And now I realize, I’d give anything I had to walk a day in my old shoes wondering what my first smoke would be like, my first fuck, my next fuck up, or the next band that would change my life, and it changed my life.
Those were lyrics from the song “Blame It On Bad Luck” by the band Bayside, who hail from Queens, New York. I thought they were pretty appropriate for what I’m about to say. This year, 2015, Bayside is embarking on a 15th anniversary tour from March-April (they were founded in the winter of 2000). In 15 years time they’ve managed to play numerous tours worldwide, release 6 full length albums (along with a few EP’s/Splits), and maintain a steady “cult” fan base all while staying true to their name.
I first heard of Bayside some time in late 2005-early 2006 when I was driving home from somewhere with my friend Bridget. I’m not exactly sure how she told me about them, but I do know that she put either their CD or a mix CD with their music on it in my car and proceeded to tell me their story. If you know anything about Bayside, you’ll know that this was around the time of the Never Sleep Again Tour which ended up being a somber time for the band. On October 31, 2005 while on the tour and en route to Salt Lake City, UT from Boulder, CO, the band’s tour vehicle hit a patch of ice causing the van to skid off the road and flip over. Drummer, John “Beatz” Holohan, was killed and bassist, Nick Ghanbarian, seriously injured his back. Both Anthony Raneri and Jack O’Shea escaped the accident with minor injuries. After missing several dates of the tour, Raneri and O’Shea rejoined as an acoustic duo in mid-November (the tour finished in December). In February of 2006 Bayside released an acoustic album with the songs they played on the end of that tour, a few acoustic covers, and the song “Winter” which was written in memory of “Beatz”. “Winter” was the first song I heard by Bayside in the car that night and Bridget told me the meaning behind it. I remember looking up the band and reading news releases about “Beatz” and the accident when I got home that night. It broke my heart and at the same time I fell in love with “Winter”. I’m pretty sure I downloaded “Winter” and two other songs, “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, and “Devotion and Desire” shortly after.
I really didn’t get so into Bayside until later 2006-early 2007 though. I saw them live for the first time in May 2007 with my high school bandmates. At that point Chris Guglielmo took over as drummer and the band had released The Walking Wounded in February of that year. From then on I saw Bayside perform about 6 or 7 more times, which doesn’t even include the 2 times I was supposed to see them but couldn’t make their shows for weather related reasons. To this day, I’ve never seen another band play live as much as them (although I Am the Avalanche is pretty close). Even though I don’t currently listen to them as much as I used to (sadly not that much at all to be honest), I still purchase every new album they release and try to follow what they’re up to. The reason being is that I have so much respect for Bayside.
They’re still the same dudes I first heard when I was 16. Their music has evolved in a way that has kept them true to their roots. It still has that same distinct Bayside style sound. Plus Anthony Raneri’s vocals are truly original to his name. These guys have never been sell-outs like some bands who make music based on what a record label tells them to do. They’ve always written and released what they’ve wanted to put out there. I think that’s why they’ve maintained their steady fan base through the years without being labeled as “mainstream”. They never disappoint. They’re also quick to call out bands and other musicians who play crap music for the masses or do things that they don’t agree with.
I remember in 2008 when Anthony Raneri wrote a blog post after attending a Metro Station show questioning their success since he never really saw them playing instruments during their set (I’ll include a link to the excerpt he wrote). He concluded the post by saying “Shake it. Peace.” Between calling them out and those perfect last two sentences, I remember having a good laugh after reading the post. He had endless respect from me for that.
Just yesterday I read another article which talked about how Bayside released a brand new song for the deluxe re-issue of their 2014 album Cult called “Dancing Like An Idiot”. The new song references their definition of “bullshit” Warped Tour bands. After reading that article and listening to their new song, I had another good laugh. Of course I’m not sure what bands they’re talking about anymore since I don’t really follow that scene or go to Warped Tour, but it just proved to me how Bayside is still the same kind of awesome they were in 2008 when Ant talked about Metro Station or in 2006 when I first heard them. So when I quoted their song to start this post it wasn’t because “Blame It On Bad Luck” is my favorite Bayside song or because I strongly miss my past (it is my favorite song, but I’m really looking toward the future these days), it’s because I always thought of Bayside when I heard the words “the next band that would change my life”. And they did. That’s why they’ll always be pretty important to me no matter what I’m listening to. And as long as they keep doing what they’ve been doing for the last 15 years, I’ll still respect them just as much as I always have. Keep shaking it. Peace.
Song recommendations:
1. “Blame It On Bad Luck”
2. “Winter”
3. “Devotion and Desire”
4. “Montauk”
5. “Masterpiece”
6. “Duality”
7. “Landing Feet First”
8. “On Love, On Life”
9. “The Ghost of St. Valentine”
10. “Don’t Call Me Peanut”
(Feel free to listen to the acoustic versions of recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 5 too if you’d like. They were all featured on Bayside’s acoustic album.)
*Link to 2008 Metro Station excerpt- http://djrossstar.buzznet.com/user/journal/2719491/bayside-singer-disses-metro-station/
**Link to 2015 “Dancing Like An Idiot” article- http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6473041/bayside-dancing-like-an-idiot-lyric-video-exclusive-anthony-raneri-interview-warped-tour
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