#weatherbox

[sinceileftyoublog]

Say Anything Interview: Intentional Is My Default

Photo by Nicole Mago

BY JORDAN MAINZER

I'm waiting back stage at Riot Fest for Say Anything's Max Bemis to finish a photoshoot, one that sees him lie in the grass in various positions that make it look like he's stretching after a tough workout. Despite the fact that he hasn't yet gotten his real workout in yet--his newly reformed band would go on stage in a few hours--and that this photoshoot is full of capital-p Poses, I'm taken by how at ease Bemis seems with everything. When we speak, he reveals to me that, yes, while he did in fact feel awkward during the photoshoot--most of us do--he's learning to lean into his feelings much more naturally.

Five years ago, the legendary emo band disbanded, with their 2019 album Oliver Appropriate billed as their final LP for the moment. A purported sequel to their beloved sophomore record ...Is A Real Boy, the album was publicized in conjunction with a nine-page letter from Bemis, in which came out as bisexual and admitted to struggles with drug use. (The frontman has long been open about his diagnosed bipolar disorder, previous self-medication through drugs, and manic episodes.) During the pandemic, Bemis stayed busy, performing livestreams of older material, but there was always lingering doubt the band's hiatus would become permanent.

It wasn't until late last year that Bemis dropped that the band would be reuniting for festivals in 2023. In typical nonchalant fashion, he shared that the reunion would include past members drummer Coby Linder and bassist Alex Kent by replying to someone's comment on a Facebook post. In April, the band released their first new material since Oliver Appropriate, the maximally stream-of-consciousness rant "Psyche!". The song sees Bemis laying out those same struggles for everyone to bear witness to, blaming himself for his personal, marital, and familial problems atop a bevy of references to the band's older material, Titanic, and Riot Fest itself. "By Riot Fest '24, I'll be coughing up corks if you supply the Malörk," he sings, a line that's instantly iconic and bound to be infamous for its satiric misspelling of Chicago's shot of choice. In August, the band followed it up with "Are You (In) There?", which also establishes itself within our emo universe, with mentions of Sunny Day Real Estate and mewithoutYou, but a more personal ode to Bemis' wife and the love they have for each other despite his past actions and shortcomings. And just this morning, Say Anything annouced ...Is Committed (Dine Alone), their new record, along with a single entitled "Carrie & Lowell & Cody (Pendent)", Bemis placing his "mommy issues" in conversation with those of indie folk luminary Sufjan Stevens. The song is musically heavier and more complex and full-throated, while also containing gorgeous choral harmonies from Bemis' wife, Sherri Dupree-Bemis.

At one point, the future of the band was a mystery to everyone, Bemis included. But with some newfound perspectives, the musical and personal influence of new band member Brian Warren of Weatherbox, and therapy, it seemed from just the short conversation I had with Bemis and Kent that they're in a good place, ready to embrace their new chapter. Read my interview below, conducted last month before I knew about their new album, edited for length and clarity. Catch the band three nights next week at The Regent Theater in LA and at When We Were Young in Las Vegas next weekend.

Photo courtesy of Say Anything

Since I Left You: How does it feel to be back?

Max Bemis: It feels great. I don't think I would have decided to write the songs again if I didn't aspire to how this feels now, which is very different than our experience as little kids being in a punk band, which was very intense and an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. But this is comfortable, and it feels like having the best job ever, in the words of Piebald. It could have been a stress fest, anxious, or bad, but the only reason I wanted to write again was to reach for this thing that we never got to settle into, being dads approaching 40. The bands we looked up to were doing it at that age and still making inventive music but still seeming to chill and not base their entire personas and aspirations around being in a band. I think I appreciate it more now that I'm not trying to be "a guy in a band" as hard as I was.

Alex Kent: Something we've been talking about since getting back up and running was the transition from utilizing it as an escape versus a form of healing. Because we've been through so much traumatic shit in our lives, most of the time Max and I talk, we talk about therapy. It's fucking weird going from 18 years old on a tour bus to having that self-awareness and reflection.

MB: I didn't need it like that for many years because our entire life cycle was keyed in to being on tour. I wasn't living a normal person life. I'm not saying I ever have really or ever will--I wrote comic books for five years. That's still weird. We're still weirdo guys. Having a family, coming out of that kind of circus, I feel more like my 14-year-old self who needed this music for that reason.

SILY: The new songs have a self-aware quality.

MB: More than ever.

SILY: How do you include the self-awareness in a set at a festival or concert, where you're literally referring to other songs you're playing in the setlist?

MB: We refer to Riot Fest itself!

