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    <title>yellowcard's Journals on Buzznet</title>
    <description><![CDATA[It was a surreal moment to cap off a year of surreal moments for Yellowcard. The Beastie Boys had just announced the winner of the MTV2 Award at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, and the band was having a difficult time processing what was happening. Violinist Sean Mackin didn’t actually hear their name being called out. He only heard their wildly successful single and title track, “Ocean Avenue,” being blared out across the American Airlines Arena in Miami. He turned to see their drummer, Longineu Parsons III, or LP, wide-eyed in disbelief before realizing that they’d better start making their way to the stage.

	For singer and guitarist Ryan Key, the experience felt overwhelming, and more than a little pivotal.  A year since the release of their major-label debut, Ocean Avenue, and five years since the band staked out from its Jacksonville, Florida hometown for Los Angeles, Yellowcard had grown (very quickly) into full-scale rock phenomenon.  With three hit singles under their belts, sold-out tours across the globe and Ocean Avenue going on to sell 2.5 million copies worldwide, it felt like the closing of a very successful chapter.

	While it’s nice to have Jay-Z slap you on the back (under the right circumstances), Key found himself preoccupied by what he calls the distractions, or “lights and sounds,” that suddenly surrounded the band. After nearly two straight years of touring, Yellowcard began writing in earnest, exploring that theme and others, into a new album aptly titled Lights and Sounds.

“When you’re in Hollywood and young and in music and entertainment it’s easy to get wrapped up in a big scene pretty quickly if you let yourself,” Key says. “I think that’s the quickest way to forget why you wanted to be an artist or musician or actor or whatever. Letting the scene that surrounds you swallow you up will make you forget what you were doing in the first place.”

	To prepare, principal songwriters Key and bassist/keyboardist Pete Mosely moved to New York City at the start of 2005 to clear their heads and begin the songwriting process. They’d tossed around a few ideas while on the road, but this was the first time that the two would have time to sit, relax, and think fully about the direction the music would now take. Somewhat familiar with the city, but by no means experts, Key and Mosely took to the streets, stayed up late drinking and talking, and watched more than a few sunrises.  The band had grown considerably in just a few short years, and Key knew that he wanted the new record to be more introspective and a lot less safe, with fewer layers obscuring what he wanted to say.  In time the other band members would join them, expanding on ideas, stretching them musically and thematically.  Read more &lt;a href=&quot;http://yellowcardrock.com/flash.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;!]]></description>
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