Yellowcard have been creating a storm in America with their debut album, 'Ocean Avenue', and they're all set to do the same over here. Currently supporting Less than Jake on some of the dates of their UK tour, I got to ask Vocalist, Violinist and Back-flipper (if you've seen them live, you'll know what I mean) Sean Mackin some questions. So read on to find out about playing acoustic, Cadbury Land, and Matt Skiba!

How did you come to be supporting Less than Jake?

We're actually on Vinnie's record label, Fuelled by Ramen, in the States, but we've done about 3 tours with them. This is the first time we've done, like a proper European tour and they were over here and they just kind of invited us along.

So do you get on well with them?

Yes, very well. I mean, we're from Florida and they're from Florida and Vinnie helps us out and stuff, so they're kind of like our big brothers!

What do you think of the UK?

It's nice. We've been touring for so long and so hard in the States and it's not everyday that you get to play places that you've never played before, you know? So it's really cool to have to win fans over again and stuff like that so it's fun.

Do you get time to go and see places other than venues?

Not really, it's usually rush, rush, rush to where we need to be, maybe one day we'll get to actually be tourists and see other things. I mean, we get to do things sometimes, like today we went out with Shari (Black Velvet) and got to see the Cadbury Factory which was fun, but I don't think I'm ever going to have chocolate again!

What's the main differences with playing shows over here and playing shows in the States?

I don't really know yet. So far, it's just been like it was in the States about 3 or 4 years ago, like the size of shows and stuff like that. So, trying to build a fan base and talk to kids, it's pretty exciting. We haven't really met anybody yet, though; last night we were like, "We need to make some friends!"

How long did it take you to record 'Ocean Avenue' and were there any problems during recording?

We wrote it in about 2 months, and then it took about another 2 months to record it. There weren't any problems, we just felt like we didn't have enough songs when we were going into the studio, and then we wrote a couple in the studio which made it a lot easier. It was a really nice writing process, we all came together; it was very collaborative and our producer was amazing, we're going to use him on the next record. His name is Neal Avron, he worked with New Found Glory and some other bands, he's a really talented guy. I think all in all it went pretty smooth and we're really proud of it.

Have you got a favourite track off it? Which track do you most like playing live?

My favourite is probably Number 11, 'Believe'. To play live, I think all of them still. Even the older ones, we still put a lot into all of our songs, so it's pretty cool.

How do you decide which songs to release as B-side tracks?

We actually didn't finish the B-side tracks with the rest of the album; we kind of ran out of time and had to fly out to tour with The Ataris. We had saved a couple of tracks from the Underdog EP, one song that we thought would go on our full length record, but when we decided writing for the record, it really didn't have the same feel and kind of stood out was the song, 'Hey Mike', which worked out as a B-track. That was our favourite song from the older material so we recorded that one acoustic.

Have you got any plans to release any acoustic stuff?

We were thinking about doing like an acoustic record, but things are turning out where we have to tour, tour, tour, so after the Warped Tour we'll be back over here for the festivals and then maybe some dates with New Found Glory, so we're not actually going to get to do some acoustic stuff. It looks like we're going to have to go back and do another record, which is kind of disappointing because we started out as a kind of acoustic jam band where we'd hang out at parties and drink and play and stuff like that, but who knows for the future? We definitely have an acoustic flavour to us.

Who designs things like your website and CD covers?

Usually it's in house, like at the label, but our T-shirts and stuff like that we have our own say with it, so we can usually use kids from the website or wherever to help us out. So that's a little more like our kind of thing, whereas the videos and photo shoots and the actual record layout is done through the record label. I mean, we still have a say but ultimately it's really up to them.

What kind of music are you listening to at the moment? Who are your favourite bands?

I can't stop listening to Thrice. We also just got the new New Found Glory record which is amazing, Neal's a great producer, but I think the guitar work and the harmonies in the song writing and the lyrics of Dustin and all of Thrice are just amazing, like I still find new stuff in it everyday and I'm like, "how do they do that?!" They're my favourite band.

Are there any upcoming American bands that you can recommend to us?

Do you guys know Over It and Park? There you go! They're our friends and they're kind of having a tough time because the label's not helping out so much. Yeah, Park and Over It are very good bands, check them out.

Do you have any idols? Is there anyone you'd really like to meet if you got the chance?

Not really. I already met Matt Skiba, he's the only person I've ever been star-struck around. And I met Dave Grohl, he's pretty amazing, but I wasn't as nervous as I was when I met Matt Skiba. I'd like to hang out with Matt Skiba; he has a different power to him, he's more of a darker person, so I don't know why I got so nervous but he's a pretty amazing guy.

If you could star in the remake of any film, what would it be and who would you play?

The remake of any film? I'd be Goose from Top Gun, but I wouldn't die!

You're playing the Vans Warped Tour this Summer,

Yes Ma'am.

Are you looking forward to it?

Yes Ma'am.

What's the worst thing about playing that many shows?

The worst is that you only play a half hour. But it's an amazing tour, there's nothing really bad about that tour, it's like X amount of bands that travel together all summer long; you tour with all your friends that you never, ever see. It's really a lot of fun. But I guess the heat is the worst part and that you only get to play a half hour, but it's all worth it, you get to meet so many kids and you get to hang out with all your friends that you never get to tour with, so it's amazing.

What have you got planned for the rest of this year?

We finish this European tour, we go back to the States, do a couple of TV things, we go do the Warped Tour the whole summer long, come back here for the festivals, do some dates with New Found Glory, then we go to South East Asia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia to finish the year out. Then we're in the States doing another real quick, major market Big CD tour, and then we have to record a record in November/December so that will keep us busy, I don't think we have any time off between now and November. They're trying to jam it packed. But I dunno, busy is good!

Thanks a lot to Sean for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find out more about the band by checking out their website, www.yellowcardrock.com.