And of course no Bill Kozlowski webpage would be complete without the proper political plugs.

Our friend Billy K. had big dreams of kicking George
Bush's ass out of the White House and bettering the world (he was just
slightly political about the world in general and the idiot president,
to say the least).

Below are some tools that you might find helpful to make Bill's dream come true:

Stay informed, get involved, read *real* press:
news.bbc.co.uk
www.michaelmoore.com
www.moveon.org
www.commondreams.org
www.tompaine.com
www.gregpalast.com
www.pkarchive.org

Check out what the democratic national committee is up to: www.democrats.org

How to sign up to vote in your state:
www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/regapp.htm www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/homepage.html www.declareyourself.com

Want a good bush/bad bush shirt? Here it is: www.pinupgirlclothing.com/gobubadbufor.html

And here's some more links Bill would find essential to any good American's favorites:
www.hauntedmansion.info/bushin41point2.htm
www.recallmurkowski.com
www.superspoof.com/bushwar
bellonbush.jpg
bushpics on google
www.robandhans.com/politics/polyhome.html
www.trashbush.com/bumper_stickers.html
www.gwbush.com/archive/index11-08-02.shtml
www.clarkschpiell.com/home/gwbcartoon062303.shtml
funny-posters.junglewalk.com/Poltical-Humor-Posters.asp

Here is the letter written by Collette, who wasn't able to make it to the celebration, but whose words were read during story time.

Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 4:00 PM
To: Bud
Subject: collette here

hi bud,
i just read about bill. i'm in shock, and feel farther from home than i ever have before. if you get a chance at teh memorial, would you please read this for me. thanks.

i wish more than anything i could be in town right now. i'm so homesick as it is, and would want so much to be able to be there with everyone, to give some support to sierra and roxie and all of those other wonderful people who were all so fortunate to have been in bill's space and time.

i miss you all so much, and i can hardly believe that i will not be able to see bill's beautiful smile again. but i will never forget it. it is in the part of my memory reserved for perfect things, where it keeps great company along with alaskan sunsets, my grandma's hands, and the taste of salmonberries.

we are all so lucky to have had the pleasure of mr. kozlowski's company. is there anyone (except the chanting christians and occasional republican) he didn't make smile, legally or otherwise? we can all take great solace in the fact that he left us a legacy of happy times and inspired music. it is greater than any fortune, and will last longer than gold.

there's so much more i want to say, and--hard as it may be to believe--words fail me.
i'll just say this, i loved that boy, and i love every one of you here today. we are all blest to be in a place where our friendships bind us like family, and my heart is with you.

i will be raising a scotch and beer tonight (or two or three, as you well know), for one of the kindest men i've ever met, my friend, bill kozlowski.

there in spirit,
collette
--

Here's a letter Pep wrote about knowing Bill.

This pic was taken from the stage during "story time" at Bill's life celebration.

