The Music of NoCo: Brian Owens

Though he lives right here in Ferguson, Brian Owens is quickly building a name for himself on the national music scene. Known for his soulful take on jazz classics, the 2008 UMSL Music graduate has appeared on Good Morning America, The Wayne Brady Show and BET’s Jazz Discovery, and this fall, he’s launching a 15-city tour to promote his latest album. Here’s what NOCO contributor Beth von Behren recently learned about this very talented local musician…

If you get the chance to see Brian Owens in person, on one of the rare occasions when he performs in St. Louis, you might be tempted to describe him as a jazz singer.  If you talk to Owens, however, he describes himself as a soul singer.  And if you ask him to define what that is, he’ll tell you to put on some Sam Cooke, sit back and listen, and you’ll know.

Owens is the youngest of Thomas and Roberta Owens’ three children.  He grew up in Centerville and attended Belleville West High School, where music teacher Sharon Carter was an early influence.  He went to Milliken University for a couple of years before dropping out to join the Air Force, where he ended up spending three years as a lead vocalist with the Air Force Band of Mid-America.

Owens grew up in a musical household.  There was gospel music, blues, and jazz, but he also heard rock, big band music, and country.  And there was a lot of 60s soul music being played in the Owens’ home.  He cites Cooke, Otis Redding, Bill Withers, Lou Rawls, and Sam and Dave as big influences, but when you hear him sing, it’s Marvin Gaye and Nat King Cole that come to mind.

Owens’ father Thomas had his own musical career that he walked away from when he married his wife and started to raise a family, a career that Brian really didn’t know much about until his own career took off.  One day after Brian was living on his own, his father picked up Brian’s guitar and started playing it and singing.  “Dude,” Brian remembers saying.  “Why didn’t you teach me any of this stuff?”

“He does everything by ear,” Brian says of his father. “He seriously could have had a very successful musical career, but he chose other things…faith, family.”  And when you see father and son perform together at the end of Brian’s December 2009 concert at the Sheldon (available on DVD from Southern Roots Records), you tend to believe it.

Owens spent a lot of his youth at church, singing in the choir at the Centerville Church of Christ, where his family were active members.  “I was nurtured with good music, acapella music, gospel singing,” he says.  He admits to sneaking in some Snoop Dog during his teen years, but it’s the memory of hearing Nat King Cole at the age of 13 that still resonates with him today.  “It was like, wow.”

Owens is a serious young man.  At 30, he is married to Amanda, who teaches music in the Jennings School District, and they have two children under the age of two.  He and his wife have settled in Ferguson, where they are active in their new church, Ferguson Heights Church of Christ.

He’s committed to his family, his church, and his music. He calls himself “grounded.”  When talking to Owens, the conversation loops back to Sam Cooke again and again.  Cooke is his musical hero, but he’s more than that.  “He’s like a blueprint,” Owens said.  “As an artist, as a business owner, he was just a huge influence.”

Soul man, jazz singer, family man, artist, and businessman with a website…Owens is ready for the next big thing.  His Midwest tour, which kicks off in the fall, will visit 15 cities, on the first leg of an extended tour that will then travel to the west coast. “I think it’s gonna be a good year,” he says.  Indeed.

To see Brian Owens in action, check out this clip from the Sheldon. You can also listen to his original music here.

___________________________________________________________

Beth von Behren is the Public Information Officer for the City of Kirkwood. She grew up in North County and is a Normandy HS alum. She is writing her Great American Novel and invites you to read her blog at http://bethstake.blogspot.com.

Share this NOCO post...