The first image most of us have of Andrew WK is that mildly disturbing one of his nose dripping blood on the cover of his first album I Get Wet. And for a lot of people, Andrew WK is simply the guy wearing all white singing metal songs that are all about Partying (either Hard, Till You Puke, or Without Stop). And at first that manic insane energy is what drew me in. But the partying rhetoric ties into a deeper belief that WK believes that everyone should live their life to it's fullest. Now that sounds a bit corny, but anyone who has seen him perform live knows that he's not kidding. The mosh pits at his shows are big masses of positiveness. At all times audience members run on stage and get piggy back rides from WK or give him piggy back rides, sing a few lines of the lyrics, high-five the bassist, etc. If it sounds chaotic it is, but WK is the perfect ringmaster, someone utterly fearless but actually non-threatening.
Musically there's also more to meets the eye. WK has deep roots in the Michigan noise scene, and is buds with the guys in Wolf Eyes. He's produced an album by reggae legend/crazy person Lee "Scratch" Perry, record two albums of Japanese cover songs and is a classically trained pianist. That last part has lead to him releasing a solo piano album 55 Cadillac and touring the country with a string quartet. If you want to see him in all his live glory, he's playing at Jammin' Java in Virginia on Monday (it was rescheduled from Sixth and I Synagogue downtown, sadly probably because of lack of ticket sales). He's such a compelling entertainer, I have full faith in this show being awesome. Cuz that's just the kind of guy he is.
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2 comments:
Irregular indeed! Party hard, sir. Party hard.
"CAUSE A PARTY AIN'T A PARTY IF IT GETS SHUT DOWN
SHUT DOWN
SHUT DOWN"
O wait, that's P.O.D. I always thought that was Andrew WK and hated him for it.
Well now I'm intrigued. Have any song suggestions by WK? All I can remember about him is the aforementioned album cover.
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