Owen Barnes is a musician, artist, and fantastic bartender at the legendary East Franks. A place that has made itself a staple in the local scene, giving Monroe a place for the alternative people to call home. Owen is well known around Monroe, people calling out to him. He’s extremely personable and an extremely talented artist. When it comes to Owen, and his many stories, one can truly just see how punk rock is still alive and well. The way he talks, and jokes, and even the absolutely absurd stories he has all ties back into his punk rock roots. It is only fitting that a legendary place like East Franks, has just an equally legendary bartender to keep the place alive. He is currently working on a debut EP, however it was his absolutely insane stories and admiration for the punk rock way of life that drew him to our corner of the internet. Without any further commentary, this is Owen in his own words.
How would you define the music that you are creating? (genre, style, etc)
Kind of like a Smith’sy kind of sound. I use lower tunings so it’s more slower paced, to an extent. Then, I got some songs that sound like Green Day knockoff songs that I wrote when I was 14. I plan to release those anyways because they are funny and catchy. I’m really just all over the place. Recently, a song I have been writing, I don’t have lyrics for this one yet, but the bass line is super funky and the guitar is kind of jazzy. It’s a weird mix but it’s super cool. I’d probably put it under, agh, I’d hate to say it but ‘alt rock’. Everybody’s an alt rock artist. That’s probably the best place to put it. Or just ‘rock’n’roll’. I would love to have that genre under my name, but alt rock is probably where I am gonna go. At least it’s not a country artist, that’s all I care about.
What are your biggest inspirations?
What got me into playing music was Iggy and the Stooges and the Sex Pistols. I remember when I was 14 years old I saw a picture of Sid Vicious with blood running down his face and onto his bass guitar. I was like ‘that’s what I want to be when I grow up, minus the heroin addiction.’ So, I bought a Squire P Bass that looked just like his and I learned the entire ‘Nevermind the Bollocks’ album on bass in one night. Ever since then I’ve been hooked. Once I discovered grunge music, that’s when I got into guitar and actually writing music. I kinda just merged the two together so for a solid two and half years all I really focused on was grunge, punk, and metal. One day I was just like, ‘ah, I’ll listen to some of my dad’s old cds’ and I found a Smith’s cd. Blew me away. I was like ‘damn, I made fun of these guys because of the name but, wow, this stuff is really good.’ Then I started learning how to play some of their riffs. Then, before I got into punk I was super into Bowie and Rolling Stones and all of that stuff. I was just like, ‘I’m gonna go back and learn how to play that.’ Then I got into blues, then funk, then soul, jazz, and now I’m into Pakistani Folk Music and African Tribal. I’m all over the place.
In the next year or so, what do you hope to accomplish with this project?
Really, I just hope people listen to it and enjoy it. It’s really all I want. The few songs I am gonna release are all different styles so depending on which ones are more popular I can figure out which style I need to lean towards. If people like the pop punk songs I swear to god I’m not going to become a pop punk artist. That’s not happening, there are too many of those. But, really I just want people to enjoy the music and to just have fun with it. That’s all music really is, it’s fun in its own way.
How do you feel about the local music scene?
So, in Monroe, it’s unfortunate because we don’t actually have a music scene out here. The music scene is basically Bon Jovi and Blues cover bands, which is just sad. I’m like ‘god, I’m literally living in a retirement town.’ There are a few bands out here that do kick ass though, and there are some in Charlotte that are really really good. The punk scene over there (Charlotte) is, it’s okay. I wish more people followed it, but I don’t know. I mean I grew up in Charlotte and hung out in that scene before I moved here and I loved it. It was a lot of fun. Everybody was friendly. When you’d smack each other on the ass no one would get mad, it was great. Those were the ‘good ole days’ for me.
What would you define success as when you are thinking about the EP you are working on?
Getting it out there, and then playing shows to promote the EP. Just seeing if I could get a little bit of a following. Then hopefully within the next six to eight months I could look at dropping an album.
You do work at East Franks, which for Monroe is really the only alternative place. Do you think East Franks play a part in the local scene?
Oh my god yeah. It’s where I meet all the musicians and the people that are in bands. You’d be surprised, there’s actually a lot of people out here that like to play music and have some decent bands. People have shown me some recordings. This one guy can’t remember his name, but his style is like old school blues. 20s and 30s, like Robert Johnson, that one blind guy that I can never remember the name. It sounded so good. There are so many different people out here that play different genres of music and it’s a shame that they aren’t the ones getting recognized but the Bon Jovi and classic rock cover bands are the only ones people care about. It’s because, I guess yeah its the music from their time, but they also don’t want to open up their minds to newer stuff because they think, ‘oh it sounds all the same.’ With rap, I mean, kind of, but with pop music it all sounds the same. It’s just unfortunate because there are so many great musicians out here that just don’t get looked at at all.
What do you think brings artists and musicians to East Franks?
