yellowcard Blog and Journals

Hey there. This here blog is coming at you all the way from the sweltering paradise that is Tempe, AZ. Some of you may remember our old friend Ryan Mendez. Well, he has created quite the studio set up at his house here in AZ. Why AZ you ask? Ryan's wife is in graduate school for architecture at Arizona State. So over the last 8 months Sean and I have been traveling between my home in Athens, and his in San Diego to write songs.

When we feel like they are ready to go we head here to AZ where Mendez slaps the lead guitars on and produces the sweet sounding demos you have all been listening to. (He won't be playing lead guitar in the band, however. That duty has been bestowed upon our friend Josh Portman, previously of the band Near Miss.) We have been writing and recording these songs in hopes that we get to record them all over again very soon. What I mean by that is these are the demos that we are hoping get us a new home at a new record label. This trip we recorded three songs. Monster, Empty Street, and Hang You Up. There is a version of Hang You Up on the myspace page but this one sounds much better thanks to Mr. Mendez. It looks like this is going to be our last trip out here for a good while. We have been told by the powers that be that these tunes are ready to"shop" as they say in Tinseltown.

We will spend this week mixing these three and have them posted for you to hear the following week. But after that we may not be recording until we actually go make a full length record. So I wanted to say thanks. Thanks to everyone who has been following us as we have gone through these first few months. There is so much more to come and we really hope to be making an album that you can take home with you soon. We will get these new demos up as quick as we can. I hope everyone has a great week.

One more thing, if you own any Kanye West albums, you should try and get your money back.

-Ryan

www.myspace.com/bigifmusic

Hey everyone.

You can follow our personal Twitters as well as the Big If Twitter.

Mine is @williamryankey and Sean's is @SeanTODonnell.

Happy Tweeting.

Ryan

www.myspace.com/bigifmusic

www.myspace.com/yellowcard

http://www.myspace.com/bigifmusic

July 30, 2009 - Thursday

New Big If Songs.

Hey Y'all After months of writing, recording, re-recording, more writing, beer, and then even more writing, we have some new songs for you guys. Remember, these are still demos. We are hard at work on the next batch of tunes, so expect to hear more songs soon. Thank you all for your continued support. Please enjoy. Sean and

Ryan 8:18 AM

http://www.myspace.com/bigifmusic

Thursday, July 30, 2009

New Big If songs...

Hello everyone. I wanted to let you all know that my new project, Big If, has posted four new songs on myspace. Keep in mind as you listen these are just demos but we wanted you to hear how things are going. Head over to www.myspace.com/bigifmusic to check them out. Thanks and enjoy! Ryan

12:38 AM

www.myspace.com/yellowcard

This interview is a little old. Now the band is simply a trio but nevertheless they're all still amazing musicians and now the trio consists of Mike Clark [guitarist], Brandon Reeder [drummer], and Brandon Ingley [guitarist]. Anyway here's the interview with them back when Ben [ex-guitarist] was still with them after their first Warped show.

The have toured with the Hint, opened for YellowCard, played Warped and headlined their own tour last year! They're young, they're determined and their music is insanely catchy!!! SO CHECK THEM OUT ON MYSPACE OR BUY THEIR ALBUM ON ITUNES!!!!! trustt meee you want to do this.

If you like All Time Low, Blink 182, Forever the Sickest Kids, Third Eye Blind or other Pop Punk Rock bands you willLOVE themm!!

What genre of music do you consider your work to be and who are your major influences?

I'd consider us pop punk / Alternative. Major influences are blink 182, 3rd eye blind, brand new

How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

we've all known each other for years, reeder mikey and I met in High school and we met Brandon because he was in another band that we were friends with at the time.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

the band started in spring of 2004 and we were inspired by the thought of four best friends playing music that we love and having a great time!

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues?

We've performed all across the country, our favorite place is probably Rams Head Live back home in Baltimore :]

What are your all time favorite songs? Who are your favorite artists?

Favorite artist for me is proabably 3rd eye blind and my favorite song would have to be motor cycle drive 

What is your favorite of all your songs?

heart attack pact and the new ones soon to come :]

What inspires your lyrics?

every day life? haha

Could you briefly describe the process of making and promoting an album?

first we write the songs in about a month, then we go in and record them. After that we'll go out on tour to promote the new release and then keep touring when it comes out!

What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

Have you been able to overcome that challenge? our biggest challenge has been to break through a mold and set ourselves apart. I think the next record will really shine through with that quality.

What is the ultimate goal/ direction for your band?

to be able to support ourselves doing something we love and hopefully share same great music with people everywhere.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

just keep it fun and hold that dream in your heart, eventually you'll get there.

What's the most bizarre thing to happen while you were onstage?

mikey getting naked haha

What’s your favorite and least favorite part about touring?

favorite part is being free and meeting new people everyday, least favorite is not having a bed to sleep in every night.

Does touring and the other aspects of your professional life affect your private life? Are you able to keep up with school work?

none of us go to school or work so I guess it does lol

If you had two words to say to the readers right now what would they be?

stay gnarly :]

So I know this is old but I'm gunna try to get Reeder, Brandon or Mikey to give me another interview so this would be an interview with the newly formed trio.

Be sure to check out American Diary though on

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/americandiaryrock

Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=310118511&s=143441

[I dont know why yet but their newest EP is not showing up so bear with me ahha]

P.S. check their myspace for new songs their working on right now!!

Five significant albums in my life so far. At one point, they were the only thing in my stereo for four months at a time. In no particular order:

Yellowcard- Ocean Avenue

 I started listening to this after it came out. I discovered Yellowcard mid 2005 and I daresay that, they are one of the bands that changed the music I listened to. Being the youngin that I was (I believe I was 10) I had no idea what punk was so I considered this the most hardcore stuff that you could get. Needless to say, I definitely rocked out in front of the mirror with my hairbrush, and with my guitar (which I still don't know how to play). The songs really affected me; I started to perceive more and recognize melodies. I became more in touch with my feelings (cue emo) and started to really care about issues other than how I was going to wear my hair or what I was going to wear for mufti, or how I was going to skip gym class.

I don't have any favorite songs off the album at all. I do not know how this is possible, but I can quite happily sit through the entire record not skipping any one song. I really feel that this album is a genuine favorite of mine that I just appreciated every single song that has been crafted.

Fall Out Boy- From Under The Cork Tree

It's 2006 and I just started high school. This was a particularly chaotic time for me because I was shit scared that I was going to get beaten up at school (trust me, if you're as white as I am, you'll know the feeling). From Under The Cork Tree was the first album I ever bought with my own money. (Technically you could argue that Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson was the first, but I got a discount. It doesn't count.) My basis on buying the album was that I really liked Dance Dance, and I sort of liked Sugar, We're Going Down. I remember the first day listening to it, and I knew all the words buy 9 O’clock. I was so obsessed with this record that I researched Fall Out Boy, and drew the eye on the back of the booklet over everything I owned. At 11, I was really drawn to Pete Wentz's intriguing way of telling a story as I had never really come across anything like it before. It was twisted, convoluted and gutsy and to a kid living a completely boring and relatively drama free life, it was exciting. Fall Out Boy was the band who changed everything for me. They ultimately influenced what I listen to today. I think if it wasn't for this album, I would still be low-riding and listening to excessive amounts of Lil Jon and Three 6 Mafia.

I have 3 favorite songs off of FUCT: I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy, Champagne For My Real Friends and Dance Dance.

Blink 182-Enema of the State

What can I say, It's Blink 182. Did you really expect anything else? To cut a long story short, this was my rebellious album and I spent a lot of the time pretending to be Travis Baker, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus all at the same time. I thought I was way cool. 'What's My Age Again' is my jam. I always used to get in trouble from my mum when I was already in trouble for repeatedly singing "I never want to act my age". The one thing I entirely love about Blink is that they don't take themselves too seriously.

Favorite Songs: What's My Age Again?, Dumpweed, Adam's Song and The Party Song.

Maroon 5- Songs About Jane

This is the only acceptable album by Maroon 5 ever. No exceptions. I fell in love with this album because it incorporates one of my favourite genres: R&B. Songs About Jane was the album I put on at night, in the morning, when I came home from school. It's perfectly appropriate for every occasion as far as I'm concerned. Sadly, this is the album that got me interested in singing and playing guitar. I've always wanted to have a voice like Aaliyah, but that ain't never gonna happen. Not hearing me sing is a blessing. I loved this album as it was one of my first chill out records ( apart from Jack Johnson, but that's just too embarrassing).

Favorite Songs are : Must Get Out, Through To You, Sunday Morning and The Sun. Although, I generally enjoy every song.

Destiny's Child- Destiny Fulfilled 

I have always liked D-Child, but have never really been a fan of any of their solo endeavors. When I heard that they were breaking up, it felt like a part of me had gone, (just like Blink 182, except it's back again). If you don't know me very well, then you wouldn't know that R&B is one of my favorite genres. I really enjoy the sound and the effect a soulful voice has on a person. I think it's one of the most beautiful genres there is. I jammed to this. I pretended to be Beyonce because she was FEIRCE. I loved the dancing and their voices so much, I wanted to become the white version of all three of them. For me, this isn't one of D-Childs best albums, but is album solidified my love for this genre.

Favorite Songs: Cater 2 U, Soldier and Free.

This story? I don't know. I think very lowly of this. It's very old, a draft that's been kept in the documents of my computer for a long, long, long time. This oneshot is a dinosaur. But I decided to post it anyways. Not a big fan of it, but I had to get rid of it. Crappity crap crap. I don't even know why I'm posting this. But I didn't want to throw away any work of mine. Oh, and the "she" in this character could be anyone. And this isn't that oneshot with the "couple most people probably won't be expecting" that I said I was writing. That one is still under wraps.

I should have told you everything.
If I could give you anything,
Then I would tell you everything.

She was hopelessly and desperately in love, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. Every single time he brushed past her, she felt tingles rush up and down her spine. She couldn't help it. This crush has been evolving ever since the fifth grade, and now, she was in her senior year and had no other choice but to either tell him or continue wondering "what if". Though she desperately wanted to tell him, she had no guts and was absolutely sure that his friends would make fun of her. She wasn't so sure if he would make fun of her, since he had always shown signs of liking her. Sometimes, he'd stare her direction quickly, or walk beside her, but never anything too big. She watched him sometimes, walking with all the popular, outgoing girls that were crowding around him. She was so different from the girls he hung out with. Sometimes, she wondered if he actually liked the popularity. Maybe he was living another life, away from the popular kids, desperately wanting to escape their hold and be himself. He always looked pressured, like he always had to be what they were. She secretly wondered if he liked that. He always acted like he did, but she was never sure. These were the times she wanted to be a mind reader, to see what he sees, to know what he knows.

Another day, another routine. She only saw him three to five times a day, no more, no less, because his friends were always pulling him away somewhere else. The times she treasured were after school, where she watched him skate away. Those times were where she saw him longest, and she never hesitated to leave her friends just to check him out. Once, she remembered hearing that he had a football accident and broke his arm. Inside, she wanted to comfort him, to talk to him, but being the shy one she was, she couldn't. She hated being shy, being the one that everyone overlooks in the hallways. She was a nobody.

After watching him leave on his skateboard, she walks down the hallway and leaves the school. The routine goes on: after homework, she spends the remainder of her day on the internet.

That day came..that one day, where she checked over his MySpace and read over his headline. She was acting stupid, his page was on private and all she had access to was that headline. But his words meant everything to her.

On the headline, it read: I like her more than ever.

