Andrew WK: person vs. construct
Andrew WK
Who was he? The American rocker who was proclaimed "The saviour of music" on the cover of NME in 2001.
What happened? After two UK albums, neither of which reached the top 40, he suddenly disappeared.
Raging against the machine: Andrew Wilkes-Krier (vocals, multiple instruments)
I was in an underground scene in Michigan. Andrew WK was a concept – a conscious decision to contradict that. I went from making records in someone's living room to having meetings with industry people in New York skyscrapers. I lost a lot of friends who felt I was selling out, but I wanted to see what the other side was like. I'd been very lonely and isolated, so when I was given the chance to reach out to the world I wanted to take it as far as I could.
The live band was put together around me. The first show anywhere was in England and I broke my nose. It was like I was being carried along by something out of my control. It was nice being called "the saviour of music" on the NME cover – better than "the destroyer of music" – but it was a lot to live up to. The picture of me with a bloody nose on the cover of the I Get Wet album was seen as condoning drug use. I hadn't even done drugs and songs like Party Til You Puke were my idea of what it would be like to go wild, but people asked my mum what was happening to me. My life was being turned upside down, but it felt like being at the top of a rollercoaster: incredible.
Things started to go wrong when very close friends at the record label suddenly left for other companies. Then there was a dispute with my creative director. I wouldn't exist without the team that came up with the Andrew WK persona, but it had been agreed that they would stay in the background. On the second album, they felt they should be getting more credit. Confidentiality agreements mean I can't say much about it but basically the legal situation meant I was prevented from releasing music.
By 2005, I was at a crossroads. I opened a nightclub. I did some TV presenting and met Lee "Scratch" Perry, who asked me to produce an album [2008's Repentance] with him, and it was nominated for a Grammy. Then I got asked to speak at New York University and the lecture was full and lasted for four hours. So now I tour doing lectures. I want the audience to think, "Does this guy have any idea what he's doing?" It's a freeform conversation between me and the crowd. In some ways it was the furthest I could get from making music. There's been crowd surfing. It's a new rollercoaster. I haven't lost my mind yet. I'm humbled and grateful to keep working. I can make music again. I've started playing with Current 93, I've started a label and put out a solo piano album. This year I played at the King's College in London and got my nose broken again, and just like all those years ago, people thought it was all part of the show. It feels like the beginning again.
