Two stories about MGMT that circulated this week — that their drummer, Will Berman, was nailed with a bottle of urine during a gig in Manchester, England, and that their record label was exerting pressure on the band to make more commercially viable tunes on their third album — aren’t true, according to an email from frontman Andrew VanWyngarden.
In the message, posted by Pitchfork, VanWyngarden says it was a cup of beer, not piss, that landed on Berman during their performance of “Kids,” and he left the stage to dry off while the band finished their set. “As we understand, thrown cups of beer are a sign of affection over here, whereas thrown bottles of urine mean the opposite,” VanWyngarden wrote. “So, thank you Manchester for your affection.”
Later in the letter, he joked: “MGMT realizes its slow wit in not playing ‘Someone’s Missing’ when Will left the stage. IT APOLOGIZES.”
The frontman also said that the whole band, Berman included, returned to the stage for its encore, contrary to some reports that the band cut their gig short after the beer tossing.
VanWyngarden also addressed a published story that his band was battling its label about the creative direction of their third album. “We’ve been looking at relationships with the label during the recording process and it’s quite different this time,” he was quoted in Scotland’s Daily Record. “They’ll be more involved and not give us as much freedom.”
“We aren’t even close to starting the process of making a new album, label-relations are currently quite friendly, we are very proud of Congratulations and the new videos, looking forward to making more music on Columbia, and the (mostly sold out) world tour has been going splendidly,” he wrote in his email, admitting that “taking the piss = bad idea in interviews.”
What do you think of VanWyngarden’s explanation (and jokes)? Sound off in the comments.
