WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.379 Welcome to another Deep Dive. We're incredibly 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:05.280 thrilled to have you with us today. Absolutely. 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:07.419 Glad to be here. If you are the kind of person 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:09.820 who constantly finds yourself peering behind 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:11.800 the curtain of the music industry... Looking 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.300 past the lead singers, right? Exactly. Looking 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.739 past the marquee names to figure out how the 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:19.420 actual sonic magic is constructed, you are going 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:21.539 to absolutely love what we're unpacking today. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:23.940 It's a really special one. We are looking at 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:27.460 the life, the career, and the truly staggering 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:31.079 musical footprint of Randolph Isaiah Owens. Known 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:34.759 universally as Ike. Ike Owens. Right. We're talking 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:37.600 about a life that spanned from 1974 to 2014, 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:41.439 just 40 years. Which is tragically short. It 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:44.259 is. But in that brief window, this man essentially 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:46.920 became the hidden architectural support for a 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:49.320 massive chunk of modern music. It is a phenomenal 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:51.719 journey to trace. And when we look at his life 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:54.979 today, Our goal isn't just to rattle off a list 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:57.780 of famous bands. Oh, the list is jaw -dropping. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:01.100 Oh, it's absurd. But our mission today is to 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:04.760 truly map the musical DNA of a man who managed 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:07.519 to connect corners of the music industry that 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.439 normally, uh, they never speak to one another. 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:13.319 Yeah, they're completely siloed. Right. Isaiah 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.299 Ike Owens was the ultimate glue. Whether he was 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:18.859 in a tiny rehearsal space, a multi -million dollar 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:22.040 studio, or on a stadium stage, he didn't just 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:24.379 play the notes on the page. He fundamentally 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:26.560 altered and elevated the chemistry of the music 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.379 itself. Glue is like, that is the perfect way 00:01:29.379 --> 00:01:31.340 to frame it because when you look at his output, 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.280 trying to pin down his specific genre is just 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:36.780 an exercise in futility. You really can't do 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:38.920 it. I was looking through the list of instruments 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:41.620 he mastered in our sources and it just kept going. 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.900 Let's hear it. Keyboards, piano, organs, synthesizers, 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.920 guitar, drums, melodica, clavinet, and an absolute 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.519 spaceship of effects pedals. A literal spaceship, 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:52.260 yeah. And then you cross -reference that hardware 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:54.500 with the genres he actively worked in. Get ready 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.159 for this whiplash. It's a lot. Progressive rock, 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.200 experimental rock, jazz, neo -psychedelia, hip 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:03.819 -hop, dub, electronica, reggae, and ska. It's 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.299 just, it defies logic. I mean, I have to ask 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:08.580 right out of the gate. How is that even possible? 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:11.860 How does a single human brain effortlessly jump 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:15.580 from the upbeat upstrokes of ska straight into 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:18.840 dense progressive rock and then pivot to producing 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.800 underground hip hop? Well, it requires a rare 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:25.080 type of neurological elasticity, musically speaking. 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:27.819 Yeah. Very few people in the history of recorded 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.259 music have managed that kind of breath without 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:32.280 it sounding like, you know, a gimmick. Like a 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:35.159 tourist. Exactly. That's the key to understanding 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.319 Owens. He wasn't a tourist. When he stepped into 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:40.979 a hip hop session, he wasn't a prog rock guy 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:44.340 trying to make a hip hop beat. He fully internalized 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.719 the vocabulary of the genre. He spoke the native 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:49.120 language. He really did. And when you mentioned 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:51.199 that list of instruments, it's not just about 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.120 technical proficiency. Take the clavinet, for 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.219 example. OK. It's an incredibly percussive, funky 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:59.099 keyboard instrument. Think Stevie Wonder's Superstition. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:02.050 Oh, yeah, that iconic opening riff. Right. that 00:03:02.050 --> 00:03:04.129 you have the Melodica, which is a breath -powered 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:06.469 keyboard heavily associated with traditional 00:03:06.469 --> 00:03:08.949 dub reggae. You literally blow into it. Yes. 00:03:09.469 --> 00:03:11.949 So to master those completely different physical 00:03:11.949 --> 00:03:15.610 interfaces means he understood rhythm, breath, 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:18.379 and harmony on a molecular level. That makes 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:20.979 total sense. He's not just pressing keys. He's 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:24.199 learning the absolute soul of each specific instrument. 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:26.719 Precisely. So let's get into the timeline. I 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:28.879 want to start where it all began, which is Long 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.800 Beach, California in the early 1990s. A very 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:34.719 fertile ground. Very. We know from the source 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.039 material he was born on December 1st, 1974, and 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:39.900 the environment he grew up in was practically 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:44.050 a musical incubator. Music was undeniably a family 00:03:44.050 --> 00:03:46.750 affair in the Owens household. He grew up with 00:03:46.750 --> 00:03:49.009 two brothers, both of whom were musicians. Right, 00:03:49.129 --> 00:03:51.490 including Aaron Owens. Yes. Aaron would actually 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:54.270 become a vital creative partner in his early 00:03:54.270 --> 00:03:56.810 career. And when you have that kind of environment 00:03:56.810 --> 00:03:58.569 where instruments are just laying around the 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:01.069 house and collaboration is just the default state 00:04:01.069 --> 00:04:03.990 of your childhood, it completely erases the fear 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:05.729 of playing with other people. I can just picture 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:07.689 the noise level in that house. Oh, it must have 00:04:07.689 --> 00:04:11.020 been deafening. Constant jamming, constant creation. 