He has been a member of The New Christs (1987–90), Louis Tillett and His Cast of Aspersions (1990), Tex, Don and Charlie (1993–95, 2005–06), Tendrils (1994–99) and Beasts of Bourbon (1996–97, 2003).
As a session player, he has appeared on albums by Tony Buck, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Robert Forster, Spencer P. Jones, The Cruel Sea, Steve Prestwich, Conway Savage and Don Walker.
[3] At about eight or nine-years-old he formed a duo, Hot Dogs, with a neighbour to play for their parents, they only knew part of "Walk, Don't Run",[3] a surf-jazz instrumental from 1954 by The Ventures.
[5][7] With Younger on lead vocals, the line-up also had Jim Dickson (ex-Railroad Gin, Survivors, Passengers, Barracudas) on bass guitar and Louis Burdett (ex-Powerhouse, Ed Kuepper Band) on drums.
[7] As a member of The New Christs, Owen supplied guitar, piano and organ, as well as co-writing, for their debut album, Distemper (August 1989).
[7] During 1987 Owen provided guitar for Louis Tillett's debut solo album, Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell.
[9] Owen also worked with Tillett in the group, Paris Green, which "covered material ranging from Mose Allison to John Coltrane, Ray Charles to Nina Simone, and on any given night there was as many as nine or ten musicians on stage".
[5][10] Owen completed session work on Penguins on Safari's Normal Soon and Tony Buck's The Shape of Things to Come (both 1989).
[5] Also that year Owen joined ex-Cold Chisel pianist and keyboardist, Don Walker, in a blues rock band, Catfish; which toured Australia.
[5][8] McFarlane noted that it was "eclectic set of material driven by Tillett's booming baritone voice and smouldering organ, Owen's jagged guitar lines and the swinging brass arrangements".
[5][12] Late in 1992, Tex Perkins contacted Owen and Walker to work together on four live-to-air tracks for a broadcast by national radio station, JJJ.
In 1993 Owen, on dobro, lapsteel, banjo and organ, joined Maurice Frawley and Working Class Ringos, a rootsy country-blues band.
[17][18] Owen called them "the bad boys of folk" who played "the most passionate, beautiful, rollicking, cheeky, heartfelt music you could ever hear".
[22] NME's reviewer found "tales of lives gone violently awry, set to elusive, near-impressionistic folkadelic orchestration.
[31][32] Also appearing on the 3× CD release were Amphlett, Perkins, Walker, The Drones, The Kill Devil Hills, Megan Washington and Dan Sultan.
[32] A follow-up concert in late August launched the album and raised money for one of Frawley's causes, Rochester Secondary College's music program.
[3] While Kelly played the newly written song, Owen mistakenly believed they were "just sitting around making up lyrics and stuff ... they're taking the piss out of me, the pricks".
[38] Some days later, the thief was caught but had on-sold the goods, Owen then paid a third-party $200 to buy back his guitars.