Andrew WK (Steev Mike) conspiracy

[Kris]

http://awilkeskrier.homestead.com/

I've been really into the new record, so I was searching around the andrewwk.com forum for demos & interviews and whatnot that are apparently on the 'net, and I kept hearing about this "Steev Mike" conspiracy. Anyway, I found a site completely devoted to it, and so far it's one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. Basically, there's this whole mystery behind Andrew's true identity - much speculation that he's simply an actor with a brilliant songwriting team, but the mystery goes way deeper than that. A really interesting read if you have some time.

Anyone previously familiar with this have a take on it?

- Kris

[pba24899]

will you copy and paste this for me? it says it only works on PC's.

[Kris]

I have a Mac, too.

What I did was, the portions I couldn't read due to pictures blocking the text, I just pasted into TextEdit.

- Kris

[atila]

the cd is good? i never got ahold of it...anyone mind uploading it for me?

[Sabo]

I only got through about half of that. I have to leave, but that shit is crazy.

I can't wait to finish it.

[Aaron]

Interesting shit. I wouldn't be suprised if he was some music industry made artist. MTV does that shit every year.

[mercurial]

Way too inconclusive to say he's just an actor, but yeah, it sounds likely that his whole image, personality, (maybe) name, and music is created by a team of people.

The only thing that contradicts that is that he was on indie lables before being on a major. Usually that doesn't happen with lable-created stars. The guy writing the info on this jumps to too many conclusions and doesn't even address things like that.

Edit: I was looking through some other links and people think that Dave Grohl actually is behind the whole thing:

http://www.doessteevmikeexist.blogspot.com/

I was looking at some more stuff and it looks like Bulb Records (the indie lable Andrew WK was originally on) could even be part of the ploy. His dad is one of the co-founders of it and some of the other details of it just don't add up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulb_Records

Here's another one that sheds some more light on it, and even claims his real name is "Andrew Fetterly."

http://hernonawk.bravehost.com/

[Dan]

his dad helped out with bulb records back in ann arbor since the start, and awk was doing his own shit and stuff with wolf eyes since he was like 18. i'm pretty sure the music he does now was started just to be funny/have fun, but it's not like he isn't taking himself seriously as a musician. and i think all the steev mike stuff is just an elaborate hoax he and bulb put together to go along with the schtick. i just know he's definitely not an "actor"-- when he ripped shit up with to live and shave in la last year, that was for real. wolf eyes have that whole half-joking party hard schtick too, so yeah-- everything this circle of people does is most likely somewhat of a joke.

noise music and its related counterparts can be confusing sometimes and impossible to tell what's serious, so it definitely has its share of hoaxes (see http://www.mothersagainstnoise.org/) . a lot of people think wolf eyes is just trying to see what people will listen to with the majority of the dozens of releases they put out each year, and that thurston moore puts out records of other bands for the same reason. the last sonic youth 7" was sold with the gimmick of not having a label and being dropped off at a pier out of a thrased rav 4. but ultimately the level of trickery is unknown.

[Timorous Scott]

this is really interesting, and i haven't even finished it yet.

ps. ann arbor is one of the coolest towns ever.

[mercurial]

I found this interview with one of his agents to be particularly interesting:

"The idea here is just to expose Andrew to as many people in that kind of an atmosphere. We've found that musically, it makes sense on the Warped Tour. So we wanted to stick him in front of two similar but different audiences. It also helps us experiment and find out where his niche lies. Or maybe his niche is everyone. Who knows? We're taking a very meticulous and smart approach to the bookings. We want every show to sell out and we're really trying to keep that exciting vibe around him. Sometimes, if you develop too quickly, you can undevelop just as fast. We're developing Andrew as a real artist with a career in mind. We want to plot our strategy carefully and slowly, and do the right thing for him in every situation."
http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewhot...?Artist=ANDRWK

Really gives you a feel for how they are creating and selling an image.

[atila]

what, you never thought andrew wk was selling his personality/image before?

[mercurial]

Originally Posted by atila

what, you never thought andrew wk was selling his personality/image before?

No, its just interesting to me the way his agent talks about him. "We're developing Andrew as a real artist with a career in mind."

[MidniteVulture]

Originally Posted by Timorous Scott

ps. ann arbor is one of the coolest towns ever.

Ann Arbor the city is awesome, most of the people I have encountered from there are awful awful people.

My personal experience, anyway.

[Before We Spark]

Originally Posted by mercurial

Really gives you a feel for how they are creating and selling an image.

Um...Pretty much every band/musician does that though.

[Timorous Scott]

Originally Posted by MidniteVulture

Ann Arbor the city is awesome, most of the people I have encountered from there are awful awful people.

My personal experience, anyway.

oh i know what you mean. i think ann arbor is awesome, but the people arn't nearly as cool as the city. a lot of the u of m kids are snobs, and i usually run into a lot of short/rude people when i am there. its a shame, such a cool city with mostly crappy people.

[Chorus X Two]

http://www.xanga.com/AndrewWK

[mercurial]

Originally Posted by Atari 2600

Um...Pretty much every band/musician does that though.

Alright, fair enough. The quote just stuck me as interesting, that's all.

[Kris]

Originally Posted by Dan

a lot of people think wolf eyes is just trying to see what people will listen to with the majority of the dozens of releases they put out each year

That would totally make sense. Plus, when they played at my college, they totally didn't give a shit at all. They were laughing during the whole set - didn't play any songs from any albums! Improv noise!

- Kris

[Kris]

So AWK's dad founded Bulb, and was also in Couch... aka "Steev Mike." The plot thickens!

- Kris

[Dan]

Originally Posted by Kris

That would totally make sense. Plus, when they played at my college, they totally didn't give a shit at all. They were laughing during the whole set - didn't play any songs from any albums! Improv noise!

- Kris

the crazy thing is, there probably were a lot of songs in there. even if they were just pounding their fists in the air and throwing pbr all over the room with contact mics in their mouths, it was probably a real song. pretty much everything they play live ends up on the 20 some releases they put out a year. i guess they can remarkably differentiate between it all somehow.

[Kris]

Originally Posted by mercurial

Here's another one that sheds some more light on it, and even claims his real name is "Andrew Fetterly."

http://hernonawk.bravehost.com/

I'd like to think this one is credible, but it's got about 3 paragraphs of interesting stuff, and the rest is a rant about drinking vodka and how magazines cram major label records down your throat.

- Kris

[thoy]

bump

check out how cleaned up andrew is playing here with bonnie prince billy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ZHZn4JXwE

he is playing the piano

[MidniteVulture]

Oh wow, I watched that when it aired and I totally didn't recognize him.

[Aaron]

Gone.

[Simon]

youtube should be hosted in a country like Canada or South Korea where royalties law arent inforced