Illinois Entertainer September 2018 | Page 8

Andrew L ike Alexander the Great centuries before him, mega-metaller Andrew W.K. is probably weeping because he has no more worlds to conquer. Justifiably so. After recording 2001’s Get Wet – a multi- tracked ELO-meets-Sweet-at-Slayer-junction masterpiece so addictive that we guarantee ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER: What monumen- tal things have occurred in your life lately? ANDREW W.K.: Oh. Just this album. Just being able to finally get this album out after so many years. But you have to realize that not only are you not in control but that it’s a wonderful thing to relinquish that control or the illusion of control. Andrew W.K. IE: When was the moment that you under- stood this? A.W.K.: I think I realized that I had never allowed myself to believe the possibility that I may never make another album, or that maybe it was over; or that I wouldn’t be able to keep doing this. There was always a fear, way deep down inside, that all things will end and could end at any time. But I always felt like I could push back on that and force Ed Kowalczyk (second left) and Live 09•2018 that there will be days you’ll wake up needing to hear it right then, this perpetually white- garbed, five-o'clock-shadowed New Yorker wore hat after cottage-industry hat, becom- ing: a DJ; a popular Big Apple nightclub owner; a classical pianist; a radio host; a TV reality series host; a deadpan advice colum- nist; and a surprise hit of a motivational speaker. He was mastering so many diverse genres; the man practically forgot to make music. But now A.W.K. has returned with You’re Not Alone, a huge rallying cry of a comeback album that combines all of the above skills into an uplifting new style all its own. that not to be the case on a day to day basis. But I was humbled to realize that – no matter how hard you try and how unfair it might feel – life doesn’t always go the way that you want it to go. And oftentimes – not always – it’s for the best because it will go in a way that you could never have orchestrated for your- self. You would never have had the thought- fulness to dream it up on your own. And once I had accepted it – like, wow – maybe things aren’t going to go the way I thought they were on my own – it was horrifying, and very, very frustrating, but also liberating in a sense. So I kind of exhaled through the blow- hole of my soul, and when I inhaled, some- 8 illinoisentertainer.com september 2018 thing came in and took over in a good way, and this time I didn’t fight it. That was about three years ago. IE: Another viewpoint: You made “I Get Wet” – you don’t have to do another fucking thing in your life. A.W.K: That’s very complimentary and very flattering. Thank you. I have really similar feelings about it in a way. More similar than one might think, in that I’m a fan of it, too I mean, it happened to me. It made me. IE: They say that if you step blindly off into the universe will reward you. A.W.K.: It’ll reward you in as much as it’ll surprise you. So it’s a combination of being extraordinarily open and susceptible, and also extremely strong and determined. And it’s a blind strength. Because, so much of how I’d thought about life for so long had been learning that point of pride, that I’m in con- trol of life, and I use my strength to then bend life to my will. But really, it’s about using those strengths to align yourself to live with