Her hope soared.

It was very much like him to write something like this on the headline, but he wasn't dating anyone now, and she knew she could be that girl on his mind. Though highly doubtful, she loved this feeling inside and she didn't want to let it go. He could be talking about her. She thought back to previous events, looking through the days on the week. When did he ever show the signs of liking her? She thought, even harder, wanting the answer, awaiting the memory.

It popped into her head shortly.

That one Monday afternoon. He didn't have his skateboard and was walking with his friends. Then he began walking backwards, his eyes meeting hers every two seconds. Though she knew he was talking to his friends as well, she couldn't help but stare back and meet his eyes. He continued to walk backwards, stupidly, just to look at her, and though she was constantly looking away, he had his eyes fixed on her. Only her. He looked like he saw something in her, the way his eyes sparkled when they met hers. Maybe she could be the one he was talking about. She sighed, her heart beating madly against her chest, excitement rushing up and down her body and spreading like a wildfire. She was ablaze, and this was the boost she needed. Tomorrow, when they got their yearbooks, she would grab his and pour her feelings out on the page. She was ready.

Or so she thought.

It was a warm, early morning. There he sat, in front of a girl, on one of the benches outside a classroom. They were talking, and she couldn't hear a word, but she focused on their movements. He was holding tightly onto one of her hands, and she grinned after he said something to her. Shortly, they hugged, happily, like he had just asked her to marry him. But she knew he didn't. Every girl would react like that if someone like him would talk to them. They walked away, hand in hand, joining another group of well dressed, popular kids. She realized what he had just asked. She witnessed it countless times.

He had asked that girl to be his girlfriend.

She sighed to herself, walking away, straight into a bathroom stall. This was a stupid place to cry, but since no one could hear, it was the only place she would go. She leaned against the door and almost immediately her heavy tears started to fall. She cupped a hand over her mouth, hoping not to cry so loud, hoping no one would hear her and that she could share her moment of miserable silence alone. Once that school bell had rung, she trudged through the hallways, wiping the tears away quickly and pasting a false smile on her face. Through the day, she stayed silent, arousing questions in her friends' minds. They tried to talk to her, throwing questions her way, but she dodged them and stayed quiet.

I'm watching you love me, I'm watching you leaving me now.

There wasn't one day during the summer where she didn't regret not telling him earlier. Now, they were done with high school. They had graduated. It was likely she'd never, ever see this boy again. No matter how much she wanted to, she had to leave him. This crush was a complete waste of time. She was insane, being in love with someone who could never love her back, though she had hoped about it. She decided that she refused to be in love with him anymore. This wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't going to be impossible. She needed to forget about him, no matter how hard it would be.

If she didn't forget him..she had no idea what was to come next.

Suicide, or worse.

She shook the thoughts away. Suicide would be ridiculous.

And so, in a matter of days, she did her best to steer clear from feelings and start falling in love with boys in the boy bands (like she used to until she fell for him), flirting with others at her local mall, doing whatever it took to get him out of her mind.

She so badly wanted to let him go.

But she met him in her dreams, and there he was, seeping back into her brain again.

The stupid, stupid boy that had hurt her countless times. And he didn't even know that he hurt her.

But she kept herself together, didn't she? She was able to watch as he wrapped his arms around other girls. She was able to get hurt and get back up. She was taken down many times, but she was always up on her feet again.

Just the realization of this made her feel confident in herself.

She wasn't sure why, since she was still hurt inside, but she somehow felt like she could overcome anything. She needed some kind of closure from this. She wanted to talk to him, to tell him everything. But she didn't have a clue how to get in contact with him.

She had his old email, but he probably never used it anymore.

She didn't even have his phone number.

She shook her head. Thinking harder, she thought of which places he liked to be at, because those were the most likely places he'd be in this summer.

Starbucks.

That was one. The Starbucks down the street, where many of his friends grabbed a coffee with him. She always overheard them talk about meeting up at Starbucks after school, or during lunch. That would be the first place she'd check.

