After 8 years, I’m finally getting my stolen music taken down from my former band (The Whatever Men / Evan Sidley)
Hey everyone,
I’m sharing this as a cautionary tale for local independent musicians, and to officially set the record straight regarding a song called "Rats Ass" by the Winnipeg band The Whatevermen, fronted by Evan Sidley.
My name is Matthew Elrick from the band Kill Iris . Evan and I originally founded The Whatevermen back in 2014. I was the primary songwriter. In 2016 to 2017, Evan actually left the band entirely. Out of respect for him when he departed, I completely rewrote any lyrical verses he had contributed to our unreleased material so that the music moving forward was 100% mine.
In 2018, we brought Evan back into the project. Shortly after, I missed a single show. Instead of having a conversation with me, they used it as an excuse to kick me out of the band I built.
After kicking me out, Evan and the remaining members didn't stop playing my music. They continued performing the exact songs I had written and finalized in 2017 while Evan wasn't even in the band. They eventually distributed those songs to streaming platforms,, taking full credit for my writing.
I possess the original, dated master files from 2017 proving these songs were written and recorded by me while Evan was out of the lineup. Over the years, they eventually took down a bunch of the stolen tracks, but they kept one up: "Rats Ass" Evan Sidley has been keeping this track on his platforms and treating it as his own work for nearly a decade.
I finally decided enough was enough and initiated formal copyright infringement claims using my original 2017 files. The platforms are backing me up. As of today, Bandcamp and SoundCloud have already upheld my claims and completely wiped the music from his pages. I have gone directly to DistroKid, Spotify, and YouTube with the legal paperwork, and those final streaming takedowns are currently processing.
I have zero interest in personal internet drama or back-and-forth arguments. The legal system is doing the work for me now.
I’m putting this out there so that anyone interacting with this band, this song, or Evan Sidley in the local scene knows the actual history behind the music. Protect your session files, timestamp your masters from day one, and never let people ride your coattails just because you shared a stage.
Thanks for reading
