Coby Linder, long time drummer for Say Anything and beach body specialist (seriously, follow him on Twitter and get some health advice), has left Say Anything. Max had been hinting at major news coming from the band, but for it to turn into this blew me away.

Max Bemis said “As of a couple weeks ago, Coby and I made the mutual decision to retire his role as the permanent drummer of Say Anything. This choice was made for a multitude of reasons, many involving where both Coby and I are at personally in our lives versus our roles in this band.  I cannot stress enough how b.s. free of a decision this was or how close talking about it brought Coby and me. It is and was an utterly amicable split that we both agree is the best thing to to do.” Coby added “Max and I have had an amazing ride as band mates together and we will continue to always be friends.  I can say with 100% confidence that we are both at the best place in our personal lives than ever before, which is why this split is very un-nasty.”

Coby and Max were the only two remaining members from the days when the band was known as Sayanything. Max has now compared the band to Nine Inch Nails, in that NiN is basically Trent Reznor plus a live band. What Coby will be moving on to it is not indicated in anything they’ve said so far. Maybe he’s done with music; maybe he wanted to focus on something outside of music, or maybe he just wanted some time off where Max was in full gear. Who will take over drumming duties? Is Coby’s focus now Lean With Linder? When either say anything (…sorry) about it, we’ll let you know. Fans of the band will want to read the full statement after the jump.

“FROM MAX:

So it’s a bittersweet month for Say Anything. We’ve had a lot of exciting stuff happening in our camp, and in my life in particular with my baby being on the way, a ton of new music in the works, and our rarities record coming a month or so.

However, one major change has occurred that we feel obliged to share with Say Anything fans before our next tour. As of a couple weeks ago, Coby and I made the mutual decision to retire his role as the permanent drummer of Say Anything. This choice was made for a multitude of reasons, many involving where both Coby and I are at personally in our lives versus our roles in this band.  I cannot stress enough how b.s. free of a decision this was or how close talking about it brought Coby and me. It is and was an utterly amicable split that we both agree is the best thing to to do.

Coby has had an unusual but integral role in shaping my life as a person and especially a musician. He is the most talented drummer I’ve ever known and has one of the kindest hearts as well. However, as Coby’s life developed in certain directions and mine in others, both musically and personally, we’ve found it hard to reconcile his particular role in SA with the way we interact as buddies and certain elements of the band’s dynamic. Coby having a strong personality and being such a spectacular musician and yet being tied down to such a encompassing musical identity such as mine is a hard thing to pull off, and though he did so with class and love for many years, it seems it’s time to try something else for both of us. We decided it would be better to make this change and remain as one of each other’s best friends than to let things get to a really bad place.

Say Anything will continue on without Coby but we will not be seeking a replacement drummer to play on the records we put out, as Coby and his style of drumming is, in many senses, irreplaceable; rather we plan on having a multitude of drummers play on our material. Say Anything on record will now be identified in the same way Nine Inch Nails is, in that it’s pretty much me and whoever I choose to play with at the time. Live shows will continue to have their own identity including Jake, Jeff, Parker, Adam, and whoever plays drums for us live. The band couldn’t be further from breaking up, and as I’ve said recently, we plan on releasing music as Say Anything forever, and already have a lot in the works.

I plan on scheduling a interview or podcast where I can really explain SA’S plans for the near future, including discussing how this change will really work in the band’s dynamic, but I’d really like to focus more on celebrating the amazing,  life altering and mind-blowing experience I’ve had with Coby for the past thirteen or fourteen years. From Summer Camp, to my wedding, to our first tour, first time recording, and much more, Coby has been there for all of it and I am honored to have been able to have him be a part of this project.  He will always be like a brother to me.

As all of you know, he is an utterly amazing drummer and will be missed, but nobody doubts you’ll be hearing a lot from Coby, whether that sis as a advocate of health and fitness, or as a drummer in a different context.

 max

___________________________

COBY

The past 14 years as a part of Say Anything have been UNREAL!  Max and I have had an amazing ride as band mates together and we will continue to always be friends.  I can say with 100% confidence that we are both at the best place in our personal lives than ever before, which is why this split is very un-nasty.

Playing music with Max always came easy.  For those of you that don’t know, it would take me like 2 minutes to learn one of his songs because we were so locked in to each other.  And his songs are all over the place!!!  I have always been his biggest fan and I will continue to support him and the band with my heart and my thoughts and wish them all nothing but the best.

To everyone reading this: You all have had a huge part in shaping me into this person I am today, which I never thought I would be and am in complete shock everyday I wake up.  What an amazing journey and only amazing things lie ahead for Say Anything, Max and I.

coby

___________________________

ALTPRESS  Interview Monday December 31st

We appreciate all the support and attention our fans have given the band over the years and we know there are probably a lot you guys wondering about how things will work now and what the next year holds in store for the band, etc. so Max sat down with ALTPRESS to do an extremely in-depth interview about what’s going on. It will be up on Monday and we’ll link the story here. Thanks so much guys.

XO

SAY ANYTHING”

See the post here.

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Dan Bogosian

I finished school with a music theory degree. Before I finished school, I was a janitor. You really should apologize to all the janitors you've ever had. You hurt them. Seriously. You did.

But, now that we've cleared that up and you called your high school janitor, know that I quit being a janitor to pursue writing about music. So here I am, and here you are, and hey how are you?

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