Official Statements
Table of Contents
Official Statements
Biography by R. Jayne R.C.U.
Andrew W.K. was born Andrew Wilkes-Krier in Stanford, California in 1979, before moving to Michigan at age 4. He began piano lessons promptly at age 5, studying at The University Of Michigan School Of Music Pedagogy program. By his early teens Andrew had already exhibited great enthusiasm and talent for both music and the visual arts. He spent his high school years playing drums and keyboard in an almost endless variety of short-lived, but passionate groups, all centered in southeast Michigan’s explosive cultural scene. By the age of 17, Andrew had graduated from high school – one year early – in an effort to dedicate all his time to his creative endeavors. He was accepted to The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago, but instead chose to move to New York City in 1997, at age 18, to pursue his vision alone.
Upon arriving in New York, Andrew found odd jobs in art galleries, department stores, avant-garde fashion boutiques, selling opera tickets, and as a gumball machine salesman; anything to support his real interest: making the most exciting music he could. He pursued this goal day and night, putting all of his abilities and resources into the writing and recording of his own material. Shortening his name from Andrew Wilkes-Krier to Andrew W.K., he set out on a mission to get his music heard not only in New York, but also around the world. Without a band or even a partner, Andrew began performing solo concerts anywhere he could get them. Using only a keyboard, drum machine, and his voice, Andrew played shows up and down the east coast. He vowed to play any show, any place, any time, and wound up performing everywhere from coffee houses to basements. Quickly the word spread of the energy and raw excitement of Andrew and the music, and soon he found himself performing for larger crowds. After performing several shows with friends and fellow New York performers, Fishcerspooner, Andrew was invited to play 2 engagements at a popular Belgian Arts Festival called Over The Edges. This was only the very beginning of a fast and wild ride.
Andrew signed a recording contract with Island Def Jam Records/Universal Music, and began the recording of his debut full-length CD. Titled I GET WET, the album’s release in 2001 caused a widespread and diverse wave of reaction, landing Andrew on the covers of international music magazines, like the UK’s NME, which featured him not once, but twice on the cover of the same issue (adding an additional page to accommodate the double image). More press followed, catapulting Andrew to overnight exposure in the international music world. Magazines worldwide praised the originality and undeniable intensity of his music, and articles in GQ, Rolling Stone, Spin, Q, Mojo, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Jane, The New Yorker, FHM, Playboy, Oui, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Alternative Press, i-D, The Face, Dazed & Confused, Bizzare, Newsweek, The New York Post, Stuff, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, and dozens and dozens and dozens of others, the world over, all agreed that the A.W.K. style had made a mark in the wide world of music.
Now that Andrew W.K. had arrived, it was time to take the music to the stage, and Andrew had to form a band. Instead of auditioning random applicants, Andrew decided to write a letter to his favorite drummer, a man named Donald Tardy, who plays in the band Obituary. Andrew sent Donald the music and asked if he would join his band. Having no expectations, Andrew was shocked when Tardy wrote back and agreed to play the music. After Donald came an additional 7 musicians, including Gregg Roberts (bass guitar, vocals), Sgt. Frank (guitar), Jimmy Coup (guitar, vocals), Kendall A. (guitar, vocals), E. Payne (guitar, vocals), John Sutton (guitar), and even a second drummer, Richie Russo, who played on stage next to Donald, in perfect synchronicity. Andrew relocated to Brandon, Florida, in order to rehearse with the band and prepare the music for live performances. Immediately following the release of I GET WET, Andrew W.K. and his newly formed band began a world tour, which would continue for 3 years and over 500 concerts. Major U.S. tours, including highly coveted Ozzfest and Warped Tour dates, as well as countless hall and arena shows with everyone from Aerosmith, to The Locust, gave the music even further exposure and proved that A.W.K. music goes beyond genre and classifaction – it seemed purely “a man and music”. Major network television appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Last Call With Carson Daly, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, CNN, Fox Sports, Access Hollywood, Top Of The Pops, VH1, and MTV led to an eventual T.V. series of his own, entitled Your Friend, Andrew W.K. The show featured Andrew giving personal advice to fans who wrote in asking for help. MTV2 presented the series, along with countless other Andrew W.K. appearances on MTV, VH1, Much Music, and FUSE.
In the midst of his non-stop schedule, Andrew recorded and released his second album, THE WOLF, which was received with enthusiasm by both fans and the media alike. The album was recorded much in the same tradition Andrew established with his earliest songs: Andrew himself playing every instrument, and recording track after track of music, with each song tracking at least 90 individual parts, if not 200 or more individual tracks. Andrew and his band took the new album to the stage and performed tours across the globe, including festivals in Reading, Leeds, Tokyo, Osaka, and Taiwan. During this wave of shows, Andrew broke his foot on stage while getting tangled in his own microphone cable. Rather than sit it out and heal at home, W.K. decided to continue the tour, and played the remaining 60 shows in a wheelchair. One of these performances was filmed at the Spike T.V. Video Game Awards. Earlier in the year, W.K. had sustained a head injury during the filming of his music video, We Want Fun, with director Spike Jonze, for the Jackass Movie soundtrack. Despite these physical setbacks, the music continued and the party continues to spread, one person at a time.
