Dfest Keynote: Risk-Taking 101 - The Wisdom of Andrew W.K.

But as fans of the wily rocker already know, there's much more to Andrew W.K. than the bloody nose on the cover of his first album. Of course, that's not a bad place to start. 

The following are excerpts and paraphrases I scribbled down during W.K.'s hour-long keynote and Q&A session. Read and learn.

• On performing and his song, "Party 'Til You Puke": "When you're a kid, throwing up is really scary. That scared feeling you get—the feeling like you're about to die—is like performing; the nervousness and upset stomach. I wanted to tap into the most uncomfortable situations in my life. ... It's about putting yourself in that terrifying position, then doing something exciting and lifting people up."

• On the importance of uniqueness: "If we can make ourselves stand out—that's the most important thing in the entertainment business."

• On success: "What is making it? It depends on how you define 'success.' Anyone here playing music is already making it as a musician... but being a figure in show business is a different thing altogether."

• On his goal as an artist and entertainer: "My goal is to get a feeling of energy... to tap in a shared feeling of excitement and joy."

• On how his views have shifted over the years: "When I started, I was only interested in music, but I've decided to also explore other avenues." W.K. will host a new TV show this summer on Cartoon Network called Destroy, Build, Destroy. (Here are 10 reasons he thinks you should watch his new show.)

• On trusting your instincts: During his address, W.K. told a long story about Happy Days and how actor Henry Winkler stuck to his guns—he wanted to play the Fonz differently than "cool" guys from that era had been played in the past, and even when pressured, he didn't waiver. In the end, it paid off big-time.

• On not being afraid to contradict yourself: "Sometimes contradicting your earlier ideas is a good thing. Stay true to your vision, but challenge yourself, too—challenging yourself is important."

• On guts and risk-taking: "20th Century culture encouraged a non-risk-taking attitude. But it's the 21st Century now."

• On the grunge era: "I was fortunate to grow up as a teenager in the grunge age. It was a time when there was a lot of questioning about what's real, what's authentic, what matters. ... Credibility and authenticity were valued above all, but all I cared about was the feeling people got."

• On people's responses to music: "Hatred is as positive as love when you're an entertainer."

• On his personality growing up: "I was very shy and angry. I used to see people and just decide I didn't like them: 'That guy's hat is creased too much. It has some collegiate slogan on it. I hate him. That girl is wearing Birkenstocks—hate her. That guy has dreads; I could see myself with some dreads. OK, that guy is cool."

• On Kurt Cobain and the transcendent power of music: "Kurt Cobain took all the people who'd laughed at him and picked on him, and brought them together through his music. ... For me, music was a way of connecting with the people I didn't like and that didn't like me. I thought, "Wouldn't it be exciting if the frat boys at my college who made fun of me and called me 'art fag'—what if I could make something even they liked? Some people might think that attitude is caring too much about what the audience thinks, but that's what it's all about when you're an entertainer. ... It's about humanity, about people coming together."

• On censorship: "It was a dream I had all along, to have an album that was censored. My first album had a big black sticker that covered up the bloody nose on the cover. When I was a kid walking into a store, that was always the first thing I grabbed—I always wanted to see what was behind that black sticker." 

• On his last day job: "I worked at a department store in Manhattan—Bergdorf Goodman. It was the high end of high end. By some fluke, I got a job there. But even though there were days I hated going in, there was value in that day job—it gave me the money for recording and for that bloody-nose shot."

• On obsessing over authenticity: "Everything is real. I mean, there are levels of sincerity, but all of the experiences you have are real."

• On self-centered artists: "I don't relate to—and find it hard to believe—when people say, 'I only make music for me; I don't care about the audience at all."

• On critics: "All critics are talking about are themselves—they can't tell you about the experience you're going to have. And that's something to keep in mind. It can be valuable, but take it with a grain of salt."

• On the idea of "selling out": "With commercials and video games, my music wasn't so tender—it was party music and sort of immune to what a commercial might take away from it.  ... And I never bought into the idea that corporations were inherently evil." 

• On perseverance: "No matter what anyone tells you, only you know when it's time to give up a dream—only you can say."