Formed in 1995, The Kowalskis are a fixture of the NYC punk scene. They’re bringing their power-pop-infused punk to Rebellion Festival for the first time so, of course, I had to get in touch with their frontwoman Kitty Kowalski and find out more about the bands rich history, as well as what else is in store from them this year…
Firstly, how did you all meet and when was The Kowalskis formed?
The band at first was Killer Kowalski, which was me and Addie Kaiser, a woman I was in a band called Starkist with. Our bass and drums dropped out, and we did that thing many NYC bands did in the 90s, which was place an ad in the Village Voice Music Notes. We got both drummer Greg Farah from that ad, and Paul Richard from Adrenalin OD replied to our bass ad. It was funny because I met Paul in 1983 when I invited AOD to my house for breakfast after a show, and gave them pop tarts and Cap’n Crunch because I had no understanding what tour was like – I should have made them a proper breakfast! Addie dropped out of the picture and Paul switched back to guitar which was his primary instrument. He recruited Jack on bass from Adrenalin OD, and boom, the classic lineup was set. Our first show was opening for Iggy Pop, and Jack had never rehearsed with the band. I wanted to run through the set backstage before we went on, and they wanted to watch Iggy soundcheck. So we hit the stage cold, and it was like nothing. I felt like I wanted to throw up until we got through the first song.
You were originally called Killer Kowalski, but were threatened with a cease and desist and had to change your name. Can you tell us a bit about that?
We got the idea for the name from Handsome Dick Manitoba of The Dictators, who was a former wrestler. He gave the name to our then drummer, Moon Doggie, and we went with it. We released our first single on vinyl, and booked a matinee show at the Rathskellar (The Rat) in Boston, and Walter “Killer” Kowalski faxed the cease and desist to the Venue via his “Theatrical Agent”. I called the agent, who was like Broadway Danny Rose, Abe Ford, and he told me that Walter was a reasonable guy, and maybe we could talk to him, so he gave me Killer’s home phone number. I was terrified to call at first, and got his answering machine: “Go ahead! Do your worst! After the tone!” So I left him a message and he called me back. He ran a wrestling school in the Boston area, and still did scoring for WWF, so he was still in the “entertainment industry”. He was worried that people would think he was making a personal appearance at an all-ages hardcore matinee, and people would be disappointed when he didn’t show up. I though that was funny, but we told him we were fans, and that we would change the name to The Kowalskis. A Polish friend told me that “Kowalski” is the most common name in Poland, and it’s also synonymous with “knucklehead”, so he would love to shout out to me, “YO! KOWALSKI!” and laugh.
For anyone not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
It’s hard for me to tell other people because I know what I have in my head. I wanted to be like The Ronettes on crack. More angry, I guess. Instead of “You broke my heart, so now I’ll cry”, it’s more “I’ll kick your ass!” Like Blondie‘s pop sensibility with the energy of The Ramones. Someone described us as “The Muffs if they had The Dickies for dads”. I’d say that’s pretty spot on. We fit with punk in terms of attitude and energy, but we were not really like hardcore bands that we were put with. The mid 90’s pop-punk genre is where we fit best, but I think we were a little more rock.
If you had to recommend one of your songs to a new listener, which one would you choose?
That’s hard because I have my personal favorites. “First Date” is good because it’s like a first date as in it’s pretty representative of us. I’m most proud of “Oh Dee Dee”, which is a mid-tempo song that means a lot to me. In terms of me wanting to be The Ronettes, “Kiss Me” is “the hit”, and I think in another time and place would be a Top 40 song.
What can we expect from your set at Rebellion?
We are on midday and get 30 minutes. I timed 11 songs at 26 minutes which gives us a minute or two for stage banter. I have a lot of nervous energy so I tend to turn into a comedian in front of the mic. Jack and Paul are two of the funniest people I know so when we get going, it’s pretty entertaining. The songs we chose are the real rippers, so if we only have 30 minutes to blow people’s minds, it’s gonna be the more “punk rock” high energy songs. I’m throwing Oh Dee Dee in there because it’s my favorite, so if people hate it, I don’t really care. It will give us a break mid-set.
Are there any other bands on the line-up you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
SO MANY. Geez, where do I start. I REALLY want to see Girlschool – they are a band I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I’m really happy to see The Selecter, as I’m a huge fan from 1979. The Svetlanas is another one that I’m excited to see for the first time. Maid of Ace, Sloppy Seconds, The Effigies. The Priscillas and The Courettes are two more. There are a few bands that it’s going to be like a family reunion – like The Undertones, and Sheer Terror, and a few more that are always good to see that I have seen before – The Damned, The Avengers, Wreckless Eric, Mika Bomb. MDC Acoustic could be interesting! I’m also looking to discover new bands, so if you have any recommendations, that would be great. I have a radio show and I’m always looking for new music to get excited about, even at my age. LOL. I don’t want to be the “music was better back in my day” old lady. There’s always people out there doing something new and exciting. I hear stuff all the time that makes me think, “The Kids are Alright”.
What else are you up to this year?
We have a 30 year retrospective coming out. That sounds scary to say. We’re doing other shows in the UK since we’re going all the way out there from the US. We have two London shows, Wolverhampton, Edinburgh, Newcastle, then we land Thursday at Rebellion. We’re also playing a punk festival in Leeds, which should be fun. Then back to lovely Newark, New Jersey!
And finally, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Someone recently asked Greta Thunberg to comment on someone calling her an “angry little girl” or something like that. Her reply is we need more of that. Yes please. Especially being in the US. The fact that we’d rather elect a completely incompetent dunce and rapist over highly competent women is really disturbing. We need a Riot Grrrl resurgence. I think everyone is so beatdown and numb. I try not to be but it’s hard, as half the time, I’m staring into the black pit of despair. I need to channel my inner June Osborne. She’s in there. I think the next album is going to be very angry indeed. Music can change the world. I was actually alive during the Vietnam War and that music was a huge influence on me. I’m seeing this stuff all over again. Nothing is funny about peace, love and understanding, but I’m more in the Malcolm X camp these days than Dr. King.
Thank you so much to Kitty for answering these questions!
Rebellion Festival takes place 7-10 August 2025 – full details and tickets here
You can find The Kowalskis on Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram