The high temperature is supposed to be in
the nineties, with no chance of rain; which
means there is little chance of clouds to block
the sun. The audience press against other
sweaty bodies crushed against a metal rail. In all
of Warped Tour, this very specific crowd is
gathered around to hear Say Anything play.
After several minutes of little to no movement
on the stage, singer Max Bemis, wielding a black
Gibson Les Paul wanders out alone to the center
mic stand. "Umm…the rest of the band is stuck
in traffic… literally," he explains. What should
Bemis do? Some artists in this predicament may
explain to fans that, because of the issue, the
show would not go on, or it would at least be
delayed until the other members arrived. Bemis
did not appear to have considered these
options. He proceeded to do the set, up to the
last two songs on his own. No drums. No bass.
No back up guitar. The only music poured from
Bemis, his guitar, and the approving sing- a-long
lips of the audience.
When asked who was to blame for the traffic
faux pas, drummer Coby Linder takes partial
responsibility. "It was me and Parker. We
stayed at my girlfriend's house last night and we
had this big plan to wake up early. We'd have to
switch the cars that were a half an hour away.
We ended up waking up at like 12:30, and we
couldn't switch the cars." The friend they were
visiting was in Orlando, an approximate two
hour drive to Saint Petersburg's Vinoy Park
where they were scheduled to play.
Besides the performance dilemma at the Saint
Petersburg show, the guys from Say Anything
are enjoying their first Warped Tour. "I thought
it was going to be a lot worse," explains bassist
Alex Kent. The rumors of wretched
temperatures and lack of showers can make
most newly arriving Warped Tour artists overly
concerned. "You find showers. There have been
showers at every show," he confirms. One
reason the band hasn't done a Warped Tour in
the past is scheduling conflicts. "Any other
time, it may have not been the right time. Last
year we were finishing up the record. There was
never any time to do it. The year before that,
we had a different line up, a different theme."
Warped tour can be a nice change of pace for
Say Anything too. "You hang out all day. It's
not a night time thing," explains Linder. "You're
out in the daylight." Sunlight is usually frowned
on (with the exclusion of weekend über
festivals) at major music events; therefore, most
are indoors where lighting can be controlled as
well as the audiences focus. Warped tour is
fueled by ADD riddled fans and thirty minute
music acts, not fancy lightshows; therefore, the
show is over around the same time grandma falls
asleep in front of Matlock reruns after dinner.
Before Warped Tour, Say Anything was touring
the United Kingdom. Asking how things went,
there appeared to be mixed feelings between
Kent and Linder about it. Kent explain,
"Usually it kind of sucks. I mean the shows are
awesome, the fans are great, but I'm not a big
fan of the UK. The food is horrible. A lot of
the nineties, with no chance of rain; which
means there is little chance of clouds to block
the sun. The audience press against other
sweaty bodies crushed against a metal rail. In all
of Warped Tour, this very specific crowd is
gathered around to hear Say Anything play.
After several minutes of little to no movement
on the stage, singer Max Bemis, wielding a black
Gibson Les Paul wanders out alone to the center
mic stand. "Umm…the rest of the band is stuck
in traffic… literally," he explains. What should
Bemis do? Some artists in this predicament may
explain to fans that, because of the issue, the
show would not go on, or it would at least be
delayed until the other members arrived. Bemis
did not appear to have considered these
options. He proceeded to do the set, up to the
last two songs on his own. No drums. No bass.
No back up guitar. The only music poured from
Bemis, his guitar, and the approving sing- a-long
lips of the audience.
When asked who was to blame for the traffic
faux pas, drummer Coby Linder takes partial
responsibility. "It was me and Parker. We
stayed at my girlfriend's house last night and we
had this big plan to wake up early. We'd have to
switch the cars that were a half an hour away.
We ended up waking up at like 12:30, and we
couldn't switch the cars." The friend they were
visiting was in Orlando, an approximate two
hour drive to Saint Petersburg's Vinoy Park
where they were scheduled to play.
Besides the performance dilemma at the Saint
Petersburg show, the guys from Say Anything
are enjoying their first Warped Tour. "I thought
it was going to be a lot worse," explains bassist
Alex Kent. The rumors of wretched
temperatures and lack of showers can make
most newly arriving Warped Tour artists overly
concerned. "You find showers. There have been
showers at every show," he confirms. One
reason the band hasn't done a Warped Tour in
the past is scheduling conflicts. "Any other
time, it may have not been the right time. Last
year we were finishing up the record. There was
never any time to do it. The year before that,
we had a different line up, a different theme."
