We got the chance to catch up with Ryan Key of Yellowcard ahead of their second sold-out show at London’s Koko with Less Than Jake, and he told us all about co-headlining with the crazy ska-punk legends, the band’s hectic schedule for the rest of the year, and how Coldplay became his favourite band in the world.
HTF: So, you’ve been touring in the UK for about a week or so now. How’s it going?
Ryan: Awesome. We’re here in London with two sold-out shows, that’s pretty amazing! Those types of things, 15 years in, are pretty epic. Touring with Less Than Jake is phenomenal, we’ve been friends with them for a long time; they actually brought us out on one of our first real tours back in 2002. We were the first of four bands opening for them, so to be co-headlining is really, really cool. They’re just amazing dudes. We’ve both been touring for so long, there’s a lot of mutual respect for how to do a great tour, you know? Everything goes really smoothly, everyone knows exactly what they’re doing, and it’s just been awesome. The guys in Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! are amazing too. It’s hard to hang with the opening band on a European tour because they’re driving themselves and the rest of us are on the buses and stuff, so a lot of times they have to get on the road right after they play and stuff. So far it’s been a lot of passing in the hallway, like “Hey, how’s it going?” But we have a day off in Paris and I’m actually hoping they’ll take me out and show me some cool stuff. But yeah, I would say the best show so far has been in Nottingham – it was just off the rails, beers flying, it was insane! That place is pretty notorious for crazy, wild shows.
HTF: Do you think London can top it?
R: Last night in London was really great, we started playing at 8 o’clock on a Monday so it took three or four songs for people to kinda wake up and realise what was going on! But if tonight starts out like last night ended, it’s gonna be amazing.
HTF: When you announced that you were going to tour with Less Than Jake, some people were a bit surprised because there is a difference in genre; they’re ska punk while you guys are more pop-punk/rock. How have crowds reacted to the different bands from different genres?
R: I’ve seen nothing but overwhelming positive posts online about how much fun everyone is having at the show and what a good contrast it is, and just what a great night of music it is. That’s all we’re trying to do, just give people something fun and fresh. We were skeptic at the beginning, for the same reason. We have the same booking agent, he’s someone we really trust, and he suggested the idea and we were like, “Wait, how’s that gonna work?” and he said, “Trust me.” And here we are, two sold-out nights in London, so it’s working out just fine!
HTF: Like you said, you’ve known Less Than Jake for quite a while, and I’ve seen them live before and they’re pretty crazy on stage! So, are they just as crazy off stage as they are on stage?
R: Everyone but Roger is just as crazy! He’s crazy on stage, but he’s really mellow off stage. It’s gonna be a great tour because everybody just wants to hang, and they are fun, they are that vibe. I feel like we can be a little more serious than them! They’re really good at being like, “Why are you so fucking serious?! Lighten up, let’s have fun!” And I love that about them. They do carry that energy everywhere they go, which is cool.
HTF: Both you and Less Than Jake are obviously American bands, so why did you decide to bring this tour to the UK and Europe but not your home soil?
R: I think we were both just looking to tour in this region at the same time and Sean Golding, who is our booking agent, decided hey, you both wanna come at the same time, let’s put the tour together!
HTF: Speaking of your home ground, I was in Florida last year for about a week or so while I was living in America, and only got to visit for a short period of time but it was a really nice place. If I was to go back, what sort of areas would you recommend checking out?
R: I think our home town is a pretty special place. There are four beaches in my home town, one of them would be the most touristy so I don’t know if I would advertise that one as the cleanest beach, but just like a mile north or a mile south, you’re in paradise. Clean, white-sand beaches, but it’s not like going to Miami or one of those ‘Florida’ places. It’s quiet but the water’s just as warm and the beach is just as beautiful. The water in Jacksonville, where I’m from, it’s not clear and that might put people off, but the only reason is because we have a huge river that actually flows north out into the ocean. It’s the only other river in the world except for the Nile that flows north – just a little bit of trivia! So we don’t get that crystal blue ‘Florida water’, but it’s still just as awesome to be in. I love it there.
HTF: Even though you’re not doing this tour in the US, you guys are touring the states alone pretty much straight after this, and then heading to Australia with Mayday Parade to tour over there – are you ever going to take a break?!
R: Yeah, actually it’s crazy this year because this is pretty much a straight ten-week run. We leave here, we have about 72 hours off, and then we start the US tour. We’re doing a B-market tour of the less-major cities. Last fall we did Chicago, Atlanta, New York, LA, those types of shows, so now we’re doing cities that are kind of off the path. And we’re touring with Finch, which we’re really excited about. We haven’t done a proper tour with them since 2002, so I think fans are really excited about seeing us together. We have two or three weeks off, come back over here for some festivals, have about a week and a half off, and then we go to Australia. I think we’ll have some time off in August and September, but we have a fall tour in the states that that I can’t say anything about, but it should be pretty earth-shattering when we announce the band that we are touring with. So yeah, we have a big year planned, for sure.
HTF: Okay, so keep an eye out for that! Along the lines of collaborations, you have this co-headliner but you’ve also recorded with the likes of Matty Mullins and Tay Jardine, and you did a co-headliner with Memphis May Fire last year. So you’ve done a lot of collaborations, but is there anyone you would really love to tour or record with but haven’t had the chance?
R: I’m gonna go with an even tie between Dave Ghrol and Chris Martin. Or Foo Fighters and Coldplay.
