Q with Andrew WK – “You can party for anything…including reasons such as, ‘You’re not dead.'”

Andrew WK’s name has been synonymous with partying ever since the rocker hit the scene in 2001 with his hit song “Party Hard” off his debut album I Get Wet. Throughout the past decade, the 34-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist has done a bit of everything. He’s released four more albums, hosted a hit show on Cartoon Network, become a motivational speaker, been a regular on Fox’s “Red Eye,” and even produced an album by reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Oh, he also just set the record for longest drum session in a retail store on June 20 after drumming nonstop for 24 hours.

This Sunday, he’ll perform/party at Culture Bar (Map it!). The gig was planned spontaneously, he says, but will feature WK, his keyboard, and his friend Blakey Boy performing songs from the entire catalogue. Tickets to the show are $20 and can be purchased here. Selfawarewolf will open. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m.

Below is my interview with WK. Enjoy.

Matthew Sigur: I heard you were busy rehearsing today. What’s rehearsing with you like?
Andrew WK: Well, we’re setting up our stage set basically, making sure we know how to do it. Tomorrow we go to Houston and begin the Black Sabbath tour.

MS: What was your reaction when you got the call to tour with Black Sabbath?
AWK: Just pure shock. Complete shock. Bafflement. Then, just extreme gratitude. I was thinking I haven’t been in a situation like this, and I think of all the other people, friends of mine, and people I don’t know, how badly they would want to do this. I feel like I’m representing all their dreams and excitement. It’s simultaneously humbling and thrilling, and definitely makes life surreal.

MS: You listened to them as a child or teenager, I’m assuming?
AWK: Really [I’ve listened to them] forever, I guess. Their music, it’s one of those more rare instances that it’s so pervasive. It’s there. I heard their music before I knew what Black Sabbath or hard rock was. It’s like it came out of The Big Bang. It’s so primal and elemental. It’s what I think of as humanity at this point. It’s the kind of achievement that makes the mark on the human race. It goes beyond influencing other bands. It influences reality.

MS: I know what you mean. Going back to rehearsing, are you full of energy during that time? Do you make your band do a ton of takes? Are you a perfectionist?
AWK: Well, I don’t know if you’re aware of what I’m going to be doing, opening for Black Sabbath. They specifically wanted a DJ, so I’m rehearsing a DJ set.

MS: Oh ok.
AWK: Yeah. They were aware I do all kinds of shows—band or solo shows, seminars and self-help lectures. DJ’ing—it’s fun. You’re just playing the greatest song you can think of, one after another. Black Sabbath didn’t want a band, and think about it—what band could open for them? That’s what’s so bizarre, I’m the last person imaginable. They wanted a rock DJ and thought of me, for whatever reason. I’ve got 150 songs I’m working with. It’s going to be a lot of playing what I’m excited to hear. I’ll be responding to the crowd’s mood and atmosphere and taking that energy that will be in the room and amping it up. This is the kind of show, you’re anticipating potentially for your whole life, to see Black Sabbath, one of the greatest bands in history, play. I want to ride that anticipation.

Now, when I rehearse with my band, we’ve played so many shows together, we just play and enjoy it. My band is extremely good, and I’m very lucky to have such dedicated players. Most of the guys have been in the band since the beginning. The newer ones who have joined, they’re good musicians. I like them to do what they want. They’ll come up with stuff on the fly, be it riffs or a drum fill, things that are naturally coming out from them. That’s where the real excitement comes through.

MS: Nice. Well, I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but what are the key ingredients for a great party?
AWK: Being alive, that’s the most important thing. I’ve seen these zombie creatures, they seem like they could party. I don’t mean any offense to them. I will report back if possible from beyond the grave and try to keep partying. Maybe I’ll just go into another dimension that’s more amazing than this one and see if I can keep partying. But, being there is the first thing. Usually, it’s great to have music. That’s the second most important thing. It changes everything for the better. It’s always a great accompaniment. Then, get some friends, family, some other folks…It’s always nice to have other bodies, especially if they’re lovely, beautiful bodies. Then, you can have food and drink, refreshments. A good attitude—awareness and gratitude. You can party for anything, really. It can be something your thankful for or reasons such as you’re not dead.

