Benjamin "Ben" Kowalewicz ( ) is the lead singer of the Canadian rock group Billy Talent. Ben is at this day described as one of the most unique vocalists in Canadian rock history. His band Billy Talent has been around since 1993, though they did not make it big until Ben ran into a co-worker, Jen Hirst, at 102.1 the edge, the Toronto radio station he worked at. He had previously seen the band perform as Pezz, and he asked her to check out the band's performance at a club. This would prove to pay off, as Hirst was later hired by Warner Music Canada to work in A&R. This connection would get the band their producer Gavin Brown, and a demo deal with the label. Kowalewicz, who is of Polish descent, was born December 16, 1975, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was raised in Streetsville, Ontario, but now lives in downtown Toronto. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, where he was originally a drummer in a band called "To Each His Own". Fellow Billy Talent band mate 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. history_of_new_music.cfm?recID=151&ell=8943&pge=1#" target="_blank">The Ongoing History of New Music. "Before They Were Famous" Original Broadcast date: 13-11-05 on _CFNY. . When threatened with a lawsuit from another band who was also using the name Pezz, it was Kowalewicz himself that suggested the name Billy Talent, taken from a character of Michael Turner's Hard Core Logo movie based on the book. The rest of the band agreed and Billy Talent was born. In this time, Kowalewicz worked in a number of positions at Toronto radio station 102.1 the Edge, where he would also run errands as menial as getting coffee for The Ongoing History of New Music host Alan Cross to contribute funds towards Billy Talent's eponymous album.