Max Bemis On The New “Maxim Mental” Album, His Creative Process, Writing For Comics Marvel, Influences & More

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 via Dine Alone Records. The album was co-written and produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Will Yip (Code Orange, Title Fight, Turnstile) who has been a long-time collaborator of Bemis. Prior to the release of Make Team Presents Maxim Mental In Maximalism, Bemis has released the singles “Evermore (And The Grammy Goes To),” “Girls The Truth” and “Grace Beyond Christ.” In support of the new album, Bemis has already started a tour of the United States, which is set to wrap on August 13, 2022 at Phoenix, Arizona’s Rebel Lounge.

The aforementioned Say Anything was — despite its place in a genre known for sincerity — somewhat of a satire of the quintessential-emo band. 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 infused with Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Vagrant Records discography. The final Say Anything LP was written from the point of Oliver Appropriate, a personification of this intentionally-confused public persona. When ready to recover from 20 years of the “trauma” related to making music, Bemis’ answer was via Maxim Mental, his first true solo album; arguably this one is 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 spoke about Bemis’ creative process, his work with Marvel as a writer, future career plans, life during COVID-19, and musical influences. More on Bemis, Maxim Mental and his other projects can be found online by clicking here, here and here.

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Tags: Dine Alone Records, Los Angeles, Marvel, Max Bemis, Maxim Mental, Say Anything, Songwriting

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array 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 outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 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 world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."