MS: That’s a good reason. How do you have so much energy?
AWK: I don’t know. It seems like a lot of people have a lot more energy than I do. I met this guy, bass player of Turbonegro, Happy Tom. I went and hung out with him once in Los Angeles last year. He was hanging out with this guy, very nice guy, very unassuming…The guy runs a marathon every day. He’s sponsored, you know. There’s the whole charitable aspect of it. Then, there’s this feat of endurance and athleticism that amazes me. I had never heard of something like that. He runs one marathon a day for a whole year. That, to me, is real energy. It makes what I do is easy and relaxed in comparison. I think of athletes and how they can push themselves….I have this music, and it’s designed to give you energy. I’m always trying to make the most stimulating music I can. I’ve gone on stage straight out of the hospital, feeling like I was going to die, and it just takes over.

MS: How do those songs come to you?
AWK: Most of the time, it appears. A melody idea will be there. I’m not a big lyricist. I don’t consider myself a great lyricist. The feeling…It just unfolds. It’s a strange thing. If I try to write a song, it doesn’t work. It’s this crappy song. When the song wants to exist, it’ll tell me when it’s a certain kind of song. It’s automatic writing. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about it that way. It’s not expressing my own feelings, or experiences I’ve gone through. Very rarely are the songs about that. That’s just not the music this is. It’s designed for specifically euphoric, energized joy. I just try not to stand in the way of it.

MS: Given the nature of your material, a lot of people might not take you seriously, even though you’ve released a ton of material since I Get Wet. How do you as a performer balance that act—yes, I have done “Party Hard,” but I also did stuff like Close Calls with Brick Walls and The Wolf?
AWK: Well, I hope people don’t take me seriously. That would be a big mistake. One of the more unfortunate characteristics of culture is that you have to be taken seriously. I don’t even know what that means to be taken seriously. I don’t know what that word means. I’m serious about having fun. I’m not an artist. I’m not here to do that. There are other people here to do that. I’m here to party. The fact that anyone cares about anything I do at all…I’m extremely thankful with that. I would never say I’m done with a certain song. I don’t care. I will play “Party Hard” every show until the day I die. I will enjoy it more and more. I like playing it more now more than when I made it. I never expected that to happen. That is the rocket fuel that launched my whole adventure. I don’t know why I got to make that album or song.

MS: How did you react when people attacked the legitimacy of your records at first?
AWK: It was more confusing than anything. When you hear someone speaking about you when they know you, when I don’t even know myself. How could this person know about me? Most reviews and critics they’re talking about themselves. To me, it’s weird to write about things you didn’t like. You’ll see people write bad things about a restaurant, and it’s like, “Why are you taking the time to do this?” A lot of times they’re right. They can have insights that I didn’t have. I give them the benefit of the doubt. But if you like the feeling and flavor, you like it. People change their minds over time, too. I’m just trying to do the very best at what I was meant to do and hope someone enjoys it as much as I do.

MS: What keeps you going?
AWK: Well, it’s this feeling of obligation that I have. When your dreams come true, you’re obligated to see them through. It’s a duty to do what you were born to do. Not that this feels like an obligation. It feels like a mission. There’s so much left to do. That’s what so bizarre. Really surprising to me, it’s still building, developing, expanding.

MS: Yeah, it is expanding. You’re on TV here and there. Everywhere I turn, I feel like I see Andrew WK.
AWK: Hopefully, it doesn’t get too grating. I just want to do this the best that I can. I owe it to the people and those forces to give all I can to it. And I can only get better as time goes on.

MS: OK, so what can people expect at Sunday’s show.
AWK: This is going to be a special event. It came up very spontaneously. I’m very thankful that this opportunity came up so last minute. I was wondering at first, “Is there time for people to find out for this show?” Thankfully, people have, and it’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be intense, tight-packed, and really, a party. It’s a party event—it will be me, my keyboard, and my right hand man Blakey Boy, singing and dancing. Everyone else in the room will be considered part of the band. We’ll sing the songs together. These are the shows that give me a lot of joy and fuel me up. It will give me power that I can take out into the world to keep going. I’m excited about it. It seems that people are hearing about the show. I’m looking forward to it. Louisiana is one of my favorite places. It will be a night of joy. We will enter the joy-zone, full-tilt.