The first time I heard about Andrew W.K. I was somewhere outside of Glenrothes on a stagecoach Citylink bus. It was a Friday and I was 18. I hadn’t as yet heard any of his music, although admittedly at that point I hadn’t heard much music at all, but from what I could gather from Kerrang magazine he was young, apparently musically gifted and THE NEXT BIG THING in metal. At the time I was younger, musically inept and horribly eager to learn about anything my new group of “mosher” friends were interested in. Years later this article would be the only thing that I had permanently filed away in my memory from my brief flirtation with heavy metal journalism, apart from a story I read on another bus journey about Slipknot being pelted with Mars Bars by the angry fans of another band during a gig.
I always hated Slipknot and was obviously gratified other people felt the same way.
I wouldn’t actually hear his music until another Friday night a few weeks later. This time I was slumped ungraciously in front of a friends television, perusing his music channels. I had none of my own, living as I was between University halls of residence and a selection of sofas scattered around Dundee. And it was here that I heard Party Hard for the first time. It was, like the article in Kerrang, interesting in a way I couldn’t quite pin down. There was something about the man and his music (apart from his seemingly never ending legs, unwashed jeans and wet straggly hair), that was fascinating and judging by the way that the song followed me around different club nights for months afterward and filled dancefloors every week it indicated that other people thought so too. Party Hard was essentially a song that did what it said on the tin — insert CD, crank volume, rock out. The followup song She is Beautiful and the video (which I still believe to be an accurate portrayal of a day in the life of Mr W.K.) was the same. I couldn’t figure out why I liked him and I certainly couldn’t begin to understand why the hell I thought he was so cool.
That knowledge would only come years later, after the hype had died down, and I had forsaken heavy metal and most of the friends who liked it. I’d been adamant that it wasn’t just a phase but at the end of the day, truthfully most things are. Apart from, as I was about to find out, Andrew W.K.
I can’t tell you quite how it happened. I was 23 now and hiding out on the internet during my free time, of which I had a lot. I hadn’t thought about him for a long time and I suppose I assumed he had dropped off the face of the planet or was at home making milkshakes and terrorising his neighbours after dark every night. But it was during this time that I began to hear about Andrew W.K. again. Had I seen this video? Did I know he was guest speaking at a friends university? That he had recorded an album of J-Pop cover songs? That he was gold standard, hard core cool on the internet?
I had had no idea. For all those years I had been doing my own thing, trundling along, not thinking about him, Andrew W.K. had been busy. Very busy. My ignorance was of course my own fault. I’d remembered the article from Kerrang for years, but I hadn’t paid attention to it like I should have. After all, it had told me quite simply — pay attention to this man because he is dynamic and interesting. Keep your eyes open and your ears pinned back because he is going to surprise you. I had made a mistake, like a lot of people had, about Andrew W.K. And so it’s time to redress the balance. I am 25 now and I can state wholeheartedly that I un-ironically love and enjoy Andrew W.K. and here are the reasons why:
On Friday, December 5th 2008, a die hard Andrew W.K. fan named Dominic Owen Mallary passed away after an accident while his band Last Lights performed at Boston University. Dominic had always said his dying wish was to have Andrew W.K. blasted at his wake. Catching wind of this, Andrew came to the wake, and played classical piano for the entire time after paying his respects.
Andrew W.K. on Wikipedia
Your Friend, Andrew WK was a reality show on MTV2 starring musician Andrew W.K..
In the show, people write letters to the white denim-clad rocker, and he answers some on the air. Letters that will not be helped by an answer are overseen by Andrew himself; he does this by traveling to wherever the letter-writer is from, and staying at their house a few days, working out the problem.
Your Friend, Andrew W.K. on Wikipedia
In 2005, Andrew announced that he would begin performing as a self-help, new age motivational speaker. He accepted invitations to speak at Yale University, New York University, The University of Wisconsin, Carnegie Mellon University, The Cooper Union, Western Missouri State University, and Northeastern University.
Andrew W.K. on Wikipedia
During 2007, Andrew performed a series of unpredictable happenings as part of his “One Man Show” tour. Each event began with Andrew improvising on the piano alone on a stage before they frequently evolved into giant parties, with most of the audience dancing on stage with Andrew, themselves playing the piano and singing the lyrics.
Andrew W.K. on Wikipedia
Premium Collection: The Japan Covers, known as One-Shot Game: Covers (一発勝負～カヴァーズ ‚Ippatsu Shōbu~Kavāzu?) in Japan, is a cover album by Andrew W.K.. The album consists of covers of Japanese pop songs that was released in Japan by Universal Music Group on November 26, 2008.
The songs were originally marketed as 30-second ringtones and repackaged in their complete versions as this 14-song album. Andrew W.K. is quoted as saying that this album is a “gift to the Japanese people, for all the incredible warmth and kindness they’ve given me over the years.”
The Japan Covers on Wikipedia
On tour for The Wolf, Andrew was injured on stage and broke his foot. After the concert, he signed autographs from the ambulance. Not wanting to let his fans down, he performed the remainder of the tour in a wheelchair.
Andrew W.K. on Wikpedia
This post brought to you by the society for Andrew W.K. Appreciation.