Anybody here listen to Andrew WK? Was anyone at the show last sat? (1 Viewer)

[Benson R]

This has become my favorite new artist and the great show he put on last saturday night in Jersey has solidified that opinion. I'd love to know if anyone else here is a fan. If anyone was at the show at the Birch Hill Nite Club could you tell me if you know the name of the band that went on before the Used. I think they were called the Dead Enders but I have been unable to find out more on the web searching for that name. I really liked their set and would like to find out more. I also urge everyone to pick up the album and give it a chance. For many of my friends they thought it was idiotic the first time they heard it but then it grows on you.

 

[Benson R]

Anyone? I'm willing to believe nobody else here was at that show but hasn't anyone been listening to this album?

 

[Josh Lowe]

isn't that the guy with the mullet?

i'd say he's about 15 years late.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

I saw him on SNL, and honestly thought it was a skit. Then I thought he was some pro-wrestler who had gotten the slot because THE ROCK was hosting.

Only after a web search did I realize that the guy was "for real".

Benson- I'd really love to hear your thoughts on the guy and his record- because up until you post, I didn't believe anyone actually listened to it.

So please, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

-V

 

[Benson R]

I can't put my finger on it as to what it is I love about the album. All the songs have an infectious hook and could be considered anthems. The songs seem simple at first being that anybody can figure out the chorus and start singing along on their first listen. But the music has many layers of instrumentation. Its all very slick and every note seems to be there for a reason even though on first listen it just seems like a giant wall of sound. I think I'm a pretty cynical person but I can't get enough of his positive attitude. Even though his philosophical musings in interviews come off more like endless ramblings he seems to be a very genuine and nice person which goes along way towards selling his music. The audience for his show was one of the best I have ever seen. I got into more than I thought I would. One of the songs on the album is party till you puke which is what I did. Not from drinking but moshing and dancing in the pit. If your on the fence about his music check out his site Andrew WK World. About half the album is available in streaming form. If you like any of what you hear go get album. I think it is only $10 list price.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Vince: I think you might enjoy this review -- http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-rev...-get-wet.shtml

 

[Benson R]

Was that review supposed to be a joke? I have read bad reviews for I Get Wet before but never so scathing. The author seems to think Andrew WK is the Antichrist of rock music. Personally I find Andrew WK refreshing for all the reasons this review seems to hate him. I love the fact that Andrew WK can have fun on a record. I'm getting tired of bands like Staind and Nickelback. I don't mean to point them out specifically but it all starts to sound the same after a while.

 

[NickSo]

I've heard AndrewWK and my younger brother really likes them... I thought their music was catchy, but just bland.

Now nickelback. they rule. Staind, im not so excited about, but Nickelback is awesome.

 

[Benson R]

Andrew WK wrote all the songs on I Get Wet. You might want to correct your post. I dont't mean to sound harsh but your spreading mistruth about my boy. There is no band writing music. Andrew WK is Andrew Wilkes Krier. The band is just for touring. He wrote and recorded all the music though he probably did make use of session players.
Andrew WK started out as a solo artist. His original act was him playing keyboard and singing karaoke style to a cd he recorded. The strength of this act got him a recording deal.
Last year he started touring in the UK and released a cd. Party Hard reached the top ten on the UK charts.
I have nothing against Nickelback, they seem quite talented. For that matter I have nothing against Staind, it just seems that after Creed became a big hit labels would sign anyone with a similar sound. To me it just becomes numbing after a while. I found Andrew WK to be a breath of fresh air.
Everyone of my friends had the same reaction when they first heard I Get Wet. Is this a joke? But they all came around. My friend John at first thought this was the worst album I ever bought. But he borrowed a dub tape I made and listened to it the whole way through in his car. He was the first one to ask me if I wanted to go to the show AWK put on this past weekend.

 

[Benson R]

One other thing. Many of you here may have heard Andrew's music and not even realized it. He has allowed many of his songs to be used in commercials recently much like Moby.

The first was a commercial for an online travel site, I think it was Expedia.com. In it two parents are trying to decide whether they should bring their son with them on vacation. They imagine a wild party going on in the house while the song "Its Time to Party" is playing. There were two Coors commercials. The first one used the song "Its Time to Party." The second used "Party Hard." Nintendo made use of "She is Beautiful" in a commerical for the Gamecube. The latest use of his music is a commercial for Target that uses the song "Don't Stop Living in the Red."

 

[Benson R]

Nobody else has anything positive to say about Andrew WK? Any fans from across the Atlantic? I know he built a fanbase in England before releasing a cd in the US. Anybody?

 

[NickSo]

Well, i said I HEARD they didnt write their songs, it wasnt a statement :p)

 

[Benson R]

I wasn't offended that you thought he didn't write his music. I just didn't want people to think he was some sort of manufactured creation. Besides who would create an artist with a sound that crosses David Lee Roth era Van Halen with Slayer? Oh and if anybody wants to get a taste of Andrew I heard that on Sunday at 10 on MTV they are going to broadcast making the video of We Want Fun for the Jackass the movie soundtrack. At the very least you can catch some footage of Jackass the Movie.

