sMiLe sOmE

Remembering Yellowcard:
1.) Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard’s debut for Capitol Records, was produced by Neal Avron and mixed by Tom-Lord-Alge. On the album, themes of self-empowerment and self-awareness reveal themselves throughout the 13 songs on tracks like “Believe” and “Inside Out.” And there is a conspicuous lack of irony or sarcasm — sincerity rules.
“We’re definitely a positive band,” says Key. “We want to take experiences in our life and use them in a productive way, to encourage people not to let anybody tell them what to do with their life.”
2.) He says the group realize they’re begging comparison with Good Charlotte and Simple Plan by courting the mainstream, but they’re confident they’ve got the goods to avoid a backlash. “We’re not getting, ‘Oh, it’s just another Good Charlotte,’ because we do our own thing. I just think we’re a little more intellectual when it comes to our songwriting, our performances, and our story — we have a story to tell. Those are the only rock bands that have really gotten any hype lately, on that kind of level. Hopefully, we’ll bridge the gap between cheesy and cool. You can be catchy but not be some kind of little-kid thing.”
3.)The song’s nostalgic kick makes it a foolproof emo anthem, but Harper says the actual object of its sentimentality is Jacksonville, which the group left behind when they moved to California’s Central Coast a few years back. “It’s this place where we used to hang out in Jacksonville. Instead of talking about a girl, it’s talking about a scene and a feeling that we want to get back to: hanging out and writing, before we moved to California.”
4.) The 2003 North America blackout was a massive power outage which occurred throughout parts of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada on Thursday, August 14th.
5.) Feb 1, 2003. Space shuttle Columbia explodes, killing all seven astronauts.

Cowboy Memories
1.) “The big thing was the cover, which was just a brilliant piece of animation by Alan Aldridge that perfectly summed up the cartoon aspect of our lives at that time. I think it was quite remarkable and unique for its time. You can put that cover next to ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and get the same feeling.” - Bernie Taupin.
2.) While his voice most often resembles Jose Feliciano; there are at times touches of Leon Russell and Mick Jagger… John’s songs are co-written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics often capture the same timeless, objective spirit of the Band’s Robbie Robertson… Beyond his vocals, melodies and arrangements there is a certain sense of the absurd … that is reminiscent of the American rock stars of the mid-1950s …
3.) `You’re always saying how Bernie has become the Brown Dirt Cowboy’ — he lives on a ranch in Santa Ynez (Calif.) — and I’m this guy who plays concert after concert, buying art, buying photographs, living a very lavish lifestyle. I’ve become Captain Fantastic.
4.) While Taupin sweated over every line, John dashed off the music on a luxury ocean liner. “I’d tried to book the ship’s music room, but an opera singer had it for the whole five days,” John said. “The only time she wasn’t there was when she scoffed her lunch for two hours. So every lunchtime I’d nip in there and grab the piano.”
5.) March 1, 1974- Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Including President Nixon, who resigned, the 1st president to do so.