for the wheres and whens. I'll be a featured performer, sharing the stage with famed DJ Cousin Brucie for a 3-day Rock and Roll Weekend, April 2-4th, at Mohonk Mountain House ( www.mohonk.com )in New Paltz, NY.
Your musical influences
Um, let me see, uh, um, gee, um, I dunno, um, perhaps, The Beatles, maybe? Also Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello and Emitt Rhodes.What equipment do you use?
An Epiphone acoustic/electric, a space-age Danelectro electric, a Strat, a '73 Rick and a ukelele.Contact
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Comments (2)
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Hi, I`m a Rapper & make a mixtape. I like your Style, your Beatz are very TIGHT! Please contact me at (mcadriano@okay.ms)
I pay also for Beatz, Peace!
