by Peter McDowell
Anthony Raneri is not a born-again Christian, but we talked and hung out with him for nearly two hours before his solo acoustic show at the Webster Theatre in Hartford CT May 22. Amongst graffiti-ridden walls of a greenroom, we talked about the weather and musical inspiration and of course their new album, The Walking Wounded.
We were thrilled to find him willing to open up when we asked him about having a relationship with Jesus. He shared genuine questions about faith and God during our time with him. He displayed a great attitude and performed an engaging set of a dozen songs including acoustic versions of “Landing Feet First” and “Duality” along with some covers. In our conversation and in his music, he explores faith and hope, not as fickle emotions that pale in comparison to the strife of relationships but as realities that can be almost inhabited.
“I am more interested than people who have been calling themselves Christians their entire life because I’m looking from the outside. I don’t take it for granted. I think that whatever it is that everyone else is seeing that everyone else is feeling is incredible and I want that feeling.”
At 24, he seems wise beyond his years. Raneri has matriculated from selling merch for Brand New at the age of 15 to singing for an internationally successful band. He is even taking a stab at managing a new band “The Status” from the midwest.

Anthony Raneri Interview May 22, 2007 @ the Webster Theatre, Hartford CT
RF: So, you are here in Hartford without your band. What’s it like playing alone?

Anthony: It’s awesome I’m having a really good time. This is the fourth show that we’ve done. I’m having a really good time. I love playing with my band and all…

It’s keeping me on my toes I’m onstage for the first time and I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t know what to say and I don’t know how to act. It’s a lot of fun.

RF: Are you usually the front man?

Anthony: I’m usually the front man when we play as a full band. There is just something easier about those shows.

RF: We’ve seen a new wave of post-hardcore bands with Christian band members. Have any of those bands affected you?

Anthony: As far as being fans of them? Musically?

RF: Musically.

Anthony: Switchfoot is one of my favorite bands of all time probably… Further Seems Forvever… definitely one of my favorite.

RF: What’s your next tour?

Anthony: Warped Tour. We went out with Anberlin, Jonsetta, and Meg and Dia for seven weeks.

RF: How was that?

Anthony Raneri

Anthony: It was amazing. Probably the best tour I’ve ever been on. We’ve been friends with all those bands for a long time. Especially Anberlin, we’ve known for four years now. We were on tour with our friends. It was cool.

RF: We read in your bio and on your purevolume account with the new album (Walking Wounded). It seems like you guys have felt the need to verify that the album doesn’t reflect a negative outlook on life.

Anthony: We definitely didn’t want it to. Like anything, people are going to take what they want from it. However people can relate to it, that’s how they will. And I am fine with that. Whether or not it’s what I intended. Really, we wanted to show hope and how, through a tragedy there can be strength.

RF: Do you have a favorite wildlife show?

Anthony: Hmm. Not really. I’m not really that big on animals. I love dogs, but that’s about it.

RF: The learning channel and the discovery channel are getting popular. You never watch any of that?

Anthony: Oh I definitely do! Not so much wildlife though. Cooking shows, I’m down with…. the history channel. I’m really into all the behind the scenes stuff. A&E does the biography thing.

RF: Favorite muppet?

Anthony: Gonzo is my favorite muppet. I’m actually a big muppet fan. I watch the muppet show pretty religiously and I have all the DVD’s and stuff…. Gonzo is definitely my favorite cuz he’s the funniest by far.

RF: We like to ask people if they have a favorite Bible verse. Now, the people we interview tend to be Christians, but we thought we could ask you that anyway to see if you might….

Anthony: I wouldn’t be able to pick one. I have no idea.

RF: We also like to ask people: If you could write a letter right now to be read by yourself in fifty years, what would it say?

Anthony: I think I would ask myself if everything was worth it. I feel like I’ve chosen a path in my life and gone really gung-ho with it. At a really young age, I decided that I wanted to play music and decided that I was going to dedicate my entire life to it. And anything that I had to give up, anything that I had to compromise was going to be done so I could play music and I never looked back. Maybe fifty years from now, I’ll know if that was the right choice.

RF: What have you given up?

Anthony's acoustic guitar

Anthony: Relationships. Not just with girls, but with family, friends….. an education pursuing anything else.

RF: Where does your family live?

Anthony: My dad lives in Vegas and my mother and brother and most of my family are in New York.

RF: Do you want to talk about the Conan O’Brien experience?

Anthony: If you want to ask about it!

RF: How was it? Was it hard to make that happen?

Anthony: It was awesome. We’d been a band for seven years. We’re on our fourth album now. We’ve been trying to get anything like that for years.
It was cool man, the only thing that was different than I expected was I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I was going to be. You show up really early in the morning and there’s rehearsals and sound checks. By the time we actually tape the show, we’ve played the song like ten times on that day on that set in front of those people with Conan right there. The nerves went away by then.

RF: Our mission statement Bible verse is Philippians 4:8:

“Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

Do you see any truth in that or has that ever been something that has gotten you through something difficult?

Anthony: Definitely. A big part of what our new album is about is…. I don’t think a better life is going to fall onto anybody’s lap. It’s all about positive mental attitude. You have to want things to get better. You have to want a better life and you have to pursue it and I think a big part of pursuing it is picking out the good in a situation or knowing that there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel as long as you stick with it.

So I definitely agree with that 100%.

RF: Do you have time to take any photos?

So what did Don LaFontaine do?

In 1969, he filled in for an absent voice actor and started on his way to success.  Since that time, Don morphed into the rich, throaty voice of cinema.  It’s hard seeing a movie trailer made in the last 30 years without Don starting it off with “In a world…” or “One man…” With a in house recording studio in his Hollywood home, the man was unstoppable.  Flixster.com says:

Aside from his continuing work in the trailer industry, he has also been the voice of NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. By conservative estimates, he has voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors. At last count, he has worked on nearly 5000 films, including appearances as the in-show announcer for the Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards. Based on contracts signed, he has the distinction of being perhaps the single busiest actor in the history of SAG.

In the world of entertainment it’s unheard of that one person can monopolize such an important aspect of media.  No man was as popular in his own field than Don.  That is the reason I find his life and career so fascinating.  Don Lafontaine was a pro in every sense of the word.  He was excellent.  Don’s status and legacy is  something for all artists to not only aim for, but also to admire.

“…Remember, practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

-Don LaFontaine (1940-2008)