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Web Exclusive: A conversation with Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Tim Karan on 10/7/09 @ 7:00 AM

In some ways, Toronto-based punk outfit BILLY TALENT are two bands. In their homeland of Canada and overseas, they're a powerhouse with a rampant following. But in the U.S., they haven't achieved quite that level of success since their 1993 formation. The dual existence is evident as the band wrap up their headlining tour of North America with Poison The Well before traveling to Europe, where they'll tour through early December. Vocalist BEN KOWALEWICZ opens up about the band's new album, touring with PTW and (hopefully) getting some American love.

INTERVIEW: Lucy Albers

How has your tour with Poison The Well gone?
It's going. It's been a lot of fun. We haven't toured with [Poison The Well] before. We were on tour with Rise Against and they were saying what nice boys they were, so when we decided to come back to the states, we asked them and they said yes. They're very cool guys.

What is the chemistry between your two bands like?
It's different. But one thing, when we tour, wherever we are in the world, we try to bring out a diverse lineup. We have AM Taxi with us, and they're really cool and different from Poison The Well and we're different from both. I think it's a pretty good show.

Can you tell us anything about what happened with PTW's van getting stolen? I know it was on the first show. They went to their hotel and woke up and their shit was gone. It was awful and our hearts went out to them. But they're troopers and stuck through it and they're still out. They have a bunch of new stuff and, like I said, they're troopers and they pulled through.

It seems like you've reached a high level of success overseas and in Canada but you're still working on the U.S. Have you noticed that you've been getting more fans and attention here?
Yes, definitely. We've had the opportunity to open for some amazing bands like My Chemical Romance and Rise Against and stuff like that. We got to play in front of people who had maybe never heard of us before. We definitely feel like people are paying more attention. We've also been around and toured more than a few times in our life, and the shows seem to be getting a little bit bigger and the people get into it and there are fans that know all the words to our songs. It's building.

Are you at the level of success that you wanted to be at?
I think so. I think we do really well in the rest of the world except in America. [Laughs.] But yeah, all of our dreams have been satisfied and now we're just going on that. In this day and age, to make music and pay your rent and feed yourself is pretty rare, so I think all of our initial goals have definitely been reached.

What do you think it is about America that makes it a decade late on your music?
[Laughs.] I've asked myself that question a million times. I think the one thing different is that the people that we work with in other countries really go to bat for us. We've had the privilege of being on the radio and MTV in the rest of the world, and it seems like in America we haven't had those same opportunities because the label we were on was terrible and we were kind of a side show. Now, on our new label, hopefully the relationship will work. I mean, it can't get any worse.

What was the writing and recording process for Billy Talent III like?
Well, Ian [D'sa, guitar/vocals] is the main songwriter, so he brings the rough templates for the songs and Aaron [Solowoniuk, drums] and Jon [Gallant, bass] work over top of them and then Ian and I work on the lyrics and melodies. I don't think the process changed this time, but I think the end has changed. We worked with producer Brendan O'Brien on this record, and he had a different approach and format to how he records. So that took a little bit of getting used to, but we did it and we're happy with the results. He's a very busy guy and works with some of the best bands in the world. It was very natural and just worked out. I'm very excited to see where we go from here, but this record is a good indication of where we're at.

How does it compare to your previous albums?
I think [2003's Billy Talent] was really raw and kind of down and dirty. [2006's Billy Talent II] kind of explored different directions, and I think this one kind of did, too. Once people get the record and listen to it and get their head around it, they can hear that it's just a good collection of where we are. So were the first two, though. It's just an ongoing thing and the next one will be great as well. I think every record and every song is really unique in itself. I definitely had the chance to get some things off my chest on this album, though.

How has the reaction to the album been so far?
Well, I think there's been a lot of positive criticism and there's been a lot of negative criticism. I think it's a sort of catch-22. Some people don't like it if you write the same record as the last one, but then if you challenge yourself too much, they complain that it's not at all like the last record. So you can never really win. But I think 80 percent of the people really like it. All the bands that we model ourselves from and who we love and respect are honest with themselves and challenge themselves. I think that's what you need to do as a band in order to grow.

Where did the idea for the "Guitar Villain" edition-a bonus disc with the guitar tracks removed-come from?
A friend of ours we work with in Canada is a big fan of Ian's guitar playing and it was just kind of this whimsical idea of doing, like, our own version of Guitar Hero. I think it's really cool on a couple different levels. I think it encourages people to pick up a guitar and play, as opposed to picking up something with five buttons and pretending to play. I think it's been a really interesting approach, and a lot of people seem to be gravitating towards it. It was a bit of a risk, but that's what life's about, right? Originally we wanted to do it where everything was available: you'd get a chance to sing along or play drums or whatever. Unfortunately, time-wise and expense wise, it wasn't really possible. But who knows what the future holds? alt

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veronicaalexx Posted 10.07.09 at 10:17AM
Ben's so awesome as well as Billy Talent. They need more praise from us in the states!



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