By NOODS NEWELL
I THREW a bunch of questions to Sean from the awesome The Owen Guns; so sit yourself down for a fun read and make sure your kids aren’t reading over your shoulder…
Hot Metal: Give us a quick rundown about The Owen Guns and what other bands you lads have been in. Â
Sean St Leone: “The Owen guns is a four-piece band playing old school punk/hardcore with a sense of humour. We are split between Sydney and the NSW south coast. We have been gigging since early 2020 and have released a pair of EPs, Violating Community Standards and Ep2: Electric Boogaloo and have recently put out a new full length called Dawn of the Braindead. As well as being in the Owen Guns, I’m also in harsh noise/power electronics group Milat and punk band The BOTBOTS and previous to that I was in the I.C.B.M.s in Canada and Plonker in Darwin a loong time ago. Martins (has) also been in a stack of bands including Ragadoll, Orange County, Cyanide for Christmas and The Silly Old Cunts. Before moving to Australia from China Ma Tu was in several bands – the guy is super talented and can play just about anything. Mark played in Wollongong band Compressed Heads.”
HM: And for those who don’t know, give them a little education and tell them what an Owen Gun is.
SSL: A sub-machine gun designed and manufactured in Wollongong during WWII – Â described as crude but effective – a bit like us, at least the crude part anyway.”
HM: You guys covered the awesome Hard-Ons tune “Just Being With You” last year. Did you get any feedback from the guys on what they thought of it?
SSL: “Yeah that went down really well. Â Blackie and Ray were super nice about it when I told them we were gonna do it and once it was done both of them said nice things about it – Ray even lied and said it was as good as the original – he’s a nice chap. We are lucky enough to be playing with Ray and Blackies other band Nunchukka Superfly soon.”
HM: What bands have you guys supported? Any highlights?
SSL: “Covid’s screwed us out of a bunch of supports including Private Function (twice) and Whores but we were lucky enough to play Thrashville earlier this year alongside a bunch of super cool bands. Honestly the highlight for me is playing with bands that I’ve never seen/heard of before and discovering that they’re awesome. There’s a whole lot of great Aussie punk music out there that you wouldn’t know about if you didn’t go to local shows, that aren’t “cool” enough to get played on the radio. Give local bands a chance, go see a gig this weekend!”
HM: You just put out your first album Dawn of the Braindead. Brings us up to speed with that.
SSL: “Yeah we just put out an LP, Dawn of the Braindead – 12 tracks on vinyl thanks to our label Outtaspace Presents (check all their shit out). Its on all streaming services too. We recorded and mixed it over three days at RTN studios up in Newcastle. It’s raw, it’s rough, it’s rude and I’m pretty pleased with it. A lot of the lyrics were inspired by shitty people and shitty situations I encountered during Covid and things that annoy me in general – crap bosses, flat earthers, shit talkers, Bono… Â you can stream it or better yet go to our Bandcamp and buy the damn thing..but remember..NO REFUNDS!!!”
HM: Any plans for a tour?
SSL: “Yeah we’ve got a run of gigs in Wollongong, Sydney and Woy Woy in October and then hitting Melbourne and Brisbane in November. Â Kind of a mini tour since we’ve all got day jobs and real lives.”
HM:Â If The Owen Guns were an alcoholic drink what would be in it?
SSL: “Cheap and nasty stuff that makes you grimace and burns the back of your throat – cheap vodka and Chinese wine and whatever else is left at the bottom of empty spirit bottles. All mixed together and guaranteed to make you puke and shit yourself.”
HM:Â One piece of merchandise you would love to have out?
SSL: “Owen Guns dildos, so when I tell you to go fuck yourself I really mean it.”
