GREEN, Ohio — Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, who more than 20 years ago, parlayed a job as lead singer in a Judas Priest tribute into an eight-year gig with Judas Priest, will play at Planet 14 in Galion on Saturday night.
The 2001 movie “Rock Star,” which starred Mark Wahlberg, was loosely based on Owen’s life.
Owens is no longer with Judas Priest, but remains very active in the music industry. He travels the United States and the world sharing his music and lots of stories with fans.
His performance will start about 9 p.m. Saturday at Planet 14 and will include him and guitarist Scott Jones.
“This will be an acoustic performance,” Owens, 52, who grew up in the Akron area, said. “Just me, a microphone and Scott. We’ll be playing everything from Sound Garden to Judas Priest. It is not scripted, we’ll play some Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd”
Saturday’s concert was just booked within the past two weeks and during a Thursday phone interview, Jones said he was still putting the show together.
“We’ll definitely play some Judas Priest music,” Owens said. “The people who will be there … that’s my connection with them. But I’ve cut three of my own albums, so they’ll hear some of that stuff, too.”
He said smaller venues such as Planet 14, 137 Harding Way East, in Galion, offer him an opportunity to chat and more closely interact with fans.
“It’s fun to come to a place like this and play,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty good resume, and there aren’t a lot of chances to see this kind of concert. This show will have a rehearsal kind of vibe. I will tell a little story or or talk about a song’s I’ve done. And they we’ll do some more songs. It will be fun.”
Owens admitted the performance will be raw, and a bit nerve-wracking for him. But he is looking forward to the show, which he said also provides him an opportunity to help out some of the smaller venues around which are struggling because of COVID-19 and the rules and regulations that came with it.
There is no cover charge for the Saturday show.
Wikipedia, which Owens said has a very accurate time line of his career, says Owens made headlines in 1996 when he went from being a fan of the metal act Judas Priest to being their lead singer, replacing Rob Halford. Owens recorded two studio albums with his childhood heroes, as well as two live albums and a 2002 DVD release. Owens also helped write one Judas Priest song, “What’s My Name?”, which was a bonus track on Demolition. With Judas Priest, he was nominated once for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999, with the song “Bullet Train” from the album Jugulator, but lost to Metallica’s “Better than You”.
Owens also is teaming up with K.K. Downing, one of the founders of Judas Priest, to release an album. Those two are also part of the new band KK’s Priest.
Owens said many music fans relate Judas Priest with heavy metal. But he said the band’s music is currently being used in commercials for nationwide burger companies, cars and insurance companies.
This will actually be Owens’ second gig in Galion. He played at Planet 14 one other time, sitting in with the Billy Morris Band, which is expected to return to Galion next month, according to Jason Schofield, of Otter Entertainment, which is bringing these performances to Galion.
Learn more about Owens via his Wikipedia page, his Facebook page or visit his website.
‘Ripper’ Owens who went from leading a Judas Priest tribute band to being the lead singer of Judas Priest will perform Saturday evening at Planet 14 in Galion. He and guitarest Scott Jones will take the stage about 9 p.m. There is no cover charge.
Tim ‘Ripper Owens,’ former lead singer for Judas Priest from 1996 to 2003, will perform an acoustic concert Saturday, July 18 at Planet 14 in Galion.
