Nathan J.S. Vs. Andrew W.K. - Interview

Here is a transcribed interview with NYC-based Party Rocker Andrew W.K., reached at the airport on his cellphone

Note:
Several attempts were made at getting this interview. The original time was rescheduled, and then postponed. As I began losing hope, I remembered what Nardwuar taught me; 'Never give up' (like when he waited hours and hours for Snoop Dogg to show up at a hotel for a lightning-quick interview) and after calling back giving Andrew 15 minutes to pass through security gates, then giving him time to select some gum, the interview finally happened! I mind the wait, knowing what lies on the other side...

An Interview With:

Andrew W.K.

(N): I’ve read about the cosmic circle that brought you and Nardwuar together. What was the impetus for doing this record together? Did you throw the idea out there? Did Nardwuar? What was that conversation like?



(AWK): We came together years ago. I first discovered him by watching his interviews on a videotape that a fan of his lent to me. I was really entranced by what he was doing. He really had a big impact on me, just the way people behaved towards him, the way he behaved towards people, it gave me a lot to think about as a performer who was about to go out into the world and speak to people about what I was doing. Eventually I got to meet him and do an interview with him. It really was a dream come true, I was very star struck when I met him. I just see him as a very singular, very confident person who has done something that’s never really been done before and created a life for himself that’s completely unprecedented and I think it can be an inspiration to anybody to do their own thing. I just really believe in him.

He suggested the idea of doing the 7”, and I thought ‘Wow’. There’s moments in life when you have an experience or interest in the past come into fruition in the present, or in the future in a way that’s very special, and I feel that getting to work with Nardwuar in this way and me getting to cover these Canadian songs, especially The Leather Uppers’ ‘Don’t Sell hot Dogs Tonight’, that has signifigance with my past, and I’ve enjoyed these things and now I’m getting to participate with them in a really amazing way. Out of the respect for how circles can be completed and how dreams can come true, I always try to say Yes to those types of opportunities.



(N): You released an album called The Japan Covers – Is this essentially your Canadian Covers?

(AWK): Well hey, that’s a great way to refer to it. Doing cover songs is relatively new to me. Before I did the Japanese album, I never really released any cover songs, except maybe this one, ‘Mickey Mouse March’ which was actually in Japan as well. I’ve oftentimes covered songs just for fun and never released them, but it seemed like it would be fun to delve into that further and when Nardwuar presented the idea of doing Canadian songs specifically, that appealed to me because I’ve been a really big fan of Canada and then especially these songs were just great, and The Leather Uppers, I’ve liked them since I was 13. Again, to have the opportunity to record their song for a very Canadian release just was so special to me. I just feel very grateful.


Who plays drums on Oh Canaduh? Was that you?

(AWK): That’s me playing all the music on there. I play piano, yeah. I took some jazz classes in school, and I started playing drums around that time, in Junior High, and I’ve just learned so much to the point where I’ve been able to play different instruments to get across what I’ve wanted to get across in the song, so I’ve picked up different abilities with the drums over the years. Playing drums on those songs is a lot of fun.


(N): Was Sgt Frank around at all? What’s he up to these days?

(AWK): He was around but he did not play, in fact none of the band members actually played on those recordings, but we’re actually playing in Kitchener with the full band this summer. It’s a big deal. The Cutting Edge Music Festival in August.


(N) You started a label correct? Skyscraper Music Maker.

(AWK): Yes, that’s true. I appreciate your research, and asking about that.


(N): Your 1st release was DAMN! The mixtape, and I was wondering what other releases you might be planning for the label, maybe a MAGAS album?

(AWK): Oh, the artist Magas? He’s fantastic! That would be an example of a man that has had a very, very big impact on my life and to complete the circle with him would be really fantastic. I hadn’t planned on that, but that’s a really great idea and I appreciate you suggesting it. That sounds like a no-brainer.

We just this week releases our first release which is a very limited promotional release, but it is a release and it’s the DAMN! The Mixtape CD. It’s also available digitally on iTunes and Amazon. That just came out and we actually just had a release party and concert at Santos Party House here in Manhattan.

