Andrew W.K. is a super-positive guy, but he doesn’t come with the irritation factor one normally expects from those types. His Twitter is full of party tips and affirmations such as “Life is more meaningful when we have a mission and a purpose. Mine is partying. What’s yours?” and, “Don’t try to impress people. Try to inspire them.”
At first it might be easy to disregard as a joke, but W.K. fully believes that having a positive mindset is a choice.
“It’s definitely the mood that I try and focus on, ‘cause I figure, of all moods, that seems like a pretty good one,” he says.
It sounds simple, but the motivation behind it isn’t. W.K. says he still suffers from depression from time to time, and a lot of the motivation behind his music and party-hard attitude comes from feeling down in the past.
“I mean, it’s still something I’ve grappled with until, you know, yesterday. It gives me a lot of motivation to do what I do, so it’s definitely like my own self-help program,” he says. “And, in the process, I certainly hope that it brings the same kind of feeling to people who may need it as much as me, or more.”
W.K. tends to have several projects on the go, including motivational speaking. He’s always felt that what he wanted out of life was that reciprocal feeling, that bond that passes between entertainer and audience, when both parties are participating to mutual benefit.
“The biggest impact in that regard, musically, was made on me by George Clinton, Parliament, Bootsy Collins, and that whole group of people,” he says. “That was the first time I heard music that was made by someone that was different from me in age and background, but still felt that their attitude and music was making me feel good, and that these people wanted me to feel good.”
Fresh out of the grunge era, when enthusiasm was uncool, this was eye-opening for W.K.
“I wasn’t so sure Kurt Cobain would want me to like his music, you know? He’d probably think I wasn’t cool or I wasn’t wearing the right clothes. That was very upsetting to me.”
Andrew W.K.
Friday, November 25
Sugar, $22
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