One of three songs I am submitting for my USC 2015 Pop Fest application. 

Lyrics: 

BACKGROUND VOCALS
Care for me, my love

VERSE 1
Light in my fallen fortress
Burrow deeper just to kill the glow
Sweet murmurs from my next-door neighbors
One more (it’s always just one more)
One more (can never shut the door)

VERSE 2
Melodies pierce my dreamscape 
I’ll kiss you goodbye ‘till we meet again
Wake up to a lurid sunlight
Fade in (tryna get up right)
Fade out (curled up nice and tight)
I’ve been living days too short and nights too long, sleepwalking hazy streets
Spending listless hours with this daydream girl between my sheets

VERSE 3
Room full of wasted bodies
We sung out, we’re strung out of our minds
But we manage a weary smile
Then sink (we sink into the sea)
Then rise (new dawn carries me)
Tell me do you want it bad, do you feel it deep down in your bone marrow?
Penetrating every thought, it’s inescapable
You’re gonna surf the tidals, work your vitals and tear this world to bits
Just get on with it
On with it (7X)

TALK IS CHEAP ACOUSTIC (FOR POP FEST APPLICATION)

This is a song I co-wrote with Janis Yue. 

Music by Max Bergmanis
Lyrics by Janis Yue and Max Bergmanis

VERSE 1
Put me in a coma, I don’t want to feel like nothing can be done
Stare off in the distance while my mind feels no resistance, only lust
Hold me in a stupor with all my wine and all my liquor and I’ll be damned
If you go


Tell me something secret, shut your mouth and I will keep it on my tongue
Air between my teeth, between my throat, between my ribs, between my lungs
Fix me in the silence, make me look like I’m not tryin’, for today, let me say
Let me say

PRE-CHORUS
Release me, wish me well

CHORUS
My arms are open wide
Night time on my side
Dusk as fools collide
Wake and fear is mine

Lay me down to rest my head
Kill the devil ‘neath my bed
Slow the beating in my chest
Hit me more and I’ll feel less

I dreamed a pretty face
Just a little taste
 
VERSE 2
Drowned in Amsterdam without a single hour hand tick on the clock
Tried to be a man, but it’s so hard to make a stand on the dock, between the rocks
Don’t try to understand me, but this ship is gonna land me on the moon, you’ll be there too
You’ll be there too

PRE-CHORUS
Send me fond farewell

CHORUS
My arms are open wide
Night time on my side
Dusk as fools collide
Wake and fear is mine

Lay me down to rest my head
Kill the devil ‘neath my bed
Slow the beating in my chest
Hit me more and I’ll feel less

I dreamed a pretty face
Just a little taste

BRIDGE
Finally some peace
The ground beneath my feet
Stabilized and sweet
Fortifying thoughts that I believe

Kiss me one last time
My enemies arrived
Time to say goodbye
Knock em down (x3)

CHORUS
My arms are open wide
Night time on my side
Dusk as fools collide
Wake and fear is mine

CHORUS (NEW WORDS)
Brown eyes open now
Never turns to how
Broken scream and shout
Piercing through the crowd

Fool me, I am young
And always on the run
Heart strung like a gun
Never will be done (4x)

Comatose Stories

This is a song I wrote. Thanks to Janis Yue for the conversational part.


VERSE 1
You’re a little bit weary, layin down fives, tryna make real tough
Slippin into finest soft silk with a tie and a rolled-up cuff
Jelly fingers through your hair, black comb wide slidin with the greatest of care
And it just might work

Going deep, street sleepin’ in the stairway, shiver like a winter’s night
Little train car movin’ up the stations faster than the speed of light
Now you pick a little bone with a street-side worker and a pair o’ legs toned 
For the eight foot surf, save a shot for her


PRE-CHORUS
And the ghost of un-holiest clothing, a star and her sleaze

Rock your hips to the music, grab a lone body
Make her wish, then refuse it, till you see her knees droppin
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him (3x)