At the close of 2004, Andrew began work on the massive WHO KNOWS? live-concert movie. In it, more than 300 hours of live concert footage, spanning 1992-2004, was condensed into a rapid-fire viewing experience. The film was edited using a special multi-track video process, in which multiple performances can be synchronized and layered together, with the audio and video overlapping to create a seamless sequence of shots from different concerts. The layering process of the video is similar to the layering process Andrew uses to record his music, and when performing. The movie was screened at sell-out shows in New York City and Hollywood, where Andrew performed in-person piano solos. WHO KNOWS? was released on DVD by Music Video Distributors / R. Jayne / R.C.U. Video.
Andrew W.K. released his third album, entitled “Close Calls With Brick Walls” in Spring 2006. The album was released exclusively in Asia due to legal issues surrounding usage of the name “Andrew W.K.” Andrew toured both South Korea and Japan extensively in 2006. .
In December 2009, a lecture recorded at Madame Jojo’s in London in September 2008 was published online. In it Andrew W.K. claimed that the Andrew W.K. persona was created by a committee including himself, his father, and other individuals, and that he was the “next person playing Andrew W.K.” Claiming, “I’m not the guy you’ve seen from the I Get Wet album… I’m not that same person. I don’t just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way. It’s not the same person at all.” Andrew W.K. later went on to clarify that he believed that he, as well as his fans that have followed him since the original album, have become “different people.”
He went further on to say: “Andrew W.K. was created by a large group of people. They met, and I was there, and we talked about how we could come up with something that would move people. It was done in the spirit of commerce. It was done in the spirit of entertainment, which usually goes hand in hand with commerce. I was auditioned, along side many other people, to fill this role of a ‘great frontman’, ‘a great performer’. On the one hand it may be a little scary to admit this to you all, that I may not be exactly who you thought I was, and that the guy who was, in fact, first hired as Andrew W.K. is a different person than the guy sitting here on the stage tonight. I’m the next person who is playing Andrew W.K.”
However On Tuesday 24 February, 2010, Andrew WK hosted an event Santos Party House in New York, where members of the public could ask him anything they liked. He stated that “I am Andrew W.K., the same that has been here from the beginning… I am… I am, I am the same Andrew W.K. at this appearance as at all Andrew W.K.-related appearances.”
Later in 2010 due to finding a loophole in his contractual agreements he was able to release his 2006 album “Close Calls With Brick Walls” world wide. He released this along with another album called “Mother Of Mankind” which contained rare and unreleased tracks from 1999 right through to 2010.
He still lives in New York City.
- Biography provided by R. Jayne R.C.U.
Andrew W.K. Inc. Responds To Steev Mike Website Hacking
Retrieved from: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~msd29/Andrew%20W_K.htm
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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After sorting through thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls, we’ve put together a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions related to the recent “ANDREW W.K.”, “STEEV MIKE” and “12/17/04 CONCERT” events.
***PLEASE NOTE: The information in this “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS” is directly related to several specific areas and is NOT representative of the general topic of “ANDREW W.K.”***
First, we’d like to use this opportunity to thank all of ANDREW W.K.’s passionate fans. Your support has been overwhelming and has certainly enabled us to always move forward, continue, and progress. Next, we want to assure you that there is no reason to worry – when it comes to A.W.K., you have nothing to fear. Every piece of this process is being handled carefully and completely, and we’ll continue to keep you informed as the situation develops.
Lastly, like anyone truly devoted to his or her calling in life, we strive to perform our duties in a highly principled and just manner, and we believe that we produce the finest results possible considering the conditions.
We hope that the following “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS” will shed some light on the issues and topics you’ve been wondering about. Most of all, we hope this will serve as a reassuring disclosure regarding the music we all feel so strongly about. Thank you again for your heartfelt loyalty.
“ANDREW W.K.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
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Q: Where is Andrew W.K.?
A: “ANDREW W.K.” is currently in the process of making the 3rd full length ANDREW W.K. album.
Q: Who is Kristine Williams and why is she writing on the websites?
A: Kristine Williams has been involved with ANDREW W.K., Inc. and AWKworld.com since the release of the first album, “I GET WET”. She has contributed writing, computer design and programming, as well as work in the administrative offices at The Louise Harland Corporation. Kristine Williams has recently been assigned the responsibility of maintaining the website operations. The current situation has made it necessary to have additional specialists, including Kristine Williams operate and oversee the ANDREW W.K. websites.
