Andrew W.K. stoked for a paint party as he heads to town for the Vancouver Mural Festival

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      Andrew W.K. has been many things over the course of his life, from gumball-machine salesman and opera-ticket hawker to Village Voice advice columnist, motivational speaker, and the most party-obsessed rock star on the face of the planet.

      What he doesn’t count himself as is a terribly accomplished artist, that being a source of bemusement for him, considering he’s headed to Lotusland to participate in the Vancouver Mural Festival.

      “I wasn’t sure why we were asked, because obviously I’m not a muralist,” says the impossibly gracious W.K., on the line from his hometown of New York, where he’s in the studio working on a new album. “I think I tried to contribute to a painting that we made in high school on one of our inside walls, and that was it. But I’ve always admired murals and the craft that goes into executing something on a large scale.”

      More importantly, he’s able to articulate exactly what he loves about mural art. W.K. might be famous for anthemic songs like “Party Til You Puke”, “Party Hard”, and “It’s Time to Party” (all off his classic and revered 2001 debut, I Get Wet), but he’s a man capable of discussing more than bongs and beer pong.

      “I have so many memories growing up of the murals that were around my town and around Michigan,” says the Ann Arbor–raised musician. “There’s this mural in downtown Detroit in this market that’s of a bird whose body and mouth goes around an entryway, kind of like in a fun-house style.

      “These paintings have a lot of power. Even if you don’t feel like you are interacting with them or engaging with them in some sort of real way, they work themselves into your conscious mind and stay there. I notice now when I go to a place and a mural isn’t there anymore.

      “They have a unique power that’s different from a painting hanging on a wall, than a building, or even natural terrain,” the 37-year-old continues. “And that’s because they are on such large spaces that they kind of engage your peripheral vision, or even colour the zone around it.

      “They are landmarks, in a way—if you’re giving someone directions, you’ll say, ‘You just go down the street, and then you’ll see this big mural and it’ll be right on your left.’ So more than sculptures, more than any other kind of public art, more than fountains, they are things that are unique unto themselves.”

      If W.K. has noticed something in his decade and a half of touring North America for his six studio albums, it’s that Canadian cities have embraced mural art in a way that’s not seen in the States. That Vancouver Mural Festival artists are operating with the blessing of the city and business owners is also, he argues, positive, and not just because it legitimizes an art form that has often been underground.

      “If there’s an understanding between the artists and a city’s bureaucracies that these murals can stay, that encourages a much higher quality of artwork,” W.K. says. “It’s hard to put in the time needed to create an impressive piece of art, with a level of detail and depth and execution, if you only have a few seconds to do it before the police are called, or if it’s only going to stay up for a day.

      “That creates a vicious cycle where people might go, ‘Look at this—it’s graffiti and it looks bad and is an eyesore.’ If someone is trying to make a painting, and they have about 10 seconds to do it, that’s what you’re left with. The best graffiti happens in places where people have more time.”

      The other selling point of the Vancouver Mural Festival is that it’s shaping up to be a massive party, with music—from street DJs to club shows across the city—playing a huge part in the event. One of the most exciting live-music components is the VMF Underplay Music Series, which puts major draws like Timber Timbre, Shad, and Chapel Sound Collective in clubs (the Fox, ANZA, and Biltmore) that would normally be too small for them. W.K., whose strain of metal-glazed party rock is big on positive vibes, will do a live concert with his band at the Cobalt and then a DJ set later at the Biltmore.

      “To be able to get close enough to see the expression on a performer’s face is always very intense,” he says. “You don’t maybe get the same-scale lighting or the same-scale production as in a really big club, but that’s apples and oranges.

      “I’m just thankful for the variety. This style of music, which is kind of about frantic, high-intensity energy, really works well in smaller spaces. It’s not a delicate intimacy. It’s more like having your head really close to a chainsaw or something. It’s really hard-core.”

      There’s a good argument to be made that W.K.’s palpable enthusiasm for the Vancouver Mural Festival is equally hard-core. One of his big disappointments is that he won’t be in town in time to take part in a VMF discussion series at the Fox Theatre on Saturday afternoon, mostly because one of the panels is called The Social Good of Partying. Other than that, W.K. suggests that Vancouver get ready to love something amazing.

      “The Vancouver Mural Festival is great because it’s easy to dismiss murals, or to kind of appreciate them but not truly consider their value,” he says excitedly. “With this festival, you set aside mental space to really examine and embrace this kind of artwork.”

      Andrew W.K. plays a live Cobalt show on Saturday (August 20) and then does a late DJ set at the Biltmore Cabaret as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival. For a full list of events, go to the Vancouver Mural Festival website.

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