VERSE 2
Now the night turn to morning, and your face forlorning, tryna pick up slack
All the better men gather up the ladies, take em on the midnight track
And you’re sittin in the pub, tryna make real love to the wine in the glass
It’s your final cup, have you had enough

PRE-CHORUS
Cuz you’re halfway too gone, got patron and an empty left seat

CHORUS
Rock your hips to the music, grab a lone body
Make her wish, then refuse it, till you see her knees droppin
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him (2x)

BRIDGE
Grab a knife and cut a hole
Till you wake up feelin low
Better hope they get some soul out of him (2x)

And it’s a whole lot of strangers
Caked-on pretty faces
Seven February changes, oh

So go and get a little wasted
See the color in the spaces
Then you can bury all the traces

BREAKDOWN
Slightly indistinct drunken discussion

CHORUS
Rock your hips to the music, grab a lone body
Make her wish, then refuse it, till you see her knees droppin
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him, ohhhh

Rock your hips to the music, grab a lone body
Make her wish, then refuse it, till you see her knees droppin
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him
Grab a knife and cut a hole outta him
Grab a knife and a cut a hole, but you always wanted more
So grab a lite and take a load off of him
Slab of night can take a load off of him
Make it right and take a load off of him

Comatose Stories Pt. 2

This is a song I wrote with Janis Yue.

Music by Max Bergmanis
Lyrics by Janis Yue and Max Bergmanis

VERSE 1
Saw you from afar, the summer glow
Smiling through a cigarette and smoke
I asked you for a name, and forty-three cents change
But I was out of luck

But if we were to ever meet again
Somewhere ‘tween the fifteen and one ten
I would see her face, feel her warm embrace
And her gentle touch

PRE-CHORUS 1
She’d hold me closer than I’ve ever known
And when it’s cold outside, she’d wear my coat
Nothin’d ever be impossible, darlin you, if I had you

CHORUS
But I’m never gonna be that man, makin plans for a second date
Went out tried to make my stand, but the promise land will just have to wait
She’s beautiful and just my type, but that shinin knight is so hard to find
So I’ll wait here, bide my time tonight, till I see that mornin light

VERSE 2
Saw you down the aisle on tippy-toe
Reaching for the honey cheerios
The way you pushed that cart, stopped my beating heart
Such a gentle grip

Throwing TV dinners in your basket
I’ve got a question but I’d never ask it
If you could please do, put me in there too
I’m a perfect fit

PRE-CHORUS 2
We’d be so happy together you and me
You’d keep me guessing like a mystery
Nothin’d ever be more true to me, honey you, if I had you

CHORUS
But I’m never gonna be that man, makin plans for a second date
Went out tried to make my stand, but the promise land will just have to wait
She’s beautiful and just my type, but that shinin knight is so hard to find
So I’ll wait here, bide my time tonight, till I see that mornin light

BRIDGE
I have tried my best but my best only goes so far
Thinking bout it’s easy, it’s the doing it that’s hard
Put me to the test and I will not be taking home any awards
That’s for sure

VERSE 3
They said there’s plenty fish inside the sea
But fishing’s hard with bait-less hooks like me
I’ll never know the truth, but truth is just for fools
It’s the hardest thing

CHORUS
But I’m never gonna be that man, makin plans for a second date
Went out tried to make my stand, but the promise land will just have to wait
She’s beautiful and just my type, but that shinin knight is so hard to find
So I’ll wait here, bide my time tonight 
Till I see that mornin light (3x)

Comatose Stories Pt. 3

This is a song I wrote. 