Q: Is Andrew W.K. dead?
A: No. “ANDREW W.K.” is alive and well.
Q: Who is Steev Mike?
A: STEEV MIKE is the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the ANDREW W.K. albums “I GET WET” and “THE WOLF”. STEEV MIKE’s contributions to ANDREW W.K., Inc. and “ANDREW W.K.” personally, have proved incredibly effective, and for this reason STEEV MIKE has always been well regarded within the organization.
Q: Are Steev Mike and Andrew W.K. the same person?
A: No. “ANDREW W.K.” and STEEV MIKE are not the same person. In the past “ANDREW W.K.” has stated that he used to call himself STEEV MIKE, however this does not indicate that they are in fact the same individual.
Q: Did Steev Mike hack into the Andrew W.K. websites?
A: Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to comment at this time.
Q: Did Steev Mike write all of Andrew’s music?
A: As stated before, STEEV MIKE is the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the “ANDREW W.K.” albums “I GET WET” and “THE WOLF”. In the music business, individual producers contribute to the making of an album in many different ways. Sometimes producers work very closely with the development and inception of an album, other times their efforts are directed towards the guiding and supervising of the production process. STEEV MIKE’s ingenuity will always be respected and highly regarded.
Q: Is someone pretending to be Steev Mike and trying to discredit Andrew?
A: No.
Q: Do you know if an A.W.K. fan is making all those websites?
A: There are well over 50 websites registered to ANDREW W.K., Inc. Recently there have been complications with a small handful of these sites, namely www.WeWantFun.com and www.AndrewKW.com. The decision was made to dismantle these and other related sites until further information regarding their malfunction becomes available.
Q: What is The Louise Harland Corporation?
A: The Louise Harland Corporation is a division of ANDREW W.K., Inc. and is managed by PNFW LLP located in New York City, at 156 West 56th Street, NY, NY, 10019 USA. The Louise Harland Corporation is responsible for many areas of operation within ANDREW W.K., Inc. and “ANDREW W.K.”.
Q: Who makes the music and writes the Andrew W.K. songs?
A: All of the ANDREW W.K. music is administered by ANDREW W.K. MUSIC, Inc., which is part of ANDREW W.K., Inc. The recordings and songs themselves are owned by ANDREW W.K. MUSIC, Inc. and THE UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP. “ANDREW W.K.” performs the vocals in studio recordings and in concert. All songs are made by “ANDREW W.K.”
Q: Is it true that Diane Warren is the songwriter for all the A.W.K. music?
A: As previously stated, ANDREW W.K., Inc. is and always has been solely responsible for all related “ANDREW W.K.” output, including but not limited to recorded music, video and television, merchandise, and any other items or productions using the name “ANDREW W.K.”. Statements to the contrary are false and should be ignored.
Q: Is it true that someone else “made-up” or “created” Andrew?
A: ANDREW W.K., Inc. is and always has been solely responsible for all related “ANDREW W.K.” output, including but not limited to recorded music, video and television, merchandise, and any other items or productions using the name “ANDREW W.K.”. Statements to the contrary are false and should be ignored.
Q: What are all the number codes about?
A: We urge you to dismiss any sort of “codes” which may have been presented on “ANDREW W.K.” websites or other forms of communication including the “(212) 714-4646″ telephone number. “ANDREW W.K.” has never and will never communicate through “codes” or “coded messages”. “ANDREW W.K.” prides himself on being honest and straightforward in all his efforts to share information fairly with his fans.
Q: What happened at the concert in New Jersey?
A: On December 17th, 2004, “ANDREW W.K.” was scheduled to headline a sold-out concert at the Rexplex in Elizabeth, New Jersey as part of WSOU Radio’s “Holiday Bash”. At approximately 11:00PM the concert began and continued through it’s full duration – there were no major problems reported and those involved from ANDREW W.K., Inc. and WSOU Radio agreed that the show was a success.
Q: Is it true that there was an Andrew W.K. look a like at the New Jersey show?
A: Many contradicting statements report that there may have been a person (or persons) dressed in clothing deliberately assembled to replicate “ANDREW W.K.’s” appearance. It is not known whether this was done with malicious intent or simply to pay tribute to the “ANDREW W.K.” image. It has been noted that WSOU Radio had several employees dressed as various holiday characters appropriate for the evening’s theme. It is largely assumed that the “look-a-likes” were simply “ANDREW W.K.” fans, enjoying an opportunity to dress up as “ANDREW W.K.”. However it has yet to be confirmed exactly what occurred. We encourage you to ignore further reports unless issued from “ANDREW W.K.” or ANDREW W.K., Inc. directly.
Q: Was it really Andrew who was on stage during the show?
A: Yes. “ANDREW W.K.” was on stage for the entirety of the 12/17/04 concert in New Jersey, performing lead vocal and piano, and keyboard parts.
