So much so, he has one of their logos – the hand print – tattooed on his arm to “pledge allegiance”.

Owen is stoked his band has been asked to support the Australian legends on two of their upcoming shows (Sunshine Coast and Wodonga) before embarking on their own headline tour.

“I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. When we started making, particularly our second record Roll On … we were trying to do as many different musical things that we could possibly get our heads around, we would often have parts of songs and think ‘what would midnight oil do’,” he said.

“They had a large influence [on our music].”

Owen was quite modest about achievements in his own right, confessing it’s not something he and his bandmates sit around and pat themselves on the back for.

But playing at last year’s AFL Grand Final was certainly a “reality check” to their success.

“It’s probably the biggest stage … a band can be on. We were quite grateful for that and it was actually quite meaningful,” he said.

“It’s generally things like the supports we do, like being able to support the Rolling Stones, being able to support AC/DC, the bands that have really made their mark in the history books. To be able to play with them they’re the sort of reality checks where you go ‘s**t, we’re doing alright’.”

The Living End heads to Waves in Towradgi on Friday, March 9, part of a regional tour before picking up the pace overseas with shows in Europe, the UK and possibly the US tacked on as well.

"It’s a weird lifestyle to be ... living out of suitcase. But we don’t do it as much as we used to, it used to be really hectic before we had families,” Owen said.

”It kind of feels a bit more of a watered down version of it now that it used to be, we sort of keep it at a pace that’s a lot more manageable to be able to deal with normal life – we still love doing it.

“It’s always fun hanging out with the other guys when it’s time to hit the road again.”

The last time the band was in town was for last October’s Yours and Owls Festival.

The Living End, Waves in Towradgi, Thursday March 9. Tickets through www.moshtix.com.au