RC: I guess we'll talk some ancient history first. One of the things I've always liked about you guys is the presence of the violin. I think it's something that separates you guys from a lot of similar bands, yet it's always been an integral part of your songs - never a gimmick. How did you first come to be what you're doing - playing violin and singing in a pop-punk band? Was it something where the guys wanted to come up with something different, or did it just happen?
SM: It happened completely organically for Yellowcard. It really conceived itself from a circle of really close friends in Jacksonville, Florida. We went to an Arts school called Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. It was like the TV show Fame: you had dancers, and creative writers, visual artists, orchestra, musicians, guitar players.
It was in this surrounding that the original members of Yellowcard met up. I was playing all-instrumental folk music with my friend Ben Harper, who wanted to start a rock band. I was friends with a guy from Yellowcard. They were rehearsing for their first show, and were like, 'you wanna play on this one song?'; I ended up playing on this one song and played on Yellowcard's first album. After that, I started writing songs, and I evolved more as a more well-known force in the band. Instead of just a guest appearance on one song or two songs, I was in the band. It happened organically, and it happened out of a really creative environment. I'm really thankful they gave me a chance, and I'm really excited that I get to play violin for a living.
RC: It seems like it was a gradual introduction, each of Yellowcard's first few records seemed to use the violin a little more each time, like they were feeling out where you fit in.
SM: I feel like you're right. It probably was a gradual thing, because there were no predecessors to violin really in pop-punk music, as they call it.
It was really hard to feel out the Yellowcard formula at first. It was frustrating at times, choosing the moments of when to play, when not to play, to not be too abrasive and overbearing. I feel like with Paper Walls, I'm finally really comfortable being in Yellowcard, and in my own skin enough to put out there what I have always heard on the violin, in our songs, with our arrangements. It's really given me the opportunity to do everything I've always wanted to do; whether it was having the band be ready for that much violin, or me having the confidence to put myself out there.
There definitely was a natural progression. I guess I'm glad it was like that: if I was like this the whole time, it might have been a little overbearing, and certain fans might not have liked it, or whatever. It gives Yellowcard the time to grow and has given me the opportunity to hone in on the violin/Yellowcard formula.
RC. And then all of a sudden, it's ten years later, and you guys are huge! Looking in, it seems like it's been something that's steadily been climbing for you guys since Ocean Avenue. Has it felt that way from the inside as well? Did you gradually watch your following grow, or did it all of a sudden feel like "Wow! What happened to the Midget Tossing/DIY Records days?"
SM: It totally just felt like a growth. That's something we set out to do: we set out to play our music for as many people as possible, and we never shied away from that. We kinda always thought that we were a positive-influence band. We really thought we could fit in with any listener, given the chance. We were our biggest asset. In 2004, Ocean Avenue really hit the big time, which was really unexpected and a very exciting time in our life. With Sights and Sounds we wanted to take a musical departure and try some new things, and I think we did it. We were able to develop so many new sounds for Yellowcard and for Paper Walls. And so now we are just really excited about the release of Paper Walls. And it's as far as it can go, and that's really all you can hope for.
RC: Paper Walls seems to have a different feel to the ones leading up to it, too, whereas each of your recently preceding albums seemed to have a sound that was evolving toward a destination, this record almost is digging back into all of your prior stuff, taking what you liked from it, and stirring it up that way. Is that what you were going for?
SM: We were kinda going for a mix of things, but in the end you could tell that Yellowcard really focused on a more collaborative record. We really just wanted to have fun. What you have is that we took the melodies and energy from Ocean Avenue and sort of that sharpened rock edge and sonic discoveries that we had in Sights and Sounds. It might feel like a bit of a throwback - in our minds it felt like a back-to-the-basics type of Yellowcard record. But I think that, most importantly, it was just a real fun time for us: there was no pressure on us. We just wanted to have a good time and capitalize on the opportunity to make another record. So it might have had a little cop-back to the old days, but I think that's okay, because that's our sound. That's something we are really proud of now, listening back on.
RC: It's also your first recording without Ben Harper. Has losing an original member of the lineup changed the way you went about things this time?
SM: It was our first time working without Ben Harper. He wasn't really that much involved in Sights and Sounds either. The hardest thing to try and make people understand is that Ben wasn't just an original founding member of the band, he was a family friend. He was a friend of ours. He was a friend of mine for almost 13 years now. He played soccer with my brother. Yellowcard is more of a family then anything. To lose someone like that is difficult beyond explaining but he's doing his thing. He wanted to do his record label. We hope for the best.
It was a blessing in disguise to find a guitar player like Ryan Mendes, who is focused on the music and shares the same passion that we do for his guitar, for our instruments. It was really nice to have that in the band, and I think you can hear his influence, and the power he brought back to Yellowcard.