A Life Well Lived
By Noah Walden
What is the measure of a life well lived? It is not in years, which are often wasted by those who receive many. Nor can it be measured by possessions, they are temporal and no guarantee of happiness. And certainly the money saved in a lifetime bears no relation to the grief expressed upon one's departure.
The qualities which truly contribute to the greatness of a human's life are less quantifiable yet evident nonetheless. The love and loyalty one shared, the laughter a person generated and enjoyed, the dreams brought to fruition, the passion to enjoy each day; these are the elements from which a successful life is wrought. And, by these measurements, one of the most successful lives ever lived came to an end on Tuesday, January 13th when William Kozlowski passed away.
“Bill was a warm, fuzzy, welcoming friend,” said close friend Jill Taylor. “Unimaginable things seemed to happen to him and being near him was amazing.”
Bill was raised in Washington State and attended the Evergreen State College, where he studied music and sound engineering. He was a longtime fixture in the Olympia music scene as the singer, songwriter, guitarist and saxophone player for such bands as Brave New World and Storming Rosetta.
The characteristics for which he will be remembered, the confidence, inner strength, humor, empathy and intelligence, were already clearly evident by his mid-twenties. By this time, too, it was obvious that Bill had the innate ability to bring people together. He collected a fantastic group of people with whom he could share his wisdom, philosophy and laughter. Physically he was remarkable for his sharp blue eyes which flashed with intelligence and wit, and a smile that was comforting and huge. He had a fantastic, nasal laugh and a bizarre, twisted sense of humor which he frequently displayed.
“He was the deepest person I ever knew,” said his mother-in-law, Bonnie Kaden. “But he was not only profound, he was profoundly silly.”
Bill was a big fish in the small pond of Juneau . A vibrant artist, musician, producer and businessman, he arrived there in 1996 and rapidly moved forward with a vision of what the town could be. With his band, Peabody 's Monster, Bill invigorated the scene with what was at the time the only original rock music in town. He formed a label, Rock Alaska Records, with the intention of spurring not only the fledgling Juneau scene, but that of the rest of Alaska as well. From their offices on Franklin , Rock Alaska Records gave life to numerous bands and released compendiums of music from throughout the state.
In 1996 he married his longtime girlfriend, Sierra Kaden. Dozens of people trekked from Alaska and Washington to San Miguel De Allende, Mexico for the ceremony. The attendees' ensuing journey thru central Mexico is the stuff of legends, and those who joined it were forever changed for the better by being there. Friend Nate Buck remembers it fondly as “images of hot spring fed rivers, castles in the jungle, buses to nowhere, and a group of friends whose lives are so inexplicably intertwined that it's difficult to judge where one stops and another begins.”
Bill was many things to many people but there is no way to describe him without describing the disease with which he lived. Bill was born with Type III Von Willebrand's Syndrome, a severe form of hemophilia. The resultant bleeds would sap his strength and often left him in severe pain. Cartilage deterioration in his ankles hobbled him in his early twenties and he endured 17 surgeries on them. Eventually the ankles were fused, which allowed him to live in less pain but severely restricted his mobility. Bill became a strident medical marijuana activist and testified before the state senate for this cause. His hemophilia led to numerous other complications and eventually resulted in the heart attack which took his life at age 32.
Bill was long aware of his physical fragility and he compensated for it with an inexorable mental tenacity. Realizing that his days might be numbered, Bill went after each one with a drive and passion few have. He pushed those around him to succeed, often using a quick wit and occasionally acrid tongue to lash others into action. He believed in his own greatness, and demanded the same from his friends. He taught all those around him that life is fleeting without ever having to say the words.
It was his disability, too, which led to his greatest triumph. In the past two years, with the help of partner Bret Connell , Bill developed a system by which people with disabilities could communicate with their employers and care givers. These products have the potential to change the lives of millions of people in America and beyond.
There are no words to describe the life Bill Kozlowski lived as vividly as the ones that follow. They are from a letter to Bill written by his widow in the days following his passing:
Billy,
I have spent the last three days since you left us laughing (and crying) but mostly my cheeks hurt from smiling, thinking of you, Billy. You have taught us all so much. You left with no regrets. You told everybody that you loved them. You let everybody know what you were thinking. You are truly the only person that I have ever known that did exactly what he said he was going to do (no matter how f***** up an idea it was). Not many people leave this world having said everything they needed to.
When I was 18 I saw you and you looked a little different from the rest.
When I was 19 you convinced me to take off all my clothes and walk with you naked down a 1/ 4 mile dock. We got caught… and it was funny.
When I was 19 you convinced me to sing with you and you never told me how truly lousy my voice is.
When I was 20 you picked me up after class on Friday and we drove 2,000 miles before classes started on Monday.
When I was 21 you asked me to marry you and I said no because you loved too much and too deeply. How silly is that, Billy?
But when I was 22, you offered my father two pigs and a goat. (It's true!)
When I was 23 we spent the night in a whore house because you didn't know what else to do…. One week later I married you.
I can't really recall what has happened since. But now it has been 11 years. Not a single day has gone by without laughter.

Here is a letter to Bill from his truly inspiring mother Roxy.

My Super Duper Billy Booper (always my nickname for him). Our family refers to him as the Pied Piper!

