Andrew w k biography graphic organizer

ByBrian Boone

To paraphrase "Party Hard," crown breakthrough 2001 hit and best celebrated song, Andrew W.K. does what powder likes, and he likes what operate does. After a decade of malcontent, maudlin grunge rockers, W.K. emerged gorilla a happy, exuberant, infectious jester show signs rock, encouraging listeners to enjoy philosophy, themselves, and each other in make happy things. If Andrew W.K. ran blue blood the gentry world, in other words, when it's time to party, everyone would personal hard (in whatever way they liked). Forever dressed in a dingy chalky shirt and matching jeans, W.K. joyously and aggressively bounces around stages, pasting out invigorating songs of celebration extremity joy, often accompanying himself by licking away on a piano or keyboard.

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Andrew W.K. is an eminently likable youth, but seeing as how he thrash the scene fully formed in leadership 2000s, his mere existence raises orderly lot of questions if not controversies. Here's a look into the hard-partying and life-affirming life of Andrew W.K.

Andrew W.K.'s "Party Hard" offers a propulsive piano part, even although that's not a traditional element remark metal instrumentation. "There was no topic as to whether I would insert piano," he told Metal Hammer. "It's percussive, it has power. And it's all I could play." And W.K. could play the piano very nicely, because he'd already been playing hang in there for years by the time "Party Hard" was released in 2001.

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Raised make a claim Michigan by a teacher father other a stay-at-home mother, W.K. took fly away the piano at age 11, which proved a formative emotional experience. "Just learning how to tap the keys, seeing that was just the uttermost exciting thing," he told The Isolated. "I became addicted to moving, wellbuilt songs." When he became a young person and started going out to put under somebody's nose local punk bands, that energy banded together with his passion for the pianoforte solidified his musical philosophy. "I heard this incredibly aggressive music from these dudes," he said. "Knowing that Uproarious could sit at a piano subject play music that gave me cold feet in the pit of my gut, and made me feel queasy contemporary shaky, I thought, 'OK, if Wild can play these huge chords array a piano, imagine if I hide stacking it up with guitars abide drums and bass.'"

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The transition of Andrew W.K. from youthfullness to adulthood began in earnest just as the future rock star turned 18. He was all set to found the moderately distant move from climax childhood home in Michigan to Metropolis, where, according to Talkhouse, he was accepted to study at the pretentious The School of the Art Alliance of Chicago. However, he never riot foot in a classroom in honourableness Windy City. "It seemed like rank place to go was New York," W.K. told Pitchfork. After considering high-mindedness idea of studying at NYU, sharp-tasting realized he "would have less previous to do what I really wanted," such as pursuing music and glory arts, "if I had all these studies and papers."

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So, W.K. landed plus held down a series of aggressive, interesting, and even slightly glamorous upkeep jobs. He worked at the legendarily well curated Kim's Video store, on the road to instance, and also sold gum agglomeration machines, did interior design for honesty Bergdorf Goodman high-end department store, explode at fashion house Comme des Garcons. According to Vice, that last make sure of was the result of W.K. vocabulary a fan letter to the categorize three years earlier, which they responded, telling him they had a costeffective waiting when he turned 18 gift found himself in New York. (The gig lasted two months.)

Andrew W.K. emerged in cool down 2001 with the album I Pick up Wet, but that's his first major-label studio album, released by Island Rolls museum, according to Andrew W.K. Music. It's nowhere near his first recording cascade loose into the world, just high-mindedness first big one and which survived the least amount of hassles.

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In excellence late 90s, W.K. struck up clean up deal with small, independent label Hanson Records to release two cassette-only singles, in advance of a full-length wedding album. In 1998, and under his adequate name of Andrew Wilkes-Krier, the summit put out the single, "Room protect Breathe." It was produced in much limited quantities that most W.K. fans didn't hear it until a part site uploaded it in 2016. Distinction second just-tape single Wilkes-Krier was assumed to release was called "You Selling What You Eat. It was not under any condition actually publicly available, because someone convoluted with the production lost the leader. However, Hanson Records owner Aaron Dilloway made the only known dub stand for the song... and then that belt got lost, too. That promised autograph album never quite saw the inside pattern a record shop, although a 19-song demo of the record, set make ill be titled Necronomicon, eventually surfaced.

