Andrew WK
w/the Casualities, the Used
Tues June 11 at Graceland, $15.

Andrew WK is a rock powerhouse who uses the subtlety of a Poison hairdo to get crowds chanting about partying 'til they puke. The 22-year-old speed-pop-metal icon has the nonstop proselytizing personality of a highly paid motivational speaker and the hyper hair-metal style of Twisted Sister jacking off Mötley Crüe. His debut album, I Get Wet, builds every song into an anthemic climax, and the man can keep it going for hours. WK is a never-give-up/never-give-in positive force in a genre crowded with jaded cynics and snide jocks, and his main challenge seems to be containing an enthusiasm that bubbles over into hyperbole whenever he's being interviewed. (During one of our conversations, he referred to the innate beauty of babies, the Eiffel Tower, and pipe organs all in the same breath.)

Although few people outside the Bulb Records underground had heard WK's name a year ago, his songs now appear both on MTV and in beer commercials. A classically trained pianist who began performing rock songs in Michigan at age 15, WK was already so keyed into being a star by then, all he'd need was an invitation to agree to play.

"I was so frustrated that I didn't have a band--I wouldn't turn anything down, even if it was just me and keyboards and a tape, or just me singing," he admits. "Doing something was better than nothing."

After performing and living in New York for a few years, WK now resides in Florida, but mainly he sleeps on the road. Since the release of Wet, he's toured the world and will join Ozzfest this summer. The instant popularity of WK's first full-length has caused some polarity among fans, with one faction disparately digging for background to prove he's some kind of fake. The truth is, there is no conspiracy.

Peter Larson, owner of excellent noise/ punk/experimental label Bulb Records--which released two EPs from WK before Island Records signed him--says that people want to find a WK bubble to pop "because we live in the worst musical age in history. Postmodern cynicism has taken over, and people have a difficult time accepting that someone just might believe in music and believe that having fun is good. Andrew is a person who is truly dedicated to music in all its forms."

WK is excited about his newfound methods to rock the world, and criticism just makes him work harder. "People speculate nonstop about when am I going to get tired, and what if I can't do this," he says, agitated, "and there are all these cynics who say that this is just a rehash of the past. But I can prove them wrong and they cannot prove me wrong because I have not been alive tomorrow and that means everything has not been done yet. So shut your mouth and do something yourself. I'm getting all worked up, but you know what I'm talking about, right?"

Rather than worry about the past, WK is busy working on creating his utopian future, one where music snobs and MTV mallrats can headbang to the beat of the same drummer--his drummer. Although his repetitive use of the word "party" ("It's Time to Party," "Party Hard," "Party 'Til You Puke") brings to mind bags of cocaine, kegs of beer, and reserves of hard liquor, WK maintains his songs are not about getting wasted, but rather, not wasting time. "The word 'party' means nothing more than the acceptance of everything in the world, and the excitement that it's possible," he says seriously. "There isn't [another] word I can think of that better expresses fun, energy, possibility, unconditional acceptance, and the commitment to being good. My life is a party. It always has been. I imagine it always will be."

WK adds that his party has no velvet ropes. "I want people to know they're a valued member of this music, and they don't have to drink, do drugs, or dress a certain way to enjoy it," he says. "I remember loving [certain] bands, and how awful it would feel when I was told that I didn't like them for the right reason--that I was a fake, and that this guy over there, and that person, they were a part of it because they had the right T-shirt on and they knew this, and they believed in [that]. And it's like, well, I really like the drum beat on that song, does that mean I get to be a part of it? No? How awful. That's getting your heart broken. If I can do things to make that not happen, that's my goal here."

And that's Andrew WK in a nutshell--hard-working, with the fierce energy to break open his face so you don't have to break your rock-lovin' heart.