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“It’s fine for me to hear people say ‘have you heard about that band where the guy’s a bit crazy?’ I don’t take it to heart, it’s true.” Say Anything front-man Max Bemis has been through a fucking lot. Thus it is no great surprise their latest album is a mammoth 27 tracks long. Few artists rely so heavily on the escape and emotional outlet the avenue of creating music can provide. To vent his frustrations and declare his deepest thoughts literally keeps Bemis sane. Following a frightening breakdown while recording previous album ‘Is A Real Boy’, Bemis was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His life and, more accurately, his lifestyle had to dramatically change. “It’s something that I’ve been dealing with for about four or five years now. It’s a condition where you can become delusional at worst and at best you’re just going to have to live your life with things a little bit more up and down.” revealed Bemis. “It’s easier to get depressed. It’s basically impossible to do drugs as it becomes more than just a trip.”
“If I didn’t sing about it, I really don’t know what I’d be doing,” he confesses to Gigwise backstage at Manchester Academy. We find ourselves in a dank portakabin devoid of any history or character due to the refurbishments been carried out on Academy One. Bemis swigs from a bottle of straight tequila then proceeds to wash it down with a Red Bull chaser. By which Gigwise swiftly draws a big line through the ‘are you still tee-total’ question previously prepared. His hands are visibly shaking and his stubble coated face is drawn. “We are pretty worn down both emotionally and physically” Bemis admits. “We hadn’t been on tour for awhile due to us recording this record”.
23-year-old Bemis is such a beguiling front-man. Performing he is confident, bordering on cocky, as he delivers his viciously sharp lyrics captivating every onlooker with such ease. But away from the stage he is reserved and slightly guarded. He certainly isn’t rude or unresponsive, but you are left deeply aware of how much he thinks about literally everything. His answers are lengthy, well-articulated and thoroughly thought-through. Say Anything is undoubtedly his baby, but he is diplomatic about the notion that the band is simply Max Bemis. “It depends on how you look at it, if you are talking about the song writing process then it is basically me.” He admits “But then there are so many other layers to the whole thing. There’s what happens after I write the basic songs which is that Alex and Coby take it and make it a Say Anything song. Then there’s the live experience, which again couldn’t exist without the other people. Usually I talk for the band so it’s understandable why people think that way”.
But control is vital for Bemis to fully succeed in his mission. The deeply personal songs simply have to sound perfect and the only way he feels this can be achieved is to do it all himself. “I did all the guitars on the record.” He states “It’s not all about control, well in a sense it is, I guess its how you look at the word ‘control’. I don’t get off on the power. It’s a case that I’m not the best player technically and sometimes I do things accidently or just in my own particular style that people just can’t duplicate. I hear songs in my head and I need them to come out the way I hear them in my head.” The result is a quite breath-taking work of art. ‘In Defense Of The Genre’ is littered with punk-rock gems that have a greater depth and soul than many of his peers work. The invention and sheer creativity to produce 27 songs in which every single one excites and enthrals deserves a hell of a lot of respect. But some quarters seem to have missed the point completely. Bemis and Say Anything have been branded ‘sell-outs’ for delving into the ‘poppier’ end of the punk-rock spectrum. A grand statement that when in the presence of someone who visibly cares so deeply about his work in which, no question, comes straight from his heart, is absolute bollocks.
Bemis is philosophical about such allegations: “For me I would compare it to walking into a bar and you see an attractive girl. You talk to her but you get rejected. That experience doesn’t define me. It may kind of suck at the second it happens, but it’s not like its going to make me feel less of a human being in the long-run. Like when someone says ‘You’re a sell-out, we hate you now’ I don’t feel good about it at the time. But it’s not like I take it to heart. I have a strong soul. It’s not that I don’t care entirely, it’s just that I don’t care enough to base my decisions around it.”
As well as the slight change in sound, the fact Say Anything signed to a major label sadly and all too predictably invited the ‘sell-out’ slurs. But clearly coming out with a double album awash with scathingly sharp lyrics such as ‘Jesus died a Jew’ isn’t exactly the recipe for the perfect pop package. Bemis certainly didn’t envisage just how epic and vast their album was going to turn out. “I think the more concise you are the better. But in the case of this record we couldn’t be more concise. Well we could but it would be worse.” The mass collection of songs certainly caused a few issues with the record bosses, but the determination and desire for all to be heard from Bemis was crystal clear. “There were some conflicts about the length of the album. But we plead our case and said this is how we want it to be,” explains Bemis.