Q: What happened to Andrew after the concert?
A: Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to comment at this time.
Q: Where does Andrew live?
A: Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to comment at this time.
Q: How can I talk to Andrew? How can I meet Andrew?
A: “ANDREW W.K.” is well known for his easily accessible personality. At this time “ANDREW W.K.” is unavailable.
Q: I have a plan to help save Andrew. How can I get to him?
A: “ANDREW W.K.” appreciates his fans and friends love and their outpour of devotion and concern. Please be advised that “ANDREW W.K.” is not in danger or in need of “help” in any way, nor does he request the assistance of anyone outside of the immediate company. We encourage you to continue your support for “ANDREW W.K.” by participating in the music and all that it has to offer.
Q: Is Andrew W.K. actually an actor hired to play a role?
A: “ANDREW W.K.” is dedicated to making the most exciting music possible and committed to providing fans with a truly stimulating experience. Please refer to the article “WHO IS ANDREW W.K.?” for more information.
We will continue to update and revise these FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS as needed.
Andrew W.K. Responds to Steev Mike Accusations on Official Website
Since 2001, I have been accused of being part of a conspiracy in which I knowingly entered into a contract with creative directors called Steev Mike, who proceeded to invent a new identity for me to perform under. I’m here to say this is simply not true and a gross exaggeration of easily explainable and common-place music industry practices. Of course I work with people who choose not to include their whole names or real names in the credits, or who aren’t on stage with me during my shows – but taking advice and guidance from other people doesn’t mean I’m a victim of mind-control. That’s like science fiction! Andrew W.K. is about partying and doing what you want! We want fun, and that really is what I am about.
These lies have unfortunately been with me since my career started – critics were saying I had to be a fake puppet for the record industry because I appeared over night. These simple untrue allegations have grown over the years to the point now where I have to defend myself. I have done many interviews and talks where I have explained the nature of how I got into music, and I admitted that I did work with people. But people have still taken what I said and tried to call me a liar and a fake. What alarms me most about these accusations is that they remind me of witch trials: The kind of people who accuse Andrew W.K. of being a talking head for some secret conspiracy to corrupt people’s morals are the same people who claim MTV and Cartoon Network are owned by secret rulers of the world out to poison kid’s brains, or that pop stars like Beyonce or Lady Gaga are part of some occult society, or that companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, or Hollywood are secretly promoting hidden plans. Or that the President of the USA is just a figure head and reading a script given to him by a secret world power. Come on!
We’re working in a business where there are different ends and different means. No one controlled Frank Sinatra or told him how to sing. No secret group of managers has been telling someone like Jay-Z what to do or how to look. And no one tells me what to do, except me and the people who believe in me. I am a real person who thinks for himself and am not the victim of anyone or group of people trying to influence my career or life. I take responsibility for everything in my life, including who I work for and what happens to me because of it. Just because a person has mentors or advisers doesn’t mean they don’t have their own brain and soul. And just because I work with other people who advise me doesn’t mean that I am a puppet for an evil cult or a have some sort of master plan. I make party music – plain and simple. In fact, it is me who is the innocent victim of a conspiracy of critics and haters who don’t believe in the power of music and pure true fun. It is us artists who are the victims. It’s crazy that still today, brand new artists like Lady Gaga have already been dealing with the same sort of paranoid allegations that I’ve has been dealing with since 2001. It just doesn’t stop! We are not puppets, we are human beings.
Musicians are not acting, we are real people. We are not part of a conspiracy! It’s really intense when people are telling you who you are, so I’m going to tell them who THEY are! On behalf of all musicians, the entertainment industry, and everyone else who’s ever been falsely accused, YOU ARE NOT HURTING US AND YOU ARE NOT STOPPING THIS. The party will continue! We will endure! It has become too common for musical artists and performers to be labeled as part of some global scam to control the world, or that we’re puppets for a larger agenda designed to hurt people. That’s why I’m speaking out and loudly declaring: I am not evil and neither are any of my other fellow members of showbusiness. We are here to bring fun and light into the world, not doubt and darkness. I have been accused of having people design my image, tell me what to say in interviews, design my clothes, the way I look and talk, and of course my music. It’s true I do work with people, but not to accomplish anything bad, just the basics that any person does in this business and with this opportunity to live out my dreams.
I have always admitted that I worked with people and I have confessed that time and time again, even if the critics twisted what I said. I did this hoping it would quiet people up and put an end to all the speculation and exaggeration. I was never an actor and the partnerships I made with friends, family, and the companies I’ve worked with have all been to promote entertainment, excitement, and fun – to give people something fun to focus on and to occupy our thoughts, instead of a bunch of fear or negativity.
I will always keep my focus where it matters most:
1) On being grateful for the incredible people who believe in the feeling I work to create
2) And on that magical feeling itself: BEING ALIVE!
