Interviews
Published on July 22, 2022 |
by Darren Paltrowitz
Maxim Mental is the solo project of Say Anything’s Max Bemis, and earlier this month Maxim Mental released Make Team presents Maxim Mental in maximalism through Dine Alone Records. The album was co-written and produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Will Yip (Code Orange, Title Fight, Turnstile) who is a longtime Bemis collaborator. Before the release of Make Team presents Maxim Mental in maximalism, Bemis released the singles “Evermore (And The Grammy Goes To)”, “Girls The Truth”, and “Grace Beyond Christ”. To support the new album, Bemis has already embarked on a tour of the United States, which is scheduled to end on August 13, 2022 at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona.
The aforementioned Say Anything was — despite its place in a genre known for its sincerity — something of a quintessential emo band satire. Bemis, being the Andy Kaufman of it all, was enough to delight and confuse an entire generation as to whether he was a “real boy” or Ziggy Stardust steeped in Calm your enthusiasm and Vagrant Records discography. Say Anything’s latest album was written from the perspective of Oliver Appropriate, a personification of this intentionally confused public figure. When he was ready to recover from 20 years of music-making “trauma”, Bemis’ response was via Maxim Mental, his first true solo album; this is arguably Bemis’ most personal album to date.
On July 19, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Max Bemis via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond Make Team presents Maxim Mental in maximalism, we talked about Bemis’ creative process, his work with Marvel as a writer, his future career plans, his life during COVID-19, and his musical influences. To learn more about Bemis, Maxim Mental and his other projects, click here, here and here.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He began working in the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his favorite band at the time, Superdrag. Since then he has worked with a wide range of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata and Amanda Palmer. Darren’s writing has appeared in dozens of media including The New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, LA Times and The Jewish Log. In addition to being “editor-in-chief” for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of the weekly “Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz” series, which airs on dozens of TV and digital channels. He is also the co-author of 2 published books, 2018’s “Pocket Change: Your Happy Money” (Book Web Publishing) and 2019’s “Good Advice From Professional Wrestling” (6623 Press), and co-hosts the only known podcast in the world. world on David Lee. Roth, “The DLR Cast”.
