Andrew W.K. is seldom seen as a figure at the center of controversy. The Michigan-born hard rocker has, store search since his 2001 debut I Get Wet and it’s inescapable lead single “Party Hard, cialis sales ” been considered in almost entirely positive terms, gaining as much acclaim and admiration for his life-affirming attitude towards partying as his enormously fun tunes. In the ensuing years, W.K. has branched his philosophies into a number of different markets, leading to well-received turns as, to name just a few, a motivational speaker, radio host, Village Voice columnist, nightclub founder and kids game show host. His big personality and gregarious nature have made him a generally welcome presence no matter what media he is appearing in.

However, a social media firestorm ignited last month with the announcement of an intimate Andrew W.K. solo set at Somerville’s cozy Cuisine en Locale. The issue had to do with the promoter, Keynote Company, which is well known for using pay to pay to guarantee ticket sales. The controversial business model sees up-and-coming artists secure a slot by buying tickets themselves and selling them to fans and friends, often resulting in a personal loss rather than a wage for the work they put in. While this show specifically was confirmed not to be pay to play, many fans were outraged that Keynote would get such a coveted booking, with many feeling that their business ethos contradicted the spirit of the artist.

We talked with Andrew in advance of this Friday’s set and were able to clear the air a bit. He was understanding of the response if a bit taken aback by some of the vitriol that’s accompanied it and had encouraging words for fans no matter how they felt about the show. Beyond the controversy, we also chatted about his approach to life and, of course, partying.

Allston Pudding: So we’re halfway through 2015 now. How’s this year been for Andrew W.K.?

Andrew W.K.: It’s been fine. I haven’t thought about it much yet as terms of a block of time, I suppose. I don’t often reflect on the time in a formal way. Sometimes it occurs to you that a certain amount of your life has passed by and you want to examine it, but most of the time, it never really occurs to me until some random moment. I’ll think, I got to go there, or this happened and I can reflect, but I don’t really have any opinion on it. I’m happy to be alive!

AP: I feel like in this day and age “partying” is almost a dirty word. People tend to associate it more with substance use and hedonism, whereas I feel your definition is really more to do with celebrating and feeling free. Through your career, have you felt like people have misunderstood that difference of outlook and possibly perceived you differently because of that?

AWK: Hmm, I’m not sure what people have thought, specifically. I guess it’s case-by-case; any person who has had any encounter with me or what I’ve done may have a different opinion that could be different than what I think about it.

That doesn’t mean it’s wrong. In fact, I think that it’s totally fine, for me at least, for partying to be the way that you described- in terms of hedonism or substance use. In many ways actually, at least since I started focusing on partying as my main mission, it seems to be more popular than ever! I’m hearing more songs about partying, seeing the word around a lot more, used as a verb, used even as an adjective and that’s been fantastic! It seems like it’s actually become, since I started doing this in the 90s, a lot more accepted and encouraged to celebrate and focus on that type of revelry. That’s been really wonderful for me, being a big fan of partying myself.

Really, it’s whatever people want it to be to them. One of the things I like most about partying is that it’s usually best that people don’t tell you how to party. As long as it doesn’t interfere with someone else’s immediate ability to party themselves!

AP: Over the years has your approach to partying changed at all?

AWK: Not really. To me it’s just a word that sums up, in a very simple and direct way, the type of feeling I wanted to have, which is essentially “thank god I’m not dead!” Sometimes that was harder to come by. Sometimes that’s not how I naturally felt. Sometimes I felt very uncertain about the quality of existence, and maybe that being that I wasn’t such a good thing. But deep down inside I wanted to focus something better, and partying seemed like a very direct way to celebrate being alive and get in that mindset of it being a good experience.

AP: This Boston show has caused a lot of controversy because the promoter has been involved in the pay to play business model. Do you have any thoughts on that approach to show booking?

AWK: Well, I played some shows like that myself in my earlier years. I was just happy to have a show, it didn’t really occur to me that it was good or bad. I guess I actually didn’t pay to play directly, but I was asked to sell a certain number of tickets; this was probably in, like, 1996. I was able to sell them to friends and the other folks that were playing were able to sell their portions.

This upcoming show, I’ve heard all kinds of different things! Some people seem to have a lot of anger towards this fellow (Keynote’s Richard Collier) from other experiences they’ve had at different times, with different shows. Other people spoke very highly of him and said he was a very straightforward guy. I’m not really sure what to think. I want to play, but I certainly don’t want anyone to feel bad about it.

AP: Do you have any words for fans who might feel disappointed about this show?

AWK: I totally understand why anybody would be upset or angry or have those problems. I understand if you don’t go to the show and I won’t take that personally at all. I want people to understand that I totally respect their feelings about their own bad experiences with those types of shows. I agree with that. I think, again, that people should follow their instincts and follow their heart. I would never think less of them or have any problems based on any of their choices.

From what I’ve been told this show isn’t pay to play for anyone involved. I believe all the bands that are performing are getting paid some sort of flat fee like I am. I’ve never seen such a backlash about a show. But I certainly understand anyone who’s angry about this should definitely not go. It’s a personal decision they made that they didn’t want to have anything to do with this event and that’s fine.

It sounds like there was a lot of drama. It’s a very emotional situation, which is very understandable. It’s a bad thing to feel like you’ve been cheated or ripped-off, or that you’re unappreciated. I feel compassionate, really for both sides. If they’re going to be angry at me, I won’t blame them.

AP: You’ve also got a successful career as a motivational speaker. Would you say you feel more at home on stage with those appearances or playing music?

AWK: Well, I wouldn’t say I’ve been very successful at it, out of respect for speakers that are much more successful! It’s just something that I’ve enjoyed doing. I’d like to do it a lot more to get a lot better at it.

But I haven’t thought about it in terms of whether I like it more than something else. I like being alive and most of what comes along with that, so I try not to weigh it out or divvy it up or compare it to other aspects of life. This is something I’m doing and I’m happy to be doing anything at all!

AP: At this point in your career, you’ve worn a lot of different hats. Is there anything else you’d like to try over the next few years?

AWK: I don’t know, whatever happens! None of the things I’ve done were really things that I specifically set out to do beyond partying. Everything else happened as it happened; people asked me to do something or it just came up. I don’t really have any plans- I’m not proud of that! I’ve never really planned out anything I’ve done and I’m not proud of that either. It’s just how it’s gone.

But I’m not ashamed of it. In fact I’m very thankful. I just feel very, very lucky that I’ve gotten to do any of these things at all and I’m very thankful to all of the people that have given me the opportunities. I’ve tried my best to make the most of the chances I’ve been given, but I can’t take credit for any of it so I could never say it was a goal. My only dream was to party and fortunately the rest of the stuff just kind of happened as a result.

AP: Will you be releasing any new music soon?

AWK: Well hopefully! I’d really like to. That depends on what I’m told to do next. That’s something I really want to happen, though. I’ve been working on new songs for quite some time, so hopefully sooner than later there’ll be a new album or something.

Andrew W.K. will be playing this Friday, 8/14, at Cuisine en Locale. Tickets are sold out.