Long live music and long live life. PARTY HARD!
- Andrew W.K.
Who is Andrew W.K. by Nick Sheehan (Made official via Andrew W.K.)
WHO IS ANDREW W.K.?
ARTICLE BY NICK SHEEHAN December 2004
Who Is Andrew W.K.? The question should be WHAT is Andrew W.K., and the answer is that Andrew W.K. is simply a title used to identify the efforts made by many to enjoy life to the fullest. It’s people coming together in certain spaces at certain times to expend energy and celebrate in an atmosphere of total freedom. It’s a feeling, a pure physical feeling of euphoria, excitement, love and energy. It’s a space each and every one of us can open in our lives for freedom, pleasure and fun. It’s a challenge to live up to our own potential and to recognize that life is too short for second thoughts, second-guesses, recrimination or regrets. It’s the realization that the only thing that can ever stop us from translating our dreams into reality is ourselves. And it’s a reminder that we have a duty to ourselves to squeeze every drop of joy we can out of every day we live. Finally, Andrew W.K. is a family of people dedicated to making the most of the opportunities life presents them. A bunch of people using this music as a tool, gaining energy and inspiration from it, and putting it to work in their own way. It’s a full-on confederation-of-fun, which is open to anyone and everyone who wants to come and join this never-ending party.
Of course Andrew W.K. is also a person. A guy who has set himself the goal of making the most exciting music he can. And that music itself has a goal. The music wants us to feel good. To be happy. To give us butterflies in the stomach. To pump adrenaline through our veins. To send that strange electricity up our spines. To make our scalps tingle and our feet bounce.
This music wants to be your friend. Pure and simple. It’s here to love you unconditionally. If you are willing to put your faith in it, it will never let you down. This music is a dynamo. A perpetual motion machine. A source of unending unstoppable power. If you are feeling down, the music is here to give you a hug and tell you that everything’s going to be okay. If you are riding high, the music is here to support you, and push you on to even greater heights. It’s yours to use however you need to use it – unflagging, unfailing, and everlasting.
Although this music is the product of Andrew W.K., the person, he does not place himself above it. Instead, he derives the same pleasure, excitement, strength and hope from it that his most ardent friends and fans do. He is a participant in this music and the community it has forged. This is not an exclusive club. There’s no red velvet rope in front of the door. There’s just a steep cliff overlooking a whirlpool of liquid electricity. It’s not a question of someone else permitting us to share in this. It’s a question of us having the faith to throw caution to the wind, and our bodies in the vortex.
This music is meant for sharing. It’s a font of eternal energy. The music is strengthened, not diminished by our sharing of it. It’s not something we need to hoard, or jealously guard. It’s not something to hold over anyone’s head. It’s not private property. It’s public energy. There’s no hierarchy here. The person who found this two years ago is no more or less important than the person who found it two seconds ago. Or the person who will find it two years from now. We are all on this quest together and we will all share equally in its rewards. There are no dues to pay. All you need to do is listen, trust and feel. Once you put your faith in this, it cannot be taken from you. Nothing can tarnish it. It will live inside you. Even if Andrew W.K. himself were to denounce these songs, it would not and could not besmirch or belittle them. Nor would it lessen the enjoyment we derive from this music.
There’s no right or wrong reason to like this music. And there’s no good or bad way to discover this music. Whether you heard it in a video game, or your friend gave you a CD, or you downloaded a song off the internet, or you heard a song on T.V., or you read about it in a magazine, or you came to a concert, or you found your way here in one of a thousand other ways, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you felt it. And even then, maybe you didn’t feel it. Maybe you hated this music when you first heard it. Maybe you thought it was stupid. That it was some kind of joke or put-on. Or maybe you wanted to believe in it, but you’d been let down by other things in the past, so you took a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude towards it. Maybe even now you’re still not sure what to think about it. That’s okay. If and when you do decide to be a part of this, the doors will still be wide open, and no one will say, “I told you so.” And if you decide never to make this music part of your life, then that’s okay too, because hopefully you’ve found other things that give you the same pleasure and excitement that this brings us.
Do you believe in passion? Do you believe in a world that’s huge, and strange, and full of wonder and mystery? Where everything we come in contact with is new, and inspires us with awe. When we have no difficulty in believing in things, no matter how weird or unconventional they appear. When we can get so intense about something, that we literally vibrate with excitement just thinking about it. True passion denies us the need to qualify or justify our likes and dislikes to other people. We can love things for their intrinsic values, or for reasons that are ours and ours alone. When we think of our selves, do we think of a time when we were better? A time when we had the confidence enough to say, “this is awesome” without worrying what anyone else thought about it? A time when we went with our gut feelings, because we had no other basis on which to judge things? A time when the ‘sophisticated’ language of boredom, cynicism, and apathy was utterly incomprehensible to us, an alien tongue.
