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Andrew W.K. & His Doppelgängers

GNC

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Full story, ongoing at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_wk

Rumours claim that "Andrew W.K." is an actor, a "front man" hired to play the role and perform the A.W.K. music and that before there was an "Andrew W.K.," the press was holding interviews with a Steev Mike, whose image and sound are the same as "Andrew W.K."

Plus:
Andrew participated as drummer 57 in the Boredoms' 77 Boadrum performance which occurred on July 7th, 2007 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York. His look was drastically different, as he cut his hair short, had no facial hair, and wore very different clothing from his usual attire. [2] However, pictures from Andrew's official site conflict with the fan pictures, showing him with medium, shoulder-length hair. It is suspected that the fan pictures have been edited or doctored to remove some of Andrew's hair.

In 2005, The Fader magazine featured a full-page article on Andrew W.K. which showed a radically different looking individual, with close cropped hair and different clothing, claiming to be Andrew W.K. This set off a subsequent wave of rumours that there were multiple individuals going under the "Andrew W.K." name. [4] The paranoia culminated during Andrew's "High-Way Party Cruiser Tour", during which many audience members were enraged when they claimed someone else was posing as Andrew W.K. and playing shows in his place. [5] It was never confirmed whether there were A.W.K. doppelgängers, or whether it was a case of "double mistaken identity". Andrew has used the phrase "self impersonation" in recent interviews, causing more speculation. Some fans have even believed that there was a switch in 2005, and a new actor began playing the role of Andrew W.K. A wave of online photo comparisons only caused further confusion. Andrew himself has not confirmed nor denied any of the related rumors.

Any thoughts on this strange chap? He's also a motivational speaker whose philosophy is something like hedonism, but could he be some kind of media prank? I would have thought his middling fame would have gone against such trickery being successful.
 
A bit of self-mythologising is often a good thing in that sort of circle. Just ask Bill Drummond. Or Bowie. However, you can go too far, and watch as everyone walks away.

I'd heard the name before, but have no idea how he sounds. What's the music like?
 
stuneville said:
A bit of self-mythologising is often a good thing in that sort of circle. Just ask Bill Drummond. Or Bowie. However, you can go too far, and watch as everyone walks away.

I'd heard the name before, but have no idea how he sounds. What's the music like?
Think David Lee Roth with a bigger coke habit and no sense of humour.
 
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cuw7tcftAoU

That's probably his most heard-of track.

Actually, I remember when it broke through over here. Even then, there were rumours in the music press it was Dave Grohl behind it all and had hired an actor to play the front man role.
 
ah yes, i remember seeing that when it came out and trying to work out if it was for real or some sort of put up.

fans of the guy seemed to take the view that it didn't matter either way, though i have to say that not much makes me cringe more than a wanky 'art' stunt.
 
it sounds like the kind of publicity that was being seeked when the band first came over. for those that don't know, their first album had Andrew w.k. on the cover with a bloodied nose. in interviews he claimed that he enjoyed hitting himself in the face with bricks to make his nose bleed, plus other fantastical claims that can probably still be found on kerrang!'s website in the archive. i would look myself, but as the music is a joke, i can't be bothered, just wondered why this waste of space was wasting space on this forum!

http://www.kerrang.com
 
Hey, I've been planning to start this thread for about a year! :D
I find it interesting that all his mates are in horrible noise bands like wolf eyes, where he makes jolly party music and apparently tries to 'project pure positivity'. I have wondered whether its not meant to be some kind of magickal psychodrama.
 
the way VICE magazine upped this guy, and given what they said. it had to be a bit of an injoke that gavin mcinnes was helping to perpetrate.
 
VICE is an alternate universe in itself. What did they say?
 
Christmas??? sorry you're far too late we are already doing the lead-in for Easter 2009!!
 
Agreed the music is rubbish ... give me Ukrainian folk music any day.


Joe
 
There is certainly some genuine mystery in the publicity scams. Best account I've read is here:

https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/wild-theory-andrew-wk-doesnt-exist/amp/
Interesting! I still listen to his first album, got some good tunes on it. The most bizarre thing to me was finding out it's the drummer from Obituary playing on it!
He also did an album of just him playing piano, it's complete crap.

That article mentions Scientology, but I doubt that connection. Andrew actually endorsed a biography about everyone's favourite occultist, Aleister Crowley... (Perdurabo by Richard Kaczyknski)
 
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