Gary Owen's Blog

The Peppermint Rainbow were a Baltimore, Maryland based band who were- essentially- discovered by Cass Elliot of The Mamas & Papas fame. This sunshine pop unit had a hit with their second single "Will You Be Staying After Sunday " which reached #32 in 1969. The LP of the same name bubbled under at #106. The song seems to be the only one listeners may recall today. For me, it's their first single " Walking In Different Circles" which caught my ear. Strangely, this potential hit never made the charts at all. Produced by Paul Leka- the same guy who produced The Lemon Pipers of "Green Tambourine" fame- they were also given the same original backing track of "GT" and added their vocals. It was released as another single but missed the charts as well. Like so many bands of that era, The Peppermint Rainbow disbanded in 1970. Click here for " Walking In Different Circles " Click here for " Green Tambourine "

Even if it does carry some melancholic memories for me, here is my favorite Arlo tune. "Gabriel's Mother's Hiway Ballad #16 Blues" hails from Guthrie's cozy 1970 LP "Washington County" . It was also released as the "B" side of the single "Valley To Pray" . I love the entire feel of this recording and it has helped me through some rough times. Some songs have that ability. My favorite part is at 4:47 when he sings "To make a Heaven out of this Earth" . Perfect. Then, of course, there are the eerie strings helping this ethereal song gently glide along. Wonderful. This is one of those tunes I listen to after everyone has gone home at the end of Summer. Come on children, come on........ "Washington County" (1970) :

Always enjoy a good busy weekend of gigging. Friday was a cozy set at Jimmy Maxx, Saturday at W's (great crowd), Sunday was a private party in New Jersey (fellow Monkees fan so we know where that one went), and- today at the nursing home- to celebrate the "February Birthdays" . I was given a blue balloon for being born on Groundhog day.

Here is a piece of video I took during my drive cross country in 1996. The highway is I-40 West, towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. Had some fun with the audio / visual so it would resemble an old super 8 film and a vintage monophonic AM radio.   The song is "Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque" by The Partridge Family (1970). Click here for "Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque"

A blast from the mullet-era-stage-frightened past.

A while back, I created a 43 track compilation of Bob Dylan covers by various artists. I tried to keep it as chronological as possible but a few tunes just needed to be side by side. This collection makes for a wonderful soundtrack to a drive to nowhere. One of my favorite pastimes is to get in the car, press play and go. "Songs By Bob Dylan" - Various Artists Disc 1: 1. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Peter, Paul & Mary (1963) 2. Farewell - Judy Collins (1963) 3. The Times They Are-A-Changin' - The Seekers (1965) 4. It Ain't Me Babe - The Turtles (1965)  5. Close The Door Gently - The Silkie (1966) 6. She Belongs To Me - Barry McGuire (1965) 7. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Them (1966) 8. Like A Rolling Stone - The Young Rascals (1966) 9. One Too Many Mornings - The Beau Brummels (1966) 10. Mr. Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man) - The Grass Roots (1966) 11. Boots Of Spanish Leather - Joan Baez (1968) 12. You Ain't Going Nowhere (

Ah yes. That eternal battle of which format is superior......... IMHO, it depends on the song itself. Something which requires a ton of overdubs usually breathes better in stereo but so many tunes come to life in monophonic. A prime example being the 1966 single "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles (oh no... not those guys, again). We'll get to that in a moment...... In the 1960's, walking into a record shop and having the choice of either format was routine. Most kids bought the mono recordings because: 1. Most 45's were in monophonic so they had no choice. 2. Their playback equipment wasn't exactly of the highest quality and only had one speaker. 3. Mono LP's were usually a dollar cheaper than the "posh" stereo pressings. Since monophonic was the norm, The Beatles were more concerned with these mixes. They rarely attended stereo mixing sessions which would usually be completed within an hour or so. These said stereo ve

"Puppet Man"  by Pop/Soul band The Fifth Dimension hails from their 1970 LP "Portrait"   (reached #20). I love the impressionist artwork on the front jacket. The single of "Puppet Man" reached #24 on Billboard. It's all so "1970".....and groovy, indeed. :) Click here for "Puppet Man"

Friday and Saturday were the usual cozy gigs at Jimmy Maxx and Veranda. Always a good time at these venues. Sunday night was amazing at the Starting Point in Bayonne, NJ. From start to finish, the place was mobbed with screaming, whistling, happy faces who requested and sang along with all the tunes. The volume was up and I wound up staying for an extra 1 1/2 hours. No complaints from me. It was a wonderful weekend, indeed. :)

