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How did your band form and can you describe your sound? We are '60s inspired psychedelic folk rock that started as my pet solo project which eventually grew to a full line up. What are your influences? The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the 13th Floor Elevators, the Golden Dawn, '60s garage psych bands from the USA. Artist: Magic Wands Song: 'Black Magic' (The xx Remix) Album: 'Black Magic' [iTunes] Sounds Like: Jesus and Mary Chain, The Sleepy Jackson Download: 'Black Magic' (The xx Remix) (MP3) [Get Winamp] [Download Help] Why do you use the name Andrew W.K.? My last name is Wilkes-Krier. And, actually, I wasn't the first one to shorten it: That was my teachers, not only to make it easier to write but to differentiate me from all the other Andrews. When I was deciding on what to do, I wanted to be a solo act. And when I've loved a band I've loved the individuals within the band and the adventure that they were having. I wanted people to be able to identify with me and I just thought it was easier to do that when it was presented as one person. So what got you started in music? My parents asked me if I would like to take piano lessons, and I was about 4-1/2 years old, and we had just moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where [my dad] was teaching at the University of Michigan, and they have this program called the pedagogy program, which is graduate students in piano teaching young kids ... So you're getting taught by someone who's in the throes of their passion. The intensity of these teachers was so over the top that it just, it threw me into the depths of pure musical experience. I felt these waves of physical sensation during these classes, usually while one of the teachers was playing because they were so good, and I said there's something going on there, I mean it was like an orgasm, really!Who is Chico Mann? Chico Mann has become my alter ego. It was basically the name that I put to the aesthetic I work under. It's from that movie 'Wild Style.' It's a classic hip-hop movie; one of those early hip-hop cultural references. How would you describe your music? I call it Afro-freestyle and electro-Afrobeat. It's a new genre I'm trying to create. It's electro drum rhythms and freestyle drum rhythms, each informed by Afrobeat. It's an expression of uniquely American music in the sense that it has all these different elements hooked together in one stew. In that sense, it's also very urban, very Latin and very multicultural in that it draws from African and funk music.Describe your sound in your own words. Folk. Really simple guitar. I try to focus on the melodies and try to make everything else minimal. The melody and the lyrics are most important to me. How did your band form? It's just me. I've been playing solo for the past five years. What are your musical influences? There's a wide range. From Joan Baez, Vashti Bunyan, Nick Baird and Diane Cluck to bands like She Keeps Bees. I think She Keeps Bees are amazing. They're definitely one of the top 10 live shows I've ever seen. They're great. Jessica Larrabee's voice is insane. I have a lot to learn from the way she performs live. Have you ever played under a different name? One day when I have a band I will have a band name, but since it's just me I feel it should just be my name. For me it doesn't make much sense since the music is from me and about me. I haven't ever been in a band. Describe a typical day for you. I have a day job Monday to Friday. I work at a record label in Brooklyn called Ba Da Bing. It's a great indie label and I listen to music all day. I meet people online and find out about the cool new music blogs. I try to go to as many shows as I can but they are a lot of shows going on around here. Part of my job is to do publicity so I have to know what's going on in town musically. There's so much here. |
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