A little mix of Yellowcard

Yellowcard is taking time out from putting the finishing touches on their latest album, Paper Walls, to come to IU on Friday. Ryan Key, guitarist and vocalist, said the band has "finally got the sign off" for one of their best friends to design the artwork for their album cover.\nKey lives four houses down from the friend in Los Angeles, but he said he's not going there until the design is done.\n"We'll be most proud of this artwork," Key said. "I don't want to give anything away, but it's gonna be killer."\nSo in the mean time, they're packing their bags and jetting cross-country to experience part of Little 500 weekend. Because of the band's busy performance schedule, they will arrive at about 8 or 9 p.m. today, perform Friday night and head back to the hotel to leave the next morning. The band's performance will include older songs, newer songs and songs from their latest album, which they said also displays their range.\nThe band's time in Bloomington is limited, but Key said he will likely stay for the party after the show.\n"You could probably count on seeing us out at that shindig," Key said. "I'm the only single one in the band, so it's hard to get people to stay."\nKey said his favorite part of performing is taking it all in and appreciating it. He said the band has put together a set of "full-on Yellowcard rocking" for their concert at IU.\n"Hopefully everyone's into that," Key said.\nAnd the same kind of mix is on their new album, due out this summer. The new album incorporates the best of Yellowcard's old and new sounds.\n"People are gonna be genuinely stoked with how we melded the two song styles," Key said.\nKey said he likes it when bands change with every record, even though younger fans may not. He said the obvious difference between the band's newest album and their last album, Lights and Sounds, was what was driving them to make the record.\n"It was such a personal experience for the band coming off of all this touring," Key said referring to the consequences of the band's most successful album, Ocean Avenue. "It was so insane what happened to our lives all of a sudden."\nThe success of Ocean Avenue caused Key to become more introverted when he was working on Lights and Sounds, he said. Key said he has learned a lot about who he is supposed to be since then and that the new record is more about the "end of finding yourself."\n"The new album is closer to the end of that search for who you are and who you love and who loves you," Key said.\nKey said what he loves about Lights and Sounds is that it makes him remember how it felt to be lost and confused.\nKey said that his longest relationship ended as Ocean Avenue began to do well. He said not having someone to share his experience with makes him feel alone.\nKey said the new record is what got him out of feeling the way he did while writing Lights and Sounds during the winter months. Now, with a summer release, Key said the most important thing is for the band to "put out a high-energy record" and "have it feel good for people." He said a lot of people fell in love with Yellowcard because they "lifted you up and took you out of that dark place," and their latest album does just that.\n"It will be fun to put all three records into your disc changer and listen to the ride of what it's been like to be Yellowcard for the past five years," Key said.\nKey said adding all the bells and whistles to an album at the end of production is the most fun, even though he has been working 12 hours a day in the studio.\n"You lose track of time in there," Key said. "It's like being in a casino in Vegas."\nKey said he puts such a large amount of passion and personal energy into his work he can't provide the same amount for a relationship.\n"I'm a workaholic," Key said. "I hardly sleep at night because my brain is constantly turning."\nOne of the things Key's workaholic personality helped him with was performing on stage. Key said he found a way to be more comfortable with himself and who he is on stage. He said he loves being on stage now because he feels like he is spending time with the people who are there to see the band.\n"It's finally a real genuine good time," Key said. "There's nothing better than being from Jacksonville, Fla., and coming to Bloomington and having thousands of people singing the words to a song you wrote a couple of years ago"