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:13.479 And naturally, that energy bled right out into 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:15.719 the local scene. If we drop into the Southern 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.680 California music scene in the early to mid 1990s, 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.420 Ike is just everywhere. Ike is a fixture. He 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:24.899 is deeply embedded in the local ska, punk, and 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:27.019 reggae explosion. And for anyone listening who 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:30.639 has even a passing familiarity with 90s alternative 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.660 radio, you are going to recognize the people 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:35.180 he was brushing shoulders with. Absolutely. He 00:04:35.180 --> 00:04:37.839 was a member of or collaborated with groups like 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:41.819 like Real Big Fish, The Aquabats, One Eye Open, 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.540 Slightly Stupid, and The Hippos, yes. These are 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:47.939 the foundational pillars of that massive third 00:04:47.939 --> 00:04:50.300 wave ska and reggae rock movement. The movement 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:53.319 that completely took over MTV and radio during 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:55.560 that decade. It was inescapable. It's incredible 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:57.319 to think about him right in the middle of that, 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.740 being in those specific bands and that specific 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:03.019 geographic location in the 90s. It was kind of 00:05:03.019 --> 00:05:05.019 like being in the Silicon Valley of ska punk, 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:07.600 right? That's a remarkably apt analogy. You had 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:10.420 all these young, hungry musicians constantly 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:13.500 cross -pollinating. A horn player from this band 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.000 would jump on a track for that band. They're 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.360 all playing the same sweaty clubs, competing 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:21.000 but also collaborating. It must have been the 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.930 ultimate training ground. In an environment that's 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:26.709 saturated with talent, the musicians who ultimately 00:05:26.709 --> 00:05:29.329 thrive and outlast the initial trend are the 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:31.790 ones who diversify. Yeah. And Owens was already 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:34.689 doing exactly that. During this era, he and his 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:36.750 brother Aaron formed a band called Pocket Lint. 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:40.230 Right. But even then, at the height of the ska 00:05:40.230 --> 00:05:42.829 craze, they weren't strictly adhering to the 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:45.490 standard formula. They were operating as a funk 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:48.430 reggae jazz fusion group. Funk reggae jazz fusion. 00:05:48.509 --> 00:05:50.579 Like the mouthful. You can already see the chameleon 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:52.519 shedding its skin. He's taking the ska environment 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.339 he's in, but injecting complex jazz chords and 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:57.620 heavy funk grooves into it. They put out their 00:05:57.620 --> 00:06:01.100 first EP in 1994, and it pulled in a very dedicated 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:03.680 cult following locally. And he didn't stop there. 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:06.500 He also performed with the Long Beach Dub All 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:09.399 Stars. Which is huge. Right. That was the group 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:12.480 formed by the surviving members of Sublime after 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:17.160 Bradley Noel passed away. That is basically local 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.019 royalty status. Undeniably. If you are playing 00:06:20.019 --> 00:06:23.600 keys for the Long Beach dub All Stars in the 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.899 late 90s, you have officially made it in that 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:28.420 scene. He was a highly respected figure in that 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:31.680 underground world. But this is where we encounter 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:35.060 one of the most fascinating and bizarre contrasts 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:37.060 of his early life. Oh, I know where you're going 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:39.120 with this. Because despite all this local fame, 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:41.480 despite gigging with legends and releasing music, 00:06:42.060 --> 00:06:44.620 the economic reality of the music industry, especially 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:48.139 in the late 90s underground, was unforgiving. 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:50.399 OK, let's unpack this because when I saw this 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.139 detail in our research, I actually had to read 00:06:52.139 --> 00:06:54.199 it twice. It's pretty wild. Here is a guy who 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.439 is sweating it out behind a keyboard at these 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.720 chaotic high energy ska and punk shows at night. 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:04.000 But by day in 1999, Isaiah Owens had a day job 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.300 at a financial management firm in Huntington 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:08.680 Beach. Yes. And it wasn't just doing data entry. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:11.040 He was working at a firm that handled billion 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.300 dollar accounts for companies like Disney and 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.319 for the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church. 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.120 I mean, it is a surreal juxtaposition. You really 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:20.600 have to visualize the duality of his existence 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:24.339 at that exact moment. By night, he is entirely 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:27.120 immersed in the beautiful, grimy counterculture 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.620 of Long Beach punk and dub reggae. By day, he 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:32.899 is sitting in a sterile Orange County office 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:35.339 building, navigating the financial architecture 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:37.319 of global entertainment conglomerates. Wait, 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:40.029 I have to ask. How does someone even manage that 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:43.009 psychological switch? It's tough to fathom. You're 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:44.889 dealing with billion dollar yield curves for 00:07:44.889 --> 00:07:47.529 Disney at 2 p .m. and then at 10 p .m. you're 00:07:47.529 --> 00:07:50.889 trying to dial in the perfect delay pedal feedback 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:54.029 for a dub reggae set. It feels like two completely 00:07:54.029 --> 00:07:56.310 different universes. It speaks to his intense 00:07:56.310 --> 00:07:59.089 adaptability. Yeah. Which is, you know, the exact 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:01.490 same trait that made him a musical genius. Ah, 00:08:01.750 --> 00:08:04.050 yeah. You could read The Room. He understood 00:08:04.050 --> 00:08:06.550 the rules of the financial firm just as well 00:08:06.550 --> 00:08:08.350 as he understood the rules of a reggae backbeat. 00:08:08.490 --> 00:08:11.670 Code -swishing, basically. Exactly. But as adaptable 00:08:11.670 --> 00:08:13.850 as he was, the corporate world wasn't his final 00:08:13.850 --> 00:08:17.790 destination. In 1999, she lost that job at the 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:20.769 financial firm. And losing a job like that, a 00:08:20.769 --> 00:08:24.389 stable, white -collar gig handling massive accounts. 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:26.959 That usually feels like the end of the world. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.720 For most people, yes. But for Ike, this firing 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:31.600 was actually the spark that ignited everything 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.620 else. The timing is critical here. Losing the 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:37.779 anchor of that day job in 1999 forced a pivot. 