Several songs on ‘In Defense of the Genre’ relate to the constant battle Bemis faces controlling his bipolar disorder. Talking about the breakdown he suffered while recording their previous record, Bemis explains: “I remember the whole thing pretty vividly. I was not scared until the later part of it. During most of it I was elated and felt invincible. That’s sort of what it’s like when you lose it and you’re bipolar. Part of the time you think you’re invincible and then you may think I am going to die, this is the end of my life, so you kind of come to terms with it.” Although fully aware of his condition now, Bemis still knows the future is an uncertain one. “I know chances are it is going to happen again because that’s my condition. But I think I have more of a support network now. I think I’ll know more when it’s starting to go that way. It’s still hard, every single time some crazy shit has happened.”
Clearly a deeply personal issue, Bemis does not shoot down the constant questions for one simple reason – awareness. Bipolar disorder is a foreign term to most, therefore even if Bemis has to sacrifice some of his most private moments in order to help others understand or even realise they maybe a secret sufferer, he believes it’s completely worth it. “It’s the reason why I’m still talking about it to this day, I don’t just shut people down who ask, its important for people to know about it. It makes me feel good, knowing that it will help people understand it better. It’s not just for people who suffer from it, but for people who might know someone who is affected by it.”
Bemis is a fiercely determined character, and is not afraid of making big decisions in order to succeed in his goals. A clearly highly intelligent guy, Bemis went to college to study philosophy, but his burning passion became too much to put on hold any longer. “I was studying philosophy and poetry basically stuff that could augment my writing and make me a better writer. But it was really hard for me because I really wanted to be out there touring. I just think it’s a mistake to be half-assing College if you have another interest that you should be pursuing at that time that could help you.” Thus Say Anything was soon his sole objective. Playing their local L.A scene the lads brought out the ‘baseball’ E.P in 2001 which soon acquired a massive underground following. 2004’s ‘Is A Real Boy’ sky-rocketed their profile with commercial hits ‘Alive With The Glory Of Love’ and ‘Wow, I can Get Sexual Too’ and 2008 will see the U.K release of their epic double album ‘In Defense of The Genre’ which is an early contender for album of the year.
The search for love is a prevalent theme on ‘In Defense Of The Genre’ but has Bemis found it? “Erm not at the moment. I was in a relationship for a very long time and that’s what most of ‘in defense’ is about. And I have been in several pseudo relationships in my life. But ultimately I don’t think I’ve found the kind of love that is going to last a lifetime yet.” But if Bemis was to suddenly stumble upon the love of his life, his often angst-ridden lyrics would not be abandoned for soppy love songs. “I don’t know if it would be more positive. As I’ve written some of my darkest stuff when I was completely happy and had a girlfriend. As you start thinking about the world and how fucked up it is. Rather than ‘this sucks I’m not with my girlfriend, I’m going to sing about it a lot.’ When things are going well for me and a girl sometimes I’d write really intense punk rock songs because I’d rather sing about that than just being happy with a girl”.
Say Anything have a fiercely loyal fan base, but this religious-like attachment to the band can sometimes initiate a feel of ownership on Bemis and any direction the band goes or any decisions they make. Bemis feels some fans maybe missing exactly what Say Anything are about, he explained: “The most I’ve ever been offended by fans is when they either act like they know you on a message board and question why you made a decision, such as the sell-out issue. Also when people who have been listening to you for a long time feel like they have some ownership over you that people who have just heard about you don’t. Just basically people who don’t get the message that we are trying to convey in our music. Because its one of understanding and compassion therefore if you make other people feel less than you, then you are missing the point.”
With the imminent release of ‘In Defense of the Genre’, Say Anything’s message will soon be loud and clear. They are one of the most creative and awe-inspiring bands on the punk-rock circuit, and with a fully focused Max Bemis on board, they certainly are back on track.
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