Rocker. Entrepreneur. Party expert. Motivational speaker. Children's TV show host. Brony. However you may know him, Andrew W.K. is certainly a jack of all trades. Known for his eccentric personality and his love for partying, sir W.K. has made quite the name for himself since his debut LP, I Get Wet. Andrew was kind enough to have chat about the tenth anniversary of that album, as well as partying, piano, new music, and doing whatever the hell your heart desires.

How did the first few RiotFest shows go for you?

Well, you know, the first one was a lot of fun. The first one was in Toronto, and it was a solo show, so it was just me and my keyboard. It was a very special and different kind of show, and I've actually done that type of solo show in Toronto more than anywhere else, for various reasons, but it's always a blast there and it was a beautiful day. My band and I - we played the Chicago one. We brought up the whole band for that show, so that's always a special treat, and then I got to Dallas, Texas this weekend, and that's gonna be another solo show.

To you, what is the true epitome and meaning of party?

It's having fun and being aware of it as you're doing it. You know, "party." You celebrate. An easy way to think about it is to celebrate a birthday, for example, or whether you celebrate a holiday, or you celebrate the weekend coming - those are very clear situations where you're grateful for something, whether it's how long you've been alive, or you're grateful for a new beginning, or you're grateful for Friday coming, you celebrate something you're thankful for. But if you're thankful for being alive in general, then you can sort of be in that party state of mind every day, and it's just a celebration of gratitude, and a celebration about what you're grateful for?

What is, that you can recall, the best party experience you've ever had?

It's too hard to name just one. You know, the show in Chicago - that was the last big show we played and those are always incredible, but even just yesterday, a day here in Manhattan, just walking around the city and eating chicken pot pie and pizza… If you can stay in that state, it doesn't take a lot to be excited, just even thinking about something you love or something that you enjoy can give you that rush of joy, and I try to stay close to that joy at all times.

I wanted to ask you about the tenth anniversary of I Get Wet. How does it feel to have that album turn ten and how does it feel to know that people still really care about your music ten years after your first record?

Well, first of all, no one is more grateful and amazed and just overjoyed than me about any of this. I remember the first time I heard the album… I was a little late to the party, so it must've been around 2004, but I also remember hearing about it from other people and I think my friends were really into it and saw the band play on Saturday Night Live in 2002, and then from 2005 on, if wasn't for this album, I wouldn't even be getting to do what I get to sing. So, to me, getting a chance to be part of something that people care about on that level that people care about at all, has been not only rewarding and extremely fun, but also it's given me a chance to see the world and represent a really great experience and a great bunch of music and a great attitude that changed my life. I think that's kind of the story everyone still can relate to, which is, when you fall in love with something, the next thing you know, your dreams come true and you get to be a part of it. I never thought I would get to be a part of Andrew W.K. and that whole adventure, but I did. And now, looking back, it makes sense. I mean, the way I felt when I first saw them play, or heard the album, or let alone the first meetings I had, it was all a bit surreal and certainly overwhelming, but all in a very good way. Like, that's the feeling of a dream coming true, where it's kind of like waking up and convincing yourself that it's really happening, and it really was. Like, I got to be a part of my favorite music, basically.

Is there any work on a new record or any new songs you're getting ready to put out?

Yes. Not quite ready, but yes, there is a new album that we're working on. The main bulk of recording has taken place, but the fine tuning and finishing and mixing will all happen in the rest of this fall and into the winter. So, there should be a new Andrew W.K. album in 2013. That's really the goal, but we do have to get it finished first. The good thing is that there are a lot of amazing songs, a lot of great instrumentation of ideas and content, and we probably had too much stuff, so we had to kind of sort through and pick the stuff that's right for this release, but it's definitely on the horizon.

I wanted to briefly touch upon the controversy that came about a couple years ago where people were saying that there were actually two different people playing you. What's your opinion on that and how do you feel?