 

[Benson R]

I'm gonna make one last attempt to get a discussion going before I consider this thread dead. I guess nobody has really heard much about Andrew until now. I suggest if anybody misses the height of metal and punk like I do go to the website I mentioned above and give a listen. Post your thoughts here if you have any.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Benson,
I don't really think that is the issue. Andrew is not really "new", there were discussions about him almost 6 months ago:
Someone even less talented than Fred Durst
The 80s came back. I thought I was out, but they pullllllled me back in.
I think many of us have heard him. I think the reason your thread has few posts (expect those by you) is that most people are unimpressed.
But, I'm glad you are enjoying him!
-Vince

 

[Benson R]

Well I think something I forget is that the average age of the hometheater forum member is not the audience for Andrew WK. Oh, well. Andrew has really only been getting recognition in the States in the last few months. I think since mtv does little promotion of music, and even less of Rock music his exposure is slower then it could be. That will change with his addition to the Jackass soundtrack. Mtv will be promoting this quite a bit so hopefully this will give Andrew the exposure he needs to put himself over the top with mainstream audiences.

Even if I can't convince you guys to like his music maybe I can convince you to respect the amount of talent he has just a little bit. He was the best live act I saw, and not just because I already love the songs, but because he is able to keep the same level of perfection in his show that is on the album.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Indeed- although some might argue that this is not really that impressive of a feat. As an amature guitarist who saw Andrew on SNL a while back- I have little doubt I could perform most of his songs to relative perfection with maybe an hour of rehearsal.

The guys in his band all appear to be studio players hired on the payroll (One of the guys I'm pretty sure I recognize from previous session work). Since Andrew is playing small-medium clubs, I wonder how he's paying such an expensive backing band with a nightly take that cannot exceed a couple grand. I'd bet he's taking large amounts of label cash to support the tour- which is not a wise plan if he's looking to be around long enough to make another record.

I look forward to seeing if your prediction for him comes true in the future. So far, I honestly don't think it's been a lack of exposure that has prevented him from being popular: He appeared on SNL and has appeared on MTV several times. There are dozens of other bands who achieved such exposure (namely SNL appearance) BECAUSE people wanted to see them; whereas it seems Andrew seems to be going at it the other way around (hoping to get people to want to see him due to exposure).

I really think his lack of popularity is preventing his exposure, not the other way around. His lack of popularity stems from the type of reaction you saw in the thread I linked above.

I hope you're right, but I've been in the biz for a while, and I'm not too optimistic.

-Vince

 

[Benson R]

I think the people that post here the most are audiophiles. You know how much this hobby costs and most people in my and your age bracket don't have money to spend on this. Sure many of my friends spend tons on car stereo but they think I'm the crazy one for directing most of my disposable income towards home theater. Sure if you averaged every hometheaterforum member's age it might be mid 20s but I think the core posters are more late 20s to early 30s. Most of the posts in the music forum are about bands like the Stones and Pink Floyd. I love those bands too but I don't see a huge interest in punk or heavy metal.
I disagree with you that AWK has had plenty of time to catch on. He only released a cd in the US 6 months ago. He is only 23 years old. He had limited radio airplay of one single. Two years ago he was basically playing karaoke to his own recordings. I was taken back when I went to his show and most of the people there were actually there to see AWK and not just to hang out at the club and see whoever was playing.
The guitar parts in the song are a little simple. Andrew admits he is just learning guitar. Since he writes the music he really doesn't include solo parts for guitar. Andrew's background is piano and on the album you can hear that keyboard is the predominant instrument.
I still don't know most of his backing band that well. I did make a mistake in one of my earlier posts. The band did record the album with Andrew. Some of the players may be session players but I know Jimmy the guitar player was a struggling musician. According to quotes by him without this gig he would be house painting.
I may never win anyone over to my side but if you want to know why I have become a fan try listening to some more of the album besides party hard. Like I said earlier many of the songs are available in their entirety at Awkworld.
Give it a try. Some of my favorite artists are GNR, the Strokes, Zeppelin, Floyd and AC DC. Just letting you know that my usual tastes aren't far out there.

 

[Benson R]

Also the show I saw was large for a club type show and was packed to the rafters. I'm not familiar with the economics of the music business. His band was large but he seemed to carry a minimal crew for the amount of equipment he had. He did have a bus but nothing too fancy. It looked like he was living out of an RV that tailed the bus. His touring schedule is quite full. He has been playing gigs nonstop since his album release and before that he had a full schedule of shows all across Europe.

 

[Benson R]

I'll add one last post so I can get this up to the top. I just saw a promo and the making of the video for Jackass the Movie is in fact going to be on at 10pm tonight. Even if you have no interest in AWK the whole Jackass gang is going to be on so it might be worth checking out.