Whether you consider yourself a former emo kid, or just appreciate undeniably good music, then there’s no doubt that you’re familiar with pop-punk legends Yellowcard. Formed in 1997, the band broke into the mainstream in 2003 with their massive hit “Ocean Avenue”, a track that helped define a generation of early-2000s emo and alternative rock. In the following years, Yellowcard quickly became a staple of the scene. After over a decade of success, lineup changes and a brief hiatus, they called it quits in 2017- only to make a triumphant return in 2022, much to the delight and surprise of their dedicated and hopeful fans. Now, with new music, a renewed passion and a fresh outlook on their legacy, Yellowcard is looking back on 20 years of Ocean Avenue with an anniversary tour hitting Aussie shores this year. I caught up with guitarist Ryan Mendez to chat about their journey, career highs and lows, and what’s next for Yellowcard.
Joining the group in 2005, straight off the back of Ocean Avenue, Mendez was thrust into peak-hysteria for the group, with big shoes to fill after guitarist Ben Harper departed. “Honestly, it was really difficult.” Mendez shared, adding, “I was friends with the guys for a long time but it was really tough- I mean, the old guitarist, Ben, who was also my friend for a long time- he was a beloved band member to the fans. With fans not really having any idea about the internal happenings of the band and all of a sudden they just see that Ben is gone and they had somebody new, it’s not necessarily the easiest thing to come into that position. It took some time for people to get used to there being somebody else. It was tough at first, honestly.”
While he didn’t play on the record, Mendez definitely has an interesting perspective on it, being close with the band during the recording process and following the album’s release. Reflecting on that period, Mendez recalls, “I was there with them as friends, listening to it as they were making it. I heard it when it was done, and I think you could just tell as soon as you listened to it… There was just something special and bigger-feeling about it. This was before it even blew up, but you could just tell that they had captured a really interesting, unique, heartfelt energy on the record. I think the songwriting is really, really solid and memorable, it has a lot of positivity without being overly cheesy, and I think that energy resonated with a lot of people.”
And while the success that came from Ocean Avenue was a blessing to the band, it also brought along challenges, with subsequent albums constantly being compared to it and never quite held in the same regard. “It’s definitely been a challenge”, Mendez acknowledges, going on to say, “everything that we do and have done since then is always going to get compared back to that. I joined basically right when they were done making Lights and Sounds and was there for that whole album cycle. They definitely tried to go a different direction intentionally with that record and it wasn’t the most well-received by fans, although a lot of fans do love that record, especially now that I think they’ve kind of grown to love it. At first, I think it didn’t quite hit as well, and there’s no denying that’s what happened…It’s hard not to compare everything against the original record that kind of blew up the band, you know?”
Breaking up in 2017, Yellowcard had no plans of making a comeback. “We were absolutely ending the band. We were never intending to play again.”, Mendez reveals. But, they surprised the world (and themselves) by reuniting at Riot Fest in 2022, playing Ocean Avenue in its entirety. With the twentieth anniversary of Ocean Avenue approaching, the reunion made sense for fans but it wasn’t clear whether this was going to be permanent or if they’d go back on hiatus after the celebration ended. In 2023 they proved that they were back for good with the release of their EP Childhood Eyes, which was an outstanding return to form. With a few more new releases under their belt and their upcoming tour Down Under, it’s clear that Yellowcard are here for the long haul. “We were really blown away that there was still a place for us, the first show was very, very surreal. None of us were expecting it, and it completely floored us. It was only positive vibes.” Mendez shares of their first time playing live after the breakup.
Since the release of Childhood Eyes, the group has released multiple interesting and unique projects, taking their sound in a different direction each time. Such releases include their remix album A Hopeful Sign with ambient post-rock duo Hammocks, a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s hit “Hear You Me”, and their cover of “A Whole New World”, featured on Disney’s A Whole New Sound record. When it comes to new Yellowcard music, though, there is very little that Mendez can share but the excitement is very much evident. “I’m trying to think about how best to answer this without saying things I’m not supposed to talk about.” He laughs, before adding, “I will say, yes, we’ve been working on music and we are insanely excited about it. And it’s going to make people react. The situation and what we’ve been doing is definitely not something we’ve ever done before. So we’re extremely excited about it and we can’t wait for the world to know what we’ve been up to. And it’s going to happen pretty soon.”
When he’s not touring or making music with Yellowcard, Mendez continues to make music in JEDHA, a duo consisting of himself and Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key. Sharing an interest in ambient instrumental music, the two started talking about creating a project that would focus on this genre after the band’s breakup in 2017. “There is no rules and there’s no fans to have to appease and we can just do a brand new thing,” Mendez shares, “And so we started doing that. And we always kind of hoped and intended that we could use that project as an avenue into doing some sort of scoring and composing for whether it be film or television or video games or anything. Over the last multiple years, we’ve actually begun to get more and more opportunities. And so right now we’re actually scoring a short film for somebody who the other Ryan knows. We are definitely also finishing up a very, very, very cool, interesting, large project that I’m also not allowed to talk about yet, because we literally signed an NDA, so I can’t talk about it, but this is also something that will be known to the public soon.”
In just over a month, the 20 Years of Ocean Avenue tour will be on its way to Australia, and while it’s a celebration of the beloved record, Mendez revealed that they won’t be doing a full play through of it. Rather, they’ll be focusing on playing a selection of tracks from across their discography, with a heavy focus on Ocean Avenue, including some deep-cuts and tracks that hadn’t previously been played live often. Of the tour, Mendez says, “we’re intentionally playing more songs from Ocean Avenue because it’s the anniversary, so there’s a fun nature about that also combined with the fact that it’s the anniversary of the record and we never thought we were going to be doing any of this ever again. So that all kind of combines to make it feel particularly special, I think.” Opening for them on the tour is Motion City Soundtrack and Plain White T’s– two more titans in the alternative rock scene.
Chatting to Ryan, it’s very clear that his passion for Yellowcard runs deep, and they’re so excited to be back together doing what they love.
You can catch them in Australia on the 20 Years of Ocean Avenue Tour this April, and with all the buzz of the reunion it comes as no surprise that tickets are selling fast, so be sure to grab yours HERE and be part of the massive celebration. The tour dates are below!
Wed, 02 Apr / Metro City, Perth 18+
Fri, 04 Apr / Hindley St Music Hall LIC AA
Sat, 05 Apr / Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne LIC AA
Wed, 09 Apr / Hordern Pavillion, Sydney LIC AA
Fri, 11 Apr / Bar On The Hill, Newcastle 18+
Sun, 13 Apr / Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane LIC AA