VERSE 1
Never met a girl quite like you
Picking up the pieces the way you do
Carried me through June, my summer blues
Think I might have found something true

We talk until the dawn hides the moon
Smile at us, a pair of drunken fools
No, we really don’t mean it to be rude
Just a couple lucky poets with an attitude
Misconstrued

PRE-CHORUS
Me and you
We’ll take this on, no one to stop us now

CHORUS
The game is wild
The night is loud
And the queen bee’s holding tightly to the crown
You lay me gently to the ground

VERSE 2
I heard you humming Johnny’s tunes
The one with all goodbyes and a burning room
Sing it softly to me and my morning gloom
And leave me with a kiss that ends too soon

But here I sit in my own mistakes
I’ve only given love that’s truly fake
And felt a loneliness that’s hard to take
But I’ll hold you till the daylight breaks
And we’ve made 

PRE-CHORUS
Our love in spades
Then we’ll take this on, no one to stop us now

CHORUS
The game is wild
The night is loud
And the queen bee’s holding tightly to the crown
You lay me gently to the ground

BRIDGE
I just don’t know how else to put it
You took my tries and all my screw-ups
Set them free the way I couldn’t, I couldn’t

There are better men to spend your time on
With nine to fives, suits and ties on
But I’m the one you’re gonna try on

POST-CHORUS
Another night together girl, another glass of wine
Laying with each other, playing war to pass the time
My breathing slowly lifts your arm and places it on mine
Oh girl
We’re gonna take this on, no one to stop us now

CHORUS
The game is wild
The night is loud
And the queen bee’s holding tightly to the crown
You lay me gently to the ground

Queen Bee

This is a song I wrote with Janis Yue. 

Music by Max Bergmanis
Lyrics by Max Bergmanis and Janis Yue

VERSE 1
One
One triumphant night
Tall as any giant, arms are open wide

Tough
Tougher than the rest
He gave you all his worth, nothing more or less

PRE-CHORUS 1
He wears his number like a cape tonight
Champagne laughin by the fireside
You couldn’t bring him down if you tried

CHORUS
He found his stolen joy
The paper’s golden boy
He’s makin all the noise on eighth street

Oh to be that man
Steady shaking hands										Making far-off plans in a daydream

He’ll write on stain-glass mirrors
40k black earrings, just our
New-age hero, a face of the time

But he knows himself
Knows he needs some help
Doubt can be the best partner in crime

VERSE 2
Lay
He lay in bed all day
Making crowds go wild on infinite replay

But you
You just want more and more
You ask for pretty words when all I want are yours

PRE-CHORUS 2
Past his prime says the Daily Press
And the cannibal inside his head
Throws his hands for a while instead

CHORUS
He found his stolen joy
The paper’s golden boy
He’s makin all the noise on eighth street

Oh to be that man
Steady shaking hands										Making far-off plans in a daydream

He’ll write on stain-glass mirrors
40k black earrings, just our
New-age hero, a face of the time

But he knows himself
Knows he needs some help
Doubt can be the best partner in crime

BRIDGE
It’s just so hard to stay
Having things to say
To find the note that pays

But he’ll keep fighting time
The devil in his mind

CHORUS
He found his stolen joy
The paper’s golden boy
He’s makin all the noise on eighth street

Oh to be that man
Steady shaking hands										Making far-off plans in a daydream

He’ll write on stain-glass mirrors
40k black earrings, just our
New-age hero, a face of the time

But he knows himself
Knows he needs some help
Doubt can be the best partner in crime


Sophomore

This is a song I wrote with Janis Yue.

Music by Max Bergmanis
Lyrics by Max Bergmanis and Janis Yue

VERSE 1
Mama says be up by sunrise
Bossman says be up by ten
Papa says go make some money
Time to be a workin man
But I’m a little tired today
I’d rather stay in bed

VERSE 2
Buddy got a brand new paycheck
Hope he locked it safe and sound
Cuz I just spent my final dollar
Might steal his and head out of town
I was flying way too high
Finally hit the ground, oh no

BRIDGE 1
Oh, everyone is making their plans
Oh, working day and night
Before you know it boy’s become a man

VERSE 3
I should probably make some dinner
Phone says it’s already nine
But I’m all out of bread and brisket
And someone drank my cup of wine
Market’s closed for holiday
Guess it’s a Subway night

