Lead singer Ryan Key chatted about Yellowcard’s unexpected return, their “Ocean Avenue” 20th anniversary tour, and their new EP.
‘Ocean Avenue’ 20th anniversary tour
“What a show, that was such a good show,” he exclaimed about their recent show at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York. “We were talking about that New York show for days,” she said.
He continued, The experience of playing that venue with that backdrop, especially the song ‘Believe’ with the World Trade Center behind us, was intense and emotional. It was just amazing, my wife was there, and a lot of my friends were there. The family and friends backstage truly helped enhance that experience.”
“The crowd was wild and intense. The whole tour was pretty over the top, but New York, as always, was a special moment,” he admitted.
“Every night on this tour, I would ask the crowd if they have seen us play before, and I swear ‘it was more than half the crowd’ every single night saying that they were there for the first time. We were blown away by the attendance, skype, and scope of it all,” he acknowledged.
“We would average out 5,000 tickets a night and that is wild for our band. It was definitely the biggest and the best tour that we have ever done,” he added. “There is a resurgence that is happening with our genre in general right now… people are hungry to hear that music from the early ‘00s, it is something that is resonating with people right now.”
Favorite Yellowcard song to play live
On his favorite Yellowcard song to perform life, he responded, “People would always ask me that and the answer would always be ‘Ocean Avenue.’ It is just a special moment in time. It really is the gift that keeps on giving. It is easier for me to recognize now how important it is, and the career that those three minutes of music have given me.”
“Most of our fans, in their early days, were pretty close to our age,” he said. “So, we have really grown up together with the fans. We are in the midst of the most successful chapter of the band’s career, and we are 20 years in.”
“This moment is surprising, important, and special for the band, and I am excited to see what we will do in the future. The opportunities ahead of us are going to be really wild,” he added.
‘Childhood Eyes’ EP
On the song selection process for the “Childhood Eyes” EP, he said, “We didn’t plan to do anything at all so we definitely weren’t planning on making any new music, that just wasn’t in our plans. As the tour started coming together, the conversations started about doing something.”
“We went to Austin, Texas, which is where Sean [Mackin] and his family live,” he said. “We brought our mobile recording rig, and it was amazing and cathartic. The four of us just sipped whiskey and we wrote songs together. It was something that we hadn’t done in a long time. We really fed off of each other’s energies.”
“We wanted to make something that was exactly what people wanted to hear from us at this point in time, and we felt like getting back to the core sound of the band from the early days. We did that and I think that people are really happy with it,” he added.
‘The Places We’ll Go’
Key listed “The Places We’ll Go” as his personal favorite song on the EP, especially since the song features Chris Carrabba, the lead singer of Dashboard Confessional. “The early Dashboard Confessional records were so revolutionary to me at the time, they were so new and exciting. It was such a killer contrast that was a huge defining moment for the genre and the scene,” he said.
“I am happy it ended up on the EP, and having Chris Carrabba on there was an extra bonus,” he added.
AI on the future of the music business
When asked about AI on the future of the music business, he said, “I try not to think about it, to be honest. I know it’s a thing in a lot of creative outlets, where people are worried how it might affect human creation.”
“I don’t think it’s anywhere near the level that it’s going to write songs, and that is just going to be the song. Right now, people that are using it, they are using it to get ideas started,” he said.
“If it ever gets to the point where what we are listening to on the radio is 100 percent written by a computer, then we are in trouble. That would make me crazy to think about that all the time,” he added.
Closing thoughts on ‘Childhood Eyes’ EP
“With this EP, we tried to capture the core sound of the band, the one that made people fall in love with Yellowcard in the first place,” he admitted.
“We wanted to do that without sounding like middle aged men trying to sound like 20-year-olds, and it’s tricky. By just spending time together, and having a common vision and goal, what came out was naturally that sound. The energy and the emotions came out naturally on this EP,” he concluded.
Their “Childhood Eyes” EP is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Yellowcard, check out their official website, and follow them on Instagram.
