Andrew WK: The frontman Dave Grohl called a “true American hero”
Rock and roll was never a place meant for the future leaders of the world. It all circled back around to music at the end of the day, and as much as people claimed to be proclaiming about something much bigger than them, it was usually good enough to make tracks that were simply about relating to everyone in the audience rather than talking one’s self up like the next musical Messiah. Dave Grohl never claimed to be above any of the fans that were in the stands waiting to see him, but looking at what American rock and roll stood for, he knew that Andrew WK was on the verge of something big.
For as long as Grohl has been around, though, everything centred on whether a song could move you from the second you heard it. No matter how often someone tries to woodshed different ideas, Grohl knew that what mattered was whether it gave listeners that feeling in their gut that made them want to take on the world.
After all, Grohl already knew what it was like being at ground zero with Nirvana, so being able to build himself back up was half the reason why Foo Fighters worked. Everyone loves a good success story, and seeing the former drummer become the biggest frontman in the world was the comeback every grunge fan wanted but never got in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death.
Whereas Grohl was still fairly serious about what rock and roll stood for, Andrew WK had that same mentality on steroids. They both had bulletproof choruses behind them, but hearing a song like ‘Party Hard’ didn’t exactly promise the listener that they needed to think all that hard. Mr WK knew what you wanted, which normally meant blowing everyone’s ears out and having the best time possible.
If anything, WK just feels like Grohl’s party emcee mentality taken to its most goofy conclusion. Grohl was no stranger to acting like a bit of a dork whenever he got up onstage, so to have someone who was willing to do absolutely nothing else other than go apeshit for hours onstage was like if the music of ‘Monkey Wrench’ coagulated into a human being.
While most treated Andrew WK almost like a hard rock novelty act, Grohl knew that his presence was sorely needed in rock and roll, saying in 2001, “Andrew WK is a true American hero. He’s our saviour from the Midwest. It’s hard to explain Andrew – only because you’ve never really seen anything like it before. We had him do a few shows with us and it’s just Andrew with a CD player and a microphone jumping around like a teenager in his bedroom singing along to Sweet songs. There’s no gloom and doom – it’s all about partying until you puke.”
Ever since his debut, though, WK has managed to show his real chops in between the party anthems. Regardless of how many times he might annihilate every stage he’s on, hearing him perform solo piano recitals is one of the most abrupt switches that any musician has ever made in their career.
Beyond the screaming and the partying, Grohl calling him a hero goes further than just his musicality. A lot of rock music is based on some form of misery or overcoming adversity, so to have someone who’s all positivity all the time is a breath of fresh air.
