Yellowcard

Yellowcard

Interview & Live Photography by Vanessa Leclair

Three days before the interview took place, Yellowcard surprised their fans with an acoustic release of their latest album ‘When You Are Through Thinking, Say Yes’. Even though my questions were already written, I immediately decided to do them all over again and placed a request to meet up with guitarist Ryan Mendez.

I thought it was the perfect opportunity to come up with questions the band has not answered yet and Ryan Mendez mainly produced and recorded with Ryan Key, but mixed it on his own.

Luckily, my request was approved and I had the opportunity to meet up with him before their show at the Phoenix Theater in Toronto.

CONFRONT: Where did the idea of doing the entire album acoustic came from?

Ryan Mendez: It originally wasn’t an idea to do the whole thing acoustic. Basically, we finished recording the album and we did a lot of the preproduction and writing at my house in Arizona, because I have a studio and we kind of thought at first that it might be cool to do a couple of the songs acoustic because we can do it ourselves and it’d be free. It’d be cool for like Japan & UK to have unreleased stuff and exclusive songs.

I think Sean Mackin said that it would be rad to do all the songs acoustic, just at some point. Not really specifically for anything, just to have over the next year, year and a half, just record it ourselves. Even then, it still wasn’t an idea to do it as a whole record. It was in October or early November after we had finished recording the album that we kind of told the label and our management that we would do this and then all of a sudden they were like ‘Oh, okay! Well then give us this song for this, and this for this…’ so suddenly we had deadlines. We ended up doing 5 songs before the end of last year. Then the new year started, we started touring and decided to record the other 5 just whenever. Then in April or May the idea came up to record the other 5 and release it as a record. We talked to Hopeless and they said that they’d put it out if we gave it to them. So after we toured with Good Charlotte in the US, before going to South America, we recorded the other 5 and the idea was to keep it as a secret until it came out and it pretty much worked.

CONFRONT: Well, that was my next question! Why was this project kept secret until its release?

Ryan: I think just because of the nature of it. It wasn’t like “Oh, we’re doing a new record”. It is an album, but it’s a cool thing for the fans. People have always enjoyed the acoustic side of the band. Just because of that we thought it would be cool to just keep it under wraps and then just announce it and have it on that day like “Hey so we did this and surprise! Here it is, right now!”. We just thought it would be really cool. We didn’t really have to worry about doing a bunch of promotion beforehand.

A couple of weeks ago Amazon UK put it up for pre-order on their website and of course a couple of people saw that, and then I think AP last month had it on their list of upcoming album releases. There were some people who wrote us on twitter wanting to know what was up with this, but we just didn’t write back because you can’t really respond. But it was a small amount, there were just a few people going “Oh I think there is something happening” but for the most part the secret was pretty solid.

CONFRONT: I know you put a lot of energy and sacrificed lots of sleep in this project, what was your biggest motivation to get through it?

Ryan: I think a lot of it was because for me, when we took a break for a couple years, I started focusing on producing and mixing and I did that for this album as well, so I was really happy about being given the reigns and authority, to have this responsibility. On one hand it was really stressful and overwhelming because we already had no time with touring and everything. On the other hand, I figured I’m gonna put all my energy and effort into this and I know I’m going to be proud of how it turns out because I’m not gonna let it be bad, it’s not gonna be done until I’m happy with it. Then there will be an official release of the band that has my name on it and I think that’s cool because in the future no matter what happens I’ll probably still get back into producing and mixing so anything you can do to build up a resume is good. I’ve done a lot of stuff in the last few years for like friends’ bands and things like that, but this is definitely the most official thing and my name is right on it. I think that motivated me.

CONFRONT: What are the main challenges in adapting an entire album acoustically?

Ryan: I think a lot of it was that one part of us didn’t want it to feel the same, but the other part of us didn’t really want to make changes because the whole point of it was the same songs just stripped down. One of the main things Ryan and I tried to do was to just make it sound clean and crisp and professional. Anyone can just set a mic in a room, have a guitar, and then just sit and sing, but we wanted it to be something that you can actually tell that a lot of work had been put into it.

CONFRONT: Was there a song that was harder to get done than the others?

Ryan: We kinda went back and forth with the first one actually, “The Sound of You & Me”, because it starts out really fast and you think “How it will translate acoustic?” We started recording it a certain way, because we figured that we wouldn’t strum the guitars the same way as the album version because there isn’t the fast drum beat behind it. Then we got into it a little bit and we realized “You know what? Maybe this isn’t the right way. Maybe we should have it still feel fast, even though it’s acoustic because that contrast would be kind of cool.” We already had lot of it recorded and we totally scrapped it and started over, and I think the way it turned out was a lot better. LP used a cajon on a couple songs, like a box with snares inside that he sits on and plays with his hands, and the ending of it is one of those times. We always kinda knew what the ending was gonna be like, but the first half of it that’s fast was what we were debating on. It’s the one we put the most thought into because it’s the one that is the least set up to be acoustic.