She scanned the Starbucks for the sign of his familiar face, inhaling the scent of coffee and hearing the mumbled words of people along the way. She grabbed a coffee, sat on one of the loveseats and waited for her order. Her head continued to move left and right, looking for him, but he wasn't here at all. Soon she had finished her coffee and was still looking around. She glanced down at her watch. It had been an hour. And she was still waiting here?

This was all getting very stupid.

She heaved herself up, but right as she was about to walk through that glass door, she bumped into him.

Time stopped.

But it slowly sped up as he flashed her a grin and asked her if he had seen her before. She had to keep herself together. She wouldn't let this boy control her anymore. "You do know me," she breathed out, her head nodding so vigorously that she didn't have much control of it anymore. "I'd just like to talk for a bit," she stuttered. He nodded, leading her over to a table by the window. She took a breath. "This is stupid and you probably weren't expecting this," she began. "But I really like you. Well, used to. Since the fifth grade this, overly obsessive crush has been..developing. And now I just wanted to tell you because I can't hold it in much longer."

His opened his mouth to say something, but mumbled something unintelligible instead. "A bit overwhelming, isn't it?" She asked him. He gave her a nod in return and then finally made true eye contact with her. "I never knew," he whispered. "You could have just gone up to me. You seem like a really nice girl and I'd love to go out with you sometime."

Her mind raced. There was a part of her mind that told her to say yes, (and that was a very big part of her mind), but the other part whispered to her and suggested she say no. If she said yes, she'd risk heartbreak. She'd risk everything, and though she wanted to fall in love with him, she might just fall out of love with him. She wanted to both love and leave him. Slowly she developed a decision.

"I think that would be great," she began, but not with an eager or excited tone. It was glum, and sober. "But I'm going to have to say no. I can't risk it anymore. What I'm happy about is that I finally got this out to you. I needed a closure." She got up from her chair, leaving the boy dumbfounded, but as she walked out that door she left a part of herself behind and pledged to replace that part with something better. Slowly but surely, this missing part would be replaced again. She'd be fixed. 

I created a wikipedia page! So I dont know If you've seen the trailer at the top of my page, but it's for the film moustachette which I've now createde a page on :D

They threatend to delete it earlier so I had to do some editing :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moustachette

http://twitter.com/BIGIF

Virgin Islands

i could never find a better place to go, until the day i die, i promise i wont change... so you better give up! i dont wanna be told to grow up, and i'm not gunna change, i just wanna have fun. [giant high five to whoever can name that song/band. i'll give you a hint. its by one of the bands that is featured in this post]

anyway, a while ago, i thought i'd write down all the shows i've been to, and future shows i've yet to go to. so just, sit back and relax, and enjoy my list =]

yellowcard, moneen and rufio - september 22, 2005
[okay, so my first concert was like, super rad. haha i got hit on by two older guys and i thought i was sooo cool. i was also in grade 7 at the time. i went with carly, mitchell, darren... and my dad. we stood against the wall and rocked out to yellowcard like nobodies business. this was back when ocean avenue was the only album they had out. by far the youngest people at the show. i loved my life]

simple plan, hedley and the planet smashers - november 29, 2005
[at the time, this was the biggest deal in the world. most of you may not know this, but simple plan was my favorite band, and i knew everything about them. i was completely obsessed with pierre charles bouvier (born may 9, 1979, i totally still remember, haha) but anyway, this concert completed my short 13 or so years of life.]

