Benjamin Ian Kowalewicz (; born December 16, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of rock band

Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup changes, although ...

Early life

Kowalewicz, of Polish descent, was born December 16, 1975, in Pierrefonds, Quebec, and raised in

Streetsville, Ontario Streetsville (pop. 47,327) is a neighbourhood located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River. Although Streetsville occupies the west and east banks of the river, the majority is located on the ...

. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, where he was a drummer in a band named To Each His Own.

Career

In To Each His Own, Kowalewicz met Jonathan Gallant. Kowalewicz moved from drummer to vocals and rhythm guitar, and

Aaron Solowoniuk Aaron Solowoniuk ( ) is the drummer for the Canadian band Billy Talent. Background Solowoniuk was born and raised in Streetsville, a neighbourhood of Mississauga, Ontario, and began drumming at a young age, his first set being a gift from h ...

was recruited to play drums. The three would then meet

Ian D'Sa Ian D'Sa is a Canadian guitarist and producer best known as a member of the rock band Billy Talent. Early life and career Ian was born in the suburb of Southall, London. He is of Goan background. His family moved to Canada when he was three ...

to form a band called Pezz. Pezz released their first album, ''

Watoosh! ''Watoosh!'' is the only studio album released by Canadian rock band Pezz, released in 1999 before they changed their name to Billy Talent. The album was re-released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. Track listing * Track 13 is an instrument ...

'', in 1998.The Ongoing History of New Music
. "Before They Were Famous" ''Original Broadcast date: 13-11-05 on

CFNY CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...

.'' After being threatened with a lawsuit by an American band who was also using the name Pezz, Kowalewicz suggested the name Billy Talent, taken from a character from Michael Turner's ''

Hard Core Logo ''Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, ...

''. Kowalewicz focused his work on vocals only, and Billy Talent was born. In this time, Kowalewicz worked in a number of positions at Toronto radio station 102.1 the Edge, as an assistant for The Ongoing History of New Music host

Alan Cross Alan Cross is a Canadian radio broadcaster and a writer on music.

, to contribute funds towards Billy Talent's first album. Kowalewicz is featured in the song "Smiling Politely" by

Cancer Bats Cancer Bats is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is curr ...

from their album ''

Hail Destroyer ''Hail Destroyer'' is Cancer Bats' second full-length album. It was released on April 22, 2008 by Distort Entertainment in Canada and on June 24, 2008 by Metal Blade Records in the US. In 2009, ''Hail Destroyer'' was reissued in some regions with ...

''. He was featured in the song "Wake Up the Town" by

Anti-Flag Anti-Flag is an American punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band is known for its left-wing political activism. Their current members include Justin Sane (vocals, guitar), Chris Head (guitar), Pat Thetic (drums), and Chris Bar ...

, which was a bonus track on their 2008 album ''

The Bright Lights of America ''The Bright Lights of America'' is the seventh studio album released by Anti-Flag on April 1, 2008. Much of the album was released on the band's MySpace with twelve of the thirteen tracks on March 24, 2008. This album was different from the pre ...

''. His home in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto was featured on the Canadian home decorating show Designer Guys. The episode is entitled "Punk Meets Traditional". Kowalewicz can also play guitar and drums. He wrote drums for "The Ex" which appears on Billy Talent's self-titled album. Kowalewicz provided guest vocals for

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

guitarist

Richard Kruspe Richard Kruspe (born Sven Kruspe; 24 June 1967) is a German musician. He is the lead guitarist of the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, as well as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the US-based industrial metal band Emigrate. Early life ...

's side project Emigrate. He provided co-lead vocals for the song "1234" on Emigrate's album ''

A Million Degrees ''A Million Degrees'' is the third studio album by the industrial rock band Emigrate. It was released on November 30, 2018, via Vertigo Records. First recorded in 2015, the album was destroyed in a flood in 2017, and had to be re-recorded. Record ...

'', as well as performing in the song's music video with a cameo appearance from Billy Talent bandmate

Discography

Billy Talent

* ''

'' (2003) * '' Billy Talent II'' (2006) * ''

Billy Talent III ''Billy Talent III'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Billy Talent. It was released on July 10, 2009, in Europe, July 13 in the United Kingdom, July 14 in Canada, and September 22 in the US. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Canad ...

'' (2009) * '' Dead Silence'' (2012) * '' Afraid of Heights'' (2016) * ''

Crisis of Faith A crisis of faith is a deep and painful questioning, loss, or transformation of belief. Commonly, the term is used in reference to a crisis of religious faith, such as doubt about the existence or doubt about the goodness of God, but it can also b ...

'' (2022)

Guest appearances

– "Wake Up the Town" on ''

'' (2008) *

– "Smiling Politely" on ''

'' (2008) *

K-OS Kevin Brereton (born February 20, 1972), better known by his stage name k-os (; "chaos"), is a Canadian alternative rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His given name may also be cited as Kheaven, a spelling he later adopted. The alias "k ...

- "

Say It Ain't So "Say It Ain't So" is a song by the American rock band Weezer. It was released as the third and final single from the band's self-titled 1994 debut album. Written by frontman Rivers Cuomo, the song came to be after he had all the music finished ...

(originally by

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

)" on ''Much Music Presents: k-os Live'' (2011) * Emigrate – "1234" on ''

'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalewicz, Benjamin 1975 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Canadian people of Polish descent Musicians from Montreal Canadian male singers Canadian rock singers Canadian punk rock singers Canadian rock drummers Canadian male drummers Billy Talent members 21st-century Canadian drummers