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:40.940 It opened his schedule and his mind. right at 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:44.259 the exact moment. A wildly unpredictable opportunity 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:46.659 presented itself. Which brings us to the most 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.240 legendary meet -cute in modern rock history. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:51.799 That's a great story. We know from a tribute 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:54.519 post made years later by Cedric Bixler -Zavala, 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:56.899 the legendary frontman of At the Drive -In and 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:00.379 the Mars Volta, exactly how he and Ike met. And 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:04.019 it is a masterclass in quiet, undeniable confidence. 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:06.500 Set the scene for us. So Cedric is at a party 00:09:06.500 --> 00:09:09.220 in Long Beach and his band was playing. Ike doesn't 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:11.240 walk up and hand them a resume. He doesn't wait 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:13.279 until they finish a song to ask for an audition. 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:16.570 No. He literally just walks up. plugs his keyboard 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:19.289 and his amplifier into the wall and seamlessly 00:09:19.289 --> 00:09:21.590 starts playing along with them. You really have 00:09:21.590 --> 00:09:24.049 to appreciate the sheer audacity of that mode. 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:26.830 It's so bold. If you or I tried to do that, we 00:09:26.830 --> 00:09:29.169 would likely be told to unplug and leave immediately. 00:09:29.309 --> 00:09:31.509 Or thrown out of the house. Right. But Owens 00:09:31.509 --> 00:09:33.309 didn't ask for permission because his ear had 00:09:33.309 --> 00:09:35.350 already told him exactly what the music was missing. 00:09:35.789 --> 00:09:38.269 He heard the sonic space, recognized that his 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:40.149 particular frequency could fill it perfectly, 00:09:40.549 --> 00:09:42.950 and confidently inserted himself into the equation. 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:45.769 Yeah. It takes an overwhelming amount of raw 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:48.289 talent to pull that off without stepping on the 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:50.889 other musician's toes. Exactly. You have to be 00:09:50.889 --> 00:09:53.690 so good that the band immediately goes, oh actually 00:09:53.690 --> 00:09:56.490 keep doing that. And clearly Cedric was blown 00:09:56.490 --> 00:09:59.259 away. Now they had officially crossed paths a 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:02.799 little earlier in 1998 at a gig down in Irvine 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:06.100 when Cedric and guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:08.259 were playing with at the drive -in. So there 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:10.019 was a baseline familiarity there. Yeah, they 00:10:10.019 --> 00:10:12.879 knew of him. But it's in 1999, right after the 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.620 financial firm job banishes, that Cedric and 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:18.759 Omar formally invite Ike to join a side project 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:21.159 they had going called De facto. They brought 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.580 him in to replace a musician named Ralph Jasso. 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:26.679 And it's important to note what de facto was. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.879 This wasn't a post -hardcore rock band like at 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:34.320 the drive -in. No, not at all. This was an experimental, 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:38.019 instrumental dub reggae project. Yeah. And almost 00:10:38.019 --> 00:10:40.879 as soon as Owens joined, the trajectory of the 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.200 band accelerated. He found himself touring Europe 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.580 with Omar, Cedric, and their sound manipulator, 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.830 Jeremy Ward. It's such a wild pivot. Our scup 00:10:50.830 --> 00:10:53.190 punk kid who used to work on Disney's bank accounts 00:10:53.190 --> 00:10:55.750 is now in Europe playing underground dub reggae. 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:58.309 Life comes at you fast. It really does. And I 00:10:58.309 --> 00:11:00.169 really want to focus on de facto sound for a 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:01.990 second because it sets the stage for everything 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:04.570 that comes next. De facto didn't sound like a 00:11:04.570 --> 00:11:07.370 traditional rock band side project. Not in the 00:11:07.370 --> 00:11:10.370 slightest. In a standard rock setup, the guitars 00:11:10.370 --> 00:11:12.929 and the vocals dictate the melody and the direction. 00:11:12.950 --> 00:11:16.269 Right. But in de facto, the traditional hierarchy 00:11:16.269 --> 00:11:19.009 was inverted. The defining characteristics of 00:11:19.009 --> 00:11:21.750 their sound were Jeremy Ward's melodica and vocal 00:11:21.750 --> 00:11:24.769 effects, completely intertwined with Owens' keyboards. 00:11:24.950 --> 00:11:26.690 They were the lead. They were at the absolute 00:11:26.690 --> 00:11:28.929 forefront of the mix. Owens wasn't providing 00:11:28.929 --> 00:11:31.830 background ambiance. His instrument was the primary 00:11:31.830 --> 00:11:34.669 narrative voice of the music. He's the lead guitar, 00:11:34.690 --> 00:11:37.549 essentially, but on keys. They put out three 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:40.269 EPs and a full -length studio album during this 00:11:40.269 --> 00:11:43.049 period. And there's this one specific gig that 00:11:43.049 --> 00:11:45.889 is always whispered about in LA music circles. 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:50.700 The smell. Yes. January 3, 2001, at that legendary 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:53.580 underground venue called The Smell in Los Angeles, 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.100 they recorded it and it was eventually released 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:59.120 as a live DVD. It's a phenomenal document of 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:02.039 that era. If you, as a listener, want to see 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:06.360 pure, unfiltered, 2001 LA underground energy, 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:08.879 you have to track down that footage. That era 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.120 with De Facto is really the crucible. It wasn't 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.740 just about making dub music. It was about building 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:17.190 a profound, unspoken musical trust between Ike, 00:12:17.330 --> 00:12:19.649 Cedric, and Omar. They were learning each other's 00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:21.370 language. They learned how to communicate without 00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:23.429 looking at each other. And that trust became 00:12:23.429 --> 00:12:25.669 the foundational bedrock for what happened next, 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:28.149 because the entire landscape of modern rock was 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:31.009 about to fracture. Oh man, yeah it was. At the 00:12:31.009 --> 00:12:33.570 drive -in, a band that was literally on the precipice 00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:36.590 of generation -defining mainstream success abruptly 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:38.610 imploded and broke up. Just walked away right 00:12:38.610 --> 00:12:40.769 at the peak. It shocked everyone. But Cedric 00:12:40.769 --> 00:12:43.169 and Omar didn't even pause to catch their breath. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.440 From the ashes about the drive -in, they immediately 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:50.100 launch a brand new, vastly more ambitious project. 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:52.620 The Mars Volta. The Mars Volta. And when they 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:54.960 need someone to anchor this wild new vision, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.000 who is the first person they call? Ike Owens. