About Billy Howerdel
William L. Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as a founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle. He has recorded six studio albums across his career: four with A Perfect Circle, one under the moniker Ashes Divide, and one under his own name. == Early life == Howerdel was born in New Jersey. He attended high school at West Milford High School, where he played sports, took an interest in a television production class, and was active in an extracurricular audio program. This program gave him the foundation for his post-high school audio-technical 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 to New York City and helped him select his first electric guitar. Howerdel spent several years sound engineering for New Jersey artists and further worked as a guitar technician for numerous others before forming A Perfect Circle, including Faith No More, Fishbone, David Bowie, the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, and Tool. == Recording career == === Early work and A Perfect Circle === Howerdel functioned as a guitar technician for Tool during the tour and recording of Ænima, working with Maynard James Keenan, whom he met in 1992. During this time, Howerdel played Keenan some of his songs, and Keenan offered to sing if Howerdel ever decided to form a band. Despite originally considering a female vocalist, Howerdel would eventually accept Keenan's offer.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.