Let’s Talk Punk with The Owen Guns
Interview By Lisa-PunkrPrincess
Punk Globe: Hi guys thanks for chatting with us. Can you give us a brief band history?
Sean – Me and a mate (Checky – ex Toe to Toe/One Dollar Short) started toying with the idea of recording some covers a few years back. The demo recordings we did weren’t shit, so we tried doing a few originals and they also turned out not shit. Checky wasn’t able to commit to playing live due to living way down the south coast of NSW, so I grabbed Martin (Bass), Ma Tu (drums) and Luke (guitar). we recorded two Eps, Violating Community Standards (2020) and Ep:2 Electric boogaloo (2021) and then Mark replaced Luke on Guitar and we released our masterpiece full length Dawn of the Braindead in Sept 2022
Punk Globe: Can you tell us your music-making process?
Sean – A bit of a mixed bag. One of us will send a riff or song idea to our whatsapp group and then we will get together and work it out in rehearsal…or I will try and play something on kazoo and the other poor bastards have to figure out what I’m crapping on about. Everyone contributes ideas.
Martin – Humming, whistling, and most importantly how things sound with the imaginary kazoo
Punk Globe: Describe your local music scene.
Owen Guns Sean: Some really great people and top-notch bands you’ve never heard of. The NSW punk scene has some brilliant bands if you sift through the shit.
Punk Globe: How often do you play shows/tours?
Owen Guns Sean: We play Wollongong and Sydney a fair bit, recently we did our first interstate trips to Brisbane and Melbourne and we didn’t die so that’s a plus.
Punk Globe: What obstacles have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Sean – We are split across the State – Ma Tu is in Sydney, I’m in Wollongong, Mark is in Sussex Inlet and Martin is in Milton. That’s about a 3 and a half hour drive between us and that means we don’t get to practice as often as we like, and mid week shows are near impossible with work commitments. But we manage. whatsapp has made it way easier cos we can send riffs back and forth. Being a bit shit hasn’t helped but in spite of that we are still around.
Punk Globe: Who are some of your favorite indie bands?
Owen Guns:
Martin – Warthog, Gee Tees, Head Lice, Beefweek, VeeBees, Neptune Power federation
Ma tu – Joy Division, Yeah yeah yeahs, The Cure, the Strokes
Mark – The Dark Clouds, Neptune Power Federation, The Stripp, Aust Beefweek show
Sean – Too many to name and it changes every week.
Punk Globe: If you could share 1 piece of advice to a fellow musician what would you say?
Owen Guns:
Martin – Don’t take too much notice of other musicians.
Mark – Buy a tuner
Sean – make music on your own terms so even if it’s not “successful” you can still enjoy it. stop giving a shit what other people think – they’re probably arseholes.
Punk Globe: Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music?
Owen Guns:
Ma Tu – Fishing and Drinking
Sean – Kayak fishing, trolling racists and Homophobes on Facebook
Martin – Surfing, breathing, and eating.
Punk Globe: Are your families musical?
Owen Guns:
Mark – no
Sean – Fuck no
Ma Tu – No. My Grandma tried but it didn’t work
Punk Globe: Tell us your dream show or tour
Owen Guns:
Martin – A euro tour with all Australian independent acts
Mark – Anything as long as we have a bus
Sean – every show is a dream show when you’re as old and shit as me – why do they keep letting me do this??
Punk Globe: Do you get nervous before a performance?
Owen Guns:
Mark – Yes
Ma Tu – I get nervous before the show
Martin – Not anymore.
Sean – No…weirdly I have no issue getting on stage and making a dick of myself. I only worry about people showing up and things running smoothly. the actual performance never stresses me
Punk Globe: Any upcoming shows you want us to know about?
Owen Guns: Got some Sydney, Woy Woy and Newcastle shows coming up. go to our fb page for details
Punk Globe: Any shout-outs you like to give?
Owen Guns: Yeah..our favorite venues – the Link and Pin, the Mosh Pit, and Diamond Dogs Music lounge, our label OuttaSpace presents, most of the bands we’ve played with (not the shit ones), and everyone who comes to see us or buys our shit
Punk Globe: Where can we find band info and music?
Owen Guns: We are on most streaming services
you can get our merch and music on Bandcamp
https://theowenguns.bandcamp.com/
and find us on Facebook and Instagram by searching the Owen Guns
Punk Globe: Thanks so much for chatting with us and thanks to all the readers.
Owen Guns: rock and/or roll!
