Andrew Wilkes-Krier

Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. performing at Big Day Out 2011
Background information
Birth name	Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier
Born	(1979-05-09) May 9, 1979 (age 39) Stanford, California, United States
Origin	Ann Arbor, Michigan
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal pop punk alternative rock alternative metal
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician producer actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano bass drums
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Sony Hanson Bulb Island Universal Mercury Skyscraper Music Maker/Steev Mike
Website	Official website

Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), better known by his stagename Andrew W.K., is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his musical career in the mid-1990s performing in a number of local bands before eventually moving to New York, where he produced his first recordings under the Andrew W.K. moniker.

After gaining initial attention with the 2000 EP Girls Own Juice, Wilkes-Krier rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album I Get Wet in November 2001, as well as its single "Party Hard". In the years following its release, Wilkes-Krier has also undertaken a number of other musical and non-musical ventures such as television and radio work, including a stint as host of the TV series Destroy Build Destroy, motivational speaking, and writing.

Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His father is Professor James E. Krier, a well-known legal scholar at the University of Michigan Law School and co-author of the widely used Dukeminier & Krier Property casebook. At the age of 4, he began learning piano at the University of Michigan School of Music. Andrew has recalled early family trips to midnight mass as having had an enormous impact on his love for music. He was dubbed Andrew W.K. by an elementary school teacher to differentiate him from his classmates Andrew Cohen and Andrew Gilchrist. He later attended the private college preparatory Greenhills School for middle school before attending the alternative Community High School from 1993 to 1997, where he continued to study piano and keyboard.