Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Bayside, the NYC-based rock band whose most recent album, Cult, debuted in the Top 25 on Billboard’s Album Chart, return with their seventh album, Vacancy, on Aug. 19 via Hopeless Records. Pre-orders are available now via bayside.merchnow.com. A North American tour kicks off on Aug. 11.
Where Bayside’s last album, Cult, dealt with singer/guitar player Anthony Raneri’s move to Nashville, his recent marriage and impending fatherhood, Vacancy tells the story of the dissolution of his marriage and finding himself alone in the city that was meant to be his new home. “The hotel on the album cover reflects the feelings I had while working on Vacancy,” explains Raneri. “Writing this album, I felt as if everything was uncertain, I could move back to New York, buy a house in Nashville… I just didn’t know what was going to come next. I felt very isolated and as if everything in my life was temporary at that moment.”
In the two plus years since the release of Cult, not only had Raneri moved to Nashville, but guitar player Jack O’Shea also made his way to Music City, while drummer Chris Guglielmo moved to Orange County, Calif. leaving only bass player Nick Ghanbarian in New York. For the first time in the band’s sixteen-year history, they worked on music remotely, trading demos via email. A difficult process, the geographical hurdles forced them to take a new approaching to writing and recording, with the band electing to live together during their five-week Nashville recording session. “It definitely changed the process,” said Raneri. “Ironically, even with the new constraints, we created our most complex and highly ambitious record.”
Tim O’Heir (Sebadoh, Say Anything) handled production for Vacancy, a perfect match for the band whose affinity for musicals has been an influence on their often-idiosyncratic song structure. “There’s always been a tinge of show tunes in Bayside’s music,” adds Raneri. “Our music has always been whimsical, it’s never followed the verse, chorus, bridge format – we often have several key changes and odd time structures; lots of things you only really hear in musicals and where in the past we’d have a pop guy help us reel that in, Tim, who was nominated for a TONY for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” was someone who got the weird shit we do and has an affinity for the dramatic, whimsical side of the band.
Bayside embark on a North American tour surrounding the album’s release, with the dates launching on Aug. 11 in Ft. Lauderdale. The Menzingers and Sorority Noise support. “We’re as always, going to be mixing in a good amount of the new record with all the old songs that everyone loves to sing a long to,” said Raneri. Tickets are available now via baysidebayside.com.
Tour dates:
August 11 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
August 12 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
August 13 Atlanta, GA Wrecking Ball Festival
August 14 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
August 16 Norfolk, VA NorVa
August 17 Baltimore, MD Rams Head
August 18 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
August 19 New York, NY PlayStation Theater
August 20 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
August 21 Boston, MA House of Blues
August 23 Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar
August 24 Cleveland, OH Agora
August 25 Toronto, ON Opera House
August 26 Detroit, MI The Majestic
August 27 Chicago, IL Beer Festival
August 28 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
August 30 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
August 31 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
September 2 Seattle, WA The Showbox
September 3 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
September 4 San Francisco Regency
September 6 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
September 7 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theater
September 8 San Diego, CA The Observatory North Park
September 9 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl
September 10 Phoenix, AZ The Pressroom
September 11 Albuquerque, NM The Sunshine Theater
September 13 San Antonio, TX Alamo City Music Hall
September 14 Houston, TX House of Blues
September 15 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live
September 16 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
September 17 St. Louis, MO The Ready Room
September 18 Nashville, TN Exit/In
