Andrew W.K. Q&A: Rocker Still Going to Bahrain, Even Without the State Department

As Spinner previously reported, Andrew W.K. was recently invited and subsequently uninvited by the U.S. State Department to partake in a cultural trip to Bahrain.

The singer's plan was to preach the "power of positive partying" in the Bahraini capital of Manama. However, since news circulated that W.K. would venture to the Middle Eastern state as a cultural ambassador, higher-ups at the Department of State shut the whole trip down.

The party rocker worked on the excursion with government officials for almost a year and was due to travel to Bahrain next week. Now that the trip has been scrapped, Andrew is trying to figure what happened. His spirits are lower than usual, but he's still got the fire that makes him such a positive force in rock 'n' roll.

We caught up with a somber W.K. on the phone this morning to talk about his future plans to visit Bahrain, and why he won't quit on his Middle Eastern fans.

Now that the State Department ended your trip to Bahrain, what is the next step for you? Do you still want to visit the Middle East?

In the face of a lot of disappointment and confusion there has been an incredible amount of support, especially from Bahrain. They've now invited me personally, regardless of whether or not my own country wants me to go, and we're actively working on that. You know, I've never been to the Middle East so this was such an exciting trip. I was so proud and honored, and humbled at the same time to be able to go there formally with the State Department's invitation. But just because they changed their minds at the last second doesn't mean that we still can't go, so we actually are working on that and we're very thankful and very moved by the kindness of the Bahrainis.

Have you found a new host?

Well, I don't imagine the U.S. embassy will be hosting me, unless they change their mind again. But there's plenty of opportunities there, from what we've been told. I will certainly look into any venue or any place that will host me as an option.

The State Department invited you, helped plan everything for you and then at the last second reneged. What do you think this says about government?

I don't know. It's very confusing [and] I'm very curious as to what happened here. Why was this decision made and who made it? We haven't gotten any answers, which has been very frustrating. I'm not angry ... I'm disappointed and embarrassed by whoever is doing this. I don't want to blame anyone because I really don't know what happened. For all I know, this was to protect my own safety. I mean, who knows? There could have been a security risk. Maybe someone looked at a photograph of me and didn't like that I have long hair? But it's amazing to me that it's not Bahrain that doesn't want me to come, it's my own country. Someone made a decision at the last second once they were aware of this and I have a feeling that it might go beyond the State Department.

I think a snap judgment was made, and someone judged the way I looked or the type of music that I made, or something. But the fact is, we still don't know what happened and that's what's so frustrating is not being given any answers at all despite numerous requests to find out why this decision was made.

Everyone in the music world knows that you're extremely kind. Have you ever faced this kind of diversity before, being judged by your appearance?

Of course, I think everybody deals with first impressions, with the idea of incongruent aspects of one's personality or life -- that's part of being a human. What you hope for is the type of open-minded acceptance that especially the United States prides itself on; to see beyond a person's looks or parts of their personality -- the ability to invite everybody to the party, including people that might even be different than you. Seems like once the trip was announced formally and people became interested in it, that was in fact what prompted -- whoever this person was that cancelled it -- to cancel it, which is the exact opposite of what an ambassador's trip is supposed to do. I mean the whole point of the trip is to bring attention to the trip, to the country you're visiting, to the country you're representing and the humanitarian event that's taking place between various cultures. And the fact that that type of attention seemed to motivate the cancellation is just baffling.

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Do you have a fan base in the Middle East? What were you planning to do in Bahrain?

Well, I'm learning as we go, because I've never been there. I've been informed by people in the Middle East that there is a fan base there that is quite upset by the cancellation. But this was a cultural trip. This was not me going to play a public concert. This was me visiting universities, elementary schools, music stores, rehearsal spaces, traveling around the capital city in Bahrain and truly experiencing the culture. It wasn't to just go play some concert or particular event, not even [promote] an agenda. Just a true visit. I was gonna play music with local musicians, I was gonna do lectures about inspiring motivational topics, but one of the parts that was exciting about the trip when it was arranged was that it was very open and very free form so we could be spontaneous and make it a tour and an exchange of ideas and enthusiasm.

So you're working on a new trip now. Are you raising money to go over there?

No, no, money has never been the issue. The disappointment has been that I was very excited to represent our country. I don't think I could ever exist ... I don't think that I could have ever happened, the way I've happened, in another country. I love this country very much and it was a huge, huge deal to me to be asked to go to the Middle East on behalf of the United States. But I can still go there and we are working on it, and it's been really moving and very encouraging to hear from people in Bahrain who still want me to come one way or another.

Hearing you be so bummed out is making me bummed out.

It is a bummer. I'm not disappointed in spirit. I'd say I'm more ... perplexed. I'm disappointed that someone gave me their word and then took it away. It's just not a good vibe.

New Year's is right around the corner, so that means a fresh start. What's your New Year's resolution?

To party harder than before. And this motivates me in a way. I'm so in the midst of this, and I've never had an experience like this before. The anticipation of this trip for so long, and this last-minute change -- it's all been very intense. But at the same time, it doesn't discourage me in any way. It confirms that joy and excitement about life matters more than ever. Whoever would try to discourage those feelings or squash that impulse -- they're not going to succeed in that.