Ben Kowalewicz (Billy Talent): “Getting drunk and crawling on stage is not my style. Kovalevich, Benjamin
) - Canadian musician and a Polish-born performer and vocalist of the punk rock band Billy Talent.
| Benjamin Kovalevich Benjamin Kowalewicz |
|
|---|---|
| basic information | |
| Date of Birth | December 16(1975-12-16 ) (43 years) |
| Place of Birth | Montreal, Canada |
| A country | |
| Professions | musician, singer |
| Tools | guitar, drums |
| Genres |
punk rock alternative rock hardcore punk post-hardcore |
| Teams | Billy Talent |
| Labels |
Atlantic Records Warner Music Canada |
| billytalent.com | |
| Audio, photo, video on Wikimedia Commons | |
He grew up in Streetsville, Ontario, but Kowalewicz now lives in the suburbs of Toronto. Studied at high school Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, where he was first a drummer in the group “To Each His Own”. Billy Talent member Jonathan Gallant also played in the band.
Ben became the vocalist when they brought in third BT member Aaron Solowoniuk to take over as drummer. The trio was about to join another group, but when they met last participant Ian Di"Say, they formed a group called Pezz and in Core Logo, on which a film of the same name was made (in Russian distribution the film is known as “Emblem of Hard Rock”). However, some problem arose regarding the right to the name of the group. The point is that in Memphis (USA), there was already a punk band with the same name, which released its first record in 1990 in Canada. Pezz threatened a lawsuit demanding compensation of 5 thousand US dollars record company BYO Records, which at that time collaborated with American Pezz. As a result, the name of the group had to be changed to “Billy Talent” (the name was suggested by Ben Kovalevich), in honor of one of the heroes of the novel “Hard Core Logo”. The rest of the group agreed, and Billy Talent was born.
During this time, Ben worked at 102.1 the Edge radio in Toronto, where he ran errands for radio host Alan Cross to raise money to record the Billy Talent album.
In August 2011, Kovalevich married Rachelle Turner, a woman he had been dating for six years.
In 2010
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He grew up in Streetsville, Ontario, but the punk rock singer now lives in the suburbs of Toronto. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, where he was first a drummer in the band To Each His Own. Billy Talent member Jonathan Gallant also played in this group.
Ben became the vocalist when they brought in a third BT member, Aaron Solowoniuk, to take over as drummer. The trio was going to join another group, but, having met the last member of Ian'a D'Sa'a, they formed a group called Pezz and in Core Logo, which was made into a film of the same name (in Russian box office the film is known as "Emblem of Hard Rock" ). However, there was some problem related to the right to the name of the group. The fact is that in Memphis (USA), there already existed a punk band with the same name, which released its first record in 1990. Canadian Pezz threatened a lawsuit demanding payment of compensation of 5 thousand US dollars to the American record company BYO Records, which at that time collaborated with American Pezz. As a result, the name of the group had to be changed to “Billy Talent” (the name was suggested by Ben Kovalevich), in honor of one of the heroes of the novel “Hard Core Logo”. The rest of the group agreed, and Billy Talent was born.
During this time, Ben worked at 102.1 the Edge radio in Toronto, where he ran errands for radio host Alan Cross to raise money to record the Billy Talent album.
In August 2011, Kovalevich married Rachel Turner, a girl he had been dating for six years.
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Excerpt characterizing Kovalevich, Benjamin
And also, despite the fact that at that time Lithuania was already under the heel of the “brown plague”, it still somehow retained its independent and militant spirit, which even the most ardent servants of communism did not manage to knock out of it... And this attracted the Seryogins even more than the beauty of the local nature or the hospitality of the people. So they decided to stay “for a while”... what happened was forever... It was already 1942. And the Seryogins watched with regret as the “brown” octopus of National Socialism tightened its tentacles around the country they loved so much... Having crossed the front line, they hoped that from Lithuania they would be able to get to France. But even with the “brown plague” the door to “ Big world“for the Seryogins (and, naturally, for my dad) turned out to be closed, and this time forever... But life went on... And the Seryogins began to gradually settle down in their new place of residence. They had to look for work again in order to have some means of subsistence. But it turned out to be not so difficult to do this - there was always a place for those who wanted to work in hardworking Lithuania. Therefore, very soon life flowed along its usual course and it seemed that everything was calm and good again...My dad began to “temporarily” go to a Russian school (Russian and Polish schools were not uncommon in Lithuania), which he really liked and he categorically did not want to leave it, because constant wandering and changing schools affected his studies and, more importantly, – did not allow me to make real friends, without whom it was very difficult for any normal boy to exist. My grandfather found a good job and had the opportunity on weekends to at least somehow “unwind” in his beloved surrounding forest.