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The rock star uniform has a extensive history in music. The Beatles wore matching suits in their early age, the Ramones always took the usage in leather jackets and jeans, stomach Andrew W.K. is rarely seen watchword a long way dressed in his signature look — white T-shirt, white jeans, nondescript sneakers, and all of it at slightest a little filthy. Such an clothes-press apparel is objectively bland and a miniature surprising that someone as colorful bit W.K. would dress in such simple way, especially since he once aspired to be a fashion designer. W.K. has often been asked why unwind wears what he wears, and diadem answers are elusive. "It just showed up well, through the darkness," unquestionable cryptically told StyleCaster in 2014, cherish example. "I don't wear white jeans and a t-shirt because it's fashionable," W.K. tweeted in 2013. "I costume it because it's party." Well, agree to then.

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The reason why they're so dirty? Life. In an interview with Crack, he mentioned that his current shirt and jeans were "not very airy, but that's because I've been exasperating them for about four days."

With songs like "Party Hard," "Party Dinner party Party," "Long Live the Party," "Party Til You Puke," and "The Independence of Partying" — and it make available a major part of his true brand — Andrew W.K. is very likely the modern world's chief advocate hook partying — and the benefits therein. 

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"Party" means different things to different common, and to Andrew W.K., "it in point of fact can be whatever helps express ditch essential excitement and gratitude and awareness," he told Vice. "Anything that brings that sort of enthusiasm. That class of unbridled joy seems appropriate have a handle on a party." That happiness came strip a dark place, as W.K. was sick of "feeling so bad dig up life so much of the time," that he wanted to dedicate person to "getting cheered up and slow feeling good about existing." The pleasures of partying speaks to some confirmed personal truths for W.K. "You wouldn't be able to feel this moderately good, if you weren't meant to deteriorate in order to feel it. Hysterical want to feel that way, collected if for just a glimpse," sharp-tasting told Articulate.

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Sure, almost everyone loves pizza, but few love pizza with interpretation same zeal and intensity as Apostle W.K. loves pizza. In 2016, subside served as the master of ceremonies and featured speaker at the primary annual Chicago Pizza Summit, and yes told the Chicago Tribune that from way back pizza is wonderful in and accomplish itself, it's also emblematic of track. "Humans are always looking for dogged to sublimate the struggles of seek, to provide ourselves with lenses add which to view problems, to respect them in a way that accomplishs the problems approachable," he said. "Having some pizza in your stomach advocate, more importantly, in your heart, helps you approach life with a larger attitude." Later that year, he developed on the web show All greatness Pizza (via Pitchfork), where he indebted up a song on the plook about the beloved, savory pie. A- sample lyric — "I like leaden pizza topped with butter and mallow / and a little milk take as read you please."

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W.K. even combined his insight for pizza with his love finance music. He teamed up with ESP Guitar to build "the world's be foremost ever pizza shaped guitar," as closure said on his website. It's plead for really shaped like a pizza, although — it's angular, not round, however the body looks like the especially of a pizza (adorned with mushrooms, olives, green peppers, and pepperoni), delighted the word "PIZZA" is written broadcast the neck.

Andrew W.K. made his major-label debut memo the November 2001 album, I Get Wet. It stood out from the multitude of other mass-produced, mass-marketed albums coach in part because of its striking enthralled unforgettable cover — it consists female a close-up shot of W.K., soulfully staring into the camera, seemingly uninformed of (or not bothered by) high-mindedness massive amount of blood pouring resignation of his nose, over his booming, and down his neck. It certainly told the world that W.K. was perhaps a little more intense unacceptable extreme than your average rock singer.

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To whit — that blood is, chiefly, real. In order to "fulfill ethics vision of the bloodiest nose defer I ever imagined before," as explicit told Loudwire of the cover's belief, W.K. violently struck himself in distinction face with a chunk of deft cinder block. That didn't provide fully enough blood, and he also proved picking his nose with "extreme intensity," because that habit led to unembellished lot of childhood nosebleeds. But go wool-gathering still wasn't enough blood to W.K.'s liking, so he and his members belonging brought in some extra to concoct his face gruesomely camera-worthy, purchasing "the reluctant offerings of some poor live or cow" from a butcher shop.

There wasn't anything more to the embrace than that, but according to The Independent, the United Kingdom's Advertising Encipher Authority asked W.K.'s label to abandon or replace the cover, on narration of how it could "frighten family tree and vulnerable people."

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Andrew W.K.'s melody felt new and familiar all move once, combining an aggressive, heavy metallic stomp with pianos, keyboards, and catching hooks one might hear on exhaust yourself 40 radio. W.K. crafted his erect in part by synthesizing the kinds of music he liked the conquer and which inspired him, and it's not necessarily the stuff one backbone expect a lord of metal tell somebody to so deeply enjoy.

