Jan plays his original, "Surprise, Surprise" on live TV - no backup, no soundcheck, no roadie (hence the delay in his start - the amp they plugged him into was off). Jan was the only one to play a new, original song on the entire show.
Here's a cool video made for the movie, "The Host" that I wrote with Nick Braccia and performed.
Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Todd Rundgren, Brian Wilson (NOT Mike Love), Rolling Stones, Emitt Rhodes, Ron Sexsmith, Ray Davies & Kinks, Roy Orbison, Tim Hardin, Ronnie Spector, Larry Kirwan & Black 47, Beck
Sounds Like
I originally put down who I thought Jan sounded like, but he since told me the following: "Me. But my voice is an amalgam of my many influences. People have said I can sound exactly like: All 4 Beatles, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Donovan, and others. That's cool."
Selected
Career Highlights
~ Wrote the music and performed three jingles for the Starburst Chillin' for a Million
~ ATV radio jingle played for over a decade on NYC area stations
~ Appearing on the Variety - The Children's Charity Telethon 2005 & 2006, PAX-TV, with Bruce Morrow and a stageful of great talent like Darlene Love, Neil Sedaka, and Gary US Bonds.
~ Performing at the 2005 & 2006 Semana de Beatles, at The Cavern - Buenos Aires, Argentina
~ Performed at Strawberry Fields for Jornal de Record, Brazil TV
~ Performed at Strawberry Fields for Ken Dashow, Q104.3 FMbr>
~ Interviewed by DJ Jimmy Fink and performed three songs live on 92.3 K-Rock, NYC
Appeared With:
Ben Taylor, Sonya Kitchell, Garland Jeffreys, Michelle Shocked, Pete Best, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Gary U.S. Bonds, Neil Sedaka, Michael Bolton, Darlene Love, The Spencer Davis Group, Badfinger, Andrea Marcovicci, Meatloaf, Andy Kaufman, Aztec 2-step, Robert Gordon, Melanie, Robert Klein, Don Imus, The Drifters, The Platters, The Coasters, The Shirelles, Lenny Welch, The Chiffons, The Crystals
Venues:
Cavern Club - back room main stage and front room - Liverpool, UK | Cavern Club - Buenos Aires, Argentina | The Cutting Room - NYC, NY | PAX-TV Variety Telethon | Mohonk Mountain House - New Paltz, NY | CBGBs - NYC, NY | The Cutting Room - NYC, NY | The Baggot Inn - NYC, NY | Kenny's Castaways - NYC, NY | The Joyous Lake - Woodstock, NY | Stevens Inst. of Technology - NJ | Croton Reservoir Tavern, NY | Coffee.Comedy - Sea Isle City, NJ | The Ritz - NYC | The Bitter End - NYC | The Improv - NYC | Woodstock '97 - Bethel, NY | Jigg's Corner, Butler, NJ | MD Benefit - Syracuse, NY | Hidden Valley Ski Resort - NJ | Mickey's Blue Room - NYC | The Town Crier - NY | The Turning Point - NY | The Blue Note - NYC | Kenny's Castaways - NYC | The Other End - NYC | The Crystal Palace - NJ -- just to name a few
Born and raised on Long Island, NY, Jan Britten Owen knew he wanted to become a musician after seeing The Beatles on the "Ed Sullivan Show," and spent his teenage years performing with his first band in a local exotic dancer lounge. (The gig with the topless dancers ended when a TV repairman came to his family's house and recognized him in front of his Dad.)
Jan's talent has taken him around the world: August 2008 marked his 5th invited return to perform at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, for International BeatleWeek festival and in November, he'll return for the 4th time to perform at The Cavern in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they nicknamed him, "El Maestro - the Teacher, the Master!"
Listen to his CDs and hear why Jimmy Fink of NY's 107.1 The Peak (formerly of 92.3 K-Rock), calls Jan "an artist in his own right!"
Jan has performed at over 45 colleges and universities in 27 states, from NYC to LA. The NEC Contemporary Reports artist rating (polling colleges nationwide) gave him five stars - the highest - in most categories, and rated him as "highly recommended!" He has played to packed crowds at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, The Cavern in Buenos Aires, The Copa, The Bitter End, The Improv, The Ritz, Kenny's Castaways, The Cutting Room, Coda - all in NYC - and countless others.
