Max Bemis will be releasing a new Painful Splits record this summer on Say Anything’s upcoming tour. Check out a message from Bemis below after the jump.
Say Anything and Eisley are releasing a split in time for their summer tour. Check out the artwork and track listing below after the jump!
Related Stories:
Say Anything Rarities And More Tour
Max Bemis has released two issues of Polarity so far. Check out a full interview with Bemis album commentary here and a snippet below.
Related Stories:
Max Bemis ‘Polarity’ Comic Book Release Months
Fall Out Boy Taking Panic! At The Disco On Arena Tour
Guess what? Turns out the scene isn’t dead. Panic! At The Disco will be joining Fall Out Boy on an upcoming arena tour this fall.
Max Bemis Defends Eisley $100,000 Kickstarter
Max Bemis took to Twitter to defend Eisley’s $100,000 Kickstarter that was set up so they can support their families by taking them out on the road.
Six days? First wave of 70 bands? The dormant crust punks just woke up. PBR them.
Secrets Vocalist Leaves Band Due To Sobriety Issues
Xander Bourgeois left Secrets because of issues stemming with alcohol. The band is not calling it quits. In fact, they already have a new album ready to go.
Relient K Part Ways With Drummer Ethan Luck
Ethan Luck has left Relient K after five years being in the band. It looks like the decision was most likely made due to other opportunities, not bad blood.
Victory Records Pull Toh Kay Record From Digital Outlets
I think Toh Kay said it best when he said, “Heaven forbid anyone but you make a living off of my music.”
Max Bemis recently went to Twitter to defend his stance on Eisley’s $100,000 Kickstarter. Check out what he had to say about it below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
Eisley Launch $100,000 Kickstarter
Max Bemis has confirmed that he and Chris Conley will be working on a new Two Tongues record next year. Check out a full interview with Bemis here and a snippet below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
Say Anything Rarities And More Tour
Max Bemis has confirmed that he will be producing Say Anything’s next record, which will come out in 2014. Check out a full interview with Bemis here and a snippet below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
Say Anything Rarities And More Tour
Max Bemis will be releasing four issues Polarity this spring and summer. Check out the release months below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
Max Bemis Writing Comic Book; EP Soundtrack To Accompany Series
The cover art the second issue of Max Bemis‘ Polarity has been revealed. Check it out below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
Max Bemis Writing Comic Book; EP Soundtrack To Accompany Series
Max Bemis’ Song Shop is now open. Check out a message Max released to fans earlier today below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
POZ Perspective: Max Bemis’ Song Shop
The Monthly Summary
Week I
Week II
Week III
Week IV
Week V
Albums Out This Month
Week I
The Weekly Tour Round-Up
Winter - Spring
Exclusives
20 Skate And Surf Lineup Additions
Interviews
Vinnie Caruana
With The Punches
Sparks The Rescue
Reviews
Local Natives - Hummingbird
Allison Weiss - Making It Up
TTNG - 13.0.0.0.0
Single Reviews
Bring Me The Horizon - “Shadow Moses”
Show Reviews
Hot Water Music, La Dispute - 01/30/13
Balance & Composure - 01/31/13
Perspectives
The Culture Of “First”
The Acoustic Basement Is A Gang
Max Bemis’ Song Shop
Discussions
Albums That Deserve A Second Chance
BandsOnBands
Jamie Woolford on Superdrag
Playlists
The Eat Your Heart Out Tour
The Menzingers, Broadway Calls, Silver Snakes
The Acoustic Basement Tour
Team Recommendations
Road Blogs
Light Years
Streams
Mrs. Skannotto - “Free Speech Zone”
Video Premieres
Catnaps - “Trouble”
Track-By-Tracks
Half Hearted Hero - Whatever
Behind The Booths
Stickup Kid
Contests
The Plot In You - Eat Your Heart Out Contest [Ends on February 6th]
Podcasts
100 Words Or Less Podcast: Derek Archambault (Defeater/Alcoa)
Showcase
Secret Plot To Destroy The Entire Universe
Rockets On Wire
Lovelectric
Gallery
Hot Water Music, La Dispute, The Menzingers
Quicksand, Cymbals Eat Guitars
Sponsored Tours
The Acoustic Basement Tour [Now-02/23]
Forever Came Calling, Heart To Heart, Last Call [03/20-04/21]
Max Bemis will be releasing a new Painful Splits record this fall. Check out a tweet from Bemis below by clicking “Read More.”
