Say Anything is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band was formed in 2000 by Max Bemis and his friends, and within two years, they had self-released two EPs and a full-length album.

In 2003, the band signed with their first label, Doghouse Records. A year later, they released their second album, ...Is a Real Boy. To support the album, they picked up new members and began touring; however, despite rapidly growing critical and fan acclaim, Bemis' health problems, including bipolar disorder and drug addictions, sidelined the band in 2005 as five band members left during the year.

Say Anything signed with J Records in 2005 and, following Bemis' successful rehabilitation, re-released ...Is a Real Boy with their new label. They went on co-headlining tours with Saves the Day in 2006 and Hellogoodbye in 2007. In 2008, Say Anything went on a headlining tour across the US and UK and appeared on every date of Warped Tour.

Bemis announced Say Anything's disbandment in 2018, months before the 2019 release of their eighth LP, Oliver Appropriate. The band reunited in 2022 and released their ninth album, ...Is Committed, in 2024, and also released their tenth album The Noise of Say Anything’s Room Without... a year later in 2025.

Say Anything are considered by some journalists to be among the greatest pop-punk bands.

History

Early years (2000–2004) The band was formed in 2000 by Max Bemis and four of his friends as Sayanything. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.

In 2002, Sayanything added a space to their name to become Say Anything. In late 2002, Bemis and Linder recorded the Menorah/Majora EP and released the album online. By this point, Say Anything's releases had generated "a major bidding war". Drive-Thru Records pursued the band and called Max Bemis "the next Bob Dylan." Brett Gurewitz of Epitaph Records recorded "A Boston Peace," one of the dorm-room demos, with the band. In early 2003, Say Anything signed with Doghouse Records stating sarcastically that Doghouse "put out such obscure, borderline D.I.Y. records as The All-American Rejects."

After signing with the label, Bemis began writing songs for his band's Doghouse debut. Bemis went into the studio with Florida producer Paul Trust. They recorded 3 songs that were not released although one of the songs entitled "Spider Song" would later appear on a Doghouse compilation. With tremendous self-created pressure, he threw himself into pushing the sonic boundaries of the band and maturing their sound, incorporating elements of math-rock, indie-pop and theatrical pomp. He and Linder also started the search for a producer. The two met several producers but eventually decided on Tim O'Heir and Stephen Trask. Bemis struggled with different ideas for the record and decided the album should focus on "the artistic struggle, the fact that every creative person has this sick ambition to affect some sort of change in society with their art, to be more than just a guy in a band or a poet or a sculptor." Bemis originally intended the album to be a rock opera with a full script, narration, and a cast of characters. It was tentatively titled Zona! Zona! However, Bemis became overwhelmed by the entire process of writing and playing most of the instruments and had a breakdown.

"I literally lost my mind while we were recording," stated Bemis regarding the breakdown. The breakdown was precipitated by a mockumentary discussed by Bemis and O'Heir. Bemis' condition led him to believe he was being secretly filmed for the mockumentary; the situation culminated in him walking the streets of Brooklyn thinking he was being filmed while encountering friends (who were actually strangers). After recovering, Bemis decided to focus solely on the music and dropped the idea of a script. Around July 2003, the band began recording ...Is a Real Boy, their first album with Doghouse Records. Bemis said the two people he wanted to "outdo with ...Is a Real Boy were Andy Warhol and Jesus." In addition to working with O'Heir and Trask, Say Anything worked with Forrest Kline (of power pop band Hellogoodbye) to record the For Sale... EP, released in 2004. The band also worked with ECA Records to record a promotional album that was never released.

...Is a Real Boy was released August 3, 2004. The album featured Linder on drums and Bemis on vocals, guitar, bass guitar, and keyboard. ...Is a Real Boy received positive reviews, including a 99% from AbsolutePunk.net and four and a half stars (out of five) from AllMusic. When the band began touring in support of ...Is a Real Boy, they picked up Dan DeLauro, Casper Adams, and Kevin Seaton.

Say Anything signed with J Records in 2005, owned by Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of the "big four" record labels. When asked why he signed with a major label, Bemis stated, "We were looking to expand our fan base as well as have more money to tour comfortably. I also wanted enough money to work with an awesome producer for [In Defense of the Genre]." In June 2005, Say Anything was forced to cancel a six-week headlining tour with Circa Survive and Emanuel on the third day of the tour due to health problems with Bemis, including "full-on paranoid delusions" in Austin, Texas. At this point, Bemis' bipolar disorder and drug addictions were wreaking havoc on the band. Bassists DeLauro and Seaton had already parted ways with the band. Andy Jackson left in September after only a few months of touring with Say Anything. Casper Adams, who was clashing personally with Bemis despite a close friendship, was fired after a show.

