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