For 32 years I got to ride on this magical mystery tour of Billy's journey.

He had taken many family and friends to places only dreams are made of.

How
I miss that wonderful boy & man with the twinkling blue eyes and
matching blue hair and Cheshire smile. The crazy phone calls of idea's
like: "Mom... Krista and Bret and Sierra and I are going on the Green
Tortoise for a ride to California", and they did. "Hi mom I'm on my way
to Boston to drive a Green Trolley to Juneau!", and he did. Or "I'm
getting married in Mexico and everyone is coming", and we did. And one
of the best ones was a year and a half ago... "Mom I'm going to be a
millionaire with this new business" and he was the richest person I
ever knew already.

Billy was an exceptional forgiving soul (unless you were the cable or phone company!)

He
was such a magnet to beautiful and wonderful caring compassionate
people. This has made my life richer in knowing them. Thanks for
sharing Boop!

So much laughter and Love

He loved us all!

As his Mom I watched in amazement at his accomplishments and struggles, and witnessed the pain he endured without complaint.

Now we are left with such great memories and friendships because of Billy.

Then there's the Pain of the Loss of him. I can't even begin to think my heart will ever heal as it is irrevocably broken.

Billy's spirit is in all of us. What a great gift he was.

So
for a short 32 years I was so grateful to have had him in my life. I
never would have made it if it wasn't for Billy and Krista.

He was a talented creative and crazy guy who left us way too soon.

I'm thankful for his music as we will always have that. I was his groupie

So now every time the sun shines or the heavens are crying or the breeze hits my face I think you.

I Love you Boop !  Forever in my heart.

Mom

Here is another letter to Bill from his beautiful, amazing, and super-awesome sister Krista.

Who Bill became to me

My first best and longest friend

The one who with me loved and cherished our hours swimming at the Lake House

The 20ft tree- forts we built that only I would climb, while Bill made a fire in the bottom.

The
go cart we created that went out of control going doing a very steep
hill when our makeshift brakes made of crutches failed….we landed in
the lake. The last thing I can remember before hitting the water was
Bill yelling “NO BREAAAKKKESS” as he waved the once attached brakes
over his head.

Our all day treks to Evergreen Valley
Grocery aka EVG. All the 2hr walk to the store we talked of all the
things we were going to buy with the money that we earned form mowing
all the neighbors' yards and looting mom's purses. All the way home,
sticking piece after piece of penny candy in our mouths …..making
trades when appropriate.

The army men wars that ALWAYS
ended in hairspray torching…..which would lead again to mowing the
lawns of all the neighboring yards, to replace the army men.

The Barbie's that Bill conceded to play with.

The
swings made of blankets that we hung from the beams in the ceiling,
with the purpose of watching MASH and The Dukes of Hazard.

The wild kittens that we would adopt by the litter.

The moving

The endless hours cramped in cars playing the license plate game or the alphabet game.

Teasing Bill when he made the often mistake of telling Mom and myself that he needed to go to the bathroom.

Reno-
we spent hours down at the local cinema watching every movie Bill
wanted to see…..he didn't seem to ever grow out of that J

The
one place that we both almost got our asses kicked. I saved him from 3
boys and he later saved me from one scraggly little girl….of all things
J

Tumwater—Ironically Bill and Bret, Miguel and Dan all
conspired to catch me smoking pot, you might think that they wanted
some…..but the story actually is more interesting…they wanted to turn
me into the DARE program because they had heard they could get a
thousand dollars J They never caught me.

TESC—A Dorm…many
fond memories of visiting Bill. I also loved the hours of him playing
his music all over town with his various bands. I could be seen
enjoying myself front and center completely immersed in Bill creations.

I have many memories that I am thankful for. I am also appreciative that Bill became such an influence in Ross Jr's life….

Bill
I will forever have a hole in the center of my heart, the place that
you taught me to allow myself to love. I cherish the time and tightness
of our love!

Bill was more than my brother; he was the
co-warrior in our crazy childhood. He was the love and affection that I
learned to express; he was the strength that changed my destiny.

