Say Anything: the anti-Kings of Leon

(Credit: Noah Kalina)

If the lack of drama surrounding Los Angeles pop-punks Say Anything these days causes you confusion, don’t worry. “I’m still a weird, angry, crazy, neurotic guy,” says band frontman Max Bemis, who has overcome being institutionalized and a somewhat sordid past to lead one of alternative rock’s tightest and (weirdly) upbeat bands.

“Say Anything,” the band’s third full-length, musically trims the fat from the group’s 2007 ode-to-emo double album “In Defense of the Genre.” The new CD is succinct and catchy, full of Clash-tinged rockers (“Hate Everyone”), acoustic love songs (“Cemetery”) and “Property”, which Bemis describes as “[hardcore band] Refused beating Roy Orbison with reeds.” OK then!

We spoke with Bemis about how comic books shaped his new record, homoeroticism in bands and why he doesn’t really hate the Kings of Leon…even if it sounds like it on the new record.

Based off of the cover [showing a kid in a Superman-y cape and tights], you’re a comic book geek.
I was really lucky; I had a mom who let me read relatively advanced comic books. So I read “Sandman,” “Watchmen” and some cheesy superhero comics. My tastes ran the gamut.

So being a superhero is a theme on the album?
I probably read more comics than listen to music. So I based the narrative after an archetypical superhero comic. The record’s about self-empowerment and realizing your potential as a person. It’s also about taking responsibility for yourself—like, I don’t have to hate myself to do what I do. In a way, musicians are like superheroes. We have a power—and everyone, actually, has a power. So the record’s about accepting that.

This sounds more positive than your last records.
The context of the last records…I was undermining myself. And I was undermined by other people. So this record is me making a positive step…but not without event and controversy. There’s all this negative energy out there—“the devil,” you could say—and it manifests itself in different ways. The last records were really greatly affected by this enemy. Now this is me waking up.

With all that going on, why go with a self-titled record?
To me, this is the definitive Say Anything record. No pretense, no gimmicks. And if someone hates Say Anything and identifies it with something—me being a sex addict or a loser drug addict, or having an abusive relationship or my bipolar disorder—well, that’s not there now. I don’t have promiscuous sex or do drugs anymore. I mean, I’m still a weird, angry, crazy, neurotic guy! But this reminds me of when I first started the band at 16, the mindset I had then before anything happened.

Has married life changed you?
There’s a reason every single comic book has a Lois Lane or Mary Jane Watson. Not to underplay my wife [Sherri Dupree of Say Anything tourmates Eisley]—to her, I’m her Lois Lane—but she’s an amazing, talented singer/songwriter, a great companion and my armor. And I think true love stimulates the concept of truth. When you meet someone who exposes you to your true potential, it’s amazing.

Do you feel that way about your band?
It’s funny with dude friends. You’re always overcoming the dude-ness. It’s like that movie, “I Love You, Man.” But I’m very proud to be in a band that actually likes each other.

It’s funny, because I described the album you did earlier this year with Chris from Saves the Day [the side project Two Tongues] as “what happens when two mopey dudes find true love.” And I also said it seemed “homoerotic.”
It’s very homoerotic. It’s past the point of friends. If two guys are friends, they can fulfill roles for each other. “I’m reserved—he’s the extrovert!” It’s a challenge to communicate that duality, though. So me and Chris, we wrote about girls in love, and then kept it consciously ambiguous and heightened it. 

You’ve covered Ol’ Dirty Bastard before…is there a little hip-hop in your background?
Completely. 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. were the biggest rappers in my life. I look at rappers and for the best of them, it’s about empowerment and overcoming the darkness in your life. I mean, there’s those rappers who are like, “My dad left me as a child, so I need nice rims”…I don’t support that. But I think most hip-hop artists are better poets than Bob Dylan. The dumbest rapper is smarter than the average successful rock band. I’d rather listen to Soulja Boy than Nickelback.

You call out Kings of Leon a little bit on this new record [“the Kings of Leon still have time to write songs about girls”]. What’s that about?
They’re on our label, and from what I know, they’re nice guys. I like their music, they’re a very catchy band and they write good songs. And they’re good looking. But I think of them as the opposite of my band. It’s like David Bowie and Iggy Pop—one was the glamorous, untouchable rock star…and then there’s Iggy Pop, who’s a mess of instincts and awkwardness on stage. So I want to speak for the people who aren’t that “cool,” not the son of a preacher who moves to New York and writes a great rock hit. I’m a neurotic, Jewish freak. So, yeah, it’s great the Kings of Leon still have time to write songs about girls. I’m just obsessed with the details of my neuroses and society falling apart. I can’t write “Use Somebody.” I’m too tortured.