@Craig Manning You wanna talk about "Convocation" transitioning well into something, line it up right before "Gifts and Curses."
Having a hard time getting into this, which is surprising because I love Yellowcard. I found Lift A Sail even more accessible, and I don't know how that's possible... But I will say, I cannot stop playing "Field And Fences. What a way to end a brilliant career. That is a beautiful gem.
Thanks to those of you who have written kind messages, I signed up here to engage with you guys because it's the last time this situation will happen and I find it fun. I'm really enjoying hearing everyone's thoughts. Ask me anything and I'll do my best to answer.
Are there any b-sides or songs that didn't make the cut? And Nate Young played drums on this, right? Was he involved in any other ways?
Actually, I do have one question for you. Do you musically have any plans lined up post-Yellowcard? Because I would be very sad if you stopped performing, to be 100 percent honest; your guitar playing has added a lot to Yellowcard through the years.
I understand that you guys are breaking up for the right reasons and going out on a high note, but how tough of a decision was it to make as a group? And how hard is it to walk away from so much love and amazing shows and all the positives that go with being a beloved band?
No b-sides unfortunately. We've never been the band who writes 30 songs and has to choose the best ones. We've always put everything we had into exactly what we needed. The only reason Promises existed was because we had been writing songs long before we recorded WYTTSY and we had an extra but everyone agree that record should be 10 songs. Also by the way, we recorded Empty Street in those sessions, same way as Promises (recorded drums with everything else and I produced the rest of it) but we just felt it didn't fit and never finished vocals. Nate played drums, yes, and he contributed to preproduction as well, but he didn't do anything additional like he did on Lift a Sail (programming on MSK). He's hands down my favorite drummer I've ever played/recorded/written with, he is criminally underrated.
Hi Ryan, big fan (duh), I have 2 questions : 1. We all know Empty Street is an old Big If demo, and Ryan (Key) mentioned that Wrecking Ball also was written a few years ago. Any other songs on the album that are older demos/ideas etc? (If you feel like sharing that info) 2. After all is said and done, will we be getting some new Staring Back music? ;)
No specific plans of yet but I have no intention from walking away from the music industry, probably just taking a break from it. The last couple of years and our experience with radio during Lift a Sail and the general state of the music industry has left me extremely disenchanted right now. Also I'm focusing on photography full bore moving forward, so we'll see what happens.
It was an extremely difficult decision to make but I definitely feel like it's the right time. I wish it wasn't the case but I think it is.
Just like Lift A Sail, there are a lot of really awesome new things you guys went for on this record. Any artists/newer influences you'd cite for drawing out some of these sounds? Or maybe just something you/the band as a whole were listening to while writing and recording?
That concept applies way more to LAS than this record. With this one we went in with no agenda other than to write what came out naturally, and a lot of that ended up being very 90s rock inspired, as those were the bands that made us want to play music. Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters to name some very specific ones.
Also: going into this album knowing it was going to be the last one, what was the process like for writing a closer? Did you guys struggle at all with deciding on how you'd like to close out the album sonically, or was a song like Fields pretty unanimously always in the cards?
Sooo good! For a listener, there are so many good jams on this record, that my favorite song is changing daily. This is such an awesome record. Paper Walls has always been my favorite record from you guys, but this album is head to head with it. I'm just amazed.
Very cool. Yeah those those influences are definitely very apparent and suit the band really well. Few bands can pull off those moments that make you go "wow this is really different" while also thinking "but it's so Yellowcard too". Like you said, it just sounds really natural. Thanks for the insight there!
Hi Ryan! Big time fan of the band. Any chance of meeting you guys at the Brisbane Australia show, or a paid ViP Meet and greet? Also, what's your favourite song to play live from Yellowcards discography?