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."