CONFRONT: Are there any songs that you like better now than the original version?

Ryan: I think I like the new version of ‘Hide’ better than the original honestly.

CONFRONT: So do I.

Ryan: You do? That’s awesome! The funny thing about that song is that there are now like 4 different recordings of it. It originally started off as a ‘Big If’ song which was Ryan Key & Sean O’Donnell’s side project during our hiatus that I helped them work on as well. That original version is very slow and mellow and has some piano on it. The idea came up to do it as a Yellowcard song, but we totally wanted to change it. Ryan [Key] and I recorded a version of it at my house in Arizona that’s totally different than the version that went on ‘When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes’ but still very Yellowcard. Neal our producer and some of the other guys in the band didn’t know if that version was the best fit vibe-wise for the song, so for the record we ended up doing it pretty up-tempo. So when we did it acoustic, I thought that we should revert back to the more mellow version of it. The night we recorded it Ryan [Key] and I actually had a lot of wine to drink, decided to tune the guitars down, and just let it happen. I think there is very some cool energy happening and I like it better than the original version.

CONFRONT: How did the decision to have Cassadee Pope from Hey Monday do background vocals on Hang You Up taken?

Ryan: We spent a lot of time with her and her band because we did the Dirty Work tour with them, so we became friends. But actually we didn’t plan it at all. She was in LA working with some songwriters and she asked Ryan [Key] and I if we wanted to write a song with her and we accepted. She came over while we were off after our tour with Good Charlotte, while we were recording the acoustic record. We just spent a day with her writing a song and while she was there and we were working with her we thought it would be rad to have her sing on something for the record. We thought of “Hang You Up” because there are a few parts in that song that would stand out having her doing the background vocals. She was super stoked on the idea. I think she always looked up to the band and had been a fan in the past and she said it would be a huge honor for her. She has an amazing voice so we just threw her in the booth, it took about 20 minutes, and it turned out awesome!

CONFRONT: Especially the end.

Ryan: Exactly! Afterwards, we were like “Man! That was a great idea!” because it’s one of the other things that distinguishes the acoustic version from the album version, like when we talked about the song “Hide” being different. Her being on “Hang You Up” is another thing that is different as well.

CONFRONT: Do you believe this album can drag new fans to Yellowcard?

Ryan: If they just heard it you mean? Yeah, I think that can happen. I do! Because we’ve had a lot of fans online saying that this might be better then the original record and I enjoy hearing that because I MADE it *laugh* so that’s amazing to me. I would never really compare the two. They are so different, but that kind of vibe, having people feel like that about it, is really really awesome. So I don’t think it’s too drastic to think that someone can be listening to it and become a fan of the band.

CONFRONT: I know you wrote one of the song on the album. First song you produced all by yourself on a YC album. Tell me more about ‘See Me Smiling’.

Ryan: We first decided to come off the hiatus and do the band again in January of 2010 or so, and we all got together in April in LA to just jam and see how it felt. Basically from that point, we made a plan that we would record in the fall, so from then until the fall we’d all still live apart but we’d need to start writing obviously. I was in my house in Arizona and I just sat down behind the computer and started writing it. I can’t record drums at home, but I do have a way of getting drums into a song. I just sat down and wrote all the music for it. I was really stoked on it. Then Ryan [Key], Sean [Mackin] and Sean [O'Donnell] all came out to Phoenix in August I think, or July, to work on some stuff and record demos. When they came out I played it for them. It was a full song of music. Basically everything that you hear on the record, except the vocals, for the most part. They all stood there and said “Wow! Ok! Well, there’s a song!” I was happy because I was hoping for them to like it and I wanted it to be used. The lyrics that Ryan [Key] ended up writing for it are about his friend Scott who died… the same Scott that “View From Heaven” from “Ocean Avenue” is about. It kinda became a special song and I obviously have more of an attachment to it because I wrote all of the music to it. The fact that it turned out to be a song like that is really cool to me.

CONFRONT: Can this album open the door to more acoustic shows?

Ryan: I think the doors are already open for that. We already did an acoustic tour back in 2008. We also did a full acoustic show in London September, and we did an acoustic show before Paper Walls came out in 2007 at the Troubadour in Hollywood. Two nights, one night electric, one night acoustic. So we’ve done things like that before. Even before the acoustic record came out people would be like “Oh you should do an acoustic show” so I think it solidifies the fact that there is that side of the band and that it can happen. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more acoustic shows here and there in the future. Now, obviously, we have recorded versions of the songs to play, so I guess you’re right, it can happen.