I MISS YOU BILL!

Love always, sis

Here's a version of Bill's song Superheroes recorded in the Peabody's Monster studio with Josh Lovett on drums, Ryan on Guitars, Percussion, and bg Vocals, Simon on Bass and bg Vocals, and Bill on Guitar and Vocals. Mixed and Mastered by Alex, Ryan, and Bill.

And here's the lyrics:

Super Heroes
by Bill Kozlowski

incredible hulk has the room next door
he's a gentle giant with a heart of gold
but don't make him angry, no don't make him angry
you just may not like him if he got angry!
spiderman spins a twisted web
what does it say about the live he's lived
when does it end does it ever end at all?
aren't we all like spiderman just climbing the wall?
superheroes, hall of justice
i'm right there saturday morning cartoon, tv show
superheroes, hall of justice
i'm right there saturday morning cartoon, tv show
wonder twin powers, activate!
form of a piece of ice, i need one for my drink
wonder twin powers, activate!
fantastic four have their transfers again
no matter where they'll be they'll always be friends
elastic man takes his shape again
until the next, until the next time
superheroes, hall of justice
i'm right there saturday morning cartoon, tv show
superheroes, hall of justice
i'm right there saturday morning cartoon, tv show
wonder twin powers, activate!
form of a piece of ice, i need one for my drink
wonder twin powers, activate!

Here is an MP3 of one of Bill's oldest songs: High Howya Doin' (recorded live with Peabody's Monster at the Haines AK Fair, July 2000). And for those interested here are the lyrics:

High Howya Doin'
by Bill Kozlowski
hi howya doin whacha thinking about
you know you can't think when you think out loud
you don't know anything you don't know anyone
everying is crazy when you're on the run
once upon a time not so long ago
when i was walkin and i did not know
which way was up which way was down
all i knew that i was coming down
crashing down to earth in a ball of flames
well i was riding that old peace train
when i arrived what did i find?
two thugs-a-waiting just to take me for a ride.
smoking bowls and drinking wine
two shots of vodka and i feel fine
and if i thought that it'd make me sick
well i dropped some acid that'll do the trick
drivin my car and tripping balls
ran a stop sign, at the mall
howdy k-mart shoppers did you find the blue light?
spinning around in a cop's delight
out of the car and into the air
well the cop's all freakin but i don't care
if he wants to bust me well that's his trip
mine's been ruined by this blue suited prick
is it ok?
it's ok
is it ok?
it's ok!
is it OK.
hi howya doin whacha thinking about
well i called old mom to bail me out
she laughed at me on the phone
she called me stupid, and said no
i stood there tripping, in the cell
all the walls barred and a shitter from hell
when all of a sudden this dude came up
he asked for my name i was really fucked up
he said hi, howdy, little boy,
want to come and be my toy?
i looked at him and started to freak
this is way too much for the middle of my week
i said no thank you i respectfully declined
and tried to change the subject saying what's your crime?
he looked at me and smiled and said
killed twelve people shot 'em in the head
i said oh isn't this swell i am living in a personal hell
hi howya doin whacha thinking about
well its almost time to get loud
the stories over it was all a lie
i never really trip and i hardly get high
at least if i do i don't get caught
knock on wood, don't tell my mom
if she knew she'd call the cops
and heaven know's then i'd really be fucked
if your bored just call out loud
we'll smoke a bowl and tip some cows
nothing left to say
is it ok?
it's ok
is it ok?
it's ok!
is it OK.

Bill called in to Talk Alaska during the big debate over the Medical Marijuana legislation here in Alaska in 1999. Here is a recording of Bill's passionate comments.

