Howard Owens

Had my last day at the Star today.

It's weird to leave a place that's been so good to you and so good for you, while knowing what you're going to is the right place at the right time for the right reasons. It's a mixture of anticipation and sadness. 

The Star recently made a movie about putting out a newspaper and the world premier screening was at the Majestic Ventura Theater this afternoon.  When I arrived, the "preview" was a slide show of all of my co-workers. I sat alone in the balcony for about 10 minutes watching it.  I worked with a lot of good people at the Star.

But I know there are a lot of good people in Bakersfield, too.  So, it's on to the next adventure.

I owe a special thanks to Steve Dana, Patrick Birmingham, Bob Benz and Tim Gallagher.

Went to the Greek last night with Bruce to see the White Stripes (thanks Bruce!).

Jack White is one of the most interesting musicians today. He's multi-talented and multi-influence. You hear specks of country and tons of blues along with the entire history of rock and roll in his music.  At times, the White Stripes remind me of Led Zeppelin, but as I told Bruce last night, I think Jack arrived at his sound the same way Page and Plant did -- through the blues, especially delta blues. He isn't borrowing from Zep, but he winds up in the same place at times.

The concert was sloppy and unfocussed. Meg White's timing was all over the place and her range as a drummer is limited, but her limitations create a blank canvass for Jack to paint on. A group of more talented musicians would only stifle his creativity.  It takes a great talent to be essentially a one-man band, but any guy who can make as many instrument changes as Jack did last night -- and play them all exceptionally well -- doesn't need a band.

Wow, what a cool new feature.  I could put this to good use.  Maybe this does just become my main blog?

For a few weeks, I was redirecting all traffic from howardowens.com to this site because I wasn't posting much.  A few minutes ago, I took the redirect off ... I think I'll put it back on right now.

Thanks, Marc.  This is a good idea.  You and your crew are smart hombres.