Ask the Magic 8 Ball
Yellowcard
Put aside the usual
pigeonholes, things like style and genre classifications - it takes much
more for a band to really make a personal connection with people. Yellowcard
understand this. The Ventura-based punk quintet (by way of Jacksonville,
Florida), have made that direct musical connection in each of the hundreds
of shows they've played at all-ages punk nights, rock dives, school events,
suburban VFW halls, living rooms, back yards and any of the other places
they play over 200 nights a year. It's a mature insight for five young guys
who don't take themselves too seriously, but then Yellowcard - Ryan Key, 23
(vocals, guitars); Sean Mackin, 24 (violin, vocals); Benjamin Harper, 22
(guitar); Longineu Parsons III, 23 (drums); and Pete Mosely, 24 (bass,
vocals) - aren't your typical young punk band -- starting with the
classically-trained violinist in their ranks. And they've now created a
powderkeg of affecting, personal and explosive rock on their new album,
Ocean Avenue.
Yellowcard formed in 1997 but quickly made some lineup changes. Current
singer Ryan Key was friends with most of the band from their high school
days in Jacksonville, Florida. He and Sean Mackin, in particular, were close
friends and both enrolled at Florida State University after graduating.
Key dropped out of college after only half a year, moving to Santa Cruz to
follow his heart and make music. He played with a couple of punk bands in
California and Florida but nothing really stuck. Yellowcard guitarist Ben
Harper saw one of Key's band practices and quickly extended an invitation to
him to jam with the rest of the band - as luck would have it, they had
jettisoned their current singer and were looking for a replacement.
"We started playing some songs I had written," remembers Key, "and it all
just clicked. Sean and I had always been really tight and I had a good
relationship with the rest of the guys. It just seemed to work very
naturally somehow."
Yellowcard were now a complete band and Key convinced the band that they
needed to move from Florida to Southern California to have a real shot of
catching their aspirations. They would move to Ventura County and quickly
find their collective voice together, playing many of the songs Key wrote on
his own before joining the group. Most of these were recorded on their debut
album, One For The Kids (Lobster Records), released in 2001, and the 2002
follow-up, The Underdog EP (Fueled By Ramen Records). Both releases received
favorable reviews and genuine buzz, particularly for the group's upbeat,
honest music.
Ocean
Avenue, Yellowcard's debut for Capitol Records, was produced by Neal Avron
and mixed by Tom-Lord-Alge. On the album, themes of self-empowerment and
self-awareness reveal themselves throughout the 13 songs on tracks like
"Believe" and "Inside Out." And there is a conspicuous lack of irony or
sarcasmƒsincerity rules. "We're definitely a positive band," says Key. "We
want to take experiences in our life and use them in a productive way, to
encourage people not to let anybody tell them what to do with their life."
Ocean Avenue offers a passionate brand of upbeat punk -- but with a twist,
complementing the standard band setup with the exotic (by rock standards,
anyway) inclusion of a violin as a rhythm instrument, played by Sean Mackin.
It makes their songs stand out, says Key. "I write the verses and the chorus
and then let the band take it from there. They come up with any new kind of
rhythms or chord structures that they can to just make the songs more
interesting, to make them better. It's a very equal-parts thing that comes
out really strong."
Ocean Avenue's opener, "Way Away," finds Key speaking to the idea that
people are ultimately the masters of their own destiny. "We're talking about
really owning up to what you want to do in your life," he explains of the
song. He cites his own personal journey from dropping out of college to
pursue his dream of being a songwriter, and the band's decision to leave
their hometown of Jacksonville for California. "It's like, I'm not going to
stay here just because you tell me I have to. A lot of those people who say
that are doing the 9-to-5 and they're not happy. You have to do what you
want to do."
On other songs, Yellowcard cull directly from their lives. On "Only One,"
Key talks specifically about the recent breakup with his girlfriend. "I
can't stand albums where every song is about some chick who broke your
heart," laughs Key. This song is different, though, he says. "I made the
decision to end the relationship because it was the right thing to do, even
though I'm not sure exactly why, and this song is about knowing it was right
but still trying to understand it."
On "Miles Apart," Yellowcard reflect on the divergence of friends' lives
after seminal periods like high school. "Twentythree" is about youthful
idealism giving way to maturity. And the frenzied pace of the song stands
out on Ocean Avenue, as do the vocals, done not by Key but by Mackin. "It's
amazing how Sean can sing a song and it still sounds like Yellowcard," says
Key.
By design, the end of the album feels like arriving at the end of an
emotional journey. The final song is "Back Home," a counterpoint to the
album's opener, "Way Away." If that opener is about the brash pursuit of
personal dreams, "Back Home," is a sentimental reflection on what was left
behind. "Sometimes when you've gone out to do what you want to do, you miss
what you left - home, security, friends, family, safety," explains Key. "We
wanted to end the record with that kind of reflection."
Indeed, it's that kind of wise-beyond-their-years sensibility that has
helped Yellowcard stand out from the pack. In 2002, they joined the West
Coast leg of the famed Warped Tour, a breakout stint for the band, and they
soon used their newfound buzz to land spots on tours opening up for revered
punks like No Use For A Name, Lagwagon and Less Than Jake. This summer,
they'll be featured again on the Warped Tour, this time on the East Coast
leg.
"It's awesome to know we sacrificed and followed our hearts to end up where
we are right now," says Key. "We definitely feel lucky, but we've worked
hard as hell to make that luck happen."
SOURCE: http://www.yellowcardrock.com/biography.asp
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