They feel accepted. This town was built on racism, and all that bad shit. Back in the 50s this was Klan City USA. In a way it’s still kinda like that. Our city council has a bunch of racists on it. There is also a pedophile on there as well. He didn’t get charged because, you know, ‘the good ole boy network.’ People feel welcome and accepted, we (East Franks), have drag shows, karaoke night sometimes not as much anymore because that just usually causes problems. When we do get to have it it’s a lot of fun. My coworkers and I are very good with people. People like that. Everybody at my job is either bi, trans, gay, and really only like four straight people. The whole staff, including myself, is a part of that community. It feels good to be able to talk to people who are in that community as well and how they feel about living in Monroe with that sexuality. It’s unfortunate that some of these people just don’t get accepted and their parents are fucking awful to them. It’s just sad. In a way it’s a beautiful thing to see these guys who feel like they have nowhere else to go and they come to East Franks and just hang out at the bar and just chill. We don’t judge, unless you’re an asshole.
What do you think has been the most influential at developing yourself as an artist?
So, about a month ago I voluntarily got into a hospital for suicide and depression. When I was there I started writing a song because the place was fucking miserable. I was just like, ‘I should have just stayed home and figured this shit out.’ Instead, I had to stay there for a while and it sucked. The people there didn’t give a shit about you. My roomate was a fucking lunatic who nearly beat his dad to death. It was just shitty. No love or respect or care in that place at all. There were a couple of times that they would just give me a medication and it would just completely change who I was. That fucked me up. My way of getting around that was writing songs and poems. When I got out I got stuck in a rut where I didn’t even want to look at a guitar. I was like, ‘fuck that, I don’t want to do that shit right now.’ Then one day I got high as shit and was like, ‘huh, I kinda want to write a song right now.’ I then finished the one I started in the hospital and it came out beautifully. Then I sent it to some of my friends, and I’ll show it to you (Mutilated Staff) after this interview. It came out the way I wanted it to. Kinda Smithsy sounding, but I put it in an alternative tuning. The tuning in that song is weird as shit. It works, surprisingly. Throughout my life, with the other songs, it’s kinda just experiences. We went to Europe a couple of years ago and when we were in Ireland we went to this coastal town. In it we climbed up this mountain and when you get to the top you look over this ocean and the rocks. It was beautiful. I think that was one of the times that I was the most inspired to actually write music. It was just beautiful. I don’t know why, or what that did to make me click that way, but I’m not complaining. I want to go back to that same place one day. But I’m kinda on a budget and can’t get a plane to Ireland.
Tell us about your urban exploration hobby.
Oh my god. I love it. It’s so much fun. You go to places that if you went on the regular when its not abandoned and you’ll look at something and think, ‘I want to break it so bad.’ Or think, ‘I want to steal it.’ When it’s abandoned you can take whatever the fuck you want. Here’s a funny story actually. So, have you ever heard of the town Mount Croghan? It’s this shitty little town about 45 minutes away from here and there is an abandoned elementary school there. So the first time we go there I’m with my friend Jake and my little brother. Me and Jake are high as shit. We were just like, ‘fuck it, let’s have some fun.’ We didn’t know that the door was unlocked so we ended up climbing a 40 foot ladder to get through the fire escape. My friend’s halfway up the ladder, like, ‘dude, I do not want to go up any further.’ He is terrified of heights. I’m surprised I got him to get on the ladder. He went up there with us and it was really cool because I saw this old vintage tennis racquet that looked old as shit and I took it. I’m walking back to my car and Henry and Jake are still looking around the school. This big fat hillbilly who had super thin hair with a big bald spot, but his hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. He had a big ass gut. I couldn’t stop looking at it when he came up to talk to me. He said, “Who are you?” and I was like, “I’m Owen!” Whatever, I didn’t give a shit. He said, “Where are you from?” And I was like, ‘uh oh, this guy is crazy.’ I already know where this is going. I said, “Charlotte?” He was just like, “You know you’re on my property, right?” I was just like, “Yeah, but we aren’t doing anything wrong.” He saw the tennis racquet and said, “Where did you get that?” I laughed and said, “Oh at the top of the elementary school.” And then he just started yelling at me and saying I was a thief and that he was going to call the police. He bucked up to me first, then I bucked up to him and then Jake came walking up like a dumbass. He’s absolutely gone. He says, “Owen, who the fuck is this guy?” Which pissed the guy off even more. Then he started screaming at us and said he was an ex-federal marshal and that he could have shot us if he wanted. I was just like, ‘alright big fellah, I really do not want to deal with you.’ So, we left.
About a month later we went back with some friends. Actually, like, most of the staff. We went later in the day when the guy wasn’t outside. When we went in there the first room we went into was an old recording studio and I walked out with three vintage Japanese boss pedals and a Ibanez bass guitar from ‘83. One of my coworkers found an old Garfield clock. We found some old toys because it was apparently an old toy store back in the day after the elementary school closed. Then we found a rusted gun, it turns out it was also a sporting goods store back in the day as well. It was also a hardware store, there was just so much shit. We filled my big ass car full of that stuff. I do kinda feel bad because I just realized that he was probably storing all of that stuff in there and we just robbed him. But, yeah there was a ‘no trespassing sign’ on the door but when you move it it is all fair game, you know?