Related Stories:
POZ Perspective: Max Bemis’ Song Shop
The next wave of Max Bemis’ Song Shop is opening next week, and PropertyOfZack had the pleasure of doing an extended Perspective piece with Bemis to bring fans behind the process of his busy life and his interest side-project. Make sure to read up on Song Shop, which re-openers on February 4th, and check out Editor-in-Chief Erik van Rheenen’s piece below!
Max Bemis is a busy guy.
Make that seriously busy. He’s halfway through writing Say Anything’s fifth studio album, describing it as some of his darkest material to date. He’s penning his comic book debut, Polarity. Perma’s freshman record is slated for a fall release. He and wife Sherri are expecting their daughter, Lucy, in just a matter of weeks. Heck, on a Saturday night in Austin, he just walked offstage from the sound-check for his solo acoustic record release show for All My Friends Are Enemies.
“Some nights I’ll just sit down and talk to my wife about how our brains just feel like mush,” Bemis says with a quick chuckle.
But Bemis likes a challenge. He dares himself to overcome his mental block as a songwriter, the muscle in every musician’s brain that screams, you just can’t write any more songs. He challenges himself emotionally, straying from the autobiographical lyricism that he’s made his calling card. More then anything else, he looks for a sense of real accomplishment. “As a musician, you sit on your ass and don’t often get that feeling unless you’re on stage or writing new material,” he says.
That’s where the Song Shop comes in. At a point in his life where most wordsmiths might consider scaling back, Bemis proudly states that he’s sharper then ever and eager to roll open the Shop’s proverbial doors again on midnight of February 4.
“One really cool thing is that I’ve become a lot more diligent and efficient with the output of the Song Shop,” Bemis says, “And with a baby in my life, I’ll just have to be even more on the ball. It’s such a big part of my life — I’m no longer just experimenting. I know what I’m doing.”
This time around, he’s not doing it alone. At least not for the most part. He recruited his wife, Sherri, to lend her lilting vocals to some full-length tracks, timing the current run of songs for Valentines Day. “Perma is Sherri and myself going back and forth,” Bemis explains, “But this is still my thing, very much so. It’s going to be more like how Sherri makes guest appearances, like on ‘Cemetery’ and ‘Night’s Song’ and ‘Overbiter.’ I’m still going to be writing the lyrics, but it’ll be open-ended, if she wants to write in a harmony here, or a line there.”
Bemis and Sherri had been discussing collaborating for Song Shop for a while, but Bemis wanted to let the Song Shop establish itself first before tinkering with the model. He’s thought about other plans too, but doesn’t want to think too far ahead. Not yet, at least.
“I always want to upgrade, and I might sound like a douchebag, but I always look at the Apple model of always adding something really cool, new and fun to their products, and that’s what I want to do as Song Shop grows. The douchebag part is just me comparing myself to such a successful company,” Bemis says, laughing.
But Song Shop remains a solitary pleasure for Bemis. The easiest part, he says, is relating to each individual fan that sends in a description. Bemis takes pride in his empathetic songwriting: if it’s simple, happy, sad, or troubling, he says he always knows how to find the right words to convey the right emotion. He’s been there before.
“I’ve seen like some of the darkest shit, and nothing really shocks me from some of the descriptions I’ve gotten. It’s like I’m hearing things they’d tell a therapist or a doctor,” Bemis says. “I’ve read some really dark stuff, but it really challenges me emotionally. Sometimes I’m doing too many in a row of the same kind of song, I’ll go to a song with a completely different vibe and then come back.”
Bemis’ songwriting style for the Shop mirrors his approach to penning new Say Anything material: he’s at his peak when the melodies and lyrics burst out from an idea together. When he’s in what he considers his “hyperactive mode of writing,” Bemis says that often when reading the first line of a description, something jumps out — a word, an emotion, one specific detail — as his starting point. That’s when his word-smithing starts.
As songwriting practice for the already productive frontman, the Song Shop has helped redefine Bemis’ definition of “prolific.” That’s why it helps that Bemis has adopted a simple realization that helps him barrel through his mental block, the one that tells him, you can’t keep writing this many songs.