How can we cultivate our passion? It’s not a question of regaining something lost. The spark is in all of us. It’s a pilot light just waiting for us to give it some gas. The music can help. The music is a product of enthusiasm, love, and belief. The very D.N.A. of this music is encoded with pleasure, passion, and truth. It’s like a tapestry – a million million filaments of fun woven together to create one perfect expression of joy. Each song is comprised of layer upon layer of igneous exhilaration and sedimentary intensity, compressed, and sandwiched together into a mountain of euphoria. It is absolutely immense, a gargantuan wave of molten ecstasy pulsing in our ears,
setting our hearts and brains aflame. The music transmits its exuberance and joy to us directly. It is 10,000 volts shot through jumper cables crocodile clamped to our sense of pleasure. The music encourages and demands that we re-embrace the world, and try to accept everything it has to offer.
If you can, try and go to an Andrew W.K. concert. And if can go to a concert, try and lose it completely while you’re there. It’s not hard. You’ll probably see a lot of other people whipping the place up into a frothing maelstrom of total insanity. Andrew will be one of them. You should be too. Of course, just as there are no rules for enjoying the music, there are no rules for enjoying the concert. If standing against the back wall sipping a soda is the best way for you to enjoy the festivities, then, by all means, sip away. If shirtless slam-dancing in the midst of the human cyclone is more your style, then – go for it. And if bouncing up and down throwing handfuls of confetti and candy in the air puts a smile on your face, then bounce, bounce, BOUNCE! The concert is an opportunity. It is exactly what you make of it. It is a chunk of time and a cube of space where anything is possible and everything is permitted. There are just two golden guidelines. “Do Unto Others…” and “Do What Thou Wilt.” The rest is up to you.
Okay. So maybe by now you’re thinking, but what about Andrew W.K.? The guy. The one with the white t-shirt and long wet hair and sometimes bloody face. Shouldn’t we be talking a bit about the guy that makes this music? Maybe we should. Let’s get some solid facts on the table.
Andrew Wilkes-Krier is born May 9th 1979. He’s born in California, but his family soon moves to Michigan. His mother enrolls him in piano lessons at the age of four. At the age of eight he is caught attempting to sell homemade faux ‘vintage’ baseball cards to a local collectibles shop and is grounded for the summer. He spends time cutting up, organizing and filing away pieces of paper in his bedroom. He stays up at night dreading piano recitals, and pushes himself to master the b-flat minor scale. He gets a digital keyboard and in junior high-school makes his first tape of songs. Throughout junior high school and high-school he plays keyboards and drums in various Michigan bands. He also continues to record solo music. Various other projects are conducted in these years. Writing, photo-montage, magazine publishing, sculpture, mail fraud, theft, vandalism, self-tattooing, part-time jobs, and the manufacture of counterfeit footwear all consumed Andrew W.K.’s time.
At the age of 17, one year early, Andrew graduated from high school. Rather than attend the Chicago Institute of Art, to which he’s been accepted, he decides to move to New York City, to work on the music. He is now 18 years old. The music that comes to him at this time lays the groundwork for all that is to follow. Andrew focuses all his energies on making the most immense, thrilling songs he can. His goal is simple. Make the most exciting song he has ever heard. Then, make another one… even more exciting. Using a broken four-track and a re-assembled PC computer, he painstakingly builds the songs, stacking track upon track upon track. The songs slowly become soaring cathedrals of sound, a series of spiraling platinum towers, each more glorious and beautiful than the one preceding it. And still he is not satisfied. He wants better equipment to record the songs. And he wants a band to play them.
Andrew sells gumball machines at a sleazy Manhattan vending company and hocks Opera-tickets out of mid-town box offices, at the same time he does D.I.Y. to the extreme: making flyers and handing out CDs and tapes of his songs to strangers on the street – trying to find other people to play in his then non-existent band. He plays concerts wherever and whenever he has the chance, and he plays coffee shops, and basements and a fluke-of-a-gig art festival in Brussels. At the same time he plays at dozens of scarce basement clubs, up and down the east coast. He records two solo EPs: “Girls Own Juice” and “Party ‘Til You Puke.” He still has no band. When he plays live it’s with a drum machine, a keyboard, a microphone, and sometimes a backing CD and guitar. It’s not ideal, and it’s not perfect, but then – what is? Andrew makes the decision to say ‘yes’ to everything. Given the choice between doing ‘something’ or ‘nothing’, Andrew chooses ‘something.’ This is important.
Andrew sends a letter and CD to his favorite drummer, Donald (D.T.) Tardy, member of the death metal band Obituary. He does not expect a reply. Donald phones Andrew and says he’d be happy to play drums in the band. The band is formed. The initial line-up includes guitarists Erik Payne, Frank Werner, Jimmy Coup, bassist Gregg Roberts, keyboardist Jeff Victor as well as Donald and Andrew. At the age of 21 Andrew signs to Island records and begins recording his debut album “I Get Wet.”
