Say AnythingOn the verge of kicking off a U.S. nationwide tour to promote the upcoming release of Say Anything’s new album, frontman Max Bemis has so far successfully avoided the evils of success.

But there’s plenty more time to come.

The L.A. band’s new self titled album will be their third official release, and it aspires to surpass the startling success of the first two.

“The whole transformation of everything in my life was the inspiration for the album, which centered mostly around the marriage to my wife,” Bemis tells andPOP. “Our music is basically the story of my life in chronological order.”

The biggest shift of ideals on the new album is that its focus is self-empowerment rather than self-loathing. His previous albums had a major focus on frustration with the opposite sex, but his April 4th, 2009, marriage altered his perspective on life and music.

Bemis is critical of the tendency indie bands have of conveying self loathing to their fans.

“Too often you see bands lean too far to one side. They’re either some cookie-cutter bullshit or they’re sulking with anger and resentment toward the cookie-cutter bullshit. There is a space in between, and that’s where we need to be,” he says.

In between is where Say Anything seems to thrive.

It’s impossible to lump their music into a solitary category. Call it post-punk, punk-pop, pop-rock; just don’t try to call it one thing. As Bemis wrote on the Say Anything web site: “Akin to Botch forcing themselves on The Beatles and fathering a strange Larry David-esque midget, who is abandoned due to his freakish nature and adopted by Billy Joe Armstrong.”

So what the hell does that mean? “Yeah, it was a pretty ridiculous statement,” he says now. ”Well my first tape was a Beatles tape, so I’m heavily influenced by them and plenty of other classic rock. As for the whole Larry David thing, I really don’t take myself seriously. Comedy and irony are a big part of the album. Being able to analyze myself for a living and then project it on other people, that’s funny to me.”

This may be a strange way to articulate Say Anything’s sound, but it’s the most accurately specific definition you’ll find. It’s this style that gains them recognition in many different music scenes; scenes like the thriving indie rock landscape in Toronto.

Say Anything will make their tour’s only “international” stop at The Phoenix in Toronto on October 28th. When I mention Toronto, Bemis’s voice rises an octave. “I love it in Toronto, I really do. We came up here for one of the first shows we headlined. It was crazy; probably the biggest show we’ve ever played. There was a triple encore. I think that’s the only time that ever happened. My brother goes to school at McGill, so there’s a big Canada connection.”

The group is even going to be touring with Canadian indie group Moneen, a band that Bemis is a big fan of. “They may even be headlining too. Those guys are getting big.”

It appears, though, that the Say Anything founder has his sights set on higher ground. While Bemis speaks about his love for smaller venues and an attachment for the underground scene, he admits that the band is on the outskirts of the industry’s mainstream, and may even be a part of it.

“Of course we’d like to become as big as Green Day and all of those guys,” he says. “I honestly can’t say that I won’t change; I’m not sure what to expect [if that were to happen]. The biggest issue for me is that I share such a personal connection with all of my fans. When a fan comes up to me and tells me how much they love my music, I make an effort to appreciate that. My fear is that the bigger we get, the more emotionally draining it will be.”

If you’re a fan of Say Anything, and you trust them, and you trust Max Bemis, then you have nothing to worry about. Even with the fame that they have accumulated up to this point, the musician has remained dedicated solely to his musical passion.

“I hold myself very responsible for any power I have over my music and my fans, so I try to honour that power by working harder.”

It’s easy for indie enthusiasts to classify their signing to a major label like J Records as a sell-out move, but Max Bemis sees it as an enhancement of resources to bring better music to a bigger fan base. Without a major label, you may have never heard of Say Anything.






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