(N): Ahh, your new club!

(AWK): Yes, it really was a great time, and we all put a lot of work into making that happen, make the CD a reality, and to see it come out was very satisfying. A lot of people participated and contributed to making it.

(N) So that’s all artists that you’ve produced right? Like Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry?

(AWK) Yeah, he’s on there, and Alaister X and Bad Brilliance and Cherie Lilly, and myself, and Girl Talk has a remix on there, and this group The Postales, an amazing singer named Julia, there;s a lot. There’s another producer who contributed tracks as well, this guy named B-Rock, who’s a young and upcoming producer who’s excellent. He helps balance out the whole thing. There’s almost 30 tracks on there.

(N) Wow! That’s a lot of tracks!

(AWK) I mostly did voices, and sort of hosted the atmosphere. I really want people to check it out. I imagine it will be available for free on the internet everywhere pretty soon. I think the CD has already sold out to be honest.

(N) Really?

(AWK): Well yeah, it was very limited because it’s a promotional release, we’re not really selling them. We just made enough copies to make our money back. But the next real release is the first official album release, a solo piano album. 55 Caddilac, and that is coming out in the UK on September 7th and September 8th in the United States. That’s definitely a new kind of release for me to be involved in.

(N) So you record out of Skyscraper Studios in Manhattan

(AWK) Yes, that’s my studio

(N) Have you ever been to any studios here in Vancouver at all?

(AWK) Well, actually when I rehearsed with Nardwuar, we were at a studio.

(N) Was that JCDC?

(AWK) Yes Exactly! It was fantastic.

(N) Besides rehearsing, did you get to hang out at the studio at all, maybe listen to some old New Pornographers mixes or anything?

(AWK) I think we did listen to some jams, and they were all very good. I had a nice time in the space. It had a really good vibe. I’ve heard other stuff that came out of there, like the Evaporators stuff, and it always sounds really, really good. I understand there are some other popular spaces around there, in that Gastown area. I was told a lot about Gassy Jack while I was down there. I think Nardwuar’s mom is perhaps THE authority on Gassy Jack and Gastown.

(N) She wrote the book on Gassy Jack!

(AWK) Yeah, she wrote a book on Gassy Jack. That’s amazing. I remember hearing about that.

(N) What other activities have you done while in Vancouver, or has it always been go go go?

(AWK) It’s been pretty go go go, I mean this last time was one of the more relaxed times I’ve had there, which was really nice. I have a lot of memories of looking out hotel windows. It’s one of the great cities of the world! Certainly of the West Coast.

(N) Well as a Vancouverite, thank you very much.

(AWK) It’s very beautiful, it has a unique feeling to it, the people are very nice, and there’s an edge to it, which I think is pretty exciting. It has a real city feeling in that way. People have always been really nice to me there. I played a DJ party show there before, but I think this will be the first ever solo show that I will have played there.

(N) Andrew, are you into sports at all?

(AWK) I like sports.

(N) Are you into wrestling?

(AWK) What sort of wrestling?

(N) I interviewed a wrestler named Memphis once from the ECCW, and he said he listens to your song Party Hard before a big match in order to get pumped up. What do you think of that?

(AWK) Oh wow, that’s great! So it’s the Canadian version of the ECW? I am a huge, huge, huge fan of wrestling. I just wasn’t sure if you meant Greco-Roman style or Grappling. I like the real wrestling, not the Olympic-style. I like the stuff when they’re actually in the ring and doing real things. No, I’m just kidding. They’re both real. They’re absolute master enterainers operating at a very high level physically, the endurance, the artistry and the dance, they’re going through, and there’s the actual personalities that they develop. It’s compelling. I’m a realy huge fan of Vince McMahon as a unique figure in his own right. It’s all very intense and all very exciting. Every wrestler I ever met has been amazing. Every single one from Triple H, The Rock, to Ray Mysterio. The guys I’d be most scared to meet were always the ones who were the nicest. I’ve met some of the really extreme backyard-type guys too that I would think are even more scary, but they’ve actually been some of the most gentle and sweet people I’ve ever talked to. Chris Jericho, he’s great. I’ve had many nice times with him. I just think all those guys are amazing. They’re really putting a lot on the line and choosing to follow a dream that really asks a lot of them.


