[Interview] Zero Magazine

Yellowcard: They Will Survive
by Robbie Salapuddin

They were one of the biggest mainstream pop-punk bands of the decade. The band had a double-platinum record, won an MTV Video Music Award, continually held the number one spot on TRL, and had headlined Warped Tour. But that was four years ago, and today’s musical palettes prefer much different tastes. The audience has grown, the choices are greater, and the scene has completely changed. But, so have they. After a sophomore slump, loss of a band member, and a career-ending scare, Yellowcard have returned- happier and stronger than ever.

It’s a week until the release of the Florida-based band’s third album Paper Walls, and the entire record was just previewed on MySpace two days earlier. Yellowcard is currently out on Warped Tour in promotion of the latest LP, and the band is incredibly excited to be on the road introducing the new material, explains violinist Sean Mackin over the phone under the New Mexico sun.

“It’s been great, a lot of fun. We haven’t been on Warped Tour in a couple years,” says Mackin.

The last time Yellowcard were on the punk-rock tour, they were poised on the main stage. But now, the quintet of Mackin, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Key, bassist Peter Mosely, guitarist Ryan Mendez, and drummer Longineu Parsons III a.k.a. LP are fixed as a solid second, performing on the main support stages.

It’s a sloped shift that is likely brought upon by Yellowcard’s troublesome missteps this past year.

Last January saw the release of Lights and Sounds, a far cry from their smash debut Ocean Avenue. The album abandoned the upbeat style that YC’s success was based upon and went for an artsy-er edgier tone. The ambitious set failed to pick up, selling a meek 500, 000 approx. to the 2 million of its predecessor.

Having lost their sound and some of their listeners, the band also lost a member. At around the time Yellowcard finished recording the sophomore disc, founding guitarist Ben Harper left the group due to a “conflict of interest.” Harper is currently heading his own label Takeover Records and was replaced by long-time friend Ryan Mendez, explains Mackin.

“Anytime you lose someone like that, who is a founding member of the band, it’s going to be difficult,” he reveals.

And the difficulties only continued for Yellowcard. In late 2005, Key had developed a nodule on is vocal cords which resulted canceling shows in December before continuing with touring early the next year. Problems persisted however, and Key was diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords in April 2006, forcing the band to cancel the rest of their scheduled tours as Key underwent surgery and recovery.

“For the six to eight weeks we were on tour he’d have some problems, and it was really frustrating to have someone so close to you go through something like that. I can only imagine how self-conscious or how aware of his singing he was, cause he was struggling with this ailment all the time,” details Mackin.

“I know he went through all those meetings with doctors and they said, ‘You could lose your voice, you could never sing again.’ And he took that head-on… He’s been really courageous.”

The severe blows faced by the quintet in the last year alone are enough to have any band call it quits, but Yellowcard took their challenging experiences and put them into song.

“After Ryan finally wanted to have surgery and after all the little missteps, we decided [to] go back into the studio and try and come up with something new, and have a new chapter in Yellowcard’s story.”

The obstacles the band faced brought the members closer than ever. Paper Walls is set to be Yellowcard’s triumphant return and illustrates the band’s new breath of strength and hope.

“We got back to being Yellowcard, and got back to collaborating together and really focused on what [the band] does best: the energy, the soaring anthems.” says Mackin, “We took the rock sound we kind of developed on Lights and Sounds and the sonic evolution we’ve come across and blended it together. And just that idea of breaking down the boundaries and coming together really embodies what Yellowcard is for this record.”

Paper Walls is rich with melodic riffs intertwined with smooth string lines, all with the classic Yellowcard formula of pounding energy and open lyrics. The single “Light Up the Sky” is catchy and epic in feel. “Five Becomes Four” as the title suggests, is the emotional and honest release on Harper’s break from the band. The title and closing track “Paper Walls” culminates the bands journey, with vocals beaming ‘Here I am/ still hold on to this dream we had/won’t let go of it… Here I Stand/ won’t turn back again/I won’t leave you/I know how hard it’s been.’

After the height of success and the fall from surprising changes and injuries, Paper Walls brings Yellowcard full circle in their careers and lives. “If Ocean Avenue was one about finding yourself in the world and just chasing your dreams, Lights and Sounds is a story of Yellowcard getting lost, and Paper Walls is of finding yourself again, and really, getting confident and being comfortable in our own skin.”

The new attitude and positive direction brought out the greatest in each of the members. Mendez resurfaced passion into the band and in the recording studio, says Mackin. He also states the third album as having some of his “best string arrangement work.” And after the physical strains, Key is notably stronger, physically and mentally.

“I think you can hear the confidence in his voice on Paper Walls and at the shows. It’s like a cloud has been lifted off of us.”

Despite the pain and turmoil they’ve endured the past few months, it’s apparent that Mackin and the other Yellowcard members wouldn’t take any of it back.

“I’m most proud of the way our band pulled together and relied on one another. It was really inspiring to see the guys in the band working as hard as they did [on this record,] and it really rubbed off on me, and I think the final product is the best of what Yellowcard has to offer.”

Yellowcard is making up for lost time this year by touring continuously, hoping off Warped Tour early to head to Japan, then Australia and Canada before embarking on their longest tour with Blue October, Ozma and Shiny Toy Guns in the fall.

In the end of it all, Mackin isn’t crossing his fingers in hopes for >Paper Walls to break record sales numbers or to top any charts. To him, the band’s goals are already accomplished.

“How the industry is changing and how many bands are out now, I think it’s just a blessing for Yellowcard to still be able to play music everyday... We’ve already done more than we every dreamed we could. It feels really good to be in Yellowcard right now.”