SILY: And Malörk [sic]

MB: And Malörk. It's incredibly self-referential and ironic, but because the band started that way, it's come full circle and is no longer ironic at the same time. There's still a lot of exaggeration and bullshit, but it's closer to me saying actual things that are happening. As you age, everyone's life becomes a circus, more surreal. The world has been very surreal, with COVID and Trump. You kind of have to say your inner experience now. It's an emotional, crazy, surreal thing anyway. It's not like before, when I said, "I have to think about my ex-girlfriend, but I'm thinking about my wife, and what the fuck is this about?" Now, this is about being at Riot Fest. And I am at Riot Fest.

SILY: There is a song about your wife, though.

MB: Yes. Also quite literal. So many emotions are certainly exaggerated, but the sincerity isn't. The love for my wife is very real. But even there, if you're in any successful relationship, it goes through the most intense rebirths and reformations, and you're adjusting to each other, especially after having kids. It's more potent to me to say what's happening or what my emotions are than do what we did on In Defense of the Genre, where I was literally forcing drama into my life on a regular basis. Now, I have no room. I'm tired. I have children to look after. The drama just happens from kids, life, everything. It's real and heartfelt, but a seasoned emotion and not so adolescent. I still love those songs, and I relate to them, but they all speak to a certain side of me I can't live out anymore.

SILY: Do the new songs more than ever exemplify the idea that the more personal you are, the more universal the songs can be?

MB: Yeah. But probably by being a little too hyper-specific. That's why I fell in love with this kind of music. Saves The Day got me into wanting to be in a band. What wowed me was when he was talking about the names of the other band members in song, like, "Ted's drooling on his sleeve." He's just saying he's in this New Jersey bar and he misses his girlfriend. He's not cloaking anything. Our thing has been a kind of parody of that, but now I don't have to stretch anything for it to be a parody.

Photo by Ben Trivett

SILY: What do you think Brian Warren brings to the table on the new songs?

AK: I've known Brian since we were 9 years old. Our very first band, we were in together.

MB: I wouldn't know about Weatherbox if it wasn't for Alex.

AK: He brings this calming energy. Humble is a weird word to describe him.

MB: It's accurate.

AK: Weatherbox is fucking amazing.

MB: He has more impostor syndrome than even me.

AK: He can play everything, and he writes cool shit.

MB: He's a virtuoso. The cool thing about Brian is that there's always been a connection between our bands. It's similar to me playing music with [Chris] Conley [in Two Tongues] back in the day. It's surreal, but it makes so much sense that you don't have to think about where he fits into the sonic picture or personality picture because we're friends.

AK: It's very cool how much sense it makes.

SILY: Has your relationship changed to your old songs?

MB: I like them more. Over the break from the band, I would listen to Say Anything, with my kids or in my car, alone. The way I severed it was so intentional. I wasn't saying, "The band was over." I was saying, "We're probably going to get back together, but I have to sever this incarnation." I was listening to [old Say Anything songs] and thinking, "I like Alex's bass part. I like the production. I even like my voice." It was like listening to another band, because of the space. I've grown to like them. I definitely know people in bands that are not what they listen to, but Say Anything has always been a conglomeration of the type of thing we listen to. If I'm going to listen to The Get Up Kids, I might as well listen to Say Anything.

SILY: Moving forward, are you trying to continue to be more intentional, or do what feels best?

MB: Both. I know that's cliché to say, and it does and doesn't make sense. I find that intentional is my default, and before, I would second-guess myself constantly. Now, I allow myself to make mistakes, and I let other people give me advice that before were such cerebral trips. There was a lot that weighed on me. If the lyrics are super intentional and literal, I'm just going to do it. If I feel awkward in a photo shoot like right now, I'm just going to be awkward in the photo shoot. That is, of course, my safe and happy place in life.

[ahdor]

I really went from "yikes tornados are spooky" to "idk Steve from weatherbox tell me more about this cluster of super cells"

[curly-italian]

first new Weatherbox in 10 years, we are living large

[zenobiaseptimia]

tornado crossing the northern edge of lake quinsigamond into shrewsbury, massachusetts.

by henry laprade. june 9th 1953, 5:22pm. 53 wells st, worcester, massachusetts.

[the-beauty-in-chaos-quotes]

"I remember when I could disappear

And the shattered glass formed a perfect mirror

The spray paint spelled white against the brown

We turned the volume up, but kept the music down

We kept the music down

We etched our names into the walls

(Never again, never again)

The doors couldn’t stand the wear of time

(When did it end? Where did it end?)

Mosaics miss their bluest tiles

(Never again, never again)

Oh please, suburban, take me home."