And while Jan only briefly played for Paul McCartney - an amazing story he'll tell if you ask him - he has had run-ins with other artists... like the time he was playing a gig and decided to sing "Come Go With Me" by the Del Vikings, a song that John Lennon sang at the Woolten Fete. A gentleman came up to him and said, "You did a great rendition of 'Come Go with Me', and I should know." Jan replied, "Thanks, but what do you mean by you should know?" The gentleman responded by saying, "Because I sang lead on the original recording with the Del Vikings. I'm Norman Wright." And just recently, after performing "No Matter What" in Liverpool, Joey Molland of Badfinger told Jan, "Great job on 'No Matter What' mate! You more than did justice to it!"
You may not have heard of Jan or his music. That's because Jan's a rare bird, who has never, in the 23 years that I've known him and seen him play, caved into the pressure to be whatever was hot at the moment. I could go on with a dozen stories of agents, managers, producers wanting to sign Jan and change him, but he never took the bait. I always thought he was nuts, but now I see he's just got a lot of that thing called "Integrity."
I'm happy to make this site for Jan and happy to answer any and all questions or suggestions you may have for this space.
Wendy the Webmistress
Read what they're saying about Jan Britten Owen
"Man, where have you been hiding? Jan, you've got a gift, a real gift!" -- Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, legendary radio personality
"You're good! Very good!" -- Sid Bernstein, promoter who brought the Beatles to Shea Stadium and Carnegie Hall; manager of The Rascals, and many others
"Did I say that? You're more than good. You're incredible!" -- Sid Bernstein, redux
"Jan, you are El Maestro! - The Teacher, The Master!" -- The owners of The Cavern, Buenos Aires, Argentina
"We should have him sing with us next time!" -- Ringo Starr during CBS Morning show, 2005.
"You did a great performance! I didn't even know it was you because I was in one of the booths with my back to you and facing the audience. I finally got up to take a look. You had the audience spellbound, and it was great to hear the way you filled in for all the instrumental parts ... particularly 'A Day in the Life,' which may be my favorite Beatles song" -- Black 47 leader, and novelist, Larry Kirwan
"Great job on 'No Matter What' mate! You more than did it justice!" -- Joey Molland, Badfinger
"You were wonderful! At one point, while you were singing, I wanted to come up to the stage and say, 'Jan, you passed the audition!'" -- Alan Williams, original owner of the Jacaranda, who booked The Beatles at some of their first gigs, and brought them to Hamburg.
"You've got a great voice!" -- Stanley Tucci, actor
"Cool stuff, Chief!" -- Matt Dillon, actor
"Gee, you're real good!" -- Ron Howard, producer, director, actor and former resident of Mayberry
"I've never heard a voice like that before . . . Not only does Jan Owen do great covers, but he's an artist in his own right!" -- Jimmy Fink, New York DJ, 107.1 The Peak, formerly of 92.3 KRock, NYC
"I caught your act! You're really good, man!" -- Gary U.S. Bonds, Rock 'n' Roll pioneer
"Jan and his music ... works great live! It's so reflective of the great 60's and 70's Beatles and Costello era and is 'hooky' and melodic ... Jan's a solid singer!" -- Valerie Main, A&R, Sparks Entertainment
"I enjoyed listening to your songs. I didn't know ... that I was talking to such a talented guy!" -- Pete Best, original Beatles drummer
"Jan Owen not only covers the Beatles to perfection, but his own compositions are laced with the greatness that made the Fab Four fab!" -- Pat Matthews, host of Beatles-A-Rama
I added "No One Wants to be the One" as the song for my MySpace page. You know it's always been one of my favorites! Remember when you were playing at the Arab Bar in White Plains, and I made you play it twice! That place was a trip... You've come a long way from that place.
I was just listening to Marilyn. LOL. How is Marilyn, anyway? Remember the DMI days when you were stuck in the back building with "Marilyn, Marilyn, what ya doing to my heart?" LOL... Those were the days...
Hi Jan - it's good to know you. I keep hitting your web page so I can listen to all the great covers of my favorite songs and all your fantastic originals. I'd like it even better if we got together and played a few tunes once in a while...
Thanks for checking out my page and for the great comments and encouragement.
Hello Jan,
Thank you for the add request,
It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance and listen to your very nice voice & music,
we're quite pleased to be a little part of your world now!
All the best to you and your musical endeavors,
Cheers,
~ABR
