Andrew W.K.
Wed June 12
Roseland

I really don't care what anyone says about Andrew W.K.; I love him to death. I love his crazy party music, I love his long, buttrock hair, I love that his album is titled I Get Wet. And I love that, unlike most people, he takes nothing for granted. He's the most psyched, peppy person I've ever spoken to, and strangely enough, it's not annoying--it's endearing and inspiring and oh Jesus God, I could gush all day.

When you're not on tour, how many nights a week do you usually party?

365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Being alive is a party, an adventure, an exploration through an amusement park. Sometimes it's a haunted house and sometimes it's an obstacle course, but it's still a party.

Do you manage to party after your shows?

Generally after the concerts, I spend time with the people that come to the concerts. The rest of the band members do what they want. It's important to me to spend time with the people that come to the concert.

Do you always have to wear white T-shirts and jeans now, because it's your signature look?

It's just what I wear. I wear those clothes most of the day. The whole thing started years ago. I started noticing that I showed up better in photos when I was wearing lighter clothes. When I'm doing those dances, you can see it well. I appreciate things that are reliable and consistent. It's an emblem of strength.

What's your favorite album?

If I could listen to any record right now, it'd be a mix tape of all the bands from my high school. It was a school filled with all the kids who couldn't or shouldn't go to the other high school a school full of crazy kids, so it promoted a lot of learning. The kids lived in ways that I couldn't imagine anyone would live. They all lived together in a house and somehow drove cars. I idolized those people. A lot of times they didn't want to talk to me, though, because I was a dork.

What's your relationship with Wolf Eyes?

I went to high school with Nate Young. They're just a cool band that I know.

I read that it was your motto to take any show that you could get before you became famous, like even playing at Starbucks, and I think that sort of unbiased drive is really admirable and rare. So, what's your response to, say, the indie kids who think that if you sign to a major label or sell the rights to your songs, you're a sellout?

Life is very short, the world is huge. There is no right or wrong, there's only what you want to do. And you can't sell out if you love what you're doing. I'm using the things to make better. It's not exploitation. I'd say, don't spend you're energy saying what's wrong.

[THE END... or wait! Maybe not, because Andrew W.K. CALLS ME BACK to continue our conversation. This might mean nothing to you, but I can now die happy.]

Continuing...

Who knows what the right thing to do is. The important thing is to respect people's decisions. This music that I make is not meant to be enjoyed by one person or a small group. This music is meant to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. I'm not going to hoard my music. Because it's precious to me, I want to share my music with a lot of people. If it makes you happy to have a lot of people hear your music, that's great. If you want to keep your music to yourself, that's fine, too.