Andrew W.K.
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

Andrew W.K. has done many things in his life such as music, dating a hot rock star and getting punched in the face. But now he’s totally done a 180 with his advice show on MTV2. It’s called Your Friend Andrew W.K. and now anyone in the world can email a letter into the show about any topic and if it gets selected Andrew will come to your home and work on that problem with you. Recent examples have been Tom, who has a college radio show and wants to know how he can make it kick ass. Another one was from Ed who spends most of his time babysitting his son Wyatt and reaches out to Andrew for help: he needs to "get out of the house" and relax with his pals.

Your Friend Andrew W.K. airs Saturdays at 9 pm

Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Andrew how you doing?

Andrew W.K.: Good, especially since I moved to Manhattan. It’s a joyous event as you know since you also live here. I never lived in Manhattan before but I did live in Brooklyn and spent a lot of time in Manhattan.

DRE: I’m not going to stalk you or anything but where in the city do you live now?

AWK: I live in Hell’s Kitchen.

DRE: I love that area.

AWK: Yeah it’s amazing because it’s really desolate in few areas and then on 9th avenue there is this burgeoning restaurant scene. The other day it occurred to me to get a bicycle, which I did. It totally changed everything. Now I bike instead of having to walk everywhere. Walking makes the city seem huge, the subway seems to make it small and a bicycle makes it the perfect size.

DRE: I biked through the city once but it was too scary. I almost got hit by cars too many times.

AWK: That’s part of the thrill. I usually go later at night after rush hour. I have no qualms about going on the sidewalk which you aren’t supposed to do. At the same time there were a few times where I had to stop because of traffic. I got to do it because I want to take my transportation into my own hands.

DRE: I want to ask about your reality show.

AWK: Do you really think it is a reality show?

DRE: I don’t know much about reality shows. If it is then it’s definitely not like the other ones.

AWK: From what I’ve seen of reality shows there are certain kinds. You have documentary style shows like A Simple Life then you have ones like Survivor or The Swan that have a setup. I don’t know what they are at this point but I guess they are supposed to have real people on them, but isn’t that what game shows and 60 Minutes have. The idea of a reality show has become murky. I guess even Pimp My Ride is one. I look at my show as an advice show. That might not be a classification of a TV show but it certainly isn’t a documentary show because it doesn’t look at my life. Anyone can write in with any question because we have no theme. The audience dictates the show. I wouldn’t want it to be about me because that would be boring. The only reason I got offered the show is because the public has supported me.

DRE: How long do you plan on doing this for?

AWK: I’ll do it as long as it’s offered though I would do it indefinitely. If someone watches and doesn’t even know my music then at least then know I exist.

DRE: What does it do for you personally or professionally?

AWK: I don’t know what it’s doing. I just look at it as an amazing experience in life. I get to say I had my own TV series. That’s something I would have never dreamed of even just a few months ago. Now that it’s on the air it’s very exciting. We’ve already begun making new episodes which show a lot of potential. The next thing I want to do is bring in other people to help with the advice. For example if someone wrote in a question about a problem they were having with their physics problem, which I don’t know much about, so I would contact a reputable professor and he would go over to that person’s house and help me and that person with the physics problem. There is still so much to do. I encourage everyone to go to MTV2’s website and write in.

DRE: What’s Melissa think of the show?

AWK: Melissa Auf Der Mer? She likes it at least I hope she likes it.. I don’t know if she’s seen many episodes because she’s so busy.

DRE: So you go to people’s houses. Do they know you have this reputation? Maybe you will use the guest towels.

AWK: I don’t know if you’re asking that because you think I would contaminate the towels or if the towels are already contaminated.

DRE: Maybe a little of both.

AWK: Then I guess it’s even. If I use them then I guess I am adding to the contamination that’s already there. If the towels are really pristine then I would hesitate to use them. Most people we’ve visited have been real fans of the music. Before the show was on the air the way people found out that we were making it was me talking about it and through my website. Now that the show is on the air we’re getting people who just like the show.

DRE: Have any letters showed up from people you don’t want to help?

AWK: No, mostly we’ve gotten too many letters that are too good. That’s what makes it hard.

DRE: Why do you show music videos in your show?

AWK: They are there to ease the viewers of MTV2 into the idea of this show. A lot of people have been writing in saying that they don’t want music videos there because it takes away from the show. I don’t choose what videos are shown. If you want to see different videos on the show please write in and say so. My ideal situation would be to more of the show but at the same time I don’t want to take away from the idea of videos. Maybe the show will wind up going somewhere else that will give it more time.

DRE: Is MTV2 a lot different to deal with than MTV?

AWK: All my experiences with MTV and MTV2 have been great. That is only because of the people I’ve been able to work with. I could easily imagine it being a hellish experience. But I’ve been lucky to work with cool and enthusiastic people who work there because they want to work there.

I really love television. You have no time to do anything so you have to be really fast. I’ve been going on talk shows lately, not as a musical guest but as a sitting down talking guy, I did Craig Kilborn and Conan O’Brien. You only have six and a half minutes to talk and you’ve never had six and a half minutes go by so fast. Your head is spinning and it feels like 60 seconds and your adrenaline and heart are racing. No wonder people want to be on TV because it’s such an addictive rush.

DRE: Does it compare to playing live?

AWK: It does now because every show we did on the last tour we filmed. We would watch the show every night afterwards to see how we did. It turned out that much like the way basketball players watch their games it really helped us. Beyond that I couldn’t imagine doing a show without the cameras because I so badly want to impress myself when I go back when I watch them later. I think there is something about the camera that amplifies life.

DRE: Do you ever see yourself hosting a talk show?

AWK: Wow I don’t know. I wouldn’t want it to be a sit-down audience show, there are enough of them already. Maybe if it was a talk show like Oprah Winfrey where it was more about a topic but I would rather go talk to people in their environment.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/words/Andrew+W.K./