popwreckoning

With the official start of Spring on March 21, comes the start of warmer weather, plants sprouting, and lots of big concert tours. The day after the vernal equinox, North America is treated to the Dirty Work tour featuring All Time Low, Yellowcard, Hey Monday and the Summer Set – that’s waaay better than some smelly flowers, right?

The trek kicks off March 22 in Philadelphia and is named the “Dirty Work” tour after All Time Low’s upcoming major label debut due out soon on DGC/Interscope. If you’re a fan of the bands spunky pop punk you can be sure to hear some of their new material on this tour. Frontman Alex Gaskarth promises this album will push the band past genre boundaries, but still feature their praised melodic guitar lines. The album also features two songs with special co-writers, Weezer‘s Rivers Cuomo and the other with Butch Walker.

Yellowcard is also touring in support of their upcoming release and this is their first tour in over three year.

So fans of pop punk and rock, get your tickets now because they’re selling out fast. Full dates are below and tickets are available here.

The Dirty Work Tour Dates:
Mar 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Ballroom
Mar 23 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Mar 25 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom – sold out
Mar 26 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory – sold out
Mar 28 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club – sold out
Mar 29 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Mar 31 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
Apr 01 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
Apr 02 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Apr 04 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant
Apr 05 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Apr 06 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
Apr 07 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Apr 08 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
Apr 09 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Outdoor Amph.
Apr 11 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
Apr 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia at LA Live
Apr 13 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
Apr 15 – Anaheim, CA – Grove of Anaheim
Apr 16 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield Theatre
Apr 17 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Apr 18 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
Apr 21 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Apr 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
Apr 23 – Houghton, MI – Rozsca Center for the Performing Arts
Apr 25 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
Apr 26 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues – sold out
Apr 28 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
Apr 29 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre
Apr 30 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
May 03 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater – sold out
May 04 – Allentown, PA – Crocodile Rock
May 05 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights
May 06 – Boston, MA – House of Blues – sold out
May 07 – Baltimore, MD – UMBC Fieldhouse

Yellowcard has made a blazing return to music with the release of “For You, And Your Denial” off the upcoming When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes. If this is a taste of what to come, fans will not disappointed.

With an opening violin riff that trumps some of Sean Mackin‘s fast finger work on Ocean Avenue, the intro alone could rival the best of Mozart. But those wary of classical music can relax. Shortly after Mackin kicks off the song, guitars and drums come blazing in and Ryan Key‘s signature vocals take the song to a whole new level for Yellowcard.

In this one tune, the catchiness and the instrumentals that made Ocean Avenue so great are mixed with the maturity and emotional depth that made Paper Walls and Lights and Sounds what they were.

You can check out “For You, And Your Denial” below.

When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes will be released March 22. “For You, And Your Denial” is available now on iTunes and Amazon. You can also catch the band on tour this Spring with Hey Monday, All Time Low and The Summer Set. Tour dates are here.

*Oh, and if any of you want to hook me up with a tab to that killer violin riff, my roommate will be eternally grateful because otherwise he’s going to have to deal with me spending all my free time roaming the apartment with my violin trying to figure those notes out myself.

Yellowcard, the Florida band known for rocking the violin, is back from their hiatus and this spring they’re bringing fans a new album and a U.S. tour.

The Dirty Work Tour is Yellowcard’s first U.S. tour in three years. They’re joining All Time Low, Hey Monday and The Summer Set on the road. Shows kick off March 25, 2011 in Sayreville, New Jersey. They’ll be in Kansas City at the Beaumont Club on April 5.

The band just completed recording When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes. Their 7th album is due out March 22, 2011 on Hopeless Records. The album was recorded by vocalist Ryan Key, violinist Sean Mackin, drummer Longineu Parsons, guitarist Ryan Mendez and new bassist Sean O’Donnell.

The Dirty Work Tour Dates:

Mar 25 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Mar 26 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Mar 28 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Mar 29 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Mar 31 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
Apr 01 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
Apr 02 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Apr 04 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant
Apr 05 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Apr 06 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
Apr 07 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Apr 08 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
Apr 09 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Outdoor Amph.
Apr 11 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
Apr 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia at LA Live
Apr 13 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues

Apr 15 – Anaheim, CA – Grove of Anaheim
Apr 16 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield Theatre
Apr 17 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Apr 18 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
Apr 21 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Apr 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
Apr 25 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
Apr 26 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
Apr 28 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
Apr 29 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre
Apr 30 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
May 03 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
May 04 – Allentown, PA – Crocodile Rock
May 05 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights
May 06 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
May 07 – Baltimore, MD – UMBC Fieldhouse

Get excited! After two-and-a-half years, everyone’s favorite Florida alternative pop punk band featuring a rocking violinist is back. Perhaps you remember “Ocean Avenue” as part of your summer soundtrack a few years back?

Yellowcard has announced a new label, a new tour and a new album.

The band will release their seventh studio album with Hopeless Records.

Yellowcard is Ryan Key (vocals/guitar), Sean Mackin (violin), Longineu Parsons (drums), Ryan Mendez (guitar) and their newest addition of Sean O’Donnell (bass).

They’re entering the studio with Neal Avron and expecting to have a new album ready by Spring 2011, followed by a tour.

