Andrew W. K.

Andrew W.K. (born Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier) (May 9, 1979) is an entertainer and rock musician from the United States. Andrew W.K. was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At age 4, he began learning classical piano at The University of Michigan School of Music. He attended the private college preparatory Greenhills School for middle school before attending the alternative Community High School from 1993-1997, where he studied jazz keyboards. His father is Professor James E. Krier, a well-known legal scholar at the University of Michigan Law School and co-author of the widely used Dukeminier & Krier Property casebook. On Oct 4 2008 Andrew married Cherie Pourtabib, four years after the couple met. They were introduced by their heavy-metal voice teacher. Andrew currently resides in Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. Andrew released his first album on Island, I Get Wet, in 2001. The album is known for its recognizable cover art: a photo of Andrew W.K. with a large stream of blood running from his nose, down his chin and onto his neck. I Get Wet soon rose to the #1 position on Billboard's 'Heatseekers' list. Andrew W.K. joined Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest that summer. The track "Party Hard" was featured as the lead track for EA Sports video game Madden NFL 2003 and on the Girls Gone Wild Music Volume 1 CD, and is the subject of a popular internet meme (its repetition of the words "party hard" ad nauseam made it an ideal caption for animated .gif images). The opening track, "It's Time To Party", was featured in commercials for the video game Nascar Thunder 2004, Hotwire.com, Coors Beer, Expedia.com, and several movie and TV soundtracks. "She Is Beautiful" was used in the Disney remake of Freaky Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan and also in early Nintendo GameCube advertisements. His track "Don't Stop Living in the Red" is featured in a Target commercial. The song has been played at the kickoff of every Saint John's football game since 2003. It was also featured during KSDK-TV's coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. In 2002, he re-recorded his song "We Want Fun" from AWKGOJ for the soundtrack of Jackass: The Movie that also had a video made, filmed and directed by Jeff Tremaine with additional camera work by Spike Jonze.