The band's been around for only something like eight months, but already it's been banned from Last Exit, kicked out of Pub Rock, and even 86'ed from a Laundromat. The bassist recently quit and now the group's canceled all its upcoming gigs to focus on a new album, new videos, and redefining itself. That's Wolvves, and they don't give a fuck.
Because of the extra "v" in the name and a few surf-punk textures, the Phoenix three-piece often gets compared to Wavves, but Wolvves argue its DIY punk/hip-hop mix is more Kanye West meets Weezer's "Blue Album." Their debut EP, Live Forever, waxes poetic about smoking weed, Fifth Street, worshiping pizza, boredom, and not taking anyone's shit.
Part of Rubber Brother Records' growing flock, Wolvves is fronted by Aydin Immortal, a 20-year-old guitarist who never seems to stay in one place for very long, bouncing from Atlanta to Louisiana to Utah and now Phoenix. He says he wants to be here long enough to "fuckin' conquer" this place. And with a little help from his friends, he might just do that.
"I want everybody in my band to be Spartan and Will Smith," Immortal says. "Niggas that just work hard as fuck and will do anything."
Wolvves shares all its members with TK and the Irresistibles, fronted by TK Campo, who has played in various local bands for the past nine years. Zack Parker, also of Wavelengths, took over bass duties when 16-year-old Lucas Aguirre called it quits to focus on Mr. Atom's Bomb. Often found in a penguin suit, Wolvves' drummer is Max Martinez, who says he learned to drum from playing Rock Band.
"The drugs and all that type of stuff . . . It's not necessarily about me all the time. It's about like the youth of right now," Immortal says. "Every fucking kid I know is high every day all day . . . I feel like there's definitely a reason for that. Whether or not it's damaging them, it doesn't really matter. There's definitely a reason why everyone is so fucking high and so bored all the fucking time. I think we're the most bored generation of all . . ."
Boredom seems to be Wolvves' greatest enemy. Either that or bars (most fans aren't of drinking age), and it's best never to combine the two. While gigging in July at Last Exit Live, Immortal says the small audience was yawning, the band was bored, and even the bartender looked ready to leave. So on the last song of the band's set, he started whispering, "Let's break some shit."
Martinez dove into his drum set, pushing it onto everything else, and Immortal slammed his guitar on the cymbals. Things started getting ugly when Immortal kicked both the mic stands off the stage. But the crowd loved it.
Here's how Immortal remembers it: "The owner threatened me. He was bald, and I was like, 'I'll stay out of your hair.' If we had broken a mic, I would've been like, 'Yo, here's my phone number; I'll pay for it.' We're not assholes. We're just trying to have fun."
For now, the fun is being put on hold as Wolvves focuses on a follow-up EP titled Go Demon or Go Home. Immortal explains the band had been playing two to three shows a week since forming, but now it's hit a wall.
"We've attained the ability to play bigger shows — to a hundred or so people who are genuinely interested in us as a band — and I think it would only be disheartening to do anything less than that," Immortal says.
"I believe the only thing more powerful than music is ambition, and what I lack in talent, good looks, money, emotional stability, and manners, I make up for in ambition. Ten-fold."
