Ah, the glamourous life of the Canadian rock star.
"I'm working in an antique store right now," apologizes Billy Talent singer Ben Kowalewicz seconds into our interview. "So if a customer comes in, I'm going to have to put you on hold."
No, the frontman for the punk quartet hasn't scored a day job to make ends meet. He and his bandmates — monumentally coiffed guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk — are presumably doing just fine. Rather, Kowalewicz is helping out in his fiancee's Toronto shop, cheerfully greeting customers ("Come on in!") while juggling a slate of interviews.
Of course, dishing up service with a smile while pulling double shifts is business as usual for the band. One look at their rigorous tour schedule — these guys rack up more airtime than a space station crew — confirms their work ethic. And half an hour on the phone with Kowalewicz — who has nothing but effusive praise for everyone from bandmates to old bosses — tells you he still has both feet on the ground.
This month, those feet will be crossing their home and native land.
Nine months after the release of their Brendan O'Brien-produced Billy Talent III CD — their most commercially accessible album to date — the screamo foursome are finally embarking on a long-overdue Canadian
tour, barnstorming 19 cities in 26 days with kindred spirits Alexisonfire, Against Me! and Cancer Bats. Between customers, here's what Kowalewicz had to say about album titles, working with O'Brien and being branded a rock vet at age 34.
It's about time you went on a Canadian tour, isn't it?
You think? (laughs) I haven't been this excited about a tour ever. It's been a while.
Why so long?
We've been going where it made the most sense at the time. We've had some great opportunities and success in the U.K. and Austria and Switzerland and other places. So you just kind of go — and we just keep going wherever they want us to play. Plus, we really wanted to tour Canada with Alexisonfire, and they're as busy as we are. They were in Europe and Japan and Australia and then we were in Europe, so it just ended up March was the only time we could do it.
What was it like working with Brendan O'Brien on the last album? He seems so busy it's hard to imagine him giving you his full attention.
He does have his finger in a lot of pots. Uh-oh, someone's coming in the shop, dude, hang on ... OK, I'm back. Sorry about that. Yeah, Brendan did AC/DC, Mastadon, Incubus and us, and then did My Chemical Romance and Pearl Jam. It's mindblowing, the amount of stuff he does.
But he does it. And with us, his suggestions and subtleties and his knowledge and know-how were invaluable. We learned so much about ourselves and the studio and what to do and what not to do, and it was all due to him.
Your singing is a lot more melodic on this album. Is that his influence?
Totally. One of the first times I met him, he said, 'I want your voice to become more worldly.' I started laughing and went, 'What?'
He said, 'I want you to be able to find your voice and let people hear it.' And he made me feel really confident in the studio, which is important for a singer, especially in a weird environment. I mean, we're just Canadian boys, and here we are in L.A. working with Brendan O'Brien — it's intimidating, you know? But he made me feel very comfortable.
Is this album a more accurate reflection of the band than the ones before it?
I think it's the most accurate reflection of where we are right now.
That's one of the things I love about playing with these boys for 16 years. From the first record to the third, we have changed so much, but kept the same nucleus of what we do. Our desire and goal is always to write great songs and make great records. And I hope this record is one chapter in a long story. You know, I still feel like we're a new band. We were at the MuchMusic Video Awards and they asked what it was like being veterans. I was like, 'What!? I'm only
34! Geez!'
At this rate, you'll get the Order of Canada soon.
If that happens, I'll call you and we'll go get drunk.
Have you started thinking about the next album yet?
I can honestly tell you we haven't. We're concentrating on these shows right now, and then we'll starting writing in the fall.
Are you going to call it Billy Talent IV?
We're not doing that. There's no way. I can't believe the amount of flack we took over the last one. People just couldn't understand it.
It's our third f---ing record, so we titled it III. It's simple. But no, we're not going to do a Led Zeppelin IV. Maybe we'll just go with numbers or a weird astronomy sign.
So, did you make any sales today?
I didn't sell anything — I'm going to be in trouble with the boss.
Billy Talent Tour Dates
March 3 | Victoria | Save On Foods Centre
March 5 | Penticton | South Okanagan Events Centre
March 6 | Kamloops | Interior Savings Centre
March 8 | Prince George | CN Centre
March 9 | Dawson Creek | EnCana Centre
March 11 | Red Deer | Enmax Centrium
March 12 | Medicine Hat | Arena
March 13 | Lethbridge | Enmax Centre
March 15 | Edmonton | Rexall Place
March 16 | Calgary | Pengrowth Saddledome
March 18 | Regina | Brandt Centre
March 19 | Saskatoon | Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
March 20 | Winnipeg | MTS Centre
March 22 | Sault Ste. Marie | Essar Centre
March 23 | Sudbury | Arena
March 24 | Montreal | Bell Centre
March 26 | Ottawa | Scotiabank Place
March 27 | London | John Labatt Centre
March 28 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre
