Tim 'Ripper' Owens still livin' the rock 'n' roll dream in his Akron hometown after his reign as frontman of Judas Priest

Tim Harrison, Special to The Plain Dealer Tim "Ripper" Owens performs an acoustic set at his bar, Ripper Owens Tap House in Akron.

Akron, Ohio -- Guys know: Nothing says "I love you" like standing in the middle of a busy store, holding a saucy little Coach bag that in no way matches your shoes.

But taking a little ankle-biter dog, a miniature bichon frise small enough to fit in your hand, to the pet shop for a wash, trim and set (including bow!)? Well, that's an extreme to which no leather-wearing, high-note-hitting metal singer should be willing to go.

Unless, of course, you're Tim "Ripper" Owens, the Akron kid who went from Judas Priest tribute band British Steel to frontman for Priest itself in 1996 and held the job till 2003.

"His name is Sampson, because of the microphones I use," said Owens, laughing as he sipped a cola and told the story in a booth of his Tim "Ripper" Owens Tap House in Akron. He and Randy Arehart co-own the former Scorcher's where Owens and buddies used to meet for beers and video golf. "And the lady turns to me and says, 'Are you Tim "Ripper" Owens?'

"I told my wife [Jeannie], 'You do not know how it feels to lose your masculinity as much as I just did.' "

"But I love it, because I'm a hometown guy," he said after pausing for more laughter.

And Owens, 44, is a hometown guy, a regular dad and -- get this -- a grandpa.

Wendy Dio gets all apoplectic when that comes out, Owens said. She's the widow of metal legend Ronnie James Dio and the manager of Owens and the band that celebrates her late husband's music, Dio's Disciples, one of about 4.2 million groups Owens fronts.

"We say 'Grandpa Ripper,' and she's like, 'DON'T SAY THAT!,' " Owens said with a chuckle.

But it's true. The guy who says his signature song with Judas Priest was either "Burn in Hell" or "Cathedral Spires" has a 3-year-old granddaughter, who soon will have a baby brother, due in April, courtesy of his daughter from a previous marriage, Lauren, and her husband, Shaun Nagle.

Little Aubrey doesn't really call him Grandpa Ripper. It's actually Papa Tim, which might be some solace to Wendy Dio.

Owens and Jeannie have known each other since they were kids, but they've only been married for 10 years. They have two children of their own, 8-year-old Timmy and 6-year-old Taylor. Lately, Timmy and Taylor have begun to learn just who Daddy is.

Tim Harrison, Special to The Plain DealerTim "Ripper" Owens, right, performs an acoustic set with the help of his children, Timmy, left, and Taylor, at his bar, Ripper Owens Tap House in Akron.

In the mid-1990s, 29-year-old Tim Owens was singing for his supper -- and working a day job as a salesman -- when he got a chance to audition for Judas Priest. Singer Rob Halford was stepping down, and the seminal heavy metal band was in need of someone who could hit -- and sustain -- Halford's signature operatic high notes.

We all saw the movie "Rock Star," starring Mark Wahlberg, which was loosely based on Owens' story of joining Priest. Very loosely, it turns out. The way the band was portrayed prompted the members of Priest to yank their support.

"They said, 'If we can't have any [input] at all, we want nothing to do with it. We don't want our name connected with it or our music in it,' " Owens said. He elected to stand behind his new bandmates.

"It would be nice to make the real story, make it where I got married, my mom was diagnosed with MS," he said. Producers insisted on making it "the cliched rock star, with lines of groupies, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," he said.

"I tell you what, there's more groupies at a PGA golf tournament," Owens said, laughing.

That's not to say that there wasn't some accuracy in the flick. He did get the job after singing just one line in his audition. And he did get the name "Ripper" from band members after singing "The Ripper" for them.

But?

"Funny thing is, I liked all the people in [the movie], especially Wahlberg," he said. "It was the first time in my life I ever had abs.

"But the worst part is, they made it from PITTSBURGH," Owens said.

There is this perception -- a misperception, actually -- that Owens didn't earn the Priest gig.

A career in music "wasn't something I planned on. It wasn't even something I was going after," he said. "But I didn't have another game plan.

"I always had a job, I always had a new car, but all I knew was that I was good, and I worked hard at being good," he said. "I took it seriously, but I always went to work. Maybe with a hangover, but I went to work."

"People might think I got [the Priest gig] handed to me, but I was in a band for years and years, doing $50 a show or whatever, and making my own fliers," Owens said. So was the Priest gig luck? Sure. But it's luck he worked to create.

For the record, he still makes his own fliers, for his acoustic show at the Tap House or elsewhere, for shows as a solo act with local backing bands, for shows with bands such as Beyond Fear, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio's Disciples, Tred, Charred Walls of the Damned (with Richard Christy of "The Howard Stern Show" on drums) and Hail.

Hail has a constantly changing lineup of metal superstars and plays the music of all the hard-rock idols. Last week, the band returned from a tour in Siberia. It's also played Chile, Greece, Turkey and Lebanon.

Yeah, the typical heavy metal hotspots.

"I tour the world more now than I ever did," Owens said. "Solo, I've played Russia, Tel Aviv, South America, the Ukraine, wherever. You name it, I've been there."

Owens knows that everything he has, he owes to the "lucky break making Judas Priest." But he's not bitter at the band for firing him in 2003 after four albums, when original singer Halford came back.

"They handled it professionally," Owens said. "I'm friends with all the guys, even Rob."

Which isn't to say he doesn't miss parts of it, especially hanging with the band on tour, meeting at hotel bars for dinner and drinks.

There was a chance for that not too long ago, when Priest played The Q in mid-November. But Owens didn't make the show, for the reason you'd expect any suburban dad to miss a gig: "I would have, but my kid had a piano lesson."

Timmy and Taylor sometimes share the stage with their dad, usually belting out AC/DC's "TNT." But Owens said that if son Timmy's talent translates into a career in music, it will be via a more conventional route than the one taken by Dad.

"It was a lucky break for me making Judas Priest," Owens admitted, but he stressed that he'd spent years laying the foundation for the opportunity. "I've always said it was my college. I don't tell my son to think he's going to fill in for Justin Bieber when he gets a sore throat."

Nope, he advises Timmy to go to college, like his mom, who is an engineer. "She's the one that puts them on track," Owens said.

Wait a second. Justin BIEBER? Ripper Owens' kids listen to Justin Bieber? Yeah. And Katy Perry. What's more, Owens himself is a fan of . . . Celine Dion, and especially her song "All By Myself."

"My wife and I talk about me driving my car and pulling up to a stop light, and I'm singing 'All By Myself,' " Owens said. "I look over, and there's this guy in the next lane going, 'Really?' I get caught doing unmetal things all the time."

Like hanging out with a bow-sporting bichon.