A very common post for Bill. Campfire, guitar, singing to his friends:

This is just another beautiful picture of beautiful Billy. For those of us that know him, the look on his face is quite familiar. (also, note the Che t-shirt)

This is the earliest recording I could find of Hi Howya Doin', with totally different lyrics. Those of you that were in college with Bill may remember him playing it this way. You can obviously tell its still a work in progress! Those of you that played this song with him will be interested to hear a familiar bridge in there which he later turned into Like I Started Dreaming. And those of you whom over the years Bill ever gave singing tips to... Enjoy! ;)

Hi How Ya Doin - First Recording (mp3) 

I'm sure The Noses wouldn't mind my putting their song, RLM, on this site. When I heard it for the first time since his passing I could swear Bill was speaking through them. Laughter far outweighed the cries. And all the way down to the nearly haunting saxophone solo at the end. Make sure to check out the lyrics. RLM, by the Noses (MP3).

shelters underneath your skies
beauty's right behind your eyes
i know every person dies
truth was sifted from the lies
sickness blessing in disguise
laughter far outweighed the cries
those were kicked out by the highs
when you were alive...
remember sunshine
forget the rain
remember good times
don't suppress the pain
laughter far outweighed the cries
those were kicked out by the highs
sickness blessing in disguise
truth was sifted from the lies
when you were alive...
remember sunshine
forget the rain
remember good times
don't suppress the pain
remember sunshine
forget the rain
remember good times
when you hear my name

Here's a pic of Bill at Ryan & Laura's wedding where he sang them a beautiful song he wrote.

When not playing music or hanging with his wife, Che Kozlowski can be found on the beach in Mexico smoking only the finest.

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011604/let_letter1.shtml

Here is a letter Dan Covey wrote the day he found out:

Bill, Bret, Miguel and I were tight in high school, then I headed east to WSU to begin my transition into a right wing wacko, and Bill ended up at Evergreen, which tends to lead a person down the opposite path. That's my rationalization for why we grew apart over the years, but I think that even though we almost never saw each other, and only traded occasional IMs on Yahoo, I think that Bill never considered our friendship to have diminished.

Bill could convince me to do just about anything, like make a spur of the moment 36 hour round trip pilgrimage to Reno, or by a drum set so I could joint his band—even though we both knew I had neither the rhythm or credit limit.

The four of us were living in the U-District in Seattle when I got run over by a car. Bill was the first one to show up at the emergency room, and after I said I was OK, he laughed at me for 10 minutes. But Bill was the one that changed the dressings on my back and rear end for almost a month, I think that's an example of why he could get me to do almost anything, because I knew he'd do anything for me.

I took him for granted when I knew he was a phone call or e-mail away, and now I really miss him. That's the last lesson he taught me, you can't take a friend like Bill for granted.

-
Dan Covey

Here's Bill's obituary from the Juneau Empire: http://juneauempire.com/stories/011604/obi_obit1.shtml

Here is a wonderful pic of Bill at his wedding. Hands-down, the happiest time of his life.

Here's a pic of Bill in another typical pose. This one playing his Sax at the 1999 Alaskan Folk Fest in Juneau, AK. Bill and Peabody's Monster lugged their electric gear on stage for their 15-minute set and rocked the roof off the otherwise folk-infused centennial hall.

Billy,

I have spent the last three days since you left
us laughing (and crying) but mostly my cheeks hurt from smiling,
thinking of you, Billy. You have taught us all so much. You left with
no regrets. You told everybody that you loved them. You let everybody
know what you were thinking. You are truly the only person that I have
ever known that did exactly what he said he was going to do (no matter
how f***** up an idea it was). Not many people leave this world having
said everything they needed to.

When I was 18 I saw you and you looked a little different from the rest.

When
I was 19 you convinced me to take off all my clothes and walk with you
naked down a 1/ 4 mile dock. We got caught… and it was funny.

When I was 19 you convinced me to sing with you and you never told me how truly lousy my voice is.

When I was 20 you picked me up after class on Friday and we drove 2,000 miles before classes started on Monday.

When I was 21 you asked me to marry you and I said no because you loved too much and too deeply. How silly is that, Billy?

But when I was 22, you offered my father two pigs and a goat. (It's true!)

When I was 23 we spent the night in a whore house because you didn't know what else to do…. One week later I married you.

I can't really recall what has happened since. But now it has been 11
years. Not a single day has gone by without laughter.
Sierra