HTF: Good choices! So, for the past year or so you’ve been touring in support of Lift a Sail and, while songs like ‘Ocean Avenue’ will always be big crowd-pleasers, how have fans responded to the new material?
R: It’s different, for sure. It connects in a different way, but nonetheless connects. A lot of these songs are not giant mosh pit, crowd-surfing songs, and I think it took us a minute to get used to that, getting up there and realising that just because the crowd isn’t bouncing around like crazy every second of the song doesn’t mean they’re not fully engaged with it. Once you realise that and start to feel the energy, it’s good. These songs are really powerful for us, and we can only hope that they’re that powerful for the audience. I think as long as they can tell that we’re putting everything into them, they connect with them. We are pushing these songs and this record, and I know that’s troubled waters to swim in with fans – ‘new material vs. old material’ – but the truth is, we’ve been on tour for 15 years and the only way to keep it fresh for us is to play new music. So while we may bum certain people out because we’re not playing enough old material in the show, I’m not gonna apologise for that. We’re never not gonna play ‘Ocean Avenue’, we’re never not gonna try our best to hit songs from as many records as we can but, once you get seven records under your belt, it’s really hard to fit enough songs in. Like right now, we’re playing a 70-minute set because we’re co-headlining, it’s impossible to do it all, to make everybody happy. So we don’t focus on that. We just put together songs like, some for us, some for you. Like I said, you’re never gonna make everybody happy and if you start thinking about that you’re gonna drive yourself fucking crazy.
HTF: Speaking of the different sounds that you’ve played with as a band, with Lift a Sail (2014) being more rock with a slower vibe, the more mature sound that came with Lights and Sounds (2006), and the the pop-punk of Ocean Avenue (2003), what sort of genres or artists are you guys finding inspiration from right now?
R: I think a lot of the bands that influenced us with Lift a Sail were bands that got us into music and kind of defined rock ‘n’ roll for us as kids before we discovered the world of pop-punk and punk rock. There’s too many to list, but I would say bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Filter and – well, I don’t think Nirvana had a lot of influence on Lift a Sail, but the idea of Nirvana, that sound, what they meant. No-one is going to listen to Lift a Sail and say, “Oh yeah, that sounds like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.” It doesn’t. It’s really more the idea than anything else. But a lot of the ‘90s alternative rock that inspired us to pick up guitars in the first place really reared their heads in the writing sessions.
HTF: Like a really back-to-roots kind of thing?
R: Yeah – but that’s not to say that Lagwagon, No Use for a Name and blink-182 aren’t roots as well. They are, just a little later. I was listening to alternative rock until I was 16 or 17, I didn’t get my first punk record that a friend let me borrow until I was well into music already. And I find, at 35, I listen to more Smashing Pumpkins than I do Lagwagon. No offence to Lagwagon – I love you guys! We still blast Lagwagon, No Use for a Name and NOFX when we’re getting ready for a show or hanging out on the bus. We love to bang our heads and sing harmonies as loud as we can to those records like we did when we were kids! Also, I feel confident in saying that Coldplay have established themselves as my favourite band. I’ve been listening to them for almost half my life, so I think it’s fair to say that they can be my favourite band! I really wanted to channel the moving, anthemic energy that they capture in their melody and lyrics. And there’s a lot of electronic elements on Lift a Sail that we haven’t used before – not like we’re trying to have dubstep on our record! But it was all used for texture and space and sonic experience. We wanted to expand the sound, so we used synth that filled a lot of space and percussive elements that moved the song in a new way, and I think I drew a lot of that from the influence that Coldplay have on me as a songwriter.
HTF: And all of that creates a different kind of experience with your music as well, because it’s a completely different kind of area that you guys are going into.
R: Yeah, and I mean, I don’t know if people will be stoked about that or whatever, but I feel like that’s where we’re heading as a band. I think we will continue to move into the space that we started to discover with Lift a Sail.
HTF: So, you mentioned there’s something coming up towards the end of the year, but is there anything else we can look out for? More tracks released from Lift a Sail, working on new material, or just non-stop touring for the rest of the year?
R: We’re really focused on the touring. We have some killer stuff happening. The stuff in Australia – I’m scared! We’re touring with Mayday Parade, which is awesome because they’re an amazing band. I think we would probably open for them in the states at this point, but they’re a direct support for us in Australia which brings a lot to the show. We’re having more success there than anywhere else in the world, there’s some kind of Yellowcard fairy dust on people’s heads in Australia, and a couple of the shows are in 5,000 seat arenas. That’s way bigger than anything we’re doing anywhere else in the world. I don’t know if we’re going to sell those shows out, but the fact that somebody thinks it’s a good idea to put us in those rooms… I hope we don’t let them down! But it’s a big deal, so we’re focusing on that stuff for the rest of the year.
HTF: At the end of our interviews, we sometimes like to do a quick-fire round. So, five questions, two choices, and all you have to do is pick one or the other – let’s go!
HTF: Pop or punk?
R: Pop. That one is mean! I listen to more pop than punk – sorry! Although once you say that Coldplay is your favourite band, I guess that’s not surprising.
HTF: Vinyl record or digital download?
R: Digital download. I’m giving the worst answers!
HTF: Snow or sun?
R: Sun.
HTF: LA or Florida?
R: Florida.
HTF: Tattoos or piercings?
R: Tattoos.
HTF: Awesome! Thanks for chatting to us today, and have a great rest of the tour!
