Johnny Owens
Encyclopedia
Johnny "No-Triggers" Owens (born 20 June 1977 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
) is the drummer
for heavy metal
band Brown Brigade
. He was recruited by Dave Baksh
to join as the band's drummer, after Dave left Sum 41
to focus on Brown Brigade
full-time. When playing live, Johnny plays drums along with Cess Rock who joins him on another percussion instrument
, in most cases a Goblet drum
. Brown Brigade
's debut studio album Into the Mouth of Badd(d)ness
was released September 18, 2007 and received mostly positive reviews, although released only in Canada and Japan.
Owens began playing drums at the age of 12 and received his first drumset a year later. He self taught himself by playing along with recordings of other players, where he attempted to mimic their patterns. Since then he performed in such acts as heavy metal
act Blacktooth (1998–1999), hip hop
act Linton Heights (2000–2002) and most recently classic
/hard rock
act Suckershot (2006–present) and thrash
/heavy metal
band Brown Brigade
(2006–present).
John's earlier influences include Tommy Lee
, Mitch Mitchell
, Nick Menza
, Dave Lombardo
and Vinnie Paul
.
Now he is a respected drum teacher in Toronto
, Canada
, and is currently performing and touring Canada with Brown Brigade
.
In April 2008, he joined Brown Brigade
bandmate Cess Rock's experimental
funk
project The Quits.
In late 2008, he joined temporarily his Brown Brigade
bandmates Chuck Coles
and Dave Baksh
in their latest southern
hard rock
project The Organ Thieves
. He recorded with them the first EP God's Favorite Sons
, before original drummer Matt Worobec
has returned to the band.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) is the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
for heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
. He was recruited by Dave Baksh
Dave Baksh
David Nizam "Brownsound" Baksh is a Canadian guitarist, singer and producer of Indo-Guyanese descent, best known as the ex-lead guitarist of punk band Sum 41, but has since became a singer/guitarist in his own heavy metal/reggae project Brown Brigade...
to join as the band's drummer, after Dave left Sum 41
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...
to focus on Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
full-time. When playing live, Johnny plays drums along with Cess Rock who joins him on another percussion instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, in most cases a Goblet drum
Goblet drum
The goblet drum is a hand drum with a goblet shape used mostly in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe....
. Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
's debut studio album Into the Mouth of Badd(d)ness
Into the Mouth of Badd(d)ness
Into the Mouth of Baddness is the debut album by Canadian heavy metal band Brown Brigade, formed by former Sum 41 guitarist, Dave Baksh, released on September 18, 2007. However, it was also released on iTunes in the U.S. and Canada one month earlier on August 14, 2007...
was released September 18, 2007 and received mostly positive reviews, although released only in Canada and Japan.
Owens began playing drums at the age of 12 and received his first drumset a year later. He self taught himself by playing along with recordings of other players, where he attempted to mimic their patterns. Since then he performed in such acts as heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
act Blacktooth (1998–1999), hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
act Linton Heights (2000–2002) and most recently classic
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
/hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
act Suckershot (2006–present) and thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
/heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
(2006–present).
John's earlier influences include Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
, Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
, Nick Menza
Nick Menza
Nick Menza is an American drummer best known for his work in Megadeth from 1989 to 1998, appearing on four of the band's studio albums.-Early life:...
, Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
and Vinnie Paul
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott, also known as "Vinnie Paul" is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera...
.
Now he is a respected drum teacher in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is currently performing and touring Canada with Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
.
In April 2008, he joined Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
bandmate Cess Rock's experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
project The Quits.
In late 2008, he joined temporarily his Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade
Brown Brigade is a reggae-influenced heavy metal band created by former Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, after leaving Sum 41 in May 2006...
bandmates Chuck Coles
Chuck Coles
Chuck Coles is a Canadian musician. He the guitarist for heavy metal band Brown Brigade and the lead singer, guitarist, and "band leader" for the band The Organ Thieves....
and Dave Baksh
Dave Baksh
David Nizam "Brownsound" Baksh is a Canadian guitarist, singer and producer of Indo-Guyanese descent, best known as the ex-lead guitarist of punk band Sum 41, but has since became a singer/guitarist in his own heavy metal/reggae project Brown Brigade...
in their latest southern
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
project The Organ Thieves
The Organ Thieves
Organ Thieves is a southern and soul-influenced experimental hard rock side project by Brown Brigade guitarists Chuck Coles and Dave Baksh, formed by Coles in mid-2008...
. He recorded with them the first EP God's Favorite Sons
God's Favorite Sons
God's Favorite Sons is the debut EP by Canadian hard rock band Organ Thieves , self-produced and released in March 2009....
, before original drummer Matt Worobec
Matt Worobec
Matt Worobec is the drummer for Canadian southern rock band The Organ Thieves. Worobec was one of the three original members of Canadian pop punk band Cauterize. Worobec served as Cauterize's principal drummer for the entirety of the band's existence, and not plays part time with The Organ Thieves...
has returned to the band.