Day 47 || Wavves
Genre: Surf Rock
Playing: Sunday, Aug. 4 / 4:45-5:30PM / Grove Stage
Biography: Wavves is a band from San Diego, California, and the brainchild of frontman Nathan Williams. Initially formed in 2008 as a solo recording project, Williams began releasing a series of cassettes that garnered considerable attention that led up to his first two major albums - Wavves and Wavvves, released in 2008 and 2009, respectively. After the success of the two albums, Williams enlisted drummer Ryan Ulsh to help him tour and they began playing around the country and in Europe together. In 2009, Williams had a massive breakdown at a festival gig in Spain that caused him to admit that he was addicted to alcohol, leading them to cancel the remainder of their European tour dates and also saw Ulsh quitting the band. Ulsh would be temporarily replaced by drummer Zach Hill (formerly of Hella and presently of Death Grips); however, Williams found two new permanent band members, both of whom were members of the late Jay Reatard’s band: drummer Billy Hayes and bassist Stephen Pope. The three recorded Wavves’s third studio album, King of the Beach, which was released in 2010. The album was very well received critically, but shortly after its release Hayes quit the band. King of the Beach was followed up by the release of an EP, Life Sux, in 2011. The EP featured members of Best Coast and Fucked Up. In 2013, Wavves released their fourth album, Afraid of Heights. Williams and Pope are still touring together.(Photo Credit: Colin Kerrigan)
We chat with Wavves
Speaking to the duo that now make up Wavves, lead singer Nathan Williams and bassist Stephen Pope, they seem completely oblivious to the ripples they’ve created in the music world and just come across as two completely normal – albeit endearingly immature – twenty-somethings from the land of LA.
They’ve just arrived back home from a 6-week tour and have earned some free time “just hanging out” before continuing their American tour and heading overseas to Japan and China.
“We just spent the afternoon playing golf and we absolutely sucked. We’re not the sportiest guys so we probably looked like idiots, but it was fun,” laughs Pope, obviously aware that people don’t associate them with such recreational activities.
The close dynamic between the bassist and Nathan Williams is palpable through the delay-ridden phone line as they finish off each other’s sentences and engage in laugh-out-loud banter, shooting off in rapid streams of consciousness that sound like a script for a Seth Rogen-starring comedy.
“There were a couple mice in our studio-” “-they were more like mutant rats-” “-and eventually we were able to catch them with our bare hands” “-then we roasted them on sticks and ate them,” they jibe, firing back and forth.
For a band whose personalities clearly mimic the uninhibited nature of their music, their career has been clouded by its fair share of controversy.
Wavves just headlined the third installment of Red Bull’s Sound Select series curated by Filter Magazine at The Echo last Friday. It was a high energy set that got the crowd jumping, moshing, and surfing right from the very start. The band seemed quite used to the commotion as they played one song after the other. Wavves has been playing continuously in support of new release Afraid Of Heights, which has been garnering great reviews, selling out venues in Los Angeles. This latest 15-song set proved the band is not ready to slow down anytime soon though and I’m sure their fans are more than happy about that.
