Courtesy Yellowcard will play Lonestar Pavilion at Sunset Station on Sunday, Nov. 4.

As the members of Yellowcard have learned over the past four years, perhaps the only thing tougher than achieving mainstream success is sustaining it. The Jacksonville-based pop-punk quintet burst on to the scene in 2003 with the release of Ocean Avenue, an album that, thanks to hit singles such as “Ocean Avenue” and “Only One,” went double-platinum. Since then, the band's past two releases (2006's Lights and Sounds and July's Paper Walls) have not combined to sell as many copies. Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key chatted with 210SA about avoiding the “one-hit wonder” label, decreasing record sales and the stigma of pop-punk.

Yeah, I think you're always worried about that, but you've got to put it out of the back of your mind and not let it consume your thoughts. I still worry that the only thing people see from Yellowcard is “Ocean's Avenue,” but it's not a taboo thing. I know every night onstage we're going to play that song, and the reaction from the crowd shows that it connects with people. I'm glad it took us as far as it did, and I hope another one connects.

How relieved were you when “Only One” and “Lights and Sounds” put the one-hit wonder jinx to rest?

We're still here, and we're still doing it. We haven't had a song like “Ocean's Avenue” since, but we're still out here touring at this level, still making records at the level we make records. All those things could be taken away from you in a heartbeat.

CD sales are down across the board. As a musician, how much does that worry you?

Everyone in the business is going to have to figure out how to succeed with the state of the music business. Lights and Sounds followed up Ocean's Avenue, and it was certified gold. To me, anyone who tries to say that's a failure, I shrug that off.

Is there a stigma associated with being a pop-punk band?

There definitely is. Personally, I don't listen to any music in the genre. As far as us falling into that category, in high school, the Warped Tour was starting, and we were face-to-face with NOFX and Blink-182, all these bands that were starting up in the mid-'90s. That's what all the bands in Jacksonville were trying to emulate, but as we got older, we found our own sound.

What is your favorite Halloween memory?

One year, the band had a cool Halloween where we did the “Point Break” ex-presidents thing, like the bank robbers from “Point Break” (the movie with Keanu Reeves where a gang of bank robbers dress like ex-U.S. presidents). It took a half-hour for the kids in the venue to figure out it was us.
 
CLINT HALE | 210SA