Born in the Silicon Valley, Rob Owen moved to the coast as a teenager to get away from the rat race. He found a place in Santa Cruz, CA where he could sit quietly, listen to the waves and write music. He hasn't moved since.
Rob's earliest influences derive from listening to his grandfather sing and play on an old beat up white, upright piano. Rob believes that when he reaches down deep during a performance he is singing with his grandfather's soulful, raspy, baritone voice. "Although I was very young when I knew my grandpa "Bud," he is the one I really resonate with. He was a successful singer, a drummer, a fisherman, and always put his family first." Rob's other vocal influences can be heard in the likes of Ray Lamontagne, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N' Dour and Eddie Vedder. The theme in all of his influences, and probably the most notable trait in his own voice? Passion.
Inspiration and Influence
Singer/songwriter Rob Owen was born amidst the digital boom of the Silicon Valley. As a teenager, Rob left behind the binary noise and fast-paced bustle of "The Valley." He discovered an analog alternative within a creative lifestyle in Santa Cruz, California - where he still lives today.
"I found the area around Santa Cruz to be way more conducive to songwriting," Rob explains. "It was the sound of the ocean ... it was the accumulation of countless blissful days simply staring at the crashing waves that led me to a different dimension in my writing" It was in this new environment that Owen's musical life would evolve from a creative collision of inspiration and influence.
By the age of seventeen Rob began writing and performing around the Bay Area. Since then, he has played many different venues throughout California, including a 2009 Northwest coast tour.
Rob's earliest influences stem from listening to his grandfather sing while playing an old beat-up, out of tune, upright piano. Owen reflects, "When I reach deep down - during a performance - I feel as though I am singing with my grandfather's soulful, raspy, baritone voice." Rob has always felt at one with his grandfather and his musical routes.
For Owen, the essence of creativity is about inspiration and influence. "I find that at the place where inspiration and influence collide, there is an infinite ocean of creativity," he explains. A wide-range of artists, across many genres, was vital to Rob's development as a musician. Rob is not hesitant to point out the effect Ray Lamontagne, Peter Gabriel and Eddie Vedder has had on him as a singer and songwriter.
If you ask Rob where he gets his musical inspiration from - things become much more personal. His grandfather, the love of his family, and the joys of simply being alive are what stir his muses. Owen has been a witness to many personal tragedies over the years - but none that he did not end up transforming into fuel for his passion in music and life. "After experiencing a few brushes with my own mortality, I've come to appreciate the simple things in life, sometimes they can be the most profound." Rob's lyrics dance between experience and reflection but always grounded in love, sorrow, transformation, and joy.
Rob has been recognized by national magazines, newspapers, independent record labels, as well as radio and television. Rob's recent accomplishments include having his compositions aired on MTV's Real World, a number one song critique in the June 2010 issue of Music Connection Magazine. A few months later, Rob followed that critique up with the top Music Critique of 2010 within the year-end issue of Music Connection Magazine.
Owen has also been nominated as "Best Adult Alternative Artist" by the ISSA, as well as a "Top Five Vocalist" in the Songwriter of the Month competition on SingerUniverse.com. Owen's music has appeared on Yamaha's Cubase DVD and earned exceptional reviews in The Santa Cruz Sentinel and The San Francisco Voice.
In 2010, Rob released a five song EP entitled, Common Ground. Along with the single "Clear Day in July" Common Ground has helped the music industry take note of Owen's wide market appeal and talent as both a singer and songwriter.
Rob has a new single slated to be released in early 2012 entitled, "Another Breath." He describes the song as an intimate examination of the time he spends away from his love - his wife - and how he suffers until the time he can get back home to her.
Even though there really isn't much geographical distance between the cold binary world of Silicon Valley and the warm and peaceful analog world of Santa Cruz - to Rob, they are a billion light years away. Rob Owen's creative collision of inspiration and influence has been his own Big Bang. His musical universe will surely continue to expand into 2012 and beyond.