The Perpetrators were a youthful Wellington punk band that emerged as part of a fresh wave of young acts revitalising the local scene at the turn of the millennium.

The band formed in late October 2000, originally under the name Entropy, when its members were around 12 years old and still in primary school. The founding lineup included Will “Fuzz” Proffitt on drums, Gwilym Evans on guitar and vocals, Chris Curran on guitar, Matt Sherlock on bass, and Tim Suggate on vocals. They began jamming in their school’s music room, performing for school assemblies, and building confidence through these early experiences. Tim left the band early on with Gwilym taking over vocals.

Their first gig came on November 17, 2000, at a “Friday Five” youth concert at the Karori Community Centre, part of a regular series featuring five young bands every eighth Friday. Over the following summer, they recorded demos in Gwilym’s parents’ garage. Tensions led to Matt Sherlock’s departure, and he was replaced by Michael Gavrial (from one of Gwilym’s earlier projects).

Early shows had their chaotic moments: a second gig under the temporary name Inixplikibill at Indigo (an R18 venue) went poorly due to Michael’s limited rehearsal time, last-minute guardian requirements for all underage members, and a dramatic drum kit collapse mid-song.

The band quickly embraced the DIY ethos of punk. They secured spots at youth venue Zeal and played a notable show in Wellington’s Civic Square. Fuzz and Gwilym took initiative by organizing their own events, launching the “Punk Ruckus” series, the first at Karori Youth Centre featuring Flinch, Force Fed, and Akula (despite Akula’s metal leanings, it was deemed a success).

In late 2001, the band rebranded as The Perpetrators. Chris Curran left, replaced by guitarist Sam. With the new lineup, they hosted another Punk Ruckus at Zeal (their last), sharing the bill with Flinch, Force Fed, Underscored, Valley 5, Mottob, and an unnamed band. Gwilym’s onstage swearing reportedly got them banned from Zeal.

In January 2002, they traveled to Auckland for a show alongside local punk acts Duffeysome, We Dunno, and Losing Face. They shared stages with many peers in Wellington’s youthful punk resurgence, including Dirk Drent, Sheriff Lobo, The Minimals, Product, The Valley Five, Force Fed, Flinch, Resistant, and others. Archival mentions place them on bills with acts like The Carnys, Padded Cell, Bonus Donor, and A Well Hung Jury, underscoring their role in the early-2000s Wellington underground.

After the band’s dissolution, Gwilym Evans went on to play in If I Had A Gun, while Fuzz Proffitt later played guitar in Entrails.

Origin	Wellington
Genre	punk
Years Active	2000 – 2002
Associated Acts	The Minimals, Sheriff Lobo, The Valley Five
Past Members	Chris Curran (guitar 2000-2001) Sam (guitar 2001-2002) Gwilym Evans (guitar, vocals) Matt Sherlock (bass 2000) Michael Gavrial (bass 2000-2002) William ‘Fuzz’ Proffitt (drums)

Timeline

2000, November 17, Karori Youth Centre

Friday Five: performing under the name Entropy

2002

2002, January 5, The Temple

Unsure Collaborations presents Punk Rock at the Temple featuring We Dunno, Duffeysome, Losing Face and The Perpetrators.

Enter, The Perpetrators, all the way from Wellington! After spending a couple of weeks up in the Aucks they finished off their holiday with a fuckin’ rad show. They played Crass, they played Propagandhi, NOFX, they sung Duffeysome songs, One of ’em choked on a smokeless, They went “Fuck the Police” NWA styles, they jumped up and down, they played in tune, they played out of tune and basically just fucked the temple up something chronic. Twas X-streeeeem.

Sims, We Dunno