- Weatherbox is Dead, Mister Valentine

[fandommemequeen]

the scared of tornadoes to silly weather nerd pipeline

[woebegonepod]

pls recommend some music,,, I have to survive a work college day ☹️

Sinai vessel - brokenlegged

Oliver Houston - whatever works

Father John Misty - God's favorite customer

Cloud nothings - here and nowhere else

Telefon tel Aviv - fahrenheit fair enough

The books - the lemon of pink

Narc Twain - s/t ep

Sister cities - swan dive

Weatherbox - flies in all directions

All get out - no bouquet

Tunng - comments of the inner chorus

Hope there's at least one in there you haven't heard

[sandybrett]

These are my predictions for possible title-songs for the next episode, based on my knowledge of Dylan's musical tastes, in roughly descending order of how likely I think they are.

"Burn Them" by Greensky Bluegrass

"Prairie Fire That Wanders About" by Sufjan Stevens

"Fire And The Thud" by Arctic Monkeys

"Lampshades On Fire" by Modest Mouse

"We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands" by The Academy Is...

"No One Knows My Plan" by They Might Be Giants

"Push Back the Hands" by They Might Be Giants

"The Crows Are Coming For Us" by From First To Last

"A Younger Version Of Myself" by Telefon Tel Aviv

"Fireproof" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

"Drop The Mike" by Weatherbox

"Moments Before The Smashing Of Future Ryan" by Weatherbox

"An Attempt to Tip the Scales" by Bright Eyes

"The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box" by Modest Mouse

"You Give Death a Bad Name" by Sufjan Stevens

"Where Are All the Scientists Now?" by Jukebox the Ghost

"Time Bomb" by The Dismemberment Plan

"Everybody Panic" by Jukebox the Ghost

"Our Life Is Not a Movie, Or Maybe" by Okkervil River

"Your Past Life As a Blast" by Okkervil River

"It's All Part of the Plan" by the Punch Brothers

"That's Physics, Baby" by Pool Kids

"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" by R.E.M.

"Time Crisis" by Sammus

"Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand?" by Waylon Jennings

"Bruno is Orange" by Hop Along

[brotherscain]

my brother’s keeper. a wincest playlist

there’s over 100 songs on this <3 it’s kind of like my baby. here’s the first 20 listed out:

Pagan Baby - Weatherbox

Your face - Wisp

All Over You - Live

In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 - Coheed and Cambria

Oceans - Frank Iero

What Was Really Said - Fleshwater

MakeDamnSure - Taking Back Sunday

Sarah - Alex G

Changing - Saosin

Welcome Home - Coheed and Cambria

Flying Model Rockets - The Front Bottoms

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - Deftones

Big News - Weatherbox

The House on the Corner - Choir Vandals

Running Up That Hill - Car Seat Headrest

Your Graduation - Modern Baseball

Are You The One - Basement

Sober to Death - Car Seat Headrest

My Motorcycle - Current Joys

Looking Like You Just Woke Up - The Front Bottoms

[octahedral-chaos]

Pecos Hank, Weatherbox, Swegle Studios and Alferia are my holy grail of weather stuff, especially for tornadoes and storms!

[eraserheadbabydriver]

will you guys watch weatherbox with me

[opold]

@cheekedupwhiteboy tagged me in a post the last 6 albums you've listened to thing little knowing that I've only been listening to really old low quality discworld audiobooks for the past month. anyway

as tall as lions // you can't take it with you - the high school hits. the cover art slaps. the singer has a voice that i've never heard replicated.

weatherbox // big news (single) - song ive got on repeat. oc song. midwesterny emo song.

standards // fruit island - i actually started relistening to this after they dropped their latest album... i think this one's better. everyone try nap

yo la tengo // stuff like that there - some preddy good covers along with some originals. originally found it for the whippoorwill song

math the band // get real - another classic. positive stress will live on forever.

the algorithm // object resurrection - literally what can be said. the algorithm rules. yk music is good when you can name the song track to lyricless songs.

I'm not tagging anyone because that's scary <3

[wildrushes]

oh yeah do my 80s music mutuals know i have david sylvian's weatherbox, one of only 5000 copies made 💅

[funnelcloudd]

Watching weatherbox on YouTube and he talked about an F5 tornado that knocked down an old AT&T long lines tower and I was like damn this is like celebrity death match but with my special interests

[cesium-sheep]

in the 1998 birmingham video weatherbox brings up a study that concluded the majority of fatalities were in part due to "physical mental or social disability", eg deafness, alzheimer's, or people unable to afford power (coincidentally due to a child's medical expenses). which is, yknow, sucks. but it was worthwhile of them to bring it up.