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 commemorativesingles release, Hit Factory 1993-1996 was issued during Christmas 1997, and this remained to be the sole full-lengther from the band until 2014's 'Choose Life.'

Owen went on hiatus atthis point for the next twelve years. Ryerson worked with Stan V. Antone in several bands duringthat 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 yearanniversary 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 hope that a whole new generation of fans will appreciate the song and make it a genuinemassive world-wide hit. The band plan to reform with the 1996 line-up with the addition of rhythmguitarist Stan V. Antone and play select shows based on demand.

The 1995 vinyl 7" is nowavailable again for $10 (including postage) by dropping Tom Ryerson an email at tomryerson@hotmail.com