The process is time-consuming and intensive and exacting and laborious. All in all, from start to finish, it takes nearly two years. The album is recorded in studios in New York, Los Angeles, Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota and Florida. Armies of engineers are involved. Most of the songs contain more than a hundred tracks. Each melody line is composed of forty sounds combined. Every second of every song is microscopically engineered, yet the feeling the songs convey is one of immediacy, a feeling of full-bore ballistic bliss that belies the meticulousness of their construction.
Andrew sustains many injuries while under the influence of the music. During his first UK concert he receives a serious head trauma and is rushed to a hospital from which he later goes missing. At another concert he kicks himself in the face, bloodying and almost breaking his nose. A slippery cake-induced spill off a high stage in Mexico city results in his almost breaking his legs on a wooden slab far below. A guitar cord mishap on a stage in L.A. breaks Andrew’s foot and he finishes the night signing autographs from an ambulance. He continues the tour from crutches and a wheelchair. These and countless other scrapes, cuts, bashes and bruises do not slow him down. Andrew and the band have played over 400 shows since “I Get Wet” was released. Whether incidental, accidental or deliberate – nothing can stop the music. It must be played, and it must be heard.
City after city, country after country, tour after tour – the music spreads itself and gathers its friends, one by one, person by person. Groups of rabble rousers begin to appear at shows holding banners, throwing confetti, wearing home-made t-shirts, distributing sweets. Magic is created. Insane alchemy. Concerts become parties, and parties become explosive celebrations of life, and these, in turn, become revelatory, life-altering moments of pure joy. Fansites appear and grow on the internet. Fan conventions are organized and attended by dedicated super-fans. They raise the standard of fun, and proudly march under it. A family is forming. Two new guitarists: Kendall Andrews and John Sutton are added to the live band when Jimmy Coup leaves the group. The band also adds a second live drummer, Rich Russo, which helps enlarge the sound to even more expansive proportions. Stage manager and Andrew W.K. mascot, Big Daddy becomes a concert tradition in his own right. People with everything, something, and nothing in common are united in their excitement and belief in this music.
Interviews are given and taken and received. Andrew speaks of truth and strength and love. He extols the virtues of living in the moment, of loving without restraint and of taking pleasure where we find it. He tells us that the world is a bottomless treasure chest overflowing with opportunity, excitement and riches – and that all we need to do is reach in and take whatever we want. He reminds us that there’s no shame in being passionate, in believing in things wholeheartedly, in giving ourselves totally to the things we care about. He demonstrates that there is no weakness in being compassionate, in allowing ourselves to be moved by art and music, or in looking up to things with awe and wonder. Finally, he encourages us to become invincible, in body, spirit and mind. To cross every boundary, to tear down every wall, to annihilate the things within us that might stop us from maximizing our pleasure in life. To be strong enough to accept everything, to take it all in, to make it all our own.
As time passes, there is more and more give and take. At the beginning the songs searched for sympathetic ears – for those ready, willing and waiting for something to believe in. Now the music has found its family. A flesh and bone foundation for all that is yet to come. The energy is now passed back and forward, from Andrew to his friends and back again. It is a circuit. It is an endless source of power, arcing between two poles. With every cycle, the force increases, the feeling amplifies, the electricity multiplies.
The 2nd Andrew W.K. album, “The Wolf”, is a result of this exchange of energies. The songs are inspired by and a tribute to our music-forged family and all it aspires to be. The songs are new, but they meet us and we greet them like old friends. They are already a part of us because they are made of us. We have lent them our faith, our
belief, our energy and our fire. They are manifestations of the new world gestating inside us. They are forged from that insane electricity the music gives to us and calls from us. “The Wolf” is another firm step towards the golden horizon. And as Andrew has said so often – it is just the beginning. “The Wolf” was recorded in a non-stop, six month recording marathon in which Andrew completely defied his own conventions and set up one studio in New York City – a complete switch, after having recorded “I Get Wet” in eight studios. The recording process was fast and furious, with Andrew belting out all the feelings that had been created and forged in the depths of this new musical powerhouse. Andrew also chose to play all of the instruments on the album himself. Committing to vast song-structures and even more dynamic rides of feeling, the resulting album is a statement of completely self-actualized euphoria. It’s like a group yell, emitting from an endless array of instruments all played by one hand, reflected in a hall of mirrors. The last lyrical statement on “The Wolf” takes us right back to the beginning of the album.
The very beginning.