For those who are unaware, it seems the market has been flooded with homemade copies of the following box sets: 1. The Beatles Stereo Box: 2. The Beatles In Mono Box: 3. The Beatles U.S. Albums: There is also the Japan Box  but I have not heard of any fakes yet (I am sure it's only a matter of time): I have seen a counterfeit  "U.S. Albums" and it's pathetic. The covers were all off center, the CD's looked like garbage, no inner sleeves, the gatefold albums were a disaster and the sticker with the "Yesterday...And Today" trunk cover was separate from the CD. What made it worse is the thing was obviously hand-cut with scissors. Ridiculous. Sad that so many people would/will never notice. The first of the  red lights  are the third party people selling these at discount prices. If you are looking for that bargain through these offers, send the seller an inquiry asking if the set is legitimate and to provide photos. This

By 1968, The Monkees TV show was winding down and the band began filming their first and only full length feature film "Head" . They had also abandoned the "group unity" approach to recording and resorted back to the early days of having session players lay down the recording tracks. This time, it would be under their own direction. Every so often they would add guitars and such but- essentially- they slipped back to being the same fake studio band they were in 1966. back then, this was common practice for many units but The Monkees are always the guys who get the short end of the stick with all that. The basic tracks for "If I Ever Get To Saginaw Again" were recorded in March, 1968 and remained unfinished until January and March of the following year when strings and a new electric lead guitar were added. Michael Nesmith was then ushered in to sing the lead vocal. The reason behind all this activity was that Glenn Campbell had been doing rather well w

My repertoire consists mainly of music from the 1960's-1970's. This has always been my favorite era. This list is constantly being updated. Click here for my repertoire page: Gary Owen's Repertoire

This past October, I spent a wonderful weekend performing at the Beatles festival high up in the ski-resort town of Beitostølen, Norway. This was a big departure from the likes of Beatlefest and Abbey Road On The River as it's much smaller and personal. Met many nice people like Terje- the person running the convention- and was given the chance to sit down with renowned Beatles author Mark Lewishon. Some interesting Beatles-related tidbits were discussed over a nice dinner. Ola Furu- a Beatles record collector- was displaying his collection. He specializes in all the UK pressings of the "Please Please Me" LP and had about forty copies showcased! He also had all the uniquely compiled Norwegian 45's which command a hefty sum these days. Scandinavian pressings- especially Norwegian- are not common at all. I was given the chance to really unload on some of the more obscure material that nobody performs. That was a major rush for me as anything interesting and different

Here's a gem of an album by one of my all time favorite female singers. In 1968, The Mamas & Papas had broken up and Cass Elliot embarked on a rather successful solo career. "Bubble Gum, Lemonade & Something For Mama" was her second LP (reached #91). Dunhill Records kept all four members under contract as they still owed the company one more album as a unit- but that's a story for another time. The album was released in July, 1969 but when the single "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" became a hit, it was added to the collection- and in December, 1969- was reissued as "Make Your Own Kind Of Music / It's Getting Better" (reached #169) . For years, I had been searching for the album on CD. It seems it was only released in Japan and cost stupid $$$. It had since gone out of print and commanded even more of said cash. Finally, it was recently reissued (Japan again) but at a very reasonable price. My copy just arrived today and shall rep

Released in the USA as a Dave Clark Five single, this version of Neil Young's "Southern Man" is actually by the group which morphed out of that band called "Dave Clark & Friends". This incarnation featured Dave Clark and lead singer Mike Smith with session players (they were a studio band only). The DC5 disbanded in mid-1970. When the record came out in January, 1971, it was met with muted silence. The DC5 had not charted in the USA since 1968 and were pretty much yesterday's soup. Even the use of the familiar band name didn't help sales. Because of this, the yellow label stock copy seen below (which is a scan of my 45) is not very common and mint copies can sometimes command a good chunk of change. Do I think Mike Smith sings the heck out of the song? Yes. Do I think he sings it better than Neil Young? Absolutely. So, here you go. A rare recording of "Southern Man" by The Dave Clark Five ("Dave Clark & Friends").

