As Johnny Rotten said in 1978, at the end of the final Sex Pistols concert before the untimely death of bandmate Sid Vicious, ‘Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?’
This article has nothing to do with the Pistols, except that its title was borrowed from their 1980 film and it relates to an artist whose music and image, like theirs, were carefully manufactured despite giving every appearance to the contrary. Up until December 2009, Michigan’s Andrew Wilkes-Krier [aka Andrew WK] was best known for the iconic cover of his 2002 album “I Get Wet”, which depicted WK’s face with a stream of blood running from the nose, and the uncomplicated party-hard anthems such as, well, “Party Hard”, contained therein.
The Great Rock & Roll Swindle, Part 1 – The People Vs Andrew WK
Apparently, it wasn’t so uncomplicated after all. After being accused of being a record-company creation since that album’s release, in December WK admitted at London nightclub Madame Jojo’s that the Andrew WK persona had in fact been created by a committee, including himself and his father, ‘in the spirit of commerce… [and] entertainment’. Stranger still, he went on to say that he was the second performer to play the part [the original having peaced out some time after “I Get Wet”.]
Rumour originally had it that this one-man Menudo was the brainchild of someone called Steev Mike, who was listed as executive producer of “I Get Wet” and WK’s 2006 album “Close Calls With Brick Walls”, as well as receiving credit on a DVD, “Who Knows”, also released by WK in 2006. According to the Andrew W.K. & Steev Mike Information page , whilst performing in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on 18 December 2004, WK abruptly left the stage for no apparent reason and failed to return. The site alleges that audience members and security staff identified the person onstage as an impostor.
In November 2004, a person calling themselves Steev Mike accused WK on multiple web sites of lying to the public. Other sites relating to WK were allegedly hacked during the same period, a series of coded messages appearing [‘NOW ITS TIME FOR STEEV MIKE …AND THEN HE LEFT.’] More sites dedicated to the mystery have since appeared, one of which theorises that WK could in fact be a creation of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl . The Andrew W.K. & Steev Mike Information Page also mentions another theory, that the persona was created by Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren to fulfil her desire to write a rock album and manage someone’s career.
Following the release of “Close Calls…”, WK formed his own record label in February 2009, worked as a producer for acts such as Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Sightings, and recorded a massively popular ringtone for Universal Music Japan. In May 2009, he addressed the Steev Mike rumours, saying that ‘most of what you’ve heard is greatly exaggerated but the parts that are true may be more disturbing than you’d hoped.’
Fast-forward to Madame Jojo’s and his startling admission, and I’m trying to decide whether I do, in fact, get the feeling I’ve been cheated.
Admittedly, I haven’t listened to a great deal of WK’s music [when “I Get Wet” was released I was more into Jimmy Eat World and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club], but I recall his first few singles, and the image they provided of their singer as a simple guy who just wanted to have fun and get wasted. The kind of dude you’d like to party with. But if I’d been a devoted fan, would my mind be changed by the revelation that that persona was a corporate creation, its every move planned by record executives to generate the maximum amount of money possible?
To which my answer is, I honestly don’t know. On one hand, people don’t generally take kindly to being manipulated, even “in the spirit of entertainment”. Whether or not WK, who on the same night stated that he ‘thought it would be more interesting if [his] secret history was revealed after the fact rather than as a precursor’, was directed to reveal the truth or simply became tired of maintaining the pretence is unknown. It also remains to be seen how the news affects WK’s subsequent career in the music industry, his career as a motivational speaker or the successful Manhattan club, Santos Party House, which he launched in 2008 [of course, that’s if all these ventures were undertaken by the same Andrew WK. Who knows?]
But then again, it is an interesting story and has more than likely assured WK a place in rock history, one that he may not have attained had he been nothing but the purveyor of good-time party-metal he initially claimed to be. And, as someone who wasn’t a dedicated fan, if I did find myself listening to his music again I think I’d be able to separate it from all the intrigue and enjoy it for itself [after all, some of the best musicians enjoyed distinctly shady private lives]. So really, I don’t know what to think about Andrew WK, and am thoroughly confused.
Which is probably exactly what he – or whoever – intended.
By: Heather Fuhrer
3 Comments Received
January 9th, 2010 @1:12 pm
This reminds me of Metallica’s “5th band member” and that none of their songs were written by them. Since that was publicly known it seems that Metallica’s image has since been jaded, especially since the Napster chapter and their last album St Anger. It seems they were whining about how much money they were making, thus having a corporate approach. Thus deceiving the fans. Who just wanted awesomeness.
The only thing is: I won’t buy this story about Andrew WK, because he’s made of Awesomeness, and everybody who contributed in one way or another to his persona, being his father or that Steev Mike, are also just as awesome as him if that were to be true.
But I want to argue that Andrew WK, who is performing as a one man show, has a whole concept of his own which is beyond cool. This guy is everywhere! He is in Japan recording the new Gundam songs, he’s in the US recording his new album “Cadillac”, He’s a motivational speaker at a newly refurbished kick-ass club called “Santos” in NY. This guy is so cool he dodges the passive aggressiveness of Soft Focus presenters, and is a key note speaker at prestigious universities around the globe.
Thus, AWK is made of awesomeness, but the one that is beyond awesomeness, he is a 5 band member in ONE! He’s the new creative genius of awesomeness that will fill the hearts with joy and partying for more years to come!
His destiny is first to make us party hard, but I also think he will help us reach a new level…
…where awesomeness lives.
KevlarTheMighty
a mighty fan
January 9th, 2010 @2:30 pm
have you watched the lecture? he was speaking metaphorically (kind of). his use of “literally” in regards to being an entirely different physical being than the one from 8 years ago is due to the fact that he DOES believe himself to be a different physical entity, due to cells replacing themselves in that time and what have you. he’s also very aware of all the rumours of him being an actor/two people due to him being the one who put most of that stuff out there. the man is a master of marketing. the andrew wk mythos is incredible, and made almost entirely of his own will. he’s having fun with it. it’s no coincidence he has a new album out next month and is following that up with his first band tour in 5 years. i should also note that this lecture is actually 16 months old, but has only just been released online now. another coincidence, no doubt
great write-up though, much better than most on this subject.
January 9th, 2010 @9:29 pm
What I wonder is if Andrew WK is Andrew WK (i.e. one person) and this whole Andrew WK is not a real person has actually been perpetuated by him in order to gain publicity and generate hype. Because, honestly, who in the past 5-6 years even gives a damn about Andrew WK? The one single (‘Party Hard’) was just a Budweiser anthem and he’s since faded into obscurity from what I can tell.
My take on it is this: People started saying he isn’t who he actually is. He is who he actually is and got sick of people saying he isn’t and decided to run with it and come out and say he’s actually some other dude to fan the flames.
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