Upon its initial release back in 2001, I pretty much dismissed Andrew WK’s breakthrough album ‘I Get Wet’s as fratboy-oriented party-hard post-White Zombie rock, while at the same time being curiously fascinated by the apparent complete lack of irony, as well as the bloody-nosed sleeve art that seemed aimed at baiting moral figures. In the near decade and a half since, Andrew Wilkes-Krier has continued to reveal himself as a riddle inside an enigma, with an initial experimental period alongside hometown buddies Wolf Eyes being matched these days by activities as a professional life coach, invites by the Chinese government to visit as a ‘party consultant’s and his parallel output of classical piano albums. Throw in the scent of nefarious corporate machinations in the background, with one Steev Mike more recently showing up on the internet and claiming that he originally came up with the whole concept of Andrew WK’s stage persona, and author Phillip Crandall certainly has plenty of interesting material to explore throughout this detailed examination of ‘I Get Wet’s construction and subsequent aftermath.
The fact that Crandall’s managed to get direct access to everyone from Wilkes-Krier’s parents, through to high school friends and the session musicians and producers who worked on the album’s tracks also lends this a first-person immediacy that’s occasionally missing from the ’33 1/3′ book series. Above all though, it’s Wilkes-Kriers’ apparent sincerity and immense drive to succeed that really makes an impact here, as well as his sheer devotion to making music. From early stories of him creating a fake label during high school comprised of albums which he would then have to write when people showed an interest in them, through to latterday tales of him touring whilst in a wheelchair, there’s a sense that WK is the endlessly positive and irony-free guy who won’t be stopped. Having said that though, the sections where Andrew’s close associates discuss the possible veracity of Steev Mike’s claims does throw everything into an interesting light, particularly when several of them suggest that Steev Mike is actually just another of his own cryptic personas. Couple this with a friend recalling an incident where Andrew stated to an art class that he wanted to build a persona from the ground up, only to tear it down again, and there’s the nagging sense that the joke could be on all of us. Or not.
