by Rene Cobar
photo by Nina Ottolino
The man. The myth. The blood-soaked legend. Ladies and gentlemen, Andrew W.K. It has been nearly 10 years since the release of I Get Wet, Andrew W.K.’s debut album that launched a thousand beer pong balls and neon-colored panties across college dorms countrywide. The colossal anthems that songs like “She Is Beautiful” and “It’s Time to Party” became helped cement W.K. as the rock madman our country sorely needed in late 2001. In despair and fear, one could still find a reason to smile. Andrew W.K. proposed a simple practice: be rebellious, be loud, be yourself, and celebrate that every day. Immortalized on the controversial cover of I Get Wet by famed photographer Roe Ethridge, Andrew W.K. has become an idea, a symbol for the liberty of expression we all crave. At Riot Fest 2019, that symbol will be presented to the masses once again to signify what it always has: freedom.
