When picturing Andrew W.K., most Ohio University students see a partier with a bloody nose, an image plastered on posters promoting ACRN’s annual three-day concert Lobsterfest that starts tonight.
Despite this illustration, Andrew W.K. whose real name is Andrew Wilkes-Krier, now balances being a motivational speaker and a rocker.
“I used to be unsure (about becoming a motivational speaker) but I thought, wait a minute, being happy is the best feeling in the world, so I set aside people thinking I would be corny,” Wilkes-Krier said.
Wilkes-Krier said he enjoys being able to work with people as a motivational speaker, exciting them about life the same way he tries to excite people through his music. He said he believes his songs stand alone well, regardless of being a part of products such as Bud Light, Madden NFL 2003 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
“I really love TV, advertising and large corporate products,” Wilkes-Krier said. “I grew up with a lot of friends that hated mainstream culture, so a way for me to find my own path was to contradict those sensibilities. People would write to me for putting my songs on beer commercials saying I shouldn’t support it, but I don’t, they gave me their money.”
Regardless of earning money for advertisements, Wilkes-Krier said performing is the biggest thrill for him. He said he is happy about playing Athens’ Lobsterfest this year and his parents are even coming down from his native Michigan to see him perform.
As a teenager, Wilkes-Krier expressed an interest in music, participating in jazz band at school and taking piano lessons at the University of Michigan where his father taught. However, he wasn’t fond of the rigorous schedules of school and lessons.
“(My father) spent a lot of years in the academic climate, but once I seriously started thinking about college I always got excited about something else,” Wilkes-Krier said.
The “something else” Wilkes-Krier was more excited about was music — a passion that he said was greatly influenced by his high school friends Nate Young and James “Twig” Harper.
After high school, he worked any job that would fund his desires until I Get Wet was released in 2001. Out of necessity, Wilkes-Krier plays all the instruments for all of his albums for the studio recording and then brings in various friends and artists to play with him when he goes on tour.
“I wanted the music to have a certain energy, even without words,” Wilkes-Krier said. “I wanted the words to be singing about the feeling I hope people have when they hear the music, especially on the first album.”
Wilkes-Krier took this energy from his studio album to his live performances, playing all across Europe, Ozzfest and Warped Tour, and now he’ll bring it to Lobsterfest on Saturday.
This year, Lobsterfest will hold today and tomorrow’s performances at The Union and the third day will take place on the South Green lawn. Other headlining acts besides Andrew W.K., include The High Strung, Mouth of the Architect and Defiance Ohio.
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