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:00.539 He comes on board as a founding member. In fact, 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:02.539 he became one of the longest tenured members 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:04.919 in the history of that band, playing with them 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:08.820 almost continuously from 2001 all the way until 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:11.750 2010. This is where we need to examine the concept 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:14.250 of controlled chaos, which is how his playing 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:16.830 style during this era is so frequently described 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:19.570 in our sources. Controlled chaos. Yes. The Mars 00:13:19.570 --> 00:13:22.210 Volta was infamous for their live shows. They 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:24.929 were frantic marathon performances featuring 00:13:24.929 --> 00:13:27.909 blistering tempos, erratic time signatures, and 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.509 walls of dense, aggressive sound. Right. So let 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:32.710 me push back on that phrase for a second. Controlled 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:35.779 chaos. If I'm watching a Mars Volta show, and 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:39.399 the drummer is playing in 78 time. Omar is shredding 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.399 his guitar into a wall of feedback, and Cedric 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:45.940 is swinging from the rafters. How is it physically 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:48.860 possible to play chaotic keyboards over that 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:51.460 without the entire song just collapsing into 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:53.320 a train wreck? That's a brilliant question, and 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.100 it goes back to his deep understanding of jazz 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.919 theory. Oh, interesting. In jazz, dissonance 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:02.039 and chaos are entirely acceptable, but only if 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:04.899 you know exactly where the one is. The downbeat. 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:07.159 We have to know where home base is. Exactly. 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:10.179 Owens had this supernatural ability to play wild, 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.299 swirling, frantic runs on the organ or synthesizer. 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:16.220 But he always mathematically understood how his 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:18.600 notes related to the underlying shifting rhythmic 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.779 grid. So he wasn't just mashing keys. Never. 00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:22.899 While the guitars and vocals were pulling the 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:25.340 audience into the stratosphere, Owens' keyboards 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:27.440 were the tether keeping the ship from floating 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.980 off into deep space. He provided the harmonic 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.379 glue. Re -eye of the storm. Beautifully put. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:35.240 And that storm resulted in some of the most critically 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:37.639 acclaimed progressive music of the 21st century. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.559 The discography he built with them is just monumental. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.620 It's an incredible run of albums. You have the 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:46.399 Tremulant EP in 2002, then the Absolute Masterpiece 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.340 that is Delaoust in the Commatorium 2003, Francis 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:53.700 the Mute in 2005, Amputecture in 2006, and the 00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:56.960 Bedlam and Goliath in 2008. And it was the Bedlam 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.039 and Goliath that brought them to the pinnacle 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.289 of industry recognition. In February 2009, the 00:15:02.289 --> 00:15:04.710 band won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock 00:15:04.710 --> 00:15:07.049 Performance. For the track Wax -a -Mule Locker, 00:15:07.070 --> 00:15:09.610 I want everyone listening to go put on Wax -a 00:15:09.610 --> 00:15:11.970 -Mule Locker the second this deep dive is over. 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:15.070 It's an intense listen. It is a relentless, punishing 00:15:15.070 --> 00:15:17.509 two and a half minute sprint. But if you listen 00:15:17.509 --> 00:15:20.049 closely underneath the frantic drums and the 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:23.409 wailing vocals, there's a swirling, heavy keyboard 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:26.289 presence. That's icky. It's icky, just grinding 00:15:26.289 --> 00:15:28.629 away, giving the song this almost psychedelic 00:15:28.629 --> 00:15:31.919 1970s heavy. weight from playing Long Beach house 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.279 parties to holding a Grammy for best hard rock 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.379 performance. What a trajectory. It was an incredible 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:41.179 peak. He is also credited on their 2009 album 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:43.980 Octahedron. Though it's worth noting he didn't 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:46.200 actually perform on those specific recording 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.740 sessions. Right. And as is the case with many 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:51.820 highly volatile genius level bands, the internal 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:54.860 dynamics eventually shifted. By the summer of 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:58.379 2011, Omar Rodriguez Lopez was assembling a new 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:00.799 touring lineup for the Mars Volta, and Owens 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.179 was not invited to participate. Which is always 00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:04.980 tough to hear about. The guy who helped build 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:07.360 the house suddenly isn't asked to live in it 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.379 anymore. It happens, but it's jarring. But what's 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:12.080 interesting is how his bandmates talked about 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.850 it. On July 2, 2011, their bassist, Juan Alderete, 00:16:16.370 --> 00:16:18.529 publicly addressed the situation. He mentioned 00:16:18.529 --> 00:16:21.169 that Ikey was heavily focused on producing bands 00:16:21.169 --> 00:16:24.190 these days. Right. Aldery elaborated a bit, pointing 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:26.389 to the standard logistical friction of the industry. 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.179 He cited scheduling conflicts, noting that the 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:31.779 situation simply quote, naturally evolved into 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:34.120 what it is today. Yeah, standard PR speak. But 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.419 then, Aldrie added a detail that completely strips 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:39.279 away the PR polish. He said, Ike is awesome. 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:42.379 I miss dinners with him. Man, that quote completely 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:44.700 breaks my heart. It's very revealing. It tells 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:46.379 you everything you need to know about the man. 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:49.000 You don't say that about a session player who 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.100 just came in, did a job, and left. You don't 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:54.320 say, I missed dinners with him, unless that person 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:56.580 was a fundamental part of your family. Exactly. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:59.480 It highlights the human element. His interpersonal 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.019 gravity was just as strong as his musical ability. 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:05.180 Yeah. The loss felt by the band wasn't just the 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:07.500 absence of a keyboard player. It was the absence 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:10.779 of a beloved friend. Absolutely. But Alder Reed's 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:14.099 comment about Owens producing bands is the crucial 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.740 pivot point here. Because when you actually look 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:19.519 at what Owens was doing behind the scenes during 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:22.759 his near decade with the Mars Volta, the real 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:25.640 mystery is how the man ever found time to sleep. 