ANDREW W.K. Unveils Show
aaamusic | On 22, Jan 2012
“I GET WET” TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR
ANDREW AND HIS FULL BAND TO PERFORM HIS “I GET WET” ALBUM
IN ITS ENTIRETY, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
FIRST HEADLINING TOUR IN SEVEN YEARS!
“[I Get Wet is] as streamlined as anything Kraftwerk ever put to tape, and yet sounds like it’s about to come unhinged at any moment. It’s metal if the fans traded their pentagrams for smiley faces.” – PITCHFORK (THE TOP 200 ALBUMS OF THE 2000’s)
#2 Rock Album of The Decade – RHAPSODY
“After one listen to I Get Wet, you’ll swear you’ve heard it before… but somehow, you’ve never heard anything like it.” – THE VILLAGE VOICE
“The Savior of Rock N Roll” and listed at #9 on the 50 Best Albums of the year. – NME
New York, NY- (Jan 18, 2012): Andrew W.K., rock & roll’s reigning king of partying, has announced a tour celebrating his debut’s 10th anniversary. When his I Get Wet album first exploded onto an unsuspecting public one decade ago, it quickly polarized audiences with an intense sound and even more intense front man. Ten years later, Andrew has decided to do put on a special show in honor of his origins. The band will perform every song from his groundbreaking release, in album order, every night of the tour, including appearances at the Austin, Texas, South By Southwest Festival in March.
Originally released in 2002 on Mercury Records, I Get Wet was W.K.’s urgent rally-cry to the world. It unleashed anthemic hits like, “Party Hard”, and “She Is Beautiful” to an enthralled and sometimes enraged audience, helping secure the #1 spot on the Billboard “Heat Seekers” chart. W.K.’s sound as, Alternative Press proclaimed, “smashes up pop melodies, metal riffs and industrial beats with a hammer..”, and ten years later, it continues to bring pure party happiness to thousands worldwide.
At a time when culture was saturated with pessimism and shadows of negativity, nihilistic messages tended to rule the airwaves. Ten years ago, it was difficult to find any contemporary songs about partying, fun, or positivity. The major-key club-rock sound of I Get Wet, and the undeniably powerful vision of its creator, have both proven influential and ahead of their time. The album’s relentless four-on-the-floor “up with everything” dance rock was a blast of fresh air, and anticipated the shape pop music to come a decade ahead of schedule. As The Onion’s A.V.club noted, the album “rocks almost recklessly, but without the trappings that burden its peers: There’s no camp, no irony, and, most notably, no angst.” The result was a re-setting of the bar for rock music and performance, paving the way for more fun and positivity in culture.
Known as the new ambassador of visceral rock & roll pleasure, Andrew W.K. Andrew’s furious delivery, charismatic charm, and energized enthusiasm continue to this day. His almost singular ability to straddle both mainstream media and fringe culture has made him an instantly recognizable modern pop icon. Besides his own albums – which include a recent collection of improvised piano tracks (“55 Cadillac”), and a tribute album for the Japanimation franchise Gundam – Andrew’s recent accomplishments include hosting the successful Cartoon Network TV program, “Destroy Build Destroy” – with over 1.7 million viewers a week, the program quickly became the #1 show in its time slot for boys 6-11 on ALL of television, and it earned Andrew the “Best Host” award from KidScreen, an youth TV industry publication. Andrew was invited to write and perform an official theme song to the 2012 World Snowboarding Championship in Oslo, Norway, and serve as the event’s musical diplomat. Andrew has also become a regular commentator on networks like VH1 and FOX.
The recent years have even seen Andrew turning his positive message into motivational lectures at such Ivy League universities as Harvard and Yale, and working with such artists as reggae and dub pioneer, Lee “Scratch” Perry (receiving a Grammy nomination in 2009 for producing Perry’s Repentance album), as well as artists such as Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy, Current 93, Good Charlotte, Steve Aoki, Rivers Cuomo and even The Simpsons animated series (Andrew W.K. performed the theme song for the legendary cartoon’s 20th anniversary episode).
Thursday April12 – London, UK – Electric Ballroom
Friday April 13 – Manchester, UK – Club Academy
Saturday April 14 – Glasgow, SCO – Garage