The band are bringing an anniversary celebration tour to Melbourne next month, with Motion City Soundtrack and Plain White T's in tow.
There was a time around 2003 when Ocean Avenue was blasting from every car stereo and bedroom CD stacker as the soundtrack for young emos falling in love at the beach or in some other cliche but formative situation. Add 20 years into the concoction, and this creates a potent sentiment that everyone wants plenty of – nostalgia.
The gents who made this iconic album, Yellowcard, gave us a 2017 farewell, only to return in 2022 with tours and new music. Now, they’re celebrating 20 years of their breakthrough album with a tour that’s headed our way to fill the violin-infused anthemic hole in our hearts.
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Guitarist Ryan Mendez joined the band right after Ocean Avenue exploded, and while he wasn’t part of the recording process, he had a front-row seat to the madness that followed.
“It’s weird because we are doing things now that are significantly bigger than they were at the height of Ocean Avenue, so we’re all struggling to understand what’s going on – not in a bad way, but we legitimately broke up, that was completely real, and all of a sudden now things are bigger than they ever were.”
The catalyst for the band’s reformation was Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2022, which offered the group more money than they had ever received to perform. From there, a new EP followed – 2023’s Childhood Eyes – as well as more tours, festivals and even a re-recording of a classic Disney song.
Mendez is well-positioned, due to the timeline of when he joined Yellowcard, to have experienced Ocean Avenue both as a fan and band member. However, due to tensions in the band, his welcoming party was a little lacklustre.
“I was friends with the guys for years before they made Ocean Avenue, so I watched the ascension in real-time. When they needed a guitarist and asked me, it felt very natural, despite the fact that, at the time, the band really wanted to keep the internal issues within the band very quiet. I understand why, but it was weird for fans who would come to a show and just one day see me, unexplained.”
Ocean Avenue captured an energy that was easy to relate to. It has a lot of uplifting positivity without being cheesy, but angst without being beat-you-over-the-head angry. It also landed at a time when a certain alternative, dare we say, emotional music scene was starting to boom.
“For whatever reason, this scene of music is having a nostalgic moment which seems to be making it bigger than it was in its heyday – not just us, everyone. We’ve also had a lot of fans tell us that they were, like, four years old when Ocean Avenue came out, and now I’m in my twenties, and I’m actually allowed to come and see a show.”
To help drill the nostalgic element into audiences even more, Yellowcard is bringing two scene staples along on tour: Motion City Soundtrack and Plain White T’s. MCS frontman Justin Pierre is also aware that his band has been quiet for a little bit too long.
“I’d been wanting to record new music for years, as my favourite part of this job is the writing. But I was going through some mental and physical hell for a few years, so I was in and out of the process, kind of holding it hostage without realising it. It’s wild to be a middle-aged man when you start to become self-aware. Basically, I found I had a lot to say, so it just made sense to say it in music form.”
Pierre, who has toured/played with Yellowcard a few times, can’t really remember it, so he is excited to “meet” the band on the upcoming run.
“I’m guessing I was still drinking at the time we played with them. My memory is a little jumbled, either due to years of debauchery or an error in the executive functioning of my brain (or both).
“But I remember playing in a weird club in Minneapolis that we were told was a literal club with bottle service that the Minnesota Vikings would hang at. It had a weird vibe – not Yellowcard, the club. Anyway, they were great both as musicians and people, as far as I could tell. I look forward to actually talking to them in Australia.”
Yellowcard, Motion City Soundtrack and Plain White T’s celebrate 20 years of Ocean Avenue at Margaret Court Arena on April 5. Grab tickets here.