But the beginning of what? I don’t know. But I have an idea. Maybe it’s the beginning of US. Of you and me and him and everyone. Of all of us, individually and together. A fresh start. A new page. A clean slate. Proof positive that yesterday doesn’t matter. That nothing in the past can harm us, or hurt us, or limit us, or touch us in any way. Now is what matters. Now, and every moment after now. Every second that passes is a new beginning. Every day is made up of 86400 new chances to change ourselves and everything around us. We shouldn’t waste even one of them.
Music is pleasure. It is concentrated, compressed, condensed, coagulated joy. It is the harnessing of divine energies. It is the channeling of celestial ecstasies. We are lucky. Andrew is doing the work for us. He is building the vessels to carry that sound back to us. He is digging a network of trenches from the earth to the heavens. It is his work that brings the boiling sonic magma to our ears, that sound of impossible magisterial glory. Our job is to listen, and believe, and share the excitement and fun.
We are throwing the party to end all parties. This is just beginning. You are invited.
P.S.
We are like little wooden tugboats moored at the edge of a great stormy sea – quaking and shaking at the thought of that immense roiling ocean. We are like helium balloons, tethered to the earth by wrought iron cables, straining for the sky, yet held back by our fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of freedom.
This music is the push we need. The music urges us to dive in that tempest tossed sea. To laugh with wonder in the foam flecked maelstrom. To scream with joy as blue-white bolts of lightning spear the surging black waters. The music says DO IT. Snap the cords that bind you to this earth. Launch yourself into the future, unencumbered by the dead weight of the past. Soar into the stratosphere and plunge into the very heart of the sun. Set off a chain reaction, a symphony of supernovas, a trail of interplanetary fire that spans the cosmos. Above all, LIVE, and live HARD. There is nothing between us and the world that we want. Nothing stands between us and happiness. Utopia is inside us. It dwells in our brains, our hearts and our guts. Let the music guide you there. The music is your sliver staircase to the kingdom of Joy. Bound up the shimmering steps three at a time, and let nothing stand in your path. What at first might appear to be insurmountable obstacles are little more than the shadows of our own fears. They are as flimsy and insubstantial as wet tissue-paper. They cannot stop you. Tear into them. Annihilate them. With the music at your back, you are invincible. Let go.
Let the music work on you.
Feel the buzzing in your brain. Feel the swarming in your skin. Feel the double-beat of your heart, hammering against
your rib-cage like a motorized battering ram. Ball your firsts. Flex your excitement. Glut your appetite for bliss. Laugh out loud. Jump for Joy. Grab life with both hands and dig your fingers in deep.
Listen to the songs. Take their strength and make it your own. Use the music. Fight your fears. Conquer your weaknesses. Murder your self-consciousness. Break the slippery gray spine of your self-doubt. Perform self-surgery. Cut away all that you don’t need. Remove anything that holds you back. Dig graves and label them fear, jealousy, cynicism, misanthropy, pessimism and doubt. They are cysts on our souls. The music is white-hot and pure. Use it to lance them. Drain away all that is small, petty and weak, and leave only strength, purity and love.
The songs are precise mathematical equations. They work chemically on the body and brain. They are the result of thousands of man-hours spent in pursuit of groupings of notes, which will transport us body-and-soul to seventh heaven. Our flesh becomes dense with euphoria. Our brains boil in their own cranial soup. Muscles twist and jerk and spasm and flail. Our skulls are the sites of massive, blinding detonations. Nitroglycerine pumps in our veins. Gelignite is packed in our vertebrae. A full-fledged end-of-the-world firework display bursts blisteringly behind our eyes. All becomes red chaos. All laws, rules, and even our very understanding of space and time are lost in a chaotic kaleidoscope of sound, image and sensation. The music fortifies us. It pours into us, filling every hollow space – warm and solid and strong. It is a physical sensation of fullness, of completeness, of total and unyielding resilience. It is preparing us for the final assault. We are getting ready for a full-on frontal attack. We are going to storm the walls of paradise. We are going to blast down the golden gates of heaven. We are going to make the citadel of joy our home. We will make the elysian fields our stomping grounds. This music is our clarion call.
We march, an iron column, feet tramping, a sound of unified, undiluted power and belief. We will shake the foundations of the earth and split the skies. Our party will wake the gods. We will rouse them from their slumber and ransack their heavenly homes. We are a speeding bullet-train to the back of the beyond. We are flying forever toward an eternal dawn.
And when we get there, we are coming back. And when we come back, we will re-make the world. It will be the second-coming of human-beings. When we come ripping, it will be a tidal wave of liquid euphoria crashing across continents. The music will erupt spontaneously, deliriously, a hail of blazing gemstones from the skies. The earth will burn in the fire of universal and uncompromising love. No one will be left untouched. Even the most withered hearts will bloom once more with the spirit of everlasting glory. This music is the anthem of a new world. It is the promise of the transcendent beings we will become when all that IS will BE beyond imagination. We will do all this, and a lot more besides. We are a mile high and a mountain wide.
Article by Nick Sheehan 2004
