Photography by Jessica Wittman

In the aftermath of Andrew WK’s second of two Sled Island performances, we met the pop icon/motivational lecturer/party-starter at the bottom of the Legion’s stairwell. This is the conversation that followed - enjoy!

Kane: I would like if you could start by telling me about your motivational speaking.

Andrew WK: I’ve never officially called it motivational speaking; I have called it lectures…but even lectures has kind of been a weird word to use because lectures entails talking to or at people. It’s more like an opportunity for people to be in a very focused environment where they can be in a mode of expressing. Much like tonight, the emphasis is on freedom, on feeling really good, on setting aside a moment where we put our energy toward that good feeling – but without music or traditional modes of performance. They have been an opportunity to connect with people in a very spontaneous and subconscious place. The thing is, a lot of people are thinking the same stuff I am thinking about.

Kane: What sort of things?

Andrew WK: Just what it’s like to be alive and what to do in that state.

Kane: Was there something that you saw in people’s reaction to your music that made you want to go beyond the temporary, 45 minute positive message of a set?

Andrew WK: It came from the music in terms of the music laying the foundation for everything I get to do now. So I’m grateful to performing giving me other opportunities. But, I guess the idea was to take that risk of going up on stage without anything; without any songs; without any instruments; without any plan. That was scary for me in a way because for a long time, I thought that music was the only way I could get this feeling of joy. It’s kind of difficult to describe. But I think anyone who has felt this way understands when you feel enthusiastic and glad to be alive. It can happen from music and all sorts of situations, but the idea is to be in that state of mind all the time. Even in moments when you would feel sad or when you just don’t feel good, the lectures are about a higher point of observation that looks at all of those experiences and emotions – even the one we wouldn’t say are nice or good – and really be able to enjoy them.

Kane: I think it’s such a contrast to compare concerts, when people are loosened up, to public speaking and people’s vulnerabilities. Was there something negative you saw in people at your shows that pushed you to reach out?

Andrew WK: Well that’s what’s interesting. When I first started doing this kind of rock music, it was that I personally wanted to get out of bad feelings that I was having. It wasn’t so much that I saw others behaving badly – I just had a lot of bad vibes that I wanted to change and I wanted to come up with some reason to shake them. Music with this kind of energy gave me that reason to go beyond myself and the limitations I was feeling – a lot of those were feelings of being angry at people and the world and feeling like a victim of outside circumstances.

When most people have a passion, part of having that passion is that it brings out the best in you and ideally everyone who comes in contact with you. You realize that it’s not really your passion; it’s just a passion that exists for you to tap into and for others to tap into as well. But it starts with the individual because I did this for myself first.

Witt: It sounds to be very Zen or Buddhist. I’m a follower, on some level, of Buddhism and the Dali Lama – and not that you model your life on specific individuals – but do you have a spiritual influence?

Andrew WK: There are a lot of very basic ideas about existence that have been presented by great thinkers and traditions that I have become familiar with more recently as people would tell me I might like it. And I did like it.

Like you said, we can always take our own path and still appreciate the contributions of those great eras of thought. But I think it comes from the inexplicable feeling everybody has about what it is to be you. When you wake up in the morning, when you’re coming out of that state in-between awake and sleep and remember that you are you, you exist and this is what it feels like to be you. It’s like a flavour or a smell or a familiar feeling. Sometimes, when you’ve really pushed yourself out of your comfort zone, you can almost forget that you’re you and have to get back to that.

In the first few minutes after I get off stage, I’m recovering. There needs to be that balance between being yourself and working within the idea of your ego. The ego can be a very healthy thing to work with; but sometimes it can become painful and that’s a good time to let go of the ego – like (after a performance) on a night like this.

Kane: You mean after seeing a new crowd of a thousand people and you’ve crossed the continent to be here for everyone to try and share one idea…

Witt: …and they’re playing your music. I was watching the end of your set and you’re nowhere near your key board while some guy is pounding away on it.

Andrew WK: I tried to show him the right notes to play, too.

Witt: Not a lot of musicians allow that interaction, but you must know that most people just want to feel like they’re a part of something.

Andrew WK: That’s a nice byproduct but hopefully even people who don’t get that physical are still feeling it. I can tell if I’m feeling it and if I’m feeling it, usually someone else is too. As long as they get some kind of interaction or experience or something to think about and apply in a useful way – then that’s a real honour.

Kane: We’ve talked so much about happiness. What makes you happy right now?

Andrew WK: I thought that I would have gotten more used to this lifestyle or show biz. But the more I’ve done it, I’ve been like: ‘wait a minute, this is just insane that this even exists and I get to do this’. It’s crazy that this many people in the entertainment industry even exist!

I’m with two of the biggest booking agencies in the world – C.A.A. and Williams Morris – and I’ve looked at the rosters for those and there are literally hundreds of massive artists, each capable of filling venues 10 times this size. And I think: ‘there is so much room for people to do this’ and, at the same time, ‘how did I get to do this’?

Kane: Why do people think you party so hard?

Andrew WK: I have a lot of songs about that so that’s probably why they think that.

Kane: But is it the real you or an act? You seem to be more interested in philosophy.

Andrew WK: I don’t think that, maybe unfortunately, life or any one person is easy to figure out as either they’re “this” or “that” and this is the “real way” or the “fake way”. The idea of authenticity is, to me, one of the most absurd ideas in history. Everything that happens is real. There can be many shades of how much you’re moved by an experience or affected a performance, but there is no division between real and fake - it’s impossible for something to exist and be fake.

Kane: Do you like making people party?

Andrew WK: I can’t make people do anything.

Kane: But they do.

Andrew WK: They do that on their own will and that’s why it’s so exciting to see - when we align in those moments of subconscious agreement. I understand what you’re saying. For example, before I came to do this show I wasn’t in my hotel room screaming as loud as I could and running around in circles. I was conserving energy and preparing for the show. But I’m always trying to be in the moment…

Witt: Having fun?

Andrew WK: Yeah

Witt: I don’t think you can truly talk about something if you don’t know it.

Andrew WK: Sure you can. Yes you can.

Witt: You can?

Andrew WK: I’ve been able to. Maybe you can’t.

Witt: But to be able to get people to have fun, you can’t do it without having fun or, I guess, partying.

Andrew WK: I enjoy creating an atmosphere of energy. I feel like that’s what I was meant to do and I maybe wasn’t meant to necessarily enjoy that environment as much as other people. That’s just my path. Thank goodness there are those people though, because that gives them something to do and it gives me something to do.

This is my road and this is my path and it’s really fantastic when it coincides with other people’s paths.