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:27.900 I am so glad we're moving into this phase of 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:29.960 his life because this is where his status as 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.019 a true polymath gets cemented. He wasn't just 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:34.759 sitting around on the tour bus waiting for the 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.359 next Mars Volta gig. He was endlessly creating. 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:40.359 Let's look at Free Moral Agents, which was his 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.519 primary solo vehicle. He started writing and 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.039 recording under this name in 2002. Now think 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.039 about the timeline there. 2002 is precisely when 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.619 the Mars Volta is ramping up and preparing to 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:53.740 record De Laust in the Cometorium. Which is a 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:56.480 massive high -pressure undertaking. Massive. 00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.880 Most musicians would be entirely consumed by 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.980 that pressure. Yet Owens is simultaneously launching 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:05.099 a completely independent creative outlet. And 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:07.730 he's prolific with it. Free Moral Agent starts 00:18:07.730 --> 00:18:11.009 out with a vinyl -only EP on Pete Records. Then 00:18:11.009 --> 00:18:13.430 he does a split 12 -inch on GSL Records with 00:18:13.430 --> 00:18:15.849 an underground artist named Subtitle. Building 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:18.029 a whole separate catalog. Then come the full 00:18:18.029 --> 00:18:20.349 -length albums. Everybody's Favorite Weapon in 00:18:20.349 --> 00:18:24.069 2004 and Mama's Gun Club Volume 1, 2006. The 00:18:24.069 --> 00:18:26.930 project continually evolved, too. By the fall 00:18:26.930 --> 00:18:29.650 of 2010, Free Moral Agents released their third 00:18:29.650 --> 00:18:32.190 full -length album, Control This, which featured 00:18:32.190 --> 00:18:34.369 a newly expanded lineup. He just kept pushing 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:36.789 it forward. He nurtured this project consistently, 00:18:37.390 --> 00:18:39.670 ultimately releasing a fourth and final studio 00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:42.890 album with them, Chain Infinity Plus, in 2014. 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:46.140 It was a space where he could exercise total 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.099 creative control. Exploring the ambient soulful 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:51.119 and psychedelic textures that didn't necessarily 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.319 fit into the Mars Volta framework. But if Free 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.640 Moral Agents was his ambient psychedelic outlet... 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:01.059 What he did in 2006 is just wild. I know we talked 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:03.180 about his genre hopping earlier, but he actually 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:05.420 dips into the underground hip hop scene. Look 00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:08.880 daggers. Yes. He forms a duo called Look Daggers 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:11.259 with a highly respected Los Angeles rapper named 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:14.740 Tumex. The division of labor was incredibly clear. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.900 Tumex handled the vocals and Ike handled the 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.140 production and the music. And we must examine 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.220 the impact of that collaboration. Owens viewed 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:25.920 Look Daggers as a new, refreshing outlet. But 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.759 for Tumex, the experience was paradigm shifting. 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:31.559 Really? Tumex is on the record stating that working 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.380 directly with Owens entirely changed his musical 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:36.240 direction. Let's really think about what that 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:38.259 means. You are an established rapper, a guy whose 00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:40.640 primary gig is playing keyboards in a chaotic, 00:19:40.819 --> 00:19:43.039 progressive rock band comes into your studio, 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:46.000 and his musical sensibility is so profound, so 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.440 deeply rooted in groove and structure that you 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:50.970 walk away saying, wow. The way I approach my 00:19:50.970 --> 00:19:53.309 own art has to change now. It is a terrifying 00:19:53.309 --> 00:19:56.049 level of talent. It really is. Look, Daggers 00:19:56.049 --> 00:19:58.930 ended up releasing two EPs that look in 2006 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:02.710 and The Patience in 2007 and a full LP called 00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:05.809 Suffolk in Style in 2008. His omnipresence in 00:20:05.809 --> 00:20:08.369 the Los Angeles music scene during this era is 00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:11.309 legendary. There is a specific anecdote from 00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:15.329 our sources from 2010 that perfectly encapsulates 00:20:15.329 --> 00:20:17.990 the reverence his peers held for him. Oh, I absolutely 00:20:17.990 --> 00:20:20.369 love this story. So it's 2010. We're at Spaceland, 00:20:20.529 --> 00:20:22.890 which is this iconic indie venue in the Silver 00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:25.089 Lake neighborhood of LA. The staple of the scene. 00:20:25.329 --> 00:20:27.309 Money Mark, who is famous for his incredible 00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:30.109 keyboard work with the Beastie Boys, is on stage 00:20:30.109 --> 00:20:32.230 performing. Ike is just standing in the crowd. 00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:34.430 He's not on the bill. He's just there as a fan 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:36.369 having a drink. Just hanging out. Money Mark 00:20:36.369 --> 00:20:38.920 spots him. literally pulls him out of the audience 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.460 and up onto the stage. The two of them dive into 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:44.480 this massive, completely spontaneous, face -melting 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:46.380 keyboard duel right there on the spot. From the 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:48.740 brand rehearsed. And when the song ends, Ike 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.480 just smiles, hops off the stage, and slips right 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.200 back into the crowd. It is a brilliant illustration 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.440 of his character. First, it demonstrates the 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.380 absolute trust elite musicians had in him. Money 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:02.250 Mark knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that 00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:04.829 Owens could step on stage with zero preparation 00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:08.609 and deliver a flawless, deeply musical performance. 00:21:08.750 --> 00:21:10.769 He didn't even have to think about it. Second, 00:21:11.130 --> 00:21:14.329 it highlights his profound humility. He didn't 00:21:14.329 --> 00:21:16.910 linger on stage. He didn't try to hijack the 00:21:16.910 --> 00:21:19.730 spotlight or make the moment about his ego. He 00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:23.009 contributed his genius, elevated the room, and 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:25.470 gracefully stepped back. He was the ultimate 00:21:25.470 --> 00:21:28.500 musician's musician. And to prove that, we have 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:30.619 to look at the list of guest appearances and 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:33.279 production credits he amassed. It reads like 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.799 a surrealist Mad Libs of the music industry. 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:38.059 The diversity of the artists who sought out his 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:40.740 specific sound is genuinely staggering. Let's 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:42.400 run through some of these because it's crazy. 