Bayside’s Anthony Raneri considers himself the junior partner on the Where’s the Band? Tour, and he’s just happy to be in the company of Saves the Day’s Chris Conley, Thrice’s Dustin Kensrue and Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids.

“I almost feel like an imposter coming into this,” Raneri, 26, says with a laugh. “I grew up listening to these bands. When I was the age of most of my fans, these guys are who I wanted to grow up to be like.

“So this is huge for me. I’m lucky to be a part of this.”

All four frontmen are performing solo acoustic during the tour, with some expected collaborations. Raneri notes that he usually covers all of his tour mates’ material at his own solo shows, so this time out he’s reaching for other favorites to include in his repertoire.

“There’s plenty of bands I love that aren’t on the tour,” says Raneri, who plans to record a solo album later this year. “Alkaline Trio is still up for grabs. And something I really like to do with covers is turn my fans on to music that I like that they might not be listening to.

“So I’ll cover a Neil Sedaka song, or Tim McGraw songs, just to broaden people’s horizons. I really don’t cover songs from my contemporaries too often.”



The Where’s The Band? Tour plays Friday (Jan. 30) at the Pike Room in The Crofoot, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15. Call (248) 858-9333 or visit www.thecrofoot.com.