Early in his career, Wavves' Nathan Williams earned almost as much attention for his erratic behavior as he did for his lo-fi, noisy pop and punk songs. In 2009, the guitarist for the California trio infamously had an onstage meltdown during a performance at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, mocking the crowd and fighting with his ex-drummer. Later that year, he got into a physical altercation with a member of garage rockers Black Lips at a New York club.
Perhaps caused by his publicized penchant for smoking large amounts of marijuana, Williams was much more chilled out in 2010. Garnering mass praise for Wavves' wonderfully infectious third album, "King of the Beach," he got in a little trouble in November when he was busted for pot possession in Germany. After paying a 200 euro (¥22,500) fine, he was released and posted about the event on Twitter. Despite the incident, Wavves continue to sell band-branded weed grinders and rolling papers at gigs. It is not known whether they will stock the items at their March concerts in not-so-cannabis-friendly Japan.
Williams' girlfriend, Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino, was one of the first to send supportive tweets in response to Williams' drug arrest. Sharing a common love for cannabis and cats, the couple's feline, Snacks, graced the covers of both "King of the Beach" and Best Coast's "Crazy for You." Hailing from California, Best Coast's 2010 full-length debut is filled with a sunny mix of fuzzy, 1960s-inspired surf-pop. The three-piece are quickly climbing North America's underground rock ranks — giving Cosentino an almost iconlike stature with indie-loving girls.