Welcome back, readers!  Looks like the toxicology and autopsy reports on Michael Jackson are taking forever and I, for one, need to take a break from the lovefest that was my month-long MJ tribute (read: here, here, here and here!).  With MJ on the mind, it’s been hard to think of other musicians, so hopefully this Pop Punk Miscellany piece will serve as an adequate segue back to the mixed-bag madness that usually is Under Cover.

To mix things up, this week I’m featuring a genre I haven’t always focused on.  Pop Punk is always a good time and usually infuses a vivacious energy that’s perfect after a hard day at work or for the drive home following a kickass evening.  Here are some classic covers by some very pop-friendly bands.  Enjoy!
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. Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” (original: Michael Jackson)
What?  I told you.  Getting Michael Jackson off the mind has been difficult, so Alien Ant Farm‘s infamous cover of “Smooth Criminal” may help this week’s switch to pop punk.  I’m not even the biggest AAF fan or anything, but I do recall giving them points for creativity with this rousing rendition when it came out nearly a decade earlier.  This cover is a sped-up rock version, yet manages to share more than a few similarities to the original.  There’s the anti-gravity leaning, studded gloves, homage paid to Bubbles the Chimpanzee, and let’s not forget an equally strange lead singer Dryden Mitchell on the verge of an epileptic seizure in the music video.  Be sure to check out the video to see if you can count all the MJ references!  I myself counted at least 10…

.Paramore – “My Hero” (original: Foo Fighters)
My Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl-obsessed ass is aware of the sacrilege of posting an acoustic Paramore cover that doesn’t even have the same killer bass line or energetic drumming that jumpstarts the original, but I’m such a sucker for cute little pop punk outfits featuring impressive female vocalists like Hayley Williams.  In a word full of the Katy Perrys, Rihannas, Britney Spears-es, and assorted pop wrecks out there, I’d choose Paramore over them any day by mere fact that this 20-year-old can actually sing.  Her voice is so clear, resonant and melodic, and it flows so nicely with the gentle strumming on the acoustic that I bet even Mr. Grohl himself would dig this one.  And hey, if Mr. Grohl is reading this… call me.  You can be my hero for a day, if I can watch you as you go.  Oh snap!

. Yellowcard – “Everywhere” (original: Michelle Branch)
Personally, I’ve always felt Yellowcard knows how to perfectly put out precious pop punk gems each and every time.  And hey look, they’re off from their hiatus? Lead singer Ryan Key has such a sweet, genuine vocal delivery, the guitars are punchy and power-poppy, and mad props to any group aside from Dave Matthews Band who can incorporate a lead violinist so effortlessly into their songs.  These boys from Florida take a pop classic like Michelle Branch‘s “Everywhere” that was already awesome in its own right and add a refreshing little upbeat twist with the help of some very pretty electric guitar riffs and surprisingly gorgeous slicks of violin that lace the song and add a dash of dramatic intensity to the breakdown.  This song makes me regret quitting the violin in high school because it irritated my chin, much to the dismay of my high school music teacher.  Sorry, Mr. Santin!

It would appear that Yellowcard is no longer on hiatus:

The Florida rockers went on a self-described “hiatus” in April 2008. Since then, members have taken time to work on their personal lives and side projects such as Big If.

There is currently no word on set tour dates or any plans to release new music.

Yellowcard: website | myspace

Jimmy Eat World will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its classic Clarity by playing the album in its entirety for 10 one-time-only shows beginning February 23 in New York City and concluding March 7 in the band’s native Arizona.

Released in 1999 to virtually no fanfare, Clarity gradually became the single most influential record of a generation: A recent SPIN article polled members of 17 bands ranging from Fall Out Boy to Yellowcard, all of whom cited Jim Adkins‘ writing and performance on the record as a primary influence. Ironically, it was Clarity‘s initial failure that put Jimmy Eat World on the path to their eventual success: Left to its own devices after being dropped by Capitol, the band built up a base via relentless touring which funded the recording of their 2001 breakthrough Bleed American, which went on to sell 1.5 million copies.

Clarity was reissued last year to considerably greater acclaim, including a 4.5 star Blender review that proclaimed “Dozens of weepy bottom-feeders have tried to write mid-20s angst anthems better than the soaring “Lucky Denver Mint” or the delicately heartbroken “Just Watch The Fireworks”–but few have succeeded.”

Pre-sale for the Clarity x 10 Tour will begin this Thursday, November 13th. For details, see JimmyEatWorld.com. General on sales begin Saturday, November 15th, with the exception of San Francisco, which goes on sale Sunday, November 16th, and Boston, which will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

Tour Dates:
Feb 23 – Terminal 5 / New York City *
Feb 24 - 9:30 Club / Washington *
Feb 25 – Trocadero Theater / Philadelphia *
Feb 26 – House of Blues / Boston *
Feb 28 – Metro / Chicago *
Mar 02 – Ogden Theatre / Denver *
Mar 04 – The Fillmore / San Francisco *
Mar 05 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles #
Mar 06 – House of Blues / San Diego #
Mar 07 - Marquee Theatre / Tempe #

* w/ Reuben’s Accomplice
# w/ No Knife

Jimmy Eat World: website | myspace

Photo: Jason Odell