I was born in Warsaw and grew up in the infamous Grochów district. It might sound like a cliché, but music was my form of escape. I wanted to study drums in a High School of Music but they didn't take in people like me too eagerly. I thought that I didn't fit the stereotype of 'the musician' - a sensitive artist - generally everything which I wasn't, with my slang and background. However, a friend of mine had a bass guitar to sell. I was instantly hooked and started saving up for the instrument. It seemed to take ages but I finally managed to earn enough money to buy a bass. The first five years of my education on the bass were pretty strange. I couldn't watch video lessons, because only two people out of all that I knew actually had a VHS! My first bass tutoring came from Tony Oppenheim's "Slap It!". The irony of it all is that I never had any proper musical education yet now I'm an author of three bass tutoring schoolbooks.
In 1991, I went abroad to earn some money. I worked as a stage technician in Italy. Then I promised myself never to work on the black market again. I took up a job as a security guard in a cafe in Warsaw. One day I received a phone call from one of the most famous guitarists in Poland, a man who sold over 6 million records in total - Jan Borysewicz. He was starting a project named Jan Bo and was holding auditions for bassists. I was overjoyed to hear that I got the gig after my first rehearsal with the band. I was also pretty lucky, considering that a few days later, a bomb went off in the cafe I used to work in.
After a year of work with Borysewicz I was able to pay off all my debts and buy my first car. I soon began working with various stars of the Polish music market. In 1993, I took my first trip to the States. I was able to see the live shows of the people I could only see on video tape in the past (and I came up with the conclusion that these are not gods in any way but normal guys who have to brush their teeth in the morning just like me and a great deal of other people). Since then I've recorded about a hundred records, five of which were my solo albums and one under a nickname Dyplom.
Nowadays, I'm working with the most popular musicians in Poland - big stars such as Kasia Kowalska, Woobie Doobie, Jan Bo, and my own project TTr2.
:: turning the globe ::
Wojtek Pilichowski's performances abroad include: European Bass Days:
* Holland (Njimengen) 2003,
* Germany European Bass Day, Viersen, 2004
* Germany (Frankfurt, Ingolstadt) 2004
* Italia, Rimini
* Euro Bass Days in Verona: 2003, 2004
"The Bass Days have been a very inspiring experience for me. I got to play next to stars and bassists from all over the world. These were extremely amazing events!"
* London Guitar Show 2004, 2005
* NAMM Show 2005 in Los Angeles, USA
Additionaly, Wojtek often performs abroad (quite often in the States) supporting pop stars such as Kasia Kowalska or the Borysewicz & Kukiz duo.
:: bows wows ::
Wojtek Pilichowski is honored by many prestigious Polish awards, including:
* Playbox award (a prize awarded by all prime radio stations in the country) for Best Bassist in the following years: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001
* "Gitara i Bas" ["Guitar and Bass"] magazine poll (the winner is chosen by the readers of the magazine) for Best Bassist: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
for Best Rhythm Section:
* 2001 (with drummer Michal Dabrówka)
* 2003 (with drummer Tomasz Losowski)
:: nowadays ::
Wojtek is busy giving concerts with the following bands:
* pop singer Kasia Kowalska's band (alongside Wojtek Olszak, Jurek Runowski, Michal Grymuza and Michal Dabrówka)
* TTR2 (with Marek Raduli and Tomasz Losowski and we are the meanest motherfuckers in polish jazz)
Wojtek annually gives approximately 120 concerts.