The best way I can put it is that I am Andrew W.K. and I'm very thankful for the chance to do this, and I would never want to disrespect anyone that came before me, because there's a lot of people that have worked really hard to make this happen, and if it wasn't for their contributions, I wouldn't get to do this. Let's just put it like that. I'm thankful for all of that, and anyone who gets angry about us keeping this going has got their priorities a bit skewed. My priority for myself and everyone that I work with here is that we just want to keep this going. I'm grateful we have the chance to, and whatever it takes to keep it going, it should be really secondary compared to the spirit and the energy that we do maintain.

What sparked your interest in playing classical piano and when did you find that interest?

Piano is one of the most user-friendly instruments out there, much like acoustic guitar. Pretty much anyone can sit down and get a good sound on it and learn it pretty quick. A lot of people learn it from a very young age. [The album] 55 Cadillac was just me sitting down and making up songs as I went along. For me, it was a different kind of album because there was a lot of contractual involvements to release that album. So, it counted, and it still mattered, and was still worthwhile, but definitely different than the rock and roll albums that we've made on either side of that. I encourage anyone to get into piano. At this point, you can buy a keyboard for a really good price. You don't even need a full acoustic piano, you can just get an electronic piano and bring that joy of music and playing music into your life, no matter how old you are. In fact, that whole thing where they say that "the younger you are the better" to learn piano - I know from experience, because I didn't start learning piano until I was 25 or 26, and it was the smartest thing I ever did, and the older you get, you develop certain types of skills and certain types of intelligence that allows you to actually learn better and faster than a kid at 4 or 5 or 6 years old. Adults should really be excited about their intelligence, and their skills from living life that long - all that has a place in learning piano. It's just black and white keys and eight to an octave. You don't have to make the note, you just play the note.

With that, do you have any other strange or interesting talents that might spark the interest of some people?

I have friends that do. I always wished I had some kind of weird skill like that. I could say I like pizza but a lot of people like pizza, so it's not really a talent.

Well, having your own pizza guitar is possibly a great talent.

I guess you could see it as that, but it's not really a skill, though, 'cause I didn't make it. I don't really have any talents in that way. Maybe that's the talent, is that you don't even need to have a talent to make your dreams come true. People get really caught up on talent, and I used to get very intimidated 'cause when I grew up, there was a lot of kids whose moms and dads thought they were really talented and gifted, and that they were born that way and there was nothing they could do. I don't really believe that so much. I think that, from my experience, being born that way would just be a lazy way to be. You have to make who you are. That's what I mean when I say adults can learn an instrument, because talent is very overrated. Being gifted is highly overrated, because I've met a lot of people that are gifted at math and numbers, or talented at drawing or whatever, but they don't do shit. They just sit around talking about how gifted and talented they are. So, I think talent is very overrated, and I think your will and your drive and your motivation is what matters most. Like, is somebody talented because they're tall in basketball? Are they gifted because they're tall? No. You can play hard at basketball no matter how tall you may be. So, I think gifts and talents are highly overrated, and the result of great achievement in anyone's life comes from a sense of purpose and determination and not from things that are just handed to you. So, kids could be gifted and talented because their parents were really rich, you know what I mean? But that doesn't mean that they're gonna do anything.

If you were to run for president, which you should, who would you have as your running mate and why?

Wow, that's a great question. Maybe my mom, I guess. Or my dad, no disrespect to him. If the race is about me I would like that person who is second in command to be someone that I completely trust and also that could be someone who could soundboard and that I could turn to for advice. I mean, it's hard to imagine, with all due respect, Obama heading to Joe Biden for insight into the world. I'm sure he does, but I would like my vice president to be better than me, and I know that my mom and dad certainly are. So, that's the natural choice.

Is there anything else you would like to add, preach, or promote?

I mean, I'm satisfied. I really just want people to stay close to joy and to party as hard as they can while we have the chance, and to never discount or second guess the value of that type of pleasure.