Mike Kowalski was born in
Hollywood, California. He started singing and playing piano at the age of three. His first professional engagement was playing boogie-woogie piano with
Mel Torme on drums for a television pilot at the age of five, filmed on location at
Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco. At age ten, he was given a set of
Slingerland Radio-King drums by actor
Jack Webb of
Dragnet, a noted
jazz aficionado. At the age of fifteen, he was playing drums professionally with various local rock and
rhythm and blues bands. He performed both on stage and on screen as his family was affiliated with the
film and
television industries. By age nineteen he was playing drums with Los Angeles-based singers Pat and Lolly Vegas, who later formed the
pop/rock group
Redbone. Also during this time, Kowalski performed and recorded with
Sonny & Cher,
Little Anthony & the Imperials and
Etta James. Kowalski, along with the Vegas Brothers and several players from
The Wrecking Crew, recorded "Laugh At Me",
Sonny Bono's only hit song as a solo artist. Produced by Bono and
Snuff Garrett, the song reached the Top 10 in the US, UK, and Canada in August 1965. At age 21, Kowalski was the drummer on that record. On January 3, 1968, Kowalski flew to
London to join guitarist Ed Carter's
blues rock band, The New Nadir, with
Gary Thain on bass. Over the next several months, The New Nadir performed regularly on the city's club circuit. The trio shared the bill at the Marquee Club with
Jethro Tull,
Ten Years After,
The Nice, the
Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, and the
Jeff Beck Group, to name a few. A highlight for Kowalski was at the
Speakeasy, when a friend of Carter's sat in with the band. The friend was
Jimi Hendrix. In March, producer
Joe Boyd signed The New Nadir to his production company,
Witchseason Productions. The New Nadir recorded three songs for Boyd, written by Carter and
Peter Dawkins. In May, the group disbanded. Kowalski and Carter returned to Los Angeles, while Thain remained in London, eventually gaining recognition with
Keef Hartley and
Uriah Heep. In early 1969, Kowalski lived in Marin County, Sepp Donahower calls. Albert Collins auditioned drummers at the Matrix and Kowalski was hired. He toured with Collins until he left for the UK in the fall. Kowalski and Carter returned to London to fulfill their contract to Witchseason Productions. The album they recorded reflected and combined their passion for
Latin jazz, rock and
country music. During this period, Kowalski drummed on albums by
John Martyn,
Beverley Martyn,
Dudu Pukwana,
Mike Heron and
Nick Drake; all of the aforementioned were signed to Witchseason Productions. In 1968, Kowalski met Dawn Aston from
Kent, England. They were married in California in 1969. ==The Beach Boys and The Backsters==