And my grandmother at that time had her little newborn son in her arms and dreamed of not moving anywhere for at least a short time, since physically she did not feel too well and was, like her whole family, tired of constant wanderings. Several years passed unnoticed. The war was long over, and life was becoming more normal in all respects. My dad studied perfectly all the time and the teachers denigrated his gold medal (which he received after graduating from the same school).
My grandmother calmly raised her little son, and grandfather finally found his long-time dream - the opportunity every day to “plunge headlong” into the Alytus forest that he loved so much.
Thus, everyone was more or less happy and so far no one wanted to leave this truly “God’s corner” and again start wandering around big roads. They decided to give dad the opportunity to finish the school he loved so much, and to give his grandmother’s little son Valery the opportunity to grow up as much as possible, so that it would be easier to embark on a long journey.
Hello Ben! This is Alex, Ukrainian portalOpen.ua How are you?
Hello! The mood is great. Thank you for your attention to my person and group. We appreciate it.
Okay, let's move on to the questions. For almost 20 years of the group’s existence, your composition has not changed. What keeps you together for so many years?
The main reason is the music. No matter how bad our day was, no matter what happened to each of us in life, at the concert we still understand each other perfectly, thanks to which we still perform well.
It’s nice for us to know that almost 20 years have passed and we still enjoy playing together, we still love and respect each other - everything is the same as 16, 17 or 19 years ago.
By the way, the largest Ukrainian diaspora is in your homeland, in Canada. Maybe there are Ukrainians among your friends?
By the way, yes, the father of our drummer Aaron was born in Ukraine.
Wow!
Pure truth! And at one time I had a Ukrainian girlfriend.
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Interesting. Maybe you remember some words in Ukrainian?
Actually no, sorry.
Then remember how in Ukrainian it will be “Hello!” —you can greet everyone in Kyiv this way.
Okay, I — behind!
"Pri-vit".
(After a short pause) Pryvit!
Great! Don't forget to say this at the concert.
Yes, thanks for your help.
You started musical career with drums. Now that you're performing, do you feel like jamming behind the drum kit?
It was a long time ago. I still sometimes knock, but only for a small circle of friends. I'm not a professional drummer. As for Billy Talent's performances, you know, I'm quite happy with the role of frontman. Drums were my first love, and singing became my true love.
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In which countries do you have the largest army of fans?
Perhaps I’ll single out Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We are also well received in the UK. Our current UK tour is going great.
We thank fate for the opportunity to travel the world and perform in different countries. Behind long years During the tour, we formed a community of grateful fans. We are lucky with our fans.
And we are really looking forward to our first concert in Kyiv.
There are a lot of people waiting for you in Ukraine—you can be sure of that.
Great. We'll be there soon!
Your team has dynamic clips with interesting stories. Tell us which video was the most difficult for you to shoot.
Almost all filming took place with some kind of problem. Let’s say for the “Devil In A Midnight Mass” video we had to spin around on a platform located in the center of a church... But it was fun.
And during the filming of Saint Veronika, which took place in winter in Canada, it was very, very, very, very cold. We were inside the dam wearing only T-shirts for eight hours.
But you know, we are proud and love all our videos.
In the most recent video “Surprise, Surprise” you appear in the role of pilots. Do you know how to fly a plane yourself?
Nooo, to be honest.
Would you like to learn?
Oh no - I hate flying. A pilot is the last thing I would aspire to be.
On tour scheduleBillyTalent There are rarely breaks, and with your dedication on stage, this is generally a feat. What helps you regain your strength?
Thanks for the compliment. What's my secret? I try to rest and sleep as much as possible - this is the most important thing. I quit drinking, which had a positive effect on my concert form. After all, during a performance I always try to work as hard as I can. I also try not to think too much about things that need to be done tomorrow. I try to isolate myself from unnecessary thoughts.
Living a non-alcoholic life is a great example for your fans.
You know, I can afford to have a glass good wine, but getting drunk and crawling on stage is not my style.
Do you have a favorite hockey team in Canada?
Yes, Toronto Maple Leafs.
Do you support the Leafs in the arena?
Certainly. When I'm in Canada I try not to miss their matches.
And one more question about your leisure time: what film impressed you the most this year?
I liked the new “Bond” (“007: Skyfall” - editor’s note), which I watched quite recently.
By the way, is there a director whose film you would like to write a song for, but there were no such offers?
It would be cool to be on the soundtrack of one of Quentin Tarantino's films.
This is exactly what I wish for you.
P.S. Our conversation had to end here - our Russian colleagues were supposed to talk to drummer Aaron on the same line.
We would like to thank the concert organizers, Melnitsa Int., for their assistance in conducting the interview.
Billy Talent
Kyiv, Stereo Plaza club
