Benjamin Kowalewicz

Benjamin Kowalewicz live in concert

Benjamin Kowalewicz (born in Montreal, December 16, 1975, of Polish ancestry) is the lead singer in the Canadian alternative rock group Billy Talent. Originally from Streetsville, Ontario just outside of Mississauga, the post-punk singer now lives in downtown Toronto with his girlfriend, Alea. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, where he was originally a drummer in a band called "To Each His Own". Billy Talent bandmate Jonathan Gallant was also part of the band. Ben was moved to vocals when they recruited the third BT member, Aaron Solowoniuk, in his place. The three would go on to merge with another band, meeting the final member Ian D'Sa they formed a band called Pezz and released their first album Watoosh in 1998. They had to change their name because another band of the same name threatened to sue them. It was then that Kowalewicz suggested the name Billy Talent to the rest of the boys, it was taken from a character of Micheal Turner's "Hard Core Logo" movie based on the book. The rest of the band agreed and Billy Talent was born. Kowalewicz and D'Sa wrote the song "Nothing To Lose" after Kowalewicz had read in a newspaper article that a student had been bullied and then killed himself; the song became a smash hit across Canada and Europe."Standing In The Rain" was written when Benjamin saw a prostitute on the street, he smiled at her then when he got home he wrote about what he invisioned her life might be.

Benjamin's first job was at Harvey's where he got quit after his first day when his boss ask him to work in the fridge and he froze. Kowalewicz worked in a number of positions at Toronto radio station 102.1 the Edge, where he would also run errands such as getting coffee for The Ongoing History of New Music host Alan Cross prior to the 2003 release of Billy Talent's eponymous album. While working on Billy Talent, Ben also had a job at Pearson International Airport emptying septic tanks. He also used to be a vegetarian. In an interview Ben said that he had been drinking and bought a hot dog that was cold in the middle and it made him puke. This is the reason why he never ate meat again. He calls himself a "walking, talking Seinfeld episode."