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:44.980 He did session work, played live or produced 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:47.589 for acts across the entire sonic spectrum. He 00:21:47.589 --> 00:21:49.690 worked with Sublime, naturally connecting back 00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:52.309 to his Long Beach roots. Right. But he also collaborated 00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:55.230 with cutting -edge, experimental hip -hop legends 00:21:55.230 --> 00:21:58.289 like LP and Run the Jewels. He worked with Dave 00:21:58.289 --> 00:22:00.630 Sytick from the indie rock powerhouse TV on the 00:22:00.630 --> 00:22:03.210 radio. He played with R &B royalty like Shuggy 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.410 Otis. That was the legend himself. He worked 00:22:05.410 --> 00:22:08.549 with the legendary boundary -pushing artist Blowfly 00:22:08.549 --> 00:22:11.910 and the reggae great Barrington Lovey. He laid 00:22:11.910 --> 00:22:14.210 down tracks for the crushing heavy metal band 00:22:14.789 --> 00:22:17.230 Mastodon. Mastodon. He worked with underground 00:22:17.230 --> 00:22:20.250 eccentric acts like Gravy Train, Orange Americans, 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:23.509 Wailing Souls, and Radio Inactive. He played 00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:27.589 with Heavens, Prefuse 73, Bob Forrest, MIJA, 00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:30.430 and the incredible poet and spoken word artist 00:22:30.430 --> 00:22:32.869 Saul Williams. Oh, and right in the middle of 00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:35.630 all of this, he somehow found the time to serve 00:22:35.630 --> 00:22:38.589 as the band director for Lauryn Hill. Let us 00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:40.849 pause and truly analyze that contrast because 00:22:40.849 --> 00:22:43.250 it is the key to understanding his genius. Please 00:22:43.250 --> 00:22:45.269 do. On one hand, he is serving as the musical 00:22:45.269 --> 00:22:48.109 director for Lauryn Hill. That requires navigating 00:22:48.109 --> 00:22:50.849 the intense complexities of high -level R &B, 00:22:51.230 --> 00:22:53.910 soul orchestration, vocal arrangements, and managing 00:22:53.910 --> 00:22:56.130 a massive touring band. It's a huge undertaking. 00:22:56.630 --> 00:22:58.410 Simultaneously, he is sitting in a producer's 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:01.349 chair working on a 2007 album called First You 00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:03.410 Live by an Orange County progressive folk band 00:23:03.410 --> 00:23:05.710 called Dusty Roads and the River Band. Wait, 00:23:05.769 --> 00:23:08.299 wait. progressive folk, so he's charting out 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:10.900 R &B horn sections for Lauryn Hill and then driving 00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:13.500 to Orange County to mix acoustic guitars and 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:17.019 folk harmonies. Exactly. And the pay's only accelerated. 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:20.220 If you examine just the year 2014 in his discography, 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.440 it defies belief. Let's look at 2014. In that 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.140 single calendar year, he is credited on albums 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:29.759 by the blues rock band Rival Sons, Mastodon's 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.700 heavy sludge metal masterpiece. Once more around 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:35.819 the sun. Keyless's soulful electronic album, 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:39.279 Food, Beck's experimental acoustic project, Song 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.259 Reader, and the abrasive underground hip hop 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:45.519 juggernaut, Run the Jewels 2. I really want you, 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:47.759 the listener, to try and imagine the emotional 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.279 and technical vocabulary required to pull that 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:52.519 off. You walk into a studio on a Tuesday, and 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:54.880 Macedon says, hey man, we have this dark, heavy, 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:57.500 aggressive track in drop tuning. We need keys. 00:23:57.660 --> 00:23:59.839 And you just intrinsically know what frequencies 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:02.460 won't clash with the distortion. Exactly. Then 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:04.980 on Wednesday, you're with Beck dealing with delicate 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:07.160 acoustic arrangements where every single note 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.640 has to breathe. And on Thursday, you're layering 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.240 synths for LP on a Run the Jewels track. It's 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:14.359 unparalleled context switching. It's not just 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:16.619 about knowing music theory. It's about having 00:24:16.619 --> 00:24:19.900 the empathy to understand the emotional language 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:22.970 of every single room you walk into. That emotional 00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:26.190 intelligence combined with his unparalleled technical 00:24:26.190 --> 00:24:29.269 versatility is precisely what caught the attention 00:24:29.269 --> 00:24:31.750 of one of the most famously exacting musicians 00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:35.410 in modern rock, leading Owens to the final massive 00:24:35.410 --> 00:24:37.990 chapter of his career. Yes. So you have this 00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:41.839 guy who has conquered ska. Dub, prog rock, and 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:44.660 hip hop. You'd think he'd take a break. But instead, 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.779 he catches the air of Jack White. And Jack White 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:51.059 is famously a rock purist. He loves analog gear. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:54.220 He loves the blues. He hates modern digital shortcuts. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.339 So the idea of Jack White bringing in Ike Owens, 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:59.460 a guy who can make a digital synthesizer do back 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:01.859 flips, is such a fascinating creative collision. 00:25:02.299 --> 00:25:04.640 It was a brilliant pairing because Jack White 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.859 recognized that beneath the modern effects pedals, 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:09.519 Owens had a deep traditional understanding of 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:11.740 the Hamid Organ and the piano. He knew the ruse. 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:14.059 Owens was invited to join Jack White's all -male 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:17.119 backup band known as the Buzzards. His role was 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:19.339 foundational. He was the primary keyboardist 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:22.700 handling organ, piano, and synths. And the chemistry 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:26.460 was immediate. Ike goes out on this massive grueling 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.619 world tour supporting Jack White's debut solo 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.640 album, Blunderbuss. A huge tour. And if you know 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:34.599 anything about Jack White's live shows, you know 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:37.160 he doesn't use set lists. He just calls out songs 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.319 or starts playing a riff and the band to follow 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:42.559 him instantly. No safety net. None. For a keyboard 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.299 player, that means you have to have a mental 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:47.200 encyclopedia of dozens of songs ready to go at 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:49.900 a split second's notice. Which, as we've established, 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:52.839 was exactly the kind of high wire act Owens excelled 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:56.299 at. He was the perfect foil for White's improvisational 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:59.059 energy. He thrived in it. He wasn't merely a 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:01.940 touring hired gun. He quickly became a crucial 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:04.720 asset in the studio. When White went in to record 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:07.779 his second solo album, Lazaretto, always was 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:10.660 right there. He is all over that record. In fact, 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:12.900 he plays right on the title track, Lazaretto. 