Billy Howerdel - Early Life

Early Life

Howerdel was born in New Jersey. He attended high school at West Milford Township High School in West Milford, New Jersey. He played some sports but took an interest in a television production class and was very active in an extracurricular audio program. This program gave Howerdel the foundation for his post high school audio technician pursuits and eventually led to his high profile guitar technician positions. Stephen Porcello, the high school teacher who was the adviser for this program took Howerdel into New York City and helped him select his first electric guitar. Howerdel cites attending a Pink Floyd concert as a youngster and being blown away by the experience as the catalyst for wanting to be involved in music. He spent several years doing sound for New Jersey bands and stepped it up working jobs as guitar tech for numerous bands. Before forming A Perfect Circle, Howerdel worked as a guitar tech for Faith No More, Fishbone, David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, and Tool, among other bands.