Say Anything

I sat down with my good friend Coby from Say Anything to get this exclusive interview for LosAngelesPunk.com. I have been following this band since the beginning and have seen them progress from the start, seeing them for the first time at their record release show for their first album, Baseball. Their newest album, "Say Anything Is A Real Boy," is available now on Doghouse Records.

LosAngelesPunk: Coby, I would like you to first introduce yourself and what you do in the band.

Coby: Hey everyone, I'm Coby Linder and I've played drums in Say Anything from the beginning.

LAPunk: Your new album has just been released on Doghouse. How did you guys get hooked up with such a great label?

Coby: Well, we got them drunk and played them our demos. They loved it! And then Max [Bemis] played for them acoustic and they just signed us. They had never even heard of us full band live until like a year after they signed us.

LAPunk: What was their reaction when they heard the full band? They probably that you guys needed a new drummer, huh?

Coby: [laughter] Yeah, they instantly wanted me out. But then we wouldn't be a Jewish band, so I had to stay. For the sake of God.

LAPunk: Are the two new band members, Kevin Seaton and Casper Adams, Jewish as well? How did you find those guys?

Coby: No, neither of them are Jewish. Max knew the two guys through mutual friends. Our OLD bassist and guitarist went to college, and we actually had two OTHER guys when we lived in New York. When we moved back here to Los Angeles, we had to break up. Again. So now we have Kevin and Casper and everything is going really well.

LAPunk: Who did the instrumentals on the CD, then?

Coby: Max actually did all of the music on the CD, except for the drums. Those were done by me, of course.

LAPunk: Wow, impressive. Your live show is so impressive, every time I see you guys I am so impressed.

Coby: Thanks a lot, we are actually in the process of changing it though. We're going to start having keyboards live so that Max can just sing... old Saves The Day style. It's going to rock much harder. Our old bass player switched to guitar and keyboards, and Dan Delauro, who used to be our tour manager, is now playing bass.

LAPunk: Do you have any big tours lined up to help promote the new album?

Coby: We're hopefully going to go on tour with Hot Rod Circuit and Straylight Run in October and November, but it's not 100% yet. We don't have anything planned after that, but I'm sure we'll be going out again to visit all you guys real soon. We have a record release show at the Knitting Factory Alterknit Lounge in LA, which only holds about 115 people. We are really excited about that show because we really wanted to play a small sweaty punk show, which we've never really done before.

LAPunk: The Baseball release show was kind of like that...

Coby: Okay, fine, so we have only done something like that once before. You know, the kind where its packed and everyone is really close and intimate. This show is going to be like a Minor Threat basement show...

LAPunk: Any particular reason why you decided upon Lance's Hero and Hellogoodbye to open?

Coby: We toured with Lance's Hero on the AbsolutePunk.net tour and we all got along really well. I love their CD, too. The singer of Hellogoodbye recorded the demos for our album... he sat there and pressed "Record" for less than minimum wage.

LAPunk: Where did you guys record the demos/album?

Coby: We did the demos in Santa Anna, and the album in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. We did it with Tim Oheir, who worked with The All American Rejects, Dinosaur Jr., The Jealous Sound, etc. It was a crazy process that took us five months. We did the drums in a studio and then recorded the rest in Tim's apartment, and finished it all up in LA. I must say I learned a lot from being able to record in a professional studio and watching someone like Tim work.

LAPunk: You mentioned a bit ago the AP.net tour. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? This was your first "big" tour, right?

Coby: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It went really well, all of the guys were really nice. The shows were decently sized and we got to meet a lot of fans that have been listening to us over the years. It's surprising to see fans that have our old stuff- it's kind of surreal. Although most of the people at the shows were newer fans, there were those couple of people in every other state that were super hardcore fans. It was amazing.

LAPunk: That's really impressive. I bet it's because they all think you're cute. Since we're on the topic of tours, how does the LA crowd fare?

Coby: I have nothing against the LA fans, and I feel like the people who listen to us genuinely like the music and are singing along and having somewhat of a fun time. And all of my friends and family are here..so its nice to play for them, but there's something about going out of your hometown, playing in front of east coast people, who I feel have a better "scene" out there...and I can say Ialmost respect their opinions more. To hear them say that they're into it... that's a really good feeling. We haven't had a show yet in somewhere like New York where everyone is singing along, but if we go on tour in October and there are people there to see us and singing along, I will feel great about that. It would be more of an accomplishment than a successful show in Los Angeles, I think.

LAPunk: Let's get off the topic of touring.

Coby: Thank God, I'm shvitzing over here.

LAPunk: I know you and Max put your screen names up on the website, why did you do that and how is that working out?

Coby: It's pretty sweet to talk to fans. We wanted to put our numbers out there, but we didn't think that it would work out too well. I guess I could put your number up there...

LAPunk: How about a place like Pizza Hut, and then all these girls will call and ask for Coby and the employees would be like "What?!"

Coby: They'd come find me and slice me into 16 pieces. Anyway, 2-3 new fans a day IM me. I have them all on my buddy list. I have fun doing nothing but sitting online and talking to friends. Then I go to practice, and come home to talk to more fans. They're very nice and courteous.

LAPunk: Who are your influences and favorite bands to listen to at the moment?

Coby: The new Recover is amazing... The new Taking Back Sunday, this band Minus The Bear, and Mineral... The new My Chemical Romance is really good. The new Adam Sandler is good Jewish music. As for influences, Green Day, Nirvana, Saves The Day, The Who, Police, Pavement...

LAPunk: And who is your personal inspiration?

Coby: Max... and Keith Moon. I know it's gay, but it's true. He's the drummer of The Who. He's just an amazing drummer and I like how he carried himself.

LAPunk: What is your favorite song on the album, and how would you compare your newer album as a whole to your older stuff?

Coby: Woe is probably my favorite- I like the ladada's. The new stuff is definitely more mature, weirder, just better musically and instrumentally. Better lyrics. The drums are REALLY good on this album.

LAPunk: Thanks a lot for your time!

Check out the following links for more information on Say Anything or to stream their music.

http://www.sayanythingmusic.com
http://www.purevolume.com/sayanything
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/sayanythingmusic.htm

Interview by Jason Kaminsky