Who I Am: The Story Behind the Party

If you have ever shouted along to "Party Hard", you already know the energy. But who is the guy in the white T-shirt with the bloody nose? Here is the short story of me, Andrew W.K.

Where do I come from?

I'm Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier, born on 9 May 1979 in Stanford, California. My family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, when I was four, and that same year I started piano lessons at the University of Michigan School of Music. The name comes from school: a teacher called me "Andrew W.K." to tell me apart from two other Andrews in my class.

How did the party start?

I moved to New York in 1998. My debut album, I Get Wet, came out on Island Records on 13 November 2001, led by the single "Party Hard". The cover, shot by photographer Roe Ethridge, showed me with blood streaming from my nose, and it became the image people still link with me.

What came next?

More records, each one different:

• The Wolf (2003), where I played every instrument myself.
• 55 Cadillac (2009), an album of improvised solo piano.
• You're Not Alone (2018), on Sony Music.
• God Is Partying (2021), on Napalm Records.

Is partying really a philosophy?

For me, yes. I've written advice columns for The Village Voice and Vice, given talks on partying, including a 2014 keynote at the Oxford Union, and posted years of short PARTY TIP messages, like "Just be nice." My idea is simple: celebrate being alive, and be kind while you do it.

Join the party

Our designs carry that spirit, from the bloody nose to the party tips. Shop the Andrew W.K. collection and wear it loud.