Yellowcard, New Found Glory, et Plain White T's

Formed in Florida in 1997 the band took its name from their high school days when ‘yellow cards’ were handed out for party fouling. The year they formed they released their debut album ‘Midget Tossing’ and then followed up 2 years later with ‘Where we stand’.

At this point however, after a bit of line up shifting, the band ended up with a fresh start and radically changed its sound from hardcore leaning, to a more melodic, pop punk sound. With this new start they were able to build up enough buzz to sign with Capitol records who, in 2003, released ‘Ocean Avenue’ which would go on to become the band’s finest achievement.

When it spawned hit singles like ‘Way Away’ and ‘Ocean Avenue’, the band’s popularity sky rocketed and before they knew it they were experiencing successes they never could have imagined. The album went platinum and soon enough the band were doing everything from headlining the Warped tour to picking up MTV awards.

With newfound fame, the band continued forward releasing albums until in 2008 they went on hiatus for personal reasons leaving fans heartbroken however they needn’t have worried as in just a couple of years they were back together releasing albums and continuing to tour. So while many may write off Yellowcard as just ‘that band with a violinist’, to their fans they are so much more and that’s what counts.

Formed in 1997 by Pundik (vocalist) and Grushka (bassist) who previously played together in bands called Inner City Kids and Flip 60. After the disbandment of Flip 60 Pundik recruited high school classmate and guitarist Stephen Klein to jam with them. Very soon after, drummer Joe Marino and guitarist Chad Gilbert joined the trio, and together they recorded their first EP, “It’s All About The Girls.” Soon after its release, Cyrus Bolooki replaced Marino and the band set out on tour up and down the east coast, quickly gaining a lot of underground attention; this caught the attention of Eulogy Recordings who partnered up with New Found Glory to expand their distribution.

The popularity resulted in their first full album, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” resulting in their signing with Drive-Thru Records. The subsequent debut single “Hit Or Miss” propelled the band into mainstream popularity, and reached certified gold status. From 2002 to 2004, the band hit the peak of their popularity, taking the headlining slot for the Vans Warped Tour, releasing “Sticks and Stones,” and “Catalyst,” the latter of which sold over 100,000 copies, and reached gold status, making it their third record to reach gold.

From 2006 to 2009, New Found Glory recorded and released three more albums, and signed on to an independent label, Bridge Nine Records and Epitaph Records. Through the new label they released “Not Without a Fight” in 2009 and put on a free show for their fans with a set list entirely requested by the fans. The following year, to mark the celebration of their first album, they re-released their first self-titled album, as well as a world tour with support from Saves The Day, Hellogoodbye, and Fireworks. In April 2011 they recorded “Radiosurgury” which was released later that same year; followed by a series of festivals around the world. In 2014 the band signed with Hopeless Records and released “Resurrection” in October.

The band originally came together as a power trio with high school friends Tom Higgenson as singer and guitarist, Ken Fletcher on the bass guitar and Dave Tirio on the drums. The band made their live debut while playing local shows on the thriving Chicago punk scene, but soon after their live debut they had graduated to playing famed rock clubs like the Chicago’s Metro. As their shows got bigger and they started developing a real life fan-base, the band recruited Steve Mast to play lead guitar and sing backup vocals to give them a fuller live sound. However, the band were nearly kneecapped before they could truly begin when Higgenson broke several vertebrae in his back in a car crash while driving the bands van.

Higgenson was in a brace for three months, and needed to learn how to walk again, but the whole sorry situation changed him in the best way it could. Higgenson realized that life was short, precious and could stop at any moment. Moreover, he assessed what was going on in his life and found that the band was the most important part of it, and that he was fronting an outfit with enough talent to hit the big time in the near future. With that at the forefront of his mind, he started writing songs that carried more of himself in them than ever before, and the whole band started taking their career more seriously as a result. The band released their debut album “Come On Over” in 2000 but it was their second effort, 2002’s self-financed and released effort “Stop” that got the band their first record deal with Fearless Records.

Unfortunately, this lead to another pothole in the bands road to stardom, as while they toured “Stop” in 2003, their first tour with a label backing them, Mast and Fletcher both decided to leave the band. The band had far too much momentum going their way however, and Tirio switched from Drums to rhythm guitar while they recruited Tim Lopez to play lead guitar, Mike Retondo to play bass and De’Mar Hamilton to take the newly vacated drum stool. This is the line-up that Plain White T’s play with to this day, and as if it wasn’t clear enough that they’d made the right choice, they would follow this up by briefly becoming one of the hottest bands in the world.

In 2006 they released their single “Hey There Delilah”, and over a year after its release it hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in July 2007. The track was nominated for two Grammy awards and the album it came from “Every Second Counts” was certified Gold. The band found themselves playing shows alongside Panic! At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional, along with headline shows all over the world on the back of the success of “Hey There Delilah”. Ever since then the band have been one of the most beloved cult acts in American rock, with their songs appearing in everything from iCarly to Hollyoaks, and for that, along with their impeccable live show, they come highly recommended.