Tickets have been flying out the door for this gig since it was announced back in September and we’re excited to be welcoming this San Diego quartet to the Bongo for the first time.
They made a big impact back in 2010 with their breakthrough third album, King of the Beach (Fat Possum / Bella Union), and the world has been very much their oyster ever since but they’ve certainly lost none of their punk spirit or original attitude since signing with major label Warner Bros for fourth album Afraid of Heights…
Singer-songwriter Nathan Williams had a very public spat with the label via Twitter earlier this year, after he apparently released a copy of upcoming single Way Too Much via Spotify, arguing that the label had “heard it once and tried to make edits.” He added, “i said no,” going on to suggest to fans that “if you have Way Too Much, put it on YouTube, rip it and put it on your phone and your friend’s phone.”
Somewhat amazingly, given the general experience of artists in this kind of dispute, Warners backed down (and rush-released the single via iTunes the following week), making Williams an even bigger hero in the eyes of Wavves’ fans and perhaps setting a new precedent for Artists v The Majors (albeit not actually a legal one)…
[That said, given the widespread reporting of this story when it broke, Warners must have also realised Williams had done them a bit of a favour in terms of the publicity generated by it all, so it was a bit of a win-win for both sides, really….]
Here’s the full transcript of the tweets:
you guys i literally hate @wbr they wanna pull ‘way too much’ already
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
sorry @wbr its already out if you pull the song ill post the whole album
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
i am nottttt fuucking aroundddd anymore pic.twitter.com/9gExA9WRg5
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
its so obnoxious to work tirelessly on something and then have a bunch of ppl who just see me as a money sign go and fuck it all up
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
its nauseating tbh i spend 365 days a year in a studio making songs and ppl at warner still think they are gonna call the shots on my art
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
listen to the music. do you like the music? we worked hard on it. what did warner do? they heard it once and tried to make edits. i said no.
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
if you have way too much put it on youtube. rip it and put it on your phone and your friends phone @wbr
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
hahahahahaha okay guys way too much is gonna be on itunes by monday so win/win. jam it via spotify till then ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/RuK2W1iay4
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
DONT EVER LET THEM PUSH U AROUND
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
?
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 16, 2015
Williams went on to reveal the album artwork in another series of frustrated tweets directed at Warner Bros:
fuck it https://t.co/HSNA0Cms9R
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
https://t.co/HSNA0Cms9R @wbr @wbr @wbr @wbr
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
lollll keep trying @wbr you cant stop me pic.twitter.com/gKfn49d9Bg
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
they gonna try to sue me if i use the art i already had so heres my art what u gonna do with me now?? @wbr pic.twitter.com/ERNNCWRQtX
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
album is called ‘v’. fifth album. v. vv. vvv. a trilogy.
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
you dont scare me. im not scared of getting dropped or sued by u so what do u have? @wbr pic.twitter.com/38ouz3ioRn
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
heres my art let me release my record @wbr pic.twitter.com/sex8Qxfm4n
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
— WAVVES (@wavves) July 17, 2015
Tweet transcript and story courtesy of Stereogum. Fifth album V came out on October 2nd.
Categories: Blog, NewsTags: Nathan Williams, pop-punk, San Diego, Stereogum, V, Warner Bros, Wavves
