Isaiah "Ikey" Owens

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Ikey Owens


Img_capt = Ikey Owens in 2008
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Isaiah Randolph Owens
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1975|12|1
Died =
Origin = Long Beach, CA, United States
Instrument = Keyboard,
Piano
Genre = Progressive rock, experimental rock, jazz, neo-psychedelia, hip-hop, dub, electronica, reggae, ska
Occupation = Musician, Keyboardist, Producer
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts = Free Moral Agents,
Look Daggers,
The Mars Volta,
De Facto
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments = Wurlitzer200A,
Korg CX-3,
Fender Rhodes MKII,
Roland Synthetizers,
Korg TR Synthetizers

Isaiah Randolph "Ikey" Owens (born December 1, 1975) is an American Keyboardist known for his work with The Mars Volta and an array of other bands from the Long Beach music scene.

Biography

As a child Isaiah Owens was raised a Jehovah's Witness by his mother and almost went to college in Indiana to study with renowned tubaist Harvey Phillips. [ [http://thedistrictweekly.com/dwweb/?p=78 The District Weekly - News, Arts, and Entertainment for Long Beach ] ] Instead he focused his efforts on his instrument of choice, the keyboard, which led him down the path to successful musical career.

He notably performed as a member of Sublime, Reel Big Fish, and the Long Beach Dub Allstars, but in 1998 it was an encounter with Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of At the Drive-In at a concert in Irvine which proved fateful. [ [http://thedistrictweekly.com/dwweb/?p=78 The District Weekly - News, Arts, and Entertainment for Long Beach ] ] In 1999 Owens lost his job at a financial-management firm in Huntington Beach that "handled billion-dollar accounts for Disney and the Catholic Church" [ [http://thedistrictweekly.com/dwweb/?p=78 The District Weekly - News, Arts, and Entertainment for Long Beach ] ] , but he eventually received an invitation to join the dub reggae band De Facto and found himself touring Europe with Omar, Cedric, and Jeremy. Not long after that he was once again invited to join their new project, The Mars Volta. Since then Owens is notable for being the longest tenured member of the Mars Volta outside of Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez, having continually recorded and performed with the band since their 2001 inception.

Since 2002, Owens has been writing and recording solo material under the moniker Free Moral Agents, releasing a vinyl-only EP on Pete Records, as well as the recent GSL split 12” with Subtitle. They released their full-length "Everybody's Favorite Weapon" in 2004.

He has also played with Pocket Lent, Teen Heroes and has done session work with Shuggie Otis, The Aquabats, Blowfly, Barrington Levy, Mastodon, Waling Souls, Radioinactive, Heavens, Bob Forrest, and poet/spoken word artist Saul Williams.

Currently

Free Moral Agents is preparing to release their second full length album The Honey in the Carcass of the Lion in the fall of 2008. The first album with the band's newly expanded line-up.

Owens has also joined up with 2Mex to form the Hip-Hop/Jazz duo the Look Daggers.

In 2007, Ikey produced "First You Live" by Orange County progressive-folk band Dusty Rhodes & the River Band.

Owens has also been seen playing with the Long Beach experimental band Crystal Antlers.

Discography

With Free Moral Agents

*LP 1: "Everybody's Favorite Weapon" (2004)
*"The Special 12 Singles Series" (2005 as 7" vinyl) (October 3, 2006 as download on iTunes " [Special Twelve Singles Series] ")
*"Momma's Gun Club Vol. 1" (2006 as download on AlphaPup) (February 27, 2007 as download on iTunes)
*"Looking For Lauryn Hill in Lakewood" (May 2007 as download on AlphaPup)
*"Free Moral Agents 7" EP" (September 9, 2008 on clear red vinyl, limited to 300 copies)
*LP 2: "The Honey in the Carcass of the Lion" (2009)

With Look Daggers

*"That Look" - EP (2006)
*"The Patience" - EP (2007)
*"Suffer in Style" - LP (2008)

=With De Facto=

*"How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub, You Plug Dub In" LP (1999/2001)
*"456132015" EP (2001)
*"Megaton Shotblast" LP (2001)
*"Légende du Scorpion à Quatre Queues" LP (2001)

With The Mars Volta

*"Tremulant" - EP (2002)
*"De-Loused in the Comatorium" - LP (2003)
*"Live" - EP (2003)
*"Frances the Mute" - LP (2005)
*"Scabdates" - LP (2005)
*"Amputechture" - LP (2006)
*"The Bedlam in Goliath" - LP (2008)

Guest Appearances

*"Turn the Radio Off" - Reel Big Fish (1996)
*"Forget the World" - The Hippos (1997)
*"Second-hand Smoke" - Sublime (1997)
*"Audio Satellite" - Teen Heroes (1998)
*"" - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (2004)
*"Saul Williams" - Saul Williams (2004)
*"Shifting Gears" - Z-Trip (2005)
*"Blood Mountain" - Mastodon (2006)
*"" - DJ Nobody (2006)
*"" - Bob Forrest (2006)
*"Patent Pending" - Heavens (2006)
*"Flight Of The Bass Delegate" - The Jai-Alai Savant (2007)
*"RoadKillOvercoat" - Busdriver (2007)
*"I'll Sleep When You're Dead" - El-P (2007)
*"The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!" - Saul Williams (2007)

As Producer

*"First You Live" - Dusty Rhodes & The River Band (2007)
*"Suffer in Style" - Look Daggers (2008)

External links

* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=6490935 Free Moral Agents Myspace]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=102459023 Look Daggers Myspace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/themarsvolta The Mars Volta Myspace]

References