CONFRONT: Lots of fans on social medias are asking for older songs to be done acoustically as well. What are your thoughts about this?

Ryan: It’s funny because we have lots of fans who write us on our email, Twitter or Facebook and they say “Oh you need to play this. You need to do this. You need to do that.” We always joke about it because if we do everything that everyone asks us to do our setlist would be 80 songs! I got an email from a fan in the last few days telling us that he loves the acoustic record, but then says “Next thing you should do is record these songs acoustic” and he gives me a list of like 15 songs! Like SPECIFIC songs! *laugh* I’m thinking “Oh… Ok… I’ll get right on that! In all this down time we have!”

After this being done, I look back and think that a lot of the songs in the past would be awesome acoustic if we had time. The only reason we got this done was because I spent weeks, and weeks, and weeks and was really stressed out about it. I’m glad it’s done now. Next time, we’ll spend our time writing a new record.

CONFRONT: What is your position on illegal downloading/buying music?

Ryan: Obviously the music landscape has changed in the last decade. When I was 18-19 I downloaded TONS of stuff illegally on Napster, because I had no money. But at the same time, I was in a band, my old band before Yellowcard, and I, on my computer, would have every single song that we ever recorded up on Napster for other people to get. I put our own music on there for free. There are 2 sides of the coin. 1 – There is Dr. Dre and Metallica saying that you are stealing money from them. 2 – For an unknown band, it’s a great way for people to find out about you. Every single time I would go on Napster and see people downloading our songs I would be so happy because that’s somebody that would absolutely have never heard it otherwise.

Yes, it does affect the band. It’s not ideal. Obviously, we enjoy when people go out and buy the record. But historically, bands have not really ever made a whole lot of money on record sales, unless you are a band like Motley Crue or Metallica and you are selling 15 million records. A band that isn’t that big, you’re not really seeing money from record sales. In no way I’m saying that it’s OK to download a record because of that, but what I’m saying is that if you really want to support the band, you should come to the show, buy a ticket, and buy a shirt. That’s how bands make money these days. I’m not saying it’s OK to download stuff, but if I had to choose, I’d rather have someone download the album illegally and sing along to the songs at the show that they came and bought a ticket to. I’d rather have that then someone go “I’ll buy the record and stay home.” Ideally, buy the record AND come to the show! *laugh* I don’t know, it’s a tough time and people don’t have money and I understand. I just want people to come to the show and buy a shirt.

CONFRONT: You released new videos for “Sing For Me”, “With You Around (acoustic)”, “Be The Young (acoustic)” and “See Me Smiling (acoustic)” in a short period of time. Can you talk to me more about them and their concept?

Ryan: The video for “Sing For Me” came out in October and it’s a coincidence but it came out the same day as the acoustic record. We thought it would be cool to keep the band fresh in the mind of the fans. Obviously, putting out the new acoustic record is a way to do that. But we figured we should shoot some quick videos of a few of the acoustic songs. We shot a full band acoustic video for “Be The Young”. It’s really stripped down. We are sitting in a room just playing and there is some video we recorded this last year of touring in between the shots. We did that and then we shot two more videos of two other songs on the acoustic record, of just Ryan [Key] solo. Those are both cool. One of them has a cool and nostalgic feeling, for the song “With You Around”, where they show Yellowcard memorabilia throughout the years. Then one of them will probably make some people cry. It’s for the song ‘See Me Smiling’. The whole thing is about his friend Scott. They got a bunch of footage and pictures of him. It’s rough. I watched it when we approved it and some of the shots are just Ryan sitting and playing his guitar… but… I mean it’s awesome but it’s sad.

CONFRONT: Well, I had more questions for you, but this interview have been going for half an hour now. So I guess we’ll stop here!

Ryan: Are you sure? You can ask them if you want!

CONFRONT: Haha, i appreciate it but I don’t want to keep you any longer. Thank you for your time Ryan, it was a really nice to chat with you!

Ryan: Thanks to you!

Yellowcard will be going back on the road for a co-headlining tour with Saves The Day in Europe from November 28th to December 18th.
The band will be back in the studio early 2012 to work on their next album.

Check the entire photo gallery with new live photos of Yellowcard right here

Website:
www.yellowcardrock.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/yellowcard

Twitter:
@Yellowcard
http://twitter.com/yellowcard

@RyanMendez
http://twitter.com/RyanMendez

@williamryankey
http://twitter.com/williamryankey

@smackin
http://twitter.com/smackinyc

@SeanTODonnell
http://twitter.com/SeanTODonnell

@Longineu
http://twitter.com/Longineu