(N) Have you ever heard of the comedian Hugh Phukovsky aka Paul Anthony? He was in that Vampire comedy movie Suck with Iggy Pop and Malcolm McDowell.

(AWK) I don’t think I’ve seen that movie, but it sounds cool.

(N) I was at a taping of his show Talent Time, and he had one of the wrestlers on the show and the whole thing went haywire with another wrestler rushing the stage, and Hugh got injured, but anyway, guess where he tapes the show? The Biltmore Cabaret! And guess where you’ll be performing on June 23rd?


(AWK) I wonder if I’ve been to the Biltmore before. I don’t know that I’ve played there or not. I’ve played quite a few different places in Vancouver now, so I’m excited to see this place.

(N) And you'll also be performing at Neptoon Records, correct?

(AWK) Yes, that’s a special in-store performance to celebrate the 7”

(N) What can the folks here in Vancouver expect between the 2 shows?

(AWK) Well, they’ll be very different, for obvious reasons. The Neptoon Records show will be different because it’s in an actual record store, but at both shows, you’ll hear songs from my albums, if you’ve listened to them, you’ll be familiar with them, and you’ll hear a nice variety of tunes with some stuff you definitely haven’t heard before, and new stuff I’ll make up on the spot. You can expect to not have too clear of an expectation, but I think it will be fun. I give everything I can to create a feeling of energy, and that’s what I will be focusing on.

(N) If people want to see an example of you live, I guess they can check out the Who Knows? DVD, right?

(AWK) Sure, the Who Knows? DVD is a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun making it, putting it together. It represents the first 4 or 5 years of touring that we did. If you go onYoutube, there’s a lot of great clips from more recent shows. I love that people can take videos and put them right up, so please check out the footage, but you can never really get a full sense what it’s like until you’re there. Like with any performer. But I like video, and I would be really happy if people check out the Who Knows? DVD. There’s a lot more to watch beyond the performance as well, but I think there’s some really great concert footage.

Actually the Japanese version of that DVD has some of the best footage that we couldn’t fit on the US one. I’d encourage people to get that import if they have an all-regions player. There’s a whole bunch of footage from the wheelchair shows.

(N) People talk. This might sound scary, but there are websites out there that list all these rumours about you, like TruthaboutAndrewWK etc. I heard a rumour, Andrew W.K. that you never shower. Is there any truth to that?


(AWK) Well, I took a shower today, so that proves it to me. I did take a shower today, I swore I did. When you go into the bath but you stand up and you have the water come down, that’s a shower, right? Well that’s what I did.

(N) Okay, I was just checking. Is there anything else you'd like to add, Mr W.K.?

(AWK) Oh that's it? You want a closing statement now?

(N) Sure. Anything at all

(AWK) I would like to say that I really very sincerely do have a particular love for Canada. It offers something to me as aperson, as a human being, that’s unique to any place I’ve been around the world. I grew up very newar to Canada and went to Canada a lot growing up, even lived there for short periods of time on student exchange programs, and just really developed a meaningful relationship with it, so anything I’ve ever done with Canada has always had a special signifigance, and I really just want people to understand how much I value their interest, their support or any feelings they have for anything I’ve done at all, and gave me the chance to do this with them. Giving us the chance to do this together really means a lot. I just want anyone who has read this or who would read it to get that feeling that you can do whatever you wanna do, and you already are! I just want to give people that energy to break through those feelings that say ‘You Can’t Do What You Really Want To Do’. I want that for me and I want it for everybody else. That’s what it all comes down to.




This Interview was edited and used in the article 'Nardwuar and Andrew W.K. are A Wild Pear' - Issue 28 of The Skinny.






**Thank you for your time Andrew W.K.! And thank you Nardwuar and Melanie Kaye for helping me hook up this interview!