Aaron Solowoniuk ( ) is a Canadian musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band

Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...

Background

Solowoniuk was born and raised in Streetsville, a neighbourhood of

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, and began drumming at a young age. His first drum set was a gift from his parents. His father was born in Ukraine. His grandfathers were from Poland. As he grew up, Solowoniuk continued drumming and eventually met Benjamin Kowalewicz and Jon Gallant at their high school, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Secondary School where they started a band called "To Each His Own". A few years later, the band met

Ian D'Sa Ian D'Sa is a Canadian guitarist, producer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Billy Talent. Early life and career Ian was born in the suburb of Southall, Ealing, London. He is of Goan background. His family moved to Canad ...

who was playing in "Dragon Flower". The four later joined up together and became "The Other One" then later "Pezz". Solowoniuk continued to play in Pezz and after high school, he got his auto body certificate and worked at a

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

factory as an assembly line worker. In 1999, Solowoniuk helped record two demo tapes, and ''

Watoosh! ''Watoosh!'' is the only studio album released by Canadian rock band Pezz, released in 1999 before they changed their name to Billy Talent. The album was re-released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. The album was remastered and re-released on Ma ...

'', Pezz's first full-length album. Pezz would later become "Billy Talent". In March 2006, he wrote a letter to the bands' fans in which he told them that he had been diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. The Billy Talent song ''This Is How It Goes'' is written about Solowoniuk's battle with the illness. He had kept it secret in an attempt to avoid unwanted pity, but decided to reveal his condition after discovering some MS cases are diagnosed as early as three years of age. Since then Solowoniuk has become an advocate for finding a cure for MS. An example of his dedication for fighting MS, Solowoniuk helped organize F.U.M.S, a concert benefit on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

2006 which Billy Talent, Moneen and

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...

performed at The

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. All proceeds from the show went to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. On 2 February 2012, he underwent open-heart surgery. He wrote a letter to his fans through Facebook informing them of it on 17 February. On 15 January 2016, Solowoniuk explained in a video that he would not be playing the drums for the rehearsal of their fifth studio album, due to an MS relapse. Instead, Jordan Hastings from

would be playing on the record. As of Billy Talent's 2022 tour with

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against's mu ...

and

Anti-Flag Anti-Flag was an American punk rock band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1988. The band was known for its left-wing politics, left-wing political activism. For the majority of the band's career, their members included Justin Sane (voc ...

, Solowoniuk is still not playing drums live, but is still with the band on tour, handling charitable events and occasionally playing one or two songs. He organized the food drive during this tour.

Equipment

Aaron has been known to play

Pearl Drums , simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments. History Time! Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, T ...

, most often the 'Masters' Kit, with tom sizes of 12" and 16", along with a 22" Bass drum. He also uses the HHX and AAX lines of Sabian cymbals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solowoniuk, Aaron 1974 births Living people Canadian punk rock drummers Canadian male drummers Musicians from Mississauga People with multiple sclerosis Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Billy Talent members 21st-century Canadian drummers