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 yet released before. (Even the version of Slacker Anthem is different; we featured the extended DAT edition 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. The Songs: 1) Has to be (Studio Demo) - 4:27 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) - Studio recording January 23 1995 at The Beehive, Ingersoll, ON, produced by Bob Brown. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar, Bob Brown – electric guitar & drum programming. This song has never been released before in any form, and on this CD we offer 3 exclusive versions! 2) Slacker Anthem (Extended) - 4:44 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) - Studio recording February 1995 at The Beehive, Ingersoll, ON, produced by Bob Brown. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar, Bob Brown – electric guitar & Rob Varro – drums. To keep the song at a 7” length, we faded the original out at 4:10, but now you have the whole enchilada. 3) A Part of you (Change) – 4:53 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Live recording July 24 1995 at CKMS campus studios, Waterloo, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. One of the four songs recorded that day, the first tune, ‘Guilty’ has appeared on a previous CD (Fancy Dancers) so we haven’t included it here. 4) Stoned – 4:20 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Live recording July 24 1995 at CKMS campus studios, Waterloo, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. This was the B-Side to Slacker Anthem. 5) Tomato – 4:03 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Live recording July 24 1995 at CKMS campus studios, Waterloo, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. This song is still played to the current day by the Fancy Dancers and the Absolute Beginners. 6) Has to be - 5:13 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording January 15 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. The next four songs on this CD were part of a 5 song demo for producer Bob L. Brown. The fifth song was ‘Stoned’, and doesn’t differ that much from the track 4 version. Bob picked Has to be, Stoned and Slacker Anthem for the single. In hindsight I think he thought that Mary’s Baby and Link were too dark. (These songs should be re-visited) 7) Slacker Anthem - 3:58 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording January 15 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. Compare this to the studio version; I’m a much more confident singer here. 8) Mary’s Baby - 4:03 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording January 15 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. A very underrated song, after we cut the single, Mary’s Baby was dropped from the set-list, which was a crime, as this is one strong tune. 9) Link - 3:24 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording January 15 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. Another underrated song that was brought back with Living in Fear in 2001, and was included in the set-lists of both the Fancy Dancers and the Absolute Beginners. A different recording appears on the extended version of the ‘I was never your age’ CD by the Fancy Dancers. 10) Swinging from a willow tree - 5:19 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording March 19 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. We never played this song again after the demo was cut. 11) It’s a beautiful day (Choose Life) - 4:58 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording March 19 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. We never played this song again after the demo was cut. 12) Cat Calls - 3:50 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording March 19 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. This was kept on the set-list until the fall of 1995. 13) The type of guy that I am - 4:00 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) – Demo recording March 19 1995 at the Slumlord Room, Woodstock, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar. I had a lot of fun recording this demo, although it’s not really who I am; heavily influenced by Moe Berg from The Pursuit of Happiness. It was kept on the set-list until the fall of 1995. 14) Ask for more – 4:27 – (D. Hainer/T. Ryerson) – Recorded live May 20 1996 at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Doug Hainer – guitar, Andrew Hainer – bass & Steve Wright – drums. This was the second life of Owen, from acoustic duo to full rock and roll band. I had a blast until things got out of control. I’d like to think these days I could keep a lid on it. I worked with a talented bunch of guys. The next four songs represent Owen in 1996. 15) Par for the course – 3:24 – (S. Wright/T. Ryerson) – Recorded live May 20 1996 at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Doug Hainer – guitar, Andrew Hainer – bass & Steve Wright – drums. Love these very personal songs, great to hear them again. 16) Special Friend – 4:58 – (D. Hainer/T. Ryerson) – Recorded live May 20 1996 at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Doug Hainer – guitar, Andrew Hainer – bass & Steve Wright – drums. Mistakes were made on the recording; who cares! This was a night I’ll always remember for many different reasons. 17) Armageddon Blues – 5:02 – (A. Hainer/T. Ryerson) – Recorded live May 20 1996 at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Doug Hainer – guitar, Andrew Hainer – bass & Steve Wright – drums. Man, I have such a dark sense of humor, and so did the rest of the band, which really helped in writing and playing live! 18) Has to be - 4:13 (T. Ryerson & J. Chambers) - Studio recording February 1995 at The Beehive, Ingersoll, ON, produced by Bob Brown. Tom Ryerson – vocals, Jeremy Chambers – acoustic guitar, Bob Brown – electric guitar & Rob Varro – drums. It was this or ‘Stoned’ for the B-side of Slacker Anthem, and I voted for Stoned. This song sat in the can for 19 years, it’s finally free!