Philosophy, food and flicks
Andrew W.K. is a philosopher — and a rocker. Plus, Lauren Delgado on the flavors of October.
The title of Andrew W.K.’s album “You’re Not Alone” has a couple meanings.
On the one hand, it suggests a hopeful message that there is support for everyone who needs it. On the other, it is an ominous threat that people have no idea what is surrounding them at any time.
“It’s absolutely intended to reflect both of those possibilities,” said the rocker from Michigan. “Much of the album is engaged in that same exercise.”
W.K., who formed one of his earliest bands in Hillsborough County, will wrap up his latest tour today at The Beacham in downtown Orlando (5:30 p.m., 46 N. Orange Ave., $22.50-$25, thebeacham.com).
“Since the very beginning, our band has been based out of Florida,” he said. “We haven’t gotten to play out of Florida as often as other places. We’re really excited for our grand finale to come back home and finish off in Orlando.”
The band also filmed the video for the album’s lead single “Ever Again” at Orlando’s Plaza Live theater on Bumby Avenue.
“You’re Not Alone” is W.K.’s first album since 2009’s “55 Cadillac.” He says his goal with the album was “first and foremost, to just get an album out at all. … There had been so many ups and downs and frustrations that had prevented it from getting out in a timely fashion. It’s a great relief on my levels.”
W.K., 39, debuted in 2001 with “I Get Wet,” containing his most successful single, “Party Hard.” The hard rock anthem was the public’s first introduction to his philosophy of partying. It’s an ethos that he has used to explore concepts of togetherness and the meaning of art. In 2005, he began speaking as a self-help guru. He wrote advice columns in newspapers in England, Japan and most recently the Village Voice in New York. In 2016, he launched his tour The Power of Partying.
“At some point, there’s this deeper sense of something happening in life that’s at one hand at the core of every human experience, yet is also somehow above and out of reach for all of us, something we could only aspire toward,” he said. “Developing a relationship with that deeper power, music and the arts give us a way to access that place.”
The themes were “crystalized” in the latest album, according to W.K. “If I could accomplish anything, it would be to give myself and others to that power, that lifeforce excitement, that enthusiasm, that optimism, that irrational truth tells us being alive is a good thing despite all the reasons to consider it otherwise,” he said.
“The most common tradition in all of humanity is just to cheer each other on,” he said. “That’s the message. And I’m doing it first and foremost to myself. That is the story of human beings’ struggle in trying to actualize themselves. Fortunately, there is a great wealth throughout humanity on how to do that.
“I am just one of millions and millions and millions of people who have the same message: Do we have the strength to overcome our weaknesses?”