On October 3, 2005, Bemis had another breakdown; this time, it involved depressive behavior, spitting in food at an outdoor cafe, spending a "half-hour pouring a bowl of soup onto the floor, one spoonful at a time," engaging in a street fight and finally being admitted to a mental hospital by an off-duty policeman. This incident forced Say Anything to cancel another tour, this time with Bemis' personal idols Saves the Day, along with Senses Fail and The Early November. The band was replaced by Emanuel. After returning from his stay in the hospital, Bemis' mother and the remaining members of the band selected the Menninger clinic in Houston, Texas, to rehab Bemis. Eventually, Bemis approved of their decision, admitted himself to the Menninger clinic, and has reportedly not had a relapse since.

...Is a Real Boy (2005–2007) Under J Records, Say Anything re-released ...Is a Real Boy with a bonus CD entitled ...Was a Real Boy on February 28, 2006 (although the album was originally slated for release on October 18, 2005 and later January 17, 2006). However, copies were leaked before the official release date by Tower Records and HMV, with some copies selling on eBay at inflated prices. According to the album's liner notes, ...Was a Real Boy was originally intended as charity record and recorded in Kevin Seaton's garage. Bemis said that "it was J Records' idea to reissue ...Is a Real Boy. They believe it has a mainstream appeal that wasn't really reached when Doghouse released the record." Around this time, the band also released "Alive with the Glory of Love" as a single.

Alex Kent joined the band to play bass guitar after the band met him while touring with Lance's Hero. Jake and Jeff Turner joined to play guitar and help with backup vocals after Adams and Jackson left. Parker Case completed the sextet when he joined to play guitar and keyboard after his previous band JamisonParker broke up. At the time, JamisonParker and Say Anything shared the same manager, Randy Nichols; the band met Case while at a train station on the way to Nichols' wedding.

In summer 2006, Say Anything toured with Dashboard Confessional; Ben Lee was with the tour in the US, while John Ralston joined the tour in Canada. The band was asked to be a part of the Warped Tour 2006, but instead opted for the Dashboard tour. Bemis later made statements implying he did not feel he was emotionally ready for a Warped Tour.

Say Anything completed one of their first headlining tours in fall 2006, when they toured with Piebald and mewithoutYou. Days Away, Brazil and Forgive Durden opened for the band on select dates. In February 2007, Say Anything performed on Last Call with Carson Daly. The band also released their second single, "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too," which was from the ...Was a Real Boy bonus disc. Also in that month, the band announced a co-headlining tour with Saves the Day and The Almost, John Ralston, The Dear Hunter, and Manchester Orchestra as openers on select dates. The band completed the tour successfully during April and May of that year. In August, Say Anything announced a co-headlining tour with Hellogoodbye sponsored by MySpace. The tour took place during fall of the same year with shows in the US and Europe.

In Defense of the Genre (2007–2008) In the weeks before the release of their third album, Say Anything released several songs from the album on MySpace. They also announced pre-ordered copies could be ordered with a signed CD booklet. The band released their first single from the new album, "Baby Girl, I'm a Blur", on October 2, 2007. In Defense of the Genre was released on October 23, 2007. It was released in a dual-disc format complete with 27 songs and contained many guest vocals. When asked about the name of the record, Bemis said, "Whatever 'genre' (or music) one loves needs a defense, because half the world is too ignorant to really understand something before they dismiss it." Before recording the record, Bemis stated, "I hope that [In Defense] will be more inspiring and uplifting. I want [the record] to be The Joshua Tree with balls on laughing gas."

Andy Jackson, a former member of the band and close friend of Bemis, along with Liam Ortmeier was responsible for recording many of the cameo appearances. He recorded some cameos while at the Warped Tour 2007 with Hot Rod Circuit and others in his home studio. Jackson recorded vocals from several musicians, such as Gerard Way, Adam Lazzara, Anthony Raneri, Anthony Green, Hayley Williams, Aaron Gillespie, Jordan Pundik, and Chad Gilbert. Chris Conley and several others also provided guest vocals. Alternative Press called the record "a truly magnificent sophomore effort" and gave it a 4.5/5, while Spin gave the album four stars and Corey Schmidt of PastePunk said, "There are a few really great songs here."

In January 2008, Say Anything announced a US headlining tour with Manchester Orchestra, Biffy Clyro and Weatherbox. The tour took place in March and April of that year. After finishing this tour, Say Anything announced a headlining tour in the UK that took place in June. The tour was in support of In Defense of the Genre, which was released in the UK on June 23, 2008.

Say Anything released the video for "Shiksa (Girlfriend)" on April 9, 2008. On April 25, Say Anything performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. During summer 2008, Say Anything joined the Warped Tour for the first time, appearing on all dates. On August 1, 2008, Say Anything announced the Max Bemis Song Shop, through which users could pay for Max Bemis to write a song based on a short writing by the customer. However, by the end of the night, the item was no longer available with the following text displayed on the item listing: "We're sorry but Max can't write songs as fast as you are requesting them. As soon as he catches up we will start again. Thank you so much for believing in our crazy idea." The Song Shop has reopened semi-annually since its initial launch, and taken down after about a week each time. This aforementioned message has been displayed each time the Song Shop was discontinued.

Say Anything (2008–2009)