American keyboardist (1974?2014)
"Ikey Owens" redirects here. For the English footballer, see
Isaac Owens
.
Ikey Owens
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Ikey Owens at Outside Lands 2012
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Birth name
| Randolph Isaiah Owens
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Born
| (
1974-12-01
)
December 1, 1974
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Origin
| Long Beach, California
, U.S.
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Died
| October 14, 2014
(2014-10-14)
(aged 39)
Cholula, Puebla
, Mexico
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Genres
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Occupation(s)
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Instrument(s)
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Years active
| 1996?2014
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Musical artist
Randolph Isaiah
"
Ikey
"
Owens
(December 1, 1974 ? October 14, 2014) was an American keyboardist known for his work with
The Mars Volta
,
Jack White
and an array of bands from the
Long Beach
music scene.
Biography
[
edit
]
He notably performed as a member of
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.
[1]
In 1999 Owens lost his job at a financial management firm in
Huntington Beach
that "helped handle billion-dollar accounts for Disney and the Catholic Church",
[1]
but he eventually received an invitation to join the
dub
reggae
band
De Facto
and found himself touring Europe with Omar, Cedric, and
Jeremy Ward
. Not long after that he was once again invited to join their new project,
The Mars Volta
. Since then Owens was notable for being the longest tenured member of the Mars Volta outside Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez, having continually recorded and performed with the band since their 2001 inception, although this came to an end in 2011 when he was not asked by Rodriguez-Lopez to accompany The Mars Volta on their summer tour. The reasons for this decision are currently unknown, although on July 2 Mars Volta bassist
Juan Alderete
claimed that Owens was currently "producing bands these days."
[2]
Juan later noted, "He had some conflicts in his scheduling, and then it all just naturally evolved into what it is today. Ikey is awesome. I miss dinners with him."
[3]
Owens was also very active outside the Mars Volta. Beginning in 2002, Owens wrote and recorded solo material under the moniker
Free Moral Agents
, releasing a
vinyl
-only
EP
on Pete Records, as well as a
GSL
split 12-inch with Subtitle. They released their full-length "Everybody's Favorite Weapon" in 2004. He played with
Pocket Lent
,
Teen Heroes
and did session and work and live shows with
El-P
,
Dave Sitek
from
TV on the Radio
,
Shuggie Otis
,
The Aquabats
,
Blowfly
,
Barrington Levy
,
Mastodon
,
Gravy Train!!!!
,
Born Jamericans
,
Wailing Souls
,
Radioinactive
,
Heavens
,
Prefuse 73
,
Bob Forrest
, and poet/spoken word artist
Saul Williams
. Owens worked with
2Mex
as hip hop duo the
Look Daggers
. In 2007, Ikey produced
First You Live
by Orange County progressive-folk band
Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
.
Owens was also seen playing with the Long Beach experimental band
Crystal Antlers
. Free Moral Agents released their second full-length album
Control This
in the fall of 2010 (9/28), the first album with the band's expanded line-up.
Owens later became part of
Jack White's
all-male backup band
The Buzzards
, playing keyboards, organ and piano. He took part in the world tour in support of White's album
Blunderbuss
, and later also performed on White's second album,
Lazaretto
, and was in the middle of the supporting tour of the album at the time of his death.
Death
[
edit
]
On October 14, 2014, Owens was found dead due to a heart attack
[4]
in his hotel room in
Puebla, Mexico
, aged 39.
[5]
Two remaining concerts in Mexico in support of Jack White's album,
Lazaretto
, were cancelled. The band had played in
Mexico City
three days earlier, in Puebla one night before the incident, and were scheduled to perform in
Guadalajara
the day of his death.
[4]
[6]
Discography
[
edit
]
Solo
[
edit
]
With Free Moral Agents
[
edit
]
With Look Daggers
[
edit
]
With De Facto
[
edit
]
With The Mars Volta
[
edit
]
Guest appearances
[
edit
]
As producer
[
edit
]
Wheelchair Sports Camp - No Big Deal 2016
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Ziegler, Chris (April 18, 2007).
"From Long Beach to Mars Volta & Beyond"
.
The District
. Retrieved
April 12,
2009
.
- ^
"Juan Alderete Twitter"
. Retrieved
July 2,
2011
.
- ^
"r/tabled ? [Table] IAmA: Bassist for The Mars Volta ? Juan Alderete"
.
reddit
. August 2, 2012
. Retrieved
November 15,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Young, Alex (October 14, 2014).
"Jack White's keyboardist, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, found dead in Mexico"
.
Consequence of Sound
. Townsquare Music
. Retrieved
October 15,
2014
.
- ^
Viveros, Ozair (October 14, 2014).
"Fallece tecladista de Jack White en hotel Camino Real de Puebla"
.
Periodico Digital
. Archived from
the original
on October 16, 2014
. Retrieved
October 14,
2014
.
- ^
"Isaiah 'Ikey' Owens, Jack White's keyboardist, dies aged 38"
.
BBC News
. October 15, 2014
. Retrieved
October 15,
2014
.
- ^
"Pepe and Ybra: S01E06 Carlos Torres, Recording with Ikey Owens (Jack White, The Mars Volta), Punk and Latin Rock Music | Grief Observed, Soulmates, Alcoholism on Apple Podcasts"
.
Apple Podcasts
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
S01E06 Carlos Torres, Ikey Owens (Jack White, The Mars Volta) Punk & Latin Rock | Grief & Alcoholism
, retrieved
June 21,
2021
- ^
"Carlos Torres, Ikey Owens (Jack White, The Mars Volta) Punk & Latin Rock | Grief & Alcoholism"
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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EPs
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Live albums
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Box sets
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Archival releases
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Singles
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Related articles
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Studio albums
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EPs
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Related articles
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