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 Benjamin 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 sarcasm--sincerity 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 ma ke that luck happen."
Band description courtesy of Luckymanonline.com
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