Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue” was one of those songs you sang your lungs dry to, and lead singer Ryan Key was living the good life off the immense success of a song that seemed to encompass everything you felt about “leaving this town and running forever.” At 16, Key did just that, and after the constant touring, screaming fans and the release of two more records, Key’s life as an L.A. rock star came to an end, all because he needed it to.

Today Key is in Los Angeles, battling a three-hour trip on Pico Boulevard to renew his passport. It is a frustration he knows well.

The band never officially said they were breaking up, and though Key can’t speak for his other band mates’ reasons, he was happy to get away from the hassle of city life and spend time with his family in Athens, Ga. – a close-knit, large extended family he’s been missing.

“We took a break, and I really had no reason to live in L.A. anymore – it’s really not my favorite place in the world. I just wanted to go and be with my family, go to football games and just clear my head from the previous eight years travelling and the insanity that overwhelmed my life. My brother had a baby, and I was there for that and to be with my family in a lot of ways that I missed or was absent for the majority of my adult life.”

Now that Yellowcard is planning the release of a new album in March 2011, along with international and U.S. tours, fans are beyond ecstatic. The reason for their comeback seems to come from a mentality of doing it right this time, both musically and personally.

“When our band had the success that we had, we were kids. We were thousands of miles from home, and I was really susceptible with all the temptations that came along with all that success,” says Key. “I don’t regret it. I learned so much from a lot of it and I had a lot of fun even though I made a lot of stupid decisions and you can say I hurt a lot of people. But I’ve also done a lot of things I am really proud of, and I want this time around to focus on those parts.”

For their new album, the band signed with new label Hopeless Records since leaving giant Capitol Records. This time around, the band is ready to make a record that is classically all things Yellowcard: a formula of good-time punk fusion and deliciously catchy lyrics, with the violin to add as the clincher. New member Sean O’Donnell (Dogwood) fills in as bassist.

“It feels better emotionally; it’s going to be that Yellowcard energy, vibe and feeling that everybody wanted Lights and Sounds to be,” Key says. “I think being away from it for a couple of years has also brought us back to an original grounded place of the band because it’s been so long since we’ve been in the groove of making it. It’s like a first record in a lot of ways.”

Their hit song “Ocean Avenue,” which is actually based off Key’s memories of Ocean Boulevard in Jacksonville, Fla., actually ties straight into a new song on the upcoming album. Some old and new memories with the mix of their familiar sounds are also expected on the new album, with nothing too experimental for the average Yellowcard fan to hear. The band is in their final week in the studio, with one scheduled performance at Pomona’s Glass House Nov. 13.

Key says that the fans were always consciously part of this record, even when they get pissed when Yellowcard schedules international tours before a U.S. tour. Key manages the band’s Facebook and Twitter and says, “It’s funny because so many fans are so pissed off on the Web site, especially on the Facebook page when we put in news like that, and I always jump in there and respond: ‘I love how you guys are so angry like we’re not going to tour the U.S., like it’s not going to happen. Just be patient; it’s going to happen.’”

From Yellowcard to their fans: Finally, it’s going to happen.



Yellowcard perform Nov. 13 at the Glass House. For more information, visit yellowcardrock.com.