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:15.519 And that song is just a monster. It's this heavy, 00:26:15.900 --> 00:26:19.119 funky blues rock explosion. And Ike's keys are 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:21.160 right there weaving through Jack's guitar. It's 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.640 a fantastic track. And that specific track went 00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:26.240 on to win the Grammy for best rock performance 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:30.700 in 2015. So there it is. A second Grammy winning 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:34.480 performance stamped with Ike's undeniable genius. 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:37.470 It was a period of immense undeniable professional 00:26:37.470 --> 00:26:40.750 triumph. He had navigated the harsh realities 00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:43.329 of the music business and arrived in a place 00:26:43.329 --> 00:26:46.589 where he was touring the globe in sold -out stadiums, 00:26:46.670 --> 00:26:49.170 playing in a universally acclaimed band, contributing 00:26:49.170 --> 00:26:51.819 to Grammy -winning records, all while maintaining 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:54.180 his own prolific production work on the side. 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:57.660 He had reached the mountaintop, but it's so hard 00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:00.480 to pivot to, this is where the story takes a 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.799 sudden devastating turn. We need to slow down 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:05.400 here, because the timeline of October 2014 is 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:08.099 just incredibly tragic. It is. The Buzzards are 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:09.980 right in the middle of a massive tour supporting 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:12.180 a Lazaretto album, and they are playing a string 00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:14.759 of dates down in Mexico. The timeline of those 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:18.119 final days is stark. Three days prior to the 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:20.940 event, the band played a highly successful energetic 00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:23.799 show in Mexico City. The night before, they had 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:26.200 performed in the city of Puebla. They were resting 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:28.660 and scheduled to travel to Guadalajara for a 00:27:28.660 --> 00:27:31.279 performance the following day. But the tour never 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:34.039 made it to Guadalajara. On the morning of October 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:38.240 14th, 2014, in his hotel room in Cholula, Puebla, 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:42.319 Isaiah Ike, Owens was found dead. Such a shock. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:44.880 The official cause of death was confirmed as 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:48.259 a heart attack. He was only 39 years old. 39. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:53.059 It is a profound and staggering loss. The physical 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:55.400 toll of that lifestyle, the endless travel, the 00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:58.500 relentless work ethic. It is impossible to know 00:27:58.500 --> 00:28:01.099 all the factors, but the finality of it shocked 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:03.240 everyone. Just froze everyone in their tracks. 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:05.180 The remaining dates on the Mexican tour were, 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:07.140 of course, immediately canceled out of respect 00:28:07.140 --> 00:28:09.339 and grief. When you look at his resume, when 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:11.099 you see how many different rooms he had been 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:13.059 in, how many different musicians he had impacted. 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.299 The shockwave that hit the music industry that 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:18.519 day was massive. You're rippled through everywhere. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:20.339 When you wear the glue for that many people, 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:22.980 your accents leaves a crater. And you saw the 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:25.420 tributes pour in immediately from the biggest 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:27.759 names in the world. The public tributes were 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.339 immediate and deeply emotional. Just two days 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:35.160 after his passing, on October 16th, 2014, the 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:38.160 legendary rock band Pearl Jam was playing a concert 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:40.960 in Detroit. Wow. They took a moment during their 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:44.069 set to honor Owens. specifically dedicating a 00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:46.930 performance of their emotional 2000 single, Light 00:28:46.930 --> 00:28:49.349 Years, to his memory. And it wasn't just peers 00:28:49.349 --> 00:28:51.430 who respected him from afar, it was the people 00:28:51.430 --> 00:28:53.309 sharing the stage with him who were devastated. 00:28:54.089 --> 00:28:56.970 A month later, on November 19th, Jack White returned 00:28:56.970 --> 00:28:59.509 to the stage for the first time since the cancellation. 00:28:59.589 --> 00:29:02.289 A very heavy show, I imagine. He dedicated that 00:29:02.289 --> 00:29:05.420 entire show to Ike. And he specifically dedicated 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:07.980 the performance of his haunting song, Love Interruption, 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:10.220 to him. Can you even imagine the weight in that 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:12.599 room? No, I really can't. The guy who anchored 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:14.299 the stage right side, the guy who could follow 00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:17.339 Jack's craziest improvisations, was just gone. 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:20.200 The tragedy of losing a polymath like Owens at 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:23.740 79 is twofold. First, the heartbreaking loss 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:26.039 of the man himself, deeply felt by his friends 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:28.960 and family. Of course. Second, the loss of decades 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:32.130 of unwritten music. We will never know. what 00:29:32.130 --> 00:29:34.430 he would have produced or played in his 40s and 00:29:34.430 --> 00:29:37.829 50s. However, because his work ethic was so famously 00:29:37.829 --> 00:29:40.930 relentless, his creative output actually did 00:29:40.930 --> 00:29:45.710 not stop on October 14, 2014. He was always working, 00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:48.809 always recording, which means he left behind 00:29:48.809 --> 00:29:50.950 a treasure trove of projects that were sitting 00:29:50.950 --> 00:29:53.529 right on the one yard line, waiting to be finished. 00:29:53.809 --> 00:29:56.490 Yes, quite a few projects. One of the first posthumous 00:29:56.490 --> 00:29:58.450 releases we have to talk about is an album by 00:29:58.450 --> 00:30:01.279 a band called Disritalo. The circumstances surrounding 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:03.940 that specific release are incredibly poignant. 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:06.700 Owens was deeply involved. He produced, mixed, 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:09.140 mastered, and performed on the record. He really 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:11.299 had his hands all over it. He specifically laid 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:14.299 down the keyboard tracks for a swirling psychedelic 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:17.559 rock song titled Dreamtime. The band had finally 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.759 gathered all the artwork, the masters were polished, 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:21.900 and they were literally preparing to press the 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:24.220 button to release it to the world. And in that 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:27.009 exact moment of completion... Owens passed away. 00:30:27.269 --> 00:30:29.910 Dream time. What a beautiful, bittersweet title 00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:32.990 to leave behind. It really is. But the most complex 00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:35.609 and ultimately triumphant story of his posthumous 00:30:35.609 --> 00:30:38.369 legacy and the final major piece of our journey 00:30:38.369 --> 00:30:41.369 today actually resolves a full decade later. 00:30:42.190 --> 00:30:45.609 Let's fast forward to the year 2024. Ten full 00:30:45.609 --> 00:30:48.450 years after his sudden passing in Mexico, his 00:30:48.450 --> 00:30:51.049 second solo studio album was finally released. 