BRIDGE 2
Oh, everyone is making their way
Oh, working forty hours a week
Makes me wanna clench my fist and say

VERSE 4
No more thirteen hour midnights
No more zero output weeks
No more chasing empty timelines
Time to get up on my feet
Hit the road when morning comes
Gonna make ends meet
Hit the road when morning comes
Make the day complete
But Lorde just made a zillion bucks
And she’s just eighteen


This is a song I just wrote. Yea Boiiii

VERSE 1
Dreaming up a story about a girl
For a minute there, she was my whole world
When she looked my way, I couldn’t keep my mind
Off the next time that she showed up in my life

I’d take her outside somewhere we could talk
Maybe that old pub way down the block
Have a drink or two to ease the pain
Then a couple more so I’d forget her name

PRE-CHORUS 1
She’d leaned in closer, closer, closer to me
She’s like the posters, the posters, the posters on the street
And so I told her, I told her, I told her, I told her what we need

CHORUS 1
We need to make love
I got to make love
I need your sweet, sweet, color in my veins
Before I let you walk away

VERSE 2
Now we’re hooking up at four to three
It’s funny how it’s kinda hard to breathe
Her dress is on the floor beside my bed
Tells me that the vodka makes her red

I told her that I’d really like to dance
Well she said that she never got the chance
Well then baby don’t you make no other plans
Tonight I’ll be your one and only man

PRE-CHORUS 2
Then we got closer, closer, closer, and I
I could hold ya, I’d hold ya, I’d hold ya oh so tight
You know I told ya, told ya, told ya, that you just feel so right

CHORUS 2
So let’s make love
From high above
With that sweet drunk poison in our veins
Baby we won’t sleep for days

VERSE 3
Now you’re whispering in my ear for something good
With a tiny smile and eyes that set the mood
So I’ll close the door and shut all of the blinds
Do please knock, friends, if you’d be so kind

CHORUS 3
Cuz we’re making love
Like Zack and Paula
We’ve got our high-flying hearts up in the stars
Playing Jesso loud on our guitars
You tell me dreams are the only thing that’s right
I’ll make them true some other night

Daydreams

This is an instrumental I wrote for MPPM 320, Popular Music Performance at USC. 

Cool

Freestyle 7/29/16

My name is Max. I'm a pianist/composer based in Los Angeles, CA. You can check my material out on this page and on YouTube and Facebook(links below). 

For a complete resume: See Linkedin Account.

BIO: Max Bergmanis is a junior at the Thornton School of Music working towards a BM in Jazz Studies. He began playing piano when he was just three years old. At five, he joined the Yamaha School of Music in Honolulu, Hawaii. There, he spent eight years studying under the instruction of Satoko Nagai, learning both piano and composition. During this period, Max was twice chosen, out of a national pool of applicants, to perform his original compositions at the Yamaha Young Musicians Concert, a showcase for some of the Yamaha Music system's brightest talent. 

Max then went on to study classical piano for five years under the instruction of Helen Chao-Casano at Punahou School. There, he took weekly lessons and performed in monthly student recitals. He also spent two years studying voice and composition, the former with Cathy Goto and the latter with esteemed Juilliard alumnus, Dr. Jon Magnussen. Through Magnussen’s connections, Max was able to work with and subsequently have one of his pieces performed by the Ethel String Quartet of New York, a forward-thinking group who have toured across the globe. It was during his time at Punahou School where Max first became interested in jazz as well, playing keyboards in the school's jazz band and winning the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in his senior year. 

Following his high school graduation, Max went on to study at the Thornton School of Music, where he remains today. As a junior jazz piano major, Max has already gotten to study with such luminaries as Bob Mintzer, Alan Pasqua, Russell Ferrante, Jason Goldman, Otmaro Ruiz, Aaron Serfaty, and Ron McCurdy. He has also taken classes from top singer-songwriters, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe as well as producer, Charles Guiterrez. 

Max is currently writing music of all genres and honing his jazz piano technique.

Max Bergmanis

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