Rock Star Andrew W.K. Shares His Views on Heaven
Andrew W.K. (#AndrewWK) took the secular rock scene by storm with party anthems such as the mega-smash hits “Party Hard,” “She is Beautiful,” and “We Want Fun.” He has also become a motivational speaker, a TV host, a self-help guru, and — if all that’s not enough — he is currently writing a book called The Party Bible (#ThePartyBible). He is also a viral Internet celebrity, and he is one of the most eccentric, driven, and energetic artists in popular rock music today.
Since being introduced to the secular entertainment world nearly fifteen years ago, Andrew W.K. has lived up to his reputation of being the King of Partying, as they call him. However, he recently made an interesting comment on Twitter that said simply, “God is partying.” He also mentioned elsewhere about his adoration for the musical Jesus Christ Superstar (#JesusChristSuperstar). Of course, comments like these do not automatically make somebody a born again evangelical Christian, and I’m not labeling Andrew as such; but part of our mission at Rocking God’s House is to engage secular culture — i.e. celebrities and bands who aren’t necessarily on the Christian entertainment industry radar or who don’t identify themselves as Christians — with faith-related questions. And I couldn’t help but ask Andrew about his tweet and learn a little more about his beliefs.
In a recent tweet you write “God is Partying?” What are your thoughts on Heaven? Do you think Heaven will be a constant party?
Yeah, I suppose so, I mean, that is how I kind of feel like it is right now too though. I have many different ideas of what Heaven could be like, and it usually gears towards that sort of unimaginable quality, like if you did finally get to Heaven you’d be like, “Wow, I never expected it to be like this.” Sort of like seeing a color you never saw before, hearing a sound you never heard before — something that is very basic but also very mind-blowing and, also, [I] kind of imagine that, somehow, everybody would be there. It’s a very exciting idea to think about.
What is your take on Jesus Christ Superstar?
I do think it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best musical. I also think it’s one of the best rock albums ever recorded, musical or not. And the cast, the singers they had were just mind-blowing, and there’s a rawness, and an immediate quality to all the performances. They probably did it in one take.
Your fans here are very excited to have you back in Nashville.
Likewise [to them]. This show we added right before a show in Cincinnati, so some said it would be difficult to make that drive from Nashville to Cincinnati, that it may not be advisable. It was so exciting to me to come back to Exit Inn and, of course, to Nashville itself that we squeezed it in to make it work.
This is a solo piano performance?
Yeah, it’s a full show, but it’s the kind where I have my electronic keyboard. It is very amped up; I am playing songs from all my albums. I will have my drum machine. So it’s kind of like electronic versions of real songs, and I also have my right hand man on stage with me, Blakey Boy, who is also singing and dancing about and adding that much more energy. It is a very intimate show, which is what I like about it. Variety is the spice of life. The full band shows have a unique power, and the solo shows have a unique power as well. The solo shows are a bit more of a challenge for me as well — also getting me a bit closer and personal with the audience.
How is your book The Party Bible coming along?
It is coming along quite nicely. Of course, it is my first book, so it is a new experience. It is challenging. I have done writing before — not a book. For anyone who is wondering what the format is we are still trying to figure that out. It is not fiction, and it is not really an autobiography. It is so much about me personally, telling my story. It is really the philosophy of partying, so I am trying to use this amazing opportunity that Simon & Schuster gave me to make a book at all, and make it the best book I can about everything — about life and all that goes with it. I would hope that it will be an inspiring, motivating, exciting book for folks and for a lot of people. It would be things they don’t already know, but [also messages like] “we are in it together” and “keep on partying.”
What do you think about your WWE wrestling doppelganger Adam Rose; have you heard about him yet?
Yes, I have. I actually tweeted him back and forth. I would love to do his theme song, but that would totally be up to him and, of course, Vince McMahon. I myself am a huge wrestling fan, [and I have been] for as long as I can remember, and people have been telling me about Adam Rose, and I tweeted to him and he responded very quickly, and he was very nice. He is from South Africa, which I thought was very cool. I think he may be one of the few if not the first wrestler from South Africa in the WWE. I think he has a good philosophy on partying. The more the merrier. I am glad there is another kindred spirit in the field of entertainment, especially in WWE, representing the idea of partying.
Do you have any country music covers in your repertoire for the show in Nashville?
The great thing, the best thing for me about these solo shows is in the set list it is very flexible. I can change it on the fly because there is no one else playing. I could work in some country songs; there are some standards that I am very very passionate about.
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Andrew is set to play a very personal solo piano performance in Nashville on July 11th at the Exit Inn. It marks his first trip to Music City in a decade. Being a classically trained pianist, this should be a very interesting show, to say the least, and a rare glimpse of a different side of Andrew’s music.
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[Editor’s Note: As a disclaimer, please keep in mind that a celebrity’s appearance in a Rocking God’s House article does not mean that the celebrity identifies with everything that Rocking God’s House believes; it also does not mean that we identify with everything the celebrity believes. You can read our Statement of Faith here. We believe in engaging secular cultural about faith topics and learning more about the worldviews that shape people in the secular entertainment industry. Besides becoming better informed consumers of entertainment, our constant hope is that conversations like these will spark constructive dialogue between Christians and secular culture.]