Warped tour can be a nice change of pace for
Say Anything too. "You hang out all day. It's
not a night time thing," explains Linder. "You're
out in the daylight." Sunlight is usually frowned
on (with the exclusion of weekend über
festivals) at major music events; therefore, most
are indoors where lighting can be controlled as
well as the audiences focus. Warped tour is
fueled by ADD riddled fans and thirty minute
music acts, not fancy lightshows; therefore, the
show is over around the same time grandma falls
asleep in front of Matlock reruns after dinner.
Before Warped Tour, Say Anything was touring
the United Kingdom. Asking how things went,
there appeared to be mixed feelings between
Kent and Linder about it. Kent explain,
"Usually it kind of sucks. I mean the shows are
awesome, the fans are great, but I'm not a big
fan of the UK. The food is horrible. A lot of
people can be mean, and the weather is wretched…" Linder interrupts Kent to defend the UK's food,"I find the
food to be great. I like how, you know here how they have seven-elevens with your premade roast beef
sandwiches? Over there they have these weird, cool tuna and cucumber sandwiches…"
Kent corrects himself and continues, "The food that they make, like restaurant-wise, is really unhealthy." Linder
follows with his other favorite thing about English cooking, "I'm a really big fan of the English breakfast. I do the
toast with the beans with the egg on top and a tomato…with the sausage…I make a sandwich. It's great!"
Beside the food, there is another observable difference between the UK and the US both members agree; the
audiences. "America gets spoiled because they always get to see you," says Linder, "where as they are so stoked
that you made it out there. A whole lot of bands when starting out don't have enough money to go there. People
have been listening for them for two or three years and they finally make enough money to fly over there." Kent
continues, "If you do a tour over there a lot of people show up early enough and actually pay attention to the
opening bands because (if they're not from the UK) maybe they are finding out about they're finding out about a
new band from the US. When we play a show here (in the States) a lot of people just come for the headlining
band and don't watch the rest of the bands." Linder finishes, "They love the music over there. The music is their
number one thing. They could give a shit less what you look like or how you're dressed."
Closing the interview, an internet rumor was confirmed by Bemis' band mates: he is the baby in the poster for
The Cohen Brothers Raising Arizona… well sort of. "It's a drawing of him, not actually him because his dad
does movie posters, all the artwork. He's done some cool shit! He's done David Lynch twice. He's done a lot of
seriously awesome stuff," confessed Kent. Linder explains another Bemis Hollywood moment, "He was also in
Face/Off, Max, that movie with John Travolta." Kent explains the scene for fans, "In the first five minutes he's
in there planting the bomb, Nicholas Cage. If you look at the choir you'll see Max's little choker hanging. He's
right next to the girl that Nicolas Cage squeezes her ass." Linder jokes, "That's the only reason I'm in the band,
because he got a lot of money for being in that."
food to be great. I like how, you know here how they have seven-elevens with your premade roast beef
sandwiches? Over there they have these weird, cool tuna and cucumber sandwiches…"
Kent corrects himself and continues, "The food that they make, like restaurant-wise, is really unhealthy." Linder
follows with his other favorite thing about English cooking, "I'm a really big fan of the English breakfast. I do the
toast with the beans with the egg on top and a tomato…with the sausage…I make a sandwich. It's great!"
Beside the food, there is another observable difference between the UK and the US both members agree; the
audiences. "America gets spoiled because they always get to see you," says Linder, "where as they are so stoked
that you made it out there. A whole lot of bands when starting out don't have enough money to go there. People
have been listening for them for two or three years and they finally make enough money to fly over there." Kent
continues, "If you do a tour over there a lot of people show up early enough and actually pay attention to the
opening bands because (if they're not from the UK) maybe they are finding out about they're finding out about a
new band from the US. When we play a show here (in the States) a lot of people just come for the headlining
band and don't watch the rest of the bands." Linder finishes, "They love the music over there. The music is their
number one thing. They could give a shit less what you look like or how you're dressed."
Closing the interview, an internet rumor was confirmed by Bemis' band mates: he is the baby in the poster for
The Cohen Brothers Raising Arizona… well sort of. "It's a drawing of him, not actually him because his dad
does movie posters, all the artwork. He's done some cool shit! He's done David Lynch twice. He's done a lot of
seriously awesome stuff," confessed Kent. Linder explains another Bemis Hollywood moment, "He was also in
Face/Off, Max, that movie with John Travolta." Kent explains the scene for fans, "In the first five minutes he's
in there planting the bomb, Nicholas Cage. If you look at the choir you'll see Max's little choker hanging. He's
right next to the girl that Nicolas Cage squeezes her ass." Linder jokes, "That's the only reason I'm in the band,
because he got a lot of money for being in that."
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