***Someone off the side of the street recognizes Owen and starts to jokingly shout at him.
Keep that in there, dude. I love that guy. The last thing we explored was two nights ago (from the undisclosed time that the interview was given) in my old neighborhood in Charlotte, a funeral home just recently closed down. It was abandoned so we climbed in through a window and recorded this thing. We were making fun of a show called ‘Ghost Adventures.’ Everytime we would record we would just use the bullshit apps on our phones or throw shit when one of us was off camera. Every time we would stop recording we would actually hear shit and see shit. It was kind of just like, ‘well fuck this place is actually haunted.’ It got to a point where I was just like, ‘guys we need to get the fuck out of here.’ It was freaky as shit.
The time before that we explored another abandoned funeral home in Wadesboro. It had a basement and an attic. We weren’t recording but we heard so much shit, like people walking up and down stairs, walking in the attic and basement. Whenever we would go up there and say “Hello, is there anyone here?” No one was there. Since the place was abandoned it was empty. It’s just like, ‘dude what the fucks going on?’ It was a very interesting experience. There was also a headstone and a box of ashes. I can’t remember what the woman’s name was but she was born in ‘32 and died in 2003. I felt like it was a little disrespectful to leave the headstone and the ashes there. So we took the ashes and just spread them in the woods. You know, just to be like, ‘be free!’ We wanted to move the headstone over there but that thing weighed like two hundred pounds. My little skinny ass could barely lift up 20 so this isn’t gonna work. I love exploring abandoned places.
Tell us about your psychedelic experiences.
This actually happened recently. Me and my girlfriend went on a beach trip in the middle of March. I don’t know why we decided to do that. It was like 50 degrees and I didn’t really want to hang out on the beach. So, I brought up 10 grams of mushrooms with me. I thought me and my girlfriend were going to do 5 and 5. Her head was hurting so I said “fuck it, I’m gonna do 7.” My normal is 5. I’ve never gone over 5. This was a first for me and oh my god I was unbelievably fucked up. I got videos of me saying I was a night creature and falling in between the bed and the wall. I got another one where I am making out with my hand. My girlfriend was cracking up the whole time because when you are on that much you get super emotional. Then you have random moments of clarity where you can actually think and talk for like fifteen seconds because it comes in waves. Man, I called so many people that night. When my girlfriend went to sleep I decided to go for a walk on the beach. I was wearing ripped jeans and a beat up old military jacket. That was it. No shirt, shoes, nothing. My hair was all messy. My pupils were just fucking massive. I was walking around this part of the beach where there were just a bunch of neon signs and I thought we were under attack by aliens so I ran around the beach. Then I thought, ‘Wait, those were just signs.’ Then I start walking up the beach and I see these two guys fishing. One of their rods looked kind of like a roller coaster loop. Didn’t make any sense and I was just like, ‘I’m just tripping, I’m good.’ I walk up to the guy and ask if he caught anything and he said, “Yeah man *Alien noises*” He was speaking an alien language. I was just like, ‘the fuck?’ Then he looked at me like I was crazy and then I realized I was on mushrooms. I guess that makes more sense now. Then I ended up walking three miles down the beach and three miles back to where we were staying. I woke up the next morning butt naked with a sock over my dick. It happens. That’s probably the biggest story that I’m willing to tell, honestly. The rest are not really funny.
This last part I give the interviewee the chance to speak about whatever they want to talk about. This is their segment.
I really hope everyone enjoys my music. I want people to not just look at my stuff, but everyone else who’s local. There are so many good musicians who are out here. In Charlotte, Wadesboro, Greensboro, just all over that just don’t get recognized. I’ve got friends in England that are in a punk band that nobody gives a shit about except for a small group of maybe a thousand people. Also, instead of just looking at my stuff, I want people to look at my inspirations. Not the well known ones either. Everyone knows David Bowie, everybody knows The Smiths. People like Jeff Buckley, for example. Great fucking musician. Fantastic. Bob Dylan, that’s another one everybody knows, but I love him, well his voice is terrible. There is no way around that. His voice sucks, but I love his music and the man can write a damn good song. Go back to the punk influences; Black Flag, Sex Pistols, The Stooges, Circle Jerks. That’s where I started. My dream concert to go see is a Misfits show. People would think it would be a Jimi Hendrix or David Bowie gig. I’m like, ‘those would be cool, but I think a Misfits show in the 80s sounds a hell of a lot of more fun.’ In the end, though, like my music or not, just have fun with music. No matter if its quote unquotes ‘good’ or ‘bad’ music. Everybody likes what they like and there is no point in shitting on them for it. I notice that a lot with people nowadays. If you don’t listen to the same thing they do, then your taste is shit. I’m over here thinking that even if we listen to the complete opposite styles of music, I want to get sent some albums to check out so I can actually see what you are listening to and understand it better. There is some shit that I just don’t understand, but I’m like, ‘it’s funny, I can see why you would listen to this.’ Just have fun with music, that’s all there is to it.
To stay up to date with all of Owen’s music and projects, follow him on Instagram.