Ya gotta love this type of stuff. My parents were huge fans of popular music from the 19th century through the 1970's. The amount of songs they knew was amazing. They grew up during the pre-television decades listening radio broadcasts and watching movies in theaters. They get full credit for introducing my brothers and I to popular music. Anyway, here's one I know they would love. Mom and Dad were fanatical about harmonies and this performance of the classic Tin Pan Alley tune "Hello My Baby"  (written in 1899) would most certainly knock their socks off. "A Capella Trudbol" is a guy who records his versions of songs via the Internet (he's handling the bass and lead here). He is a versatile singer from Belgium who hooks up with people from all over the globe and harmonizes with them. I believe the other guy is from France. How cool is that? I'm just hoping there's no subtle use of auto tune in there....... My favorite section is that last

One of my favorite pastimes is performing tribute shows. The band I am a part of- The Blue Meanies- have done a few interesting performances of this type. We've done Monkees, Kinks, CCR, British Invasion and obligatory Beatles tributes. Sometimes we'll do an entire album by whichever artist we choose. For Abbey Road On The River 2011, we performed the entire "Ringo" album- including the non-LP "B" side "Down And Out" . Click on the links to hear "Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On)" and "Down And Out" from that show: Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On) Down And Out

People ask me which guitar is my favorite. It's hard to narrow it all down to one but I can give a quick overview of what I prefer. I have always been a fan of what I like to refer to as "The Three G's". These are Gretsch , Guild and Gibson . I used to own a 1969 Gibson SG but have since sold it. Not a big fan of solid body electrics much but that was a great instrument. Learned many-a-riff on it. I am also big fan of Rickenbacker 12-string electrics but their infamous "R" tailpieces are a nightmare. Some great and influential sounds have come from that fleet. My favorite electric guitar is the Gretsch Viking . I own one built at the old Gretsch Factory in Brooklyn, NY in August, 1967. This semi-hollow body is actually based on the Gibson ES 335 but with more gadgetry. As a rhythm guitarist, the low end open chords fill the room and help chug the performances along (I only use it with band gigs and recordings). In 2009, I bought a double-cutaway 2008

A fun weekend of gigging. Friday was a wonderful gathering of friends at Simmy & Hal's Groovy Winter Festival. One of those cozy "set me up in your living or dining room" shows. A few people brought their guitars and others took over vocal duties on various songs. Wound up staying later than planned which always makes for a good time. Saturday was Joyce's Tavern. Some of Friday's attendees were on hand and the place was aglow with happy faces. One thing is for sure, I never get tired of performing for a room full of Beatles fans.

My first trip to Scandinavia was in February, 2000. I spent an entire month gigging in Copenhagen, Denmark. The info for this gig was given to me by my fellow musician friend Will Hoppey who was brave enough to take that first step towards something so vast and unknown.  Anyway, this month marks 15 years since my first tour and I thought I'd use this post to thank all the good people of Scandinavia- especially Norway- for making my time there wonderful. I always feel welcome and thoroughly enjoy performing for you all. Here is a gorgeous tune by Norwegian band "The Hellbillies" titled "Den Finast Eg Veit" ('The Finest I Know'). Tusen takk, Scandinavia.

I wrote "Let's Remember Yesterday" in 1991. The lyrics refer to my leaving Wall Street (Feb. 1990) and forging forward as a musician. What I am stating is that I just couldn't do the "safe" 9-5 routine. Mom and Dad were concerned- and whenever I would visit from Pennsylvania- they would greet me with a sarcastic "welcome back to the real world, son" . It was only because they cared and would worry for my well being. Mom and Dad were wonderful and are greatly missed today. "Autumn" (1995) Click here to listen: Let's Remember Yesterday

The melody for "Summer Dream" was written in 1998 while the lyrics were added in 2004. The song describes a surreal sojourn through a colorful late-night Summer siesta.  "Summer" (2006) Click here to listen: Summer Dream CD's and downloads available at: CD Baby Amazon

One of the biggest selling CD's in history is The Beatles album "1" (released in 2000). This is a compilation of number one hits from the US and UK respectively. Essentially, this collection expanded upon and replaced the October, 1982 album "20 Greatest Hits". Certain tracks were not released as singles in the UK and various tracks did not reach #1 in either country. This resulted in a few anomalies on both the American and British versions of the "20 Greatest Hits" album. The Australian pressing went a step further by adding a three song EP to the LP which was titled "23 Number Ones". I love this kind of stuff, ya know. :) Anyway, I have created a unique version of "1" based on the number one hits in Norway. Unlike the official pressing of the album, I have utilized the correct monophonic 45 mixes for everything applicable (19 of the 21 tracks). Makes for a superior listening experience along with some strange and interest