Andrew W.K. - The Real Deal?

[bueno bob]

I recently ordered his third album, "Close Calls With Brick Walls" (so far, only available overseas).

Really good and his sound has grown quite a bit from the first two albums. I got the Korean version with 4 bonus tracks and found the whole album fun to listen to.

I decided last night to do some looking around for a really good bio on him and came across this...and thought to myself "Holy shit...have I been snowed this whole time?"...

It's a LONG read, and often times pretty opinionated, but God damn...this guy has a rabbit hole behind him that just seems to go on forever...

http://awilkeskrier.homestead.com/

[FORD]

My first impression of this guy was that he was trying to look like Glenn Danzig and trying to sound like some bizarre hybrid of Ac/Dc, Adam and the Ants, and Cheap Trick.

So far I haven't seen or heard anything to change that impression.

[BITEYOASS]

I thought his first album was definitive Life Metal album (the opposite of Death Metal). I heard a little bit of the 3'rd album and wonder who the fuck cut his balls off?!?! Definitely not the same style I was use to with the first 2 albums. Either he has mental problems or drinks a gallon of red bull a day.

[BITEYOASS]

The day he decided to shave and take showers more often was the end of his career.

[bueno bob]

Looking at the official message board and hunting down online bio's of him is a very revealing process. There seems to be a lot of unanswered questions regarding his background and history with an acting agency, the "Steev Mike" connections, his disappearance over nearly two years and how it all ties into the '05 website bombings, his mental state (a lot of people who are publically accepted as close to him insist the "prime" Andrew W.K. is extremely bipolar at the very best)...apparently there's also a LOT of suspicion that there's more than one "Andrew W.K." - in essence, multiple lookalikes playing the "role" of "Rock Star Andrew W.K."...apparently, a lot of people who have seen him live at different points and/or met him in person insist that the guy they saw/met was NOT the actual "Andrew W.K.", but rather a passable lookalike...

Definitely an interesting debate...

[BITEYOASS]

Originally posted by bueno bob
Looking at the official message board and hunting down online bio's of him is a very revealing process. There seems to be a lot of unanswered questions regarding his background and history with an acting agency, the "Steev Mike" connections, his disappearance over nearly two years and how it all ties into the '05 website bombings, his mental state (a lot of people who are publically accepted as close to him insist the "prime" Andrew W.K. is extremely bipolar at the very best)...apparently there's also a LOT of suspicion that there's more than one "Andrew W.K." - in essence, multiple lookalikes playing the "role" of "Rock Star Andrew W.K."...apparently, a lot of people who have seen him live at different points and/or met him in person insist that the guy they saw/met was NOT the actual "Andrew W.K.", but rather a passable lookalike...

Definitely an interesting debate...

Well I think they would waste money on multiple Andrew W.K.'s and would have dropped the gimmick long ago since his albums don't sell in the USA.

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by BITEYOASS
Well I think they would waste money on multiple Andrew W.K.'s and would have dropped the gimmick long ago since his albums don't sell in the USA.

They might already have...the new album's only seeing a Japan/Korea release and he's not doing any touring state side, apparently only DJ stuff...and considering that he went two or three years here without doing much of anything other than the MTV2 show...maybe everybody kind of caught on about what the story was and they just pulled back a bit, who knows?

I have to disagree with you though, slightly - I rather enjoyed the new album. Did take me a few listens to get into it, because it was a bit on the lighter side, but once I got into it I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Imposter or no, I'll still be listening to it...guess I'm just a sucker for big dumb rock...

[Dan]

Bob,He came out here a few years ago and went nuts on our Local T.V. station and We Loved it.


He has his Fans down this part of the World.

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by Dan
Bob, he came out here a few years ago and went nuts on our Local T.V. station and We Loved it.

He has his Fans down this part of the World.

That's cool, actually.

You know, actor or not, I have to say that I like the "idea" of Andrew W.K. It's kinda cool to have real ENERGY in the music (I don't think there's anybody out there who could deny it's at least energetic), and the persona (whether it's his real personality or not) is always upbeat, positive and full of good vibes.

Irregardless, somebody IS singing on the albums, and even if he isn't the musical prodigy he's made out to be and a bit of a record label creation...maybe it really doesn't matter all that much. In the end, it comes down to the tunes, and I myself really like them, so...

[bueno bob]

Another side of the story...maybe some inside info? VERY VERY slanted, but there's some interesting information, once you wade through it...can't attest to any of it's legitimacy, but...

http://hernonawk.bravehost.com/

[SparkieD]

I'm not gonna go reading through all that bullshit. I like him. I'd like to think the guy's for real. Plus, a good scrubbing and a clean shirt would almost classify him as hot

[PHOENIX]

Andrew is actually Pete Doherty now!

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by SparkieD
I'm not gonna go reading through all that bullshit. I like him. I'd like to think the guy's for real. Plus, a good scrubbing and a clean shirt would almost classify him as hot

Well, that's the other angle - all of this is a deliberate misinformation campaign on behalf of AWK and his management, just to keep people guessing and wondering WTF gives. Don't know what the logic behind it would be, unless all of this is just the groundwork for some kind of bigger push down the road...

[BITEYOASS]

The 3'rd album doesn't have the screaming intensity of the first two. He definitely isn't a phony and it would be a detriment to his career if he cleaned up.

[twonabomber]

i have the first Andrew WK disc. it sounds like it's the same four songs played three times each.

[binnie]

If you don't take it too seriously, I find his music pretty decent.

Wouldn't cry if he never made another record though....

[Mr Badguy]

His first album was good.

My wife thought it was "Heavy Metal Vengaboys" because of the production and upbrat singalong style.

I found "The Wolf" a bit same old, same old.

[Mr Badguy]

The personality thing is not something I would worry about.

Many rock stars have a "manufactured" image.

Do any of us here believe Ace Frehley is from space?

Is Angus Young a schoolboy?

It`s all part of the fun.

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Do any of us here believe Ace Frehley is from space?

Is Angus Young a schoolboy?

Well, yeah. Duh.

[BITEYOASS]

I dug the metal/new wave mix of the first album. It was like a combination of Devo and Metallica.

[BITEYOASS]

He'll I figure since this dude is from my hone state of Michigan, I might as well buy it. This was a couple years back when anything out of Detroit would be considered hip in the any of the music magazines.

[BITEYOASS]

If you want a damn good group out of Detroit, then listen to Electric 6! Yeah they're still around, and here is one of my favorite live clips of them, "Rock n' Roll Evacuation", I think FORD will like this one:

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[BITEYOASS]

My sister saw them in East Lansing last year.