Early Life
Rzeznik was born in Buffalo, New York, the youngest of five children of Edith (née Pomeroy) and Joseph Rzeznik, a bar proprietor and postal clerk. His name is pronounced (r)ZHEZ-nik and means 'butcher' in Polish. Both of Rzeznik's parents were musicians, playing the clarinet and flute. Rzeznik had a strict Catholic upbringing on Buffalo's working-class East Side and attended Corpus Christi Grammar School. Rzeznik's father died from diabetic coma at the age of fifty-five when Rzeznik was fifteen years old. Six months later his mother died from a sudden heart attack. Having lost both of his parents, he was brought up by his four older sisters. It was during this period and while attending McKinley Vocational High School that Rzeznik began playing the guitar. Rzeznik briefly attended Buffalo State College, dropping out after freshman year. Both sides of Rzeznik's grandparents were born in Poland.
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