the rolling stones and three days grace - october 8, 2006
[my city doesnt get many big bands coming through here, so it was a huuuge deal when the rolling stones decided to come. to be honest, i was super excited for three days grace. but wow, even though the rolling stones are like, 80, they can still rock out]

the spill canvas, ten second epic and the reason - february 17, 2007
[this still remains as one of my favourite shows. i went with my sister, her roommate, and my friend mackenzie (who i've only seen like, twice since) this was before tsc released, no really, i'm fine, and one fell swoop is still one of my favourite albums. and ten second epic and the reason are both awesome canadian bands. i loved ten second epic so much at the time, and this was the first concert i ever met a band member at (dan from ten second epic, i was in love) and the reason have since been on heavy rotation on my ipod]

mariana's trench and faber drive - april 1, 2007
[both canadian bands, they have a song that says "slap you like a bitch and you take it like a whore" so i bought a shirt that says MARIANAS TRENCH, THEY SLAPPED ME LIKE A BITCH AND I TOOK IT LIKE A WHORE! needless to say, my mom found out, didn't approve, and hid it somewhere. i still, to this day, have never seen the shirt since]

anberlin, jonezetta and the reason - april 20, 2007
[okay, wow. first time seeing anberlin live, and i like, crapped myself. everything about this night was awesome. i caught (k)nate's drumstick, and bought a shirt right from deon. if you have not seen anberlin live, wow, just go see them now.

ten second epic, living with lions and the holly springs disaster - july 5, 2007
[all canadian bands. i still love ten second epic, and my sister is friends with one of the guys in the holly springs disaster. living with lions was... eh. but whatever.]

the spill canvas, meg and dia, playradioplay and idiot pilot - october 22, 2007
[this was right after tsc released no really, i'm fine, and it was amazing. i was the only one who knew who meg and dia was, so it was a lot of fun for their set. this show probably had the worst sound though, but when spill came on, the sound problems went away and it was perfect. my sister's friend was at the back of the crowd, and i was front row center. when it was all quiet she yelled "I LOVE JAMIE-LEE" and then nick from the spill canvas says "who doesnt love that person?" and i was in heaven.

kanye west, rihanna and lupe fiasco - may 29, 2008
[probably the randomest of the concerts. what can i say? i totally love kanye west. and lupe. and rihanna's pretty badass too. chris brown showed up at the show and danced all over the place. (i should have thrown something at him haha) but my sister bought me the ticket for my birthday, i was pretty excited)

warped tour (all time low, the color fred, mayday parade, say anything, cobra starship, we the kings, motion city soundtrack) - august 5, 2008
[my first warped tour, and wow, it was amazing. started off the day with ATL, who i'd been waiting to see since grade 8. got to meet jack =) and many other fun things happened this day. wayy too many things to name, i believe i wrote a journal about this one, go check it out]

anberlin, madina lake and between the trees - january 24, 2009
[most of you heard me talking about how freakin excited i was to see this show. i wrote a journal on how amazing it was and all the amazing people i met. anberlin blew me away, once again, madina lake we're cocky and kinda lame, between the trees was AMAZING and ryan kept looking at me cause i was the only one who knew the words. nikki would lean over and say "wow jamie, he TOTALLY just looked right at you]

bryan adams (acoustic) - february 12, 2009
[he's 49, and i'd still be all over that. god, he's beautiful. and an amazing songwriter to boot. i also wrote a journal about this one]

great lake swimmers and kate maki - march 24, 2009
[i guess i never wrote a journal about this one. but it was so much fun. me, nikki, tori and michele were the youngest people there, and it was just a bunch of chill people enjoying music. no pushing and no ear-peircing fan girl squeals. i loved it. folk shows are amazing.]

bloc party and hot hot heat - may 2, 2009
[NEXT SATURDAY, WOOOO!]

no doubt, paramore and bedouin soundclash - july 13, 2009
[cant freakin wait. =) =)]

my favourite one would have to be anberlin, between the trees and madina lake. and that's just because of the pure amazingness of it. (warped tour doesnt count as a single show, just cause it's an all day thing, so my favourite "festival" was warped)

what is the best show you've been to? the worst? got any up and coming shows? let me know, let's talk.

check out them braces. oh how i dont miss them.

http://www.youtube.com/BigIfMusic

http://twitter.com/BIGIF

http://www.myspace.com/bigifmusic