Several years ago, a solo singer-songwriter with long, greasy hair, a five o’clock shadow – and a body frame that otherwise would have qualified as skinny if not for the presence of a baby beer gut – made a huge national splash.
Andrew W.K. was hailed as a one-man hair-metal party band. Capturing both the nostalgia among thirtysomethings for inane white-bread guitar-rock and the DIY spirit of indie-hipsters, Andrew W.K. represented the beginnings of a major movement, away from listeners’ petty prejudices and toward a common understanding of good, solid pop music. His quick demise seemed to come out of the blue, but there were a few red flags along the way. Among them: the appearance of his lone hit, “It’s Time to Party,” in a commercial for a mega-beer distributor, and his penchant for intimidating journalists and fans. No one “got” him, or so he thought.
Cut to today and a couple of barely noticed discs later: Andrew W.K. is orchestrating a comeback of sorts. Instead of cranking out the jams such as “Party ‘Til You Puke” and “Party Hard” in front of rowdy, beer-soaked crowds, Andrew W.K. has been lecturing. A few weeks ago, he embarked on his High-Way Party Cruiser Tour, essentially a means by which he can host parties and share his ideas on, well, everything. In an odd way, he’ll serve as an apt foil to Corn Mo at their show on Saturday at Dan’s Silverleaf (103 Industrial St.; 940-320-2000) in Denton, Mo’s old stomping grounds. Mo, as you may recall, is the heavy-metal accordionist who was an integral part of Denton’s famed Good/Bad Collective.
After relocating to the Big Apple a few years ago – and making an appearance on MTV’s TRL show – Mo has been ruling the underground, if anyone can be said to rule a boundless kingdom of eternal servitude. He’s a great musician, and he walks the fine line between pulling your leg and putting one over on you. You may think the same of Andrew W.K., until you hear that he has three albums coming out. Maybe his lectures will prove to be nothing more than a really novel marketing tool. Visit CornMo.com or AndrewWK.com. … Additional consciousness-raising is being offered early on Saturday, from 11 a.m. ’til 7 p.m. at the Tandy Hills Nature Area, 3400 View St., where the second annual Fort Worth Prairie Fest will take place.
The free event is billed as “an outdoor festival to celebrate our connection to the natural world through music, art, dance, environmental stewardship, and wildflower tours.” Headlining the event will be Brave Combo, along with The Ackermans, The Theater Fire, Trigger Fish, Darrin Kobetich, The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang, Hip Pocket Theatre, The MONDO Drummers, and Logo and Nobo. The event also will be completely solar-powered. In addition to music and theater, experts will be available to answer questions and give advice about sustainable living, more than 30 local vendors will be on hand, and the latest models of hybrid vehicles will be on display.
Guest speakers include Fort Worth Mayor Pro-Tem Kathleen Hicks, state reps Lon Burnam and Marc Veasey, and keynote speaker and Weekly guest columnist Jarid Manos of the Great Plains Restoration Council. Visit FortWorthPrairieFest.org.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
