Biography
Who is Billy Howerdel?
Early life and career beginnings
Billy Howerdel was born in West Milford, New Jersey. During his time at West Milford High School, he participated in an extracurricular audio program. This class proved essential for his future career, as his teacher, Stephen Porcello, helped him purchase his first electric guitar and took him to New York City. The experience gave Billy a technical foundation that led to work as a guitar technician for various touring acts.
Before achieving fame with his own music, Billy spent several years working as a sound engineer for artists in New Jersey. He also served as a guitar technician for several well-known bands, including Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, The Smashing Pumpkins, Faith No More, Fishbone, David Bowie, and Tool. These roles helped him gain industry experience and connections that would define his future path.
A Perfect Circle and musical success
While working as a guitar technician for the band Tool during the recording of their album Ænima, Billy met Maynard James Keenan in 1992. He played some of his original songs for Keenan, who offered to provide vocals if Billy ever formed a band. In 1999, Billy founded A Perfect Circle and invited Keenan to join.
The band achieved immediate success with their debut album, Mer de Noms, released in May 2000. The record went platinum in the United States and sold over one million copies by the end of that same year. They followed this with the successful album Thirteenth Step in 2003, which also achieved platinum status. The duo eventually decided to take a break so Keenan could focus on Tool and Billy could develop his own material.
Solo work and Ashes Divide
Billy began writing solo material as early as 2003 during the sessions for Thirteenth Step. He later formed the project Ashes Divide and released the album Keep Telling Myself It's Alright in 2008. For this record, he played nearly all the instruments himself, recruiting former bandmate Josh Freese to handle drums. The album featured guest contributions from musicians like Matt Skiba and Paz Lenchantin.
The project continued with sporadic activity over the next decade. Although Billy planned a second Ashes Divide album, he eventually repurposed some of those songs for A Perfect Circle. In 2022, he shifted focus to his own name and released the album What Normal Was. This record included collaborations with Danny Lohner, Josh Freese, and Matt McJunkins.
Other professional projects
Beyond his primary band work, Billy has contributed to various other projects. In 2005, he composed and recorded the soundtrack for the video game Jak X: Combat Racing. This project featured contributions from several musicians, including Josh Freese, Paz Lenchantin, and Wes Borland. Also, he worked on the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, specifically providing input on the track There Was a Time.
Billy has also performed live with the band Abandoned Pools on occasion. Throughout his career, he has maintained a focus on his distinct musical style, often handling songwriting, production, and multiple instruments across his various solo and collaborative endeavors.
Birthday and age
Billy Howerdel was born on May 18, 1970, which makes Billy 56 years old today. That birthday falls under the Taurus sign. Billy shares the date with 71 other famous people.
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