00:30:51.150 --> 00:30:53.930 A decade later. The album is eponymously titled 00:30:53.930 --> 00:30:57.740 Ike Owens. released via Unit E Records. It is 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.690 a tight, cohesive seven -track record. But the 00:31:00.690 --> 00:31:02.670 story of how those seven tracks actually made 00:31:02.670 --> 00:31:04.990 it to the public is fascinating. It's basically 00:31:04.990 --> 00:31:07.250 a musical detective story, right? Because for 00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:10.529 years, these songs were just rumors. Myths, almost. 00:31:10.849 --> 00:31:12.869 Different rough mixes, instrumental versions, 00:31:13.029 --> 00:31:14.769 and fragments were floating around among his 00:31:14.769 --> 00:31:17.009 friends, his old bandmates, and various producers 00:31:17.009 --> 00:31:19.549 he had worked with. But nobody had the definitive 00:31:19.549 --> 00:31:22.230 blueprint. Nobody knew exactly what Ike's final 00:31:22.230 --> 00:31:24.470 vision for the sequencing or the final mix was 00:31:24.470 --> 00:31:26.690 supposed to be. It required an astonishing level 00:31:26.690 --> 00:31:28.799 of dedication to solve the puzzle. According 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:31.180 to the timeline we have, the definitive track 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:32.960 listing and the master stems were eventually 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:35.880 discovered hidden away deep in old email archives 00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:38.819 and buried digital files. It was an archaeological 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:41.660 dig through his digital footprint, uncovering 00:31:41.660 --> 00:31:45.099 isolated vocal tracks, drum takes, keyboard stems, 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:47.720 pulling them all together. And getting it released 00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:50.559 wasn't a smooth process. It took 10 years because 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:53.019 there were, as the source describes it, challenges 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:55.279 among those involved in the project. Which is 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:57.299 very common with posthumous releases. And you 00:31:57.299 --> 00:32:00.000 can totally understand why. When an artist isn't 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:02.740 there to give the final sign -off, everyone who 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:05.309 loved him wants to protect the legacy. There 00:32:05.309 --> 00:32:07.450 are debates over how it should sound, how it 00:32:07.450 --> 00:32:10.470 should be released. The emotional and logistical 00:32:10.470 --> 00:32:13.690 hurdles of finalizing a ghost record are massive. 00:32:13.849 --> 00:32:16.029 The stakes feel incredibly high for the people 00:32:16.029 --> 00:32:18.630 involved. But the beautiful triumph of this story 00:32:18.630 --> 00:32:21.390 is that his friends didn't give up. They navigated 00:32:21.390 --> 00:32:23.970 the red tape, they pushed through the disagreements, 00:32:24.029 --> 00:32:26.230 and they dragged this beautiful record across 00:32:26.230 --> 00:32:28.589 the finish line so the world could hear his final 00:32:28.589 --> 00:32:31.390 solo vision. It is the ultimate testament to 00:32:31.390 --> 00:32:34.440 the profound loyalty he inspired in people. They 00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:37.519 refused to let his final work fade into the obscurity 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:40.079 of a forgotten hard drive. They preserved his 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:42.579 legacy with the utmost care. It really is awe 00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:44.460 -inspiring. When you take a step back and look 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:47.710 at this entire story... It feels like fiction. 00:32:47.809 --> 00:32:49.890 It reads like a movie script. A kid from Long 00:32:49.890 --> 00:32:52.390 Beach jamming in the ska -punk scene, wearing 00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:54.950 a suit and handling Catholic Church bank accounts 00:32:54.950 --> 00:32:58.529 in Huntington Beach, getting fired, moving to 00:32:58.529 --> 00:33:01.730 Europe to pray near Dub Reggae, and then transforming 00:33:01.730 --> 00:33:04.789 into the frenetic, Grammy -winning harmonic engine 00:33:04.789 --> 00:33:07.609 of the Mars Volta. Producing underground hip 00:33:07.609 --> 00:33:11.230 -hop, directing Lauryn Hill's R &B band, and 00:33:11.230 --> 00:33:14.569 finally becoming Jack White's right -hand analog 00:33:14.569 --> 00:33:18.000 blues rock man. all before the age of 40. He 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:21.640 lived 10 distinct, fully realized musical lifetimes 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:25.299 in just 39 years. He absolutely did. Ike Owens 00:33:25.299 --> 00:33:27.400 was a one -of -a -kind frequency. He really was. 00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:29.839 Analyzing his life actually raises a fascinating 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:31.420 philosophical point, and it's something I want 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:33.420 to put directly to you, the listener. Oh, I like 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:35.220 this. In the professional music industry, there 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:37.859 has always been a rigid, heavily policed boundary 00:33:37.859 --> 00:33:40.559 between two archetypes. On one side, you have 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:42.700 the session musician. Right, the hired gun. The 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:44.680 highly skilled professional who comes into the 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:47.660 studio. flawlessly plays the notes written on 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:51.079 the page, collects a paycheck, and leaves without 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:53.400 altering the core vision. Anonymous, mostly. 00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:56.039 Exactly. On the other side, you have the auteur, 00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:59.160 the visionary artist, the producer, the mastermind 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:01.480 who dictates the creative direction of the entire 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:05.700 project. Isaiah Ike Owens fundamentally destroyed 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:08.360 that boundary. He erased it completely. He was 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:11.019 never just the hired help. Precisely. He was 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:13.840 a sonic architect in every room he entered. It 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:15.639 didn't matter if his name was on the marquee 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:18.360 or if he was buried in the liner notes. He elevated 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:20.099 the fundamental chemistry of the environment. 00:34:20.280 --> 00:34:22.239 He made everyone around him better. He changed 00:34:22.239 --> 00:34:25.039 the creative trajectory of rappers. He mathematically 00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:27.800 anchored the chaos of brilliant rock bands. And 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:30.199 he left his unique fingerprint on nearly every 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:32.900 major genre of the 21st century. So I want to 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:34.800 leave you with this final thought to mull over, 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:37.239 long after this deep dive ends. Think about this. 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:39.619 In your own field, in your own life, whatever 00:34:39.619 --> 00:34:42.449 it is that you do. How can you be the Ike Owens? 00:34:42.570 --> 00:34:45.269 How can you be that indispensable genre -bending 00:34:45.269 --> 00:34:47.630 collaborator? The person who bridges completely 00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:50.070 different worlds, not by demanding the spotlight 00:34:50.070 --> 00:34:52.769 or feeding your ego, but simply by plugging in, 00:34:52.949 --> 00:34:54.929 actively listening to the room, doing what you 00:34:54.929 --> 00:34:57.650 love, and elevating everyone around you. Wow. 00:34:58.469 --> 00:35:00.489 How to be the glue in your own world. I think 00:35:00.489 --> 00:35:02.869 that is the perfect place to leave it. Thank 00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:04.769 you so much for joining us on this incredible 00:35:04.769 --> 00:35:07.889 deep dive into the life of a true musical genius. 00:35:08.550 --> 00:35:10.949 We highly, highly encourage you to go out and 00:35:10.949 --> 00:35:13.230 listen to the massive variety of records we discussed 00:35:13.230 --> 00:35:14.869 today. You really have to hear it to believe 00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:17.409 it. Put on some Mars Volta to hear that controlled 00:35:17.409 --> 00:35:20.610 chaos, chase it with the hip hop grooves of Look 00:35:20.610 --> 00:35:23.590 Daggers, and absolutely end your night with this 00:35:23.590 --> 00:35:27.150 2024 solo album. Let his music do the talking. 00:35:27.489 --> 00:35:29.530 Until next time, keep diving deep.