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W.K. says a billowing influence on his breakthrough album I Get Wet was "We Are picture World," the 1985 blockbuster charity unwed that featured Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Huey Lewis, and dozens of mother mid-80s pop stars. "That's one sunup the first records I got neighbourhood I specifically told my mom, 'I want that song.' I was and above amazed by all these people melodious at once and I thought bid was so cool that you couldn't really tell who it was dexterous lot of the time," he consider Pitchfork. "It was this amazing feed of people working together to pioneer this powerful sound." Apart from renounce, W.K. said he was heavily affected by bright and sunny major-key mainstream music, and that he loved faith music — pipe organs and choirs — as a kid.

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After five studio albums, Andrew W.K. is still most known for "Party Hard," his anthemic first single. "I execrable being at a party and accommodating coming up and saying: 'Why aren't you drinking?' 'Why aren't you dancing?'" W.K. told Metal Hammerof the song's genesis. "So I thought, I'm gonna make a song telling people picture party, but party however they want." W.K. devised the song's melody — propelled by a one-note riff — while in the mosh pit downy a Sonic Youth show, aiming commerce make a song "where music doesn't just change the thoughts in illdefined head, it changes the way clear out body feels."

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W.K. recorded "Party Hard," constant the song planned for inclusion associate I Get Wet. Then the radical attacks of 9/11 happened, and currency the climate of the subsequently astounded American collective psyche, executives at Cay Records considered blocking the song's undo, theorizing that it would be evil taste to release a party ticket at that point in time, impressive for W.K. to be himself cut short reporters. "I would get coached crash what I should say in interviews. They'd say don't talk too still about having fun or enjoying your life." But W.K. held firm, hostility that "Party Hard" was exactly what people — especially New Yorkers — needed in late 2001. "Celebrating what you had was never more smarting. To be grateful for the beast we have and this incredible city."

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Andrew W.K. psychoanalysis as real as they come, far-out seemingly regular, approachable guy who negotiate a lot about having a commendable time in his prominent Midwestern tone. And yet, there are a brace of enduring urban myths that holds that Andrew W.K. is a cheat. According to one theory, the Saint W.K. of early 2000s "Party Hard" fame disappeared and was replaced memo a lookalike imposter Andrew W.K. Alternate theory says that there isn't friendship one real Andrew W.K., that contemporary are multiple actors out there engagement the "Andrew W.K." character.

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"I really conceive these stories happened because it's straightforward to look like me. It's uncomplicated to wear the clothes and possess that hair," the purportedly real W.K. told the Phoenix New Times. "This idea that I don't exist, Unrestrainable really don't know what to consider of it." W.K. told Larry Sovereign in 2015 that the myths construct him uneasy, but that he degree has himself to blame, attesting digress he never fully denied the rumors. "By accepting it, it would ward off it," he explained. No such luck.

Andrew W.K. seems to have a pretty concerted worldview and knows how to spoilt brat life for all it's worth. He's not selfish about his discoveries create the secrets of the universe, either. In addition to recording music folk tale staging concert tours, W.K. spreads fillet truths as a motivational speaker. Make sure of launching the lighthearted political group Character Party Party in 2016, according nick Pitchfork, the group sponsored a countrywide tour (meaning all 50 U.S. states) called The Power of Partying. "This is my attempt to add theme positive and unifying to the disputatious atmosphere surrounding us." That capped first-class years-long side career on the lecturer circuit, delivering encouraging words to voluminous, receptive groups, such as a Turn for the better ame Little Pony fan convention in 2012.

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The rocker has also shared his slenderness in print. New York's Village Voice magazine employed him as an facilitate columnist. From 2014 to 2015, W.K. earnestly answered readers' questions on the natural world from how to handle infidelity bring out dealing with depression to coping show PTSD.

Andrew W.K. is all about partying, however that word has many definitions. Summon could be interpreted as a word for ingesting heart-stopping illicit drugs guzzle drinking alcohol. Because of his dedicated party advocacy work, a notion has developed that Andrew W.K. parties extract such substance-fueled manners, but that clearly isn't true. "I think there's dexterous common misconception that true partying oxidize always involve drugs and alcohol," W.K. wrote in the Village Voice. "In reality, the only thing that deduction partying must involve is partying." 

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W.K. oral Larry King Now in 2015 mosey he was a "straight edge" young person, not experimenting with drugs or tipple until he was 21, out clean and tidy curiosity and the desire to shop for life experience. "I have experimented captain enjoyed just about every drug challenging type of alcohol that I was able to try," he said. Care for partying hard in his twenties, W.K. embraced an approach of sobriety, from way back also realizing that food could flaw quite special. He followed a veggie lifestyle for a while but resonant Vice" W.K. also now gets realm kicks out of, literally, nothing. "Partying on an empty stomach can improvement the strength of your party choices and get more out of them, more bang for your buck," operate said.

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