Yellowcard's Sean Mackin Flips over Video Games

It's so refreshing to see popular bands connect with online fans on a more personal level these days. Yellowcard fans have been tuning in to MySpace to follow the band as they tour the country promoting their latest album "Paper Walls." The band has frequently used the popular social network to keep fans updated, and has rewarded them by posting their latest album on MySpace, as well as private behind-the-scenes webisodes of the tour. I caught up with Sean Mackin, the popular Yellowcard band member who plays violin and does back flips. He tells me MySpace has been quite a powerful instrument for the band and reveals the secret to having a good time on the road.

I noticed you guys have a band page on MySpace and Facebook. Which one is working out better for you?

I still think MySpace is quite a powerful instrument. I know that Facebook was only available to students for a while, and now it's more of a public domain. We haven't really noticed a shift in power, I guess. MySpace is still a strong way to communicate.

So what do you think about celebrities airing all their dirty laundry on places like MySpace? Have you seen that stuff happening?

Not really. I'm usually online only to answer email and letters from our fans and to check personal email. That's pretty much it. I mean, I look for concert dates, or things like hobbies and browse the web briefly. I don't usually read other celebrities' blogs. I know that we do our own stuff, but we don't really air our dirty laundry. We're really more appreciative of our fans, and let them know that we're really excited to come to a town near them.

Are you more of text messaging kinda guy, or do you prefer to make phone calls?

I'm actually a phone guy. After two or three texts back and forth, I kinda get irritated ‘cause I hate waiting for it, and I have other stuff to do. I got tour ADD. But I can talk to you on the phone for half an hour, which from what I understand, is pretty good for a guy.

Do you prefer to download music or buy the CD?

It's usually 50/50, and depends if I have time to go to a record store or even a Best Buy. I love buying CDs and putting them on my computer, but if I can't find something, iTunes is so convenient. I've never illegally downloaded a piece of music, ever. I don't know how, so I always buy everything.

What are you listening to right now?

I listened to a girl by the name of Sara Bareilles last night. She has a album called "Little Voices" out, and she put me to sleep. It was very nice. She probably has the most amazing female vocals out right now. She has this incredible range. I've never heard anything like it.

I have a BlackBerry. Anything business related or email related, I get right away on my BlackBerry. I can talk on the phone all the time--you know, call my lady, and tell her that I miss her. The BlackBerry is one thing I can't live without.

Are you getting an iPhone or thought about it?

Ryan actually has an iPhone, and that's like cell phone bling. I had a Treo for a long time, and really liked how simple it was to text. I knew my way in and out of it. But with the BlackBerry and how fast email is, I don't need to get an iPhone. I have an iPod, and the new iPod looks like the iPhone, so maybe I'll get that.

Apple is amazing, but the worst thing about Apple is they come out with something so often, and so frequent. The United States is a fast-paced market, and they're genius, so they're probably making a lot of money. But the minute you buy something, and you invest $500 into it, they're going to release a newer version, and dump your price down to $300, so I'd rather save my money. I wish I had enough money to just go out and buy everything, like a new computer, and a new iPod every time it came out, but I can't do it. Eventually, I'll just wait for like the 60GB iPod Touch, and see if I can make do with that. Right now, I have a 60GB black iPod and it's about a year and half old. I really like that one, and have everything I really need on there.

I don't really watch music videos that often, and my computer doesn't have the newer iTunes that can compress movies and videos all onto my iPod, so I don't really care too much about it I guess. I haven't explored that avenue that Apple has been so generous to give to its consumers.

Yeah, if you're on an airplane on a flight to Japan, Thailand, or Europe, it might be nice to have a movie on there like "Batman Begins," but I'd rather listen to music. I'm not the biggest movie/video music connoisseur, but I do like movies.

How do you stay entertained on the road?

Whenever we have a long drive, we try to set up movie times. The other night we watched "The Boondocks," a really strong dude flick. Right now some of the guys are in the venue warming up and getting ready for soundcheck, and I'm here playing Xbox 360. Xbox and Microsoft have always been really kind to Yellowcard, and we have a really strong relationship with EA Games. Madden 08 came out, and one of our new songs from our new album "Paper Walls" is on there. We play some Madden, we play some NCAA 2008. We kinda do the Internet, music, movies, and video games thing. That's pretty much what we do on the road.

Has the band ever considered being in video games or throwing virtual concerts in places like Second Life?

Never heard about that, ever. But that's just another way to reach out to another type of consumer in a day and age when the compact disc and the record are dying. You kind of have to stay on top of that. So thank you for maybe reenergizing our career. I don't think we've ever talked about being actually in video games like a character, but like I said, EA Games has always supported Yellowcard and put our songs in there. And more recently, I've been interested in maybe scoring for video games. I see part of my career leading into film scoring. With video games sales, and how it's spiking right now, I think scoring for video games would be a pretty cool career for me.

Any gadgets on your Christmas list?

I don't really have a Christmas list. I'm really hard to shop for because I don't really need anything. I'm always on the road. I get free clothes. If I need something, it's super expensive, like a new violin, or I just bought a new guitar. I'm more of a car geek, so I'm always asking for parts for my car. I don't really have a Christmas list at this point in my life.

What is the most extravagant piece of tech you've ever owned?

I have a 60-inch LCD TV with HD and surround sound. It was a Christmas present to myself a couple years ago, and I definitely don't need a TV that big, but it's really nice when I'm at home watching movies or playing video games. It's almost like I have a home theatre.

I haven't gone in either direction. I don't want to go in one direction because the catalogs are split, basically. I don't mind movies in DVD. I only watch sporting events in HD. The Xbox 360 games are in HD, so that's actually nice. I just enjoy sitting down and relaxing and having the surround-sound experience at my house. I'm always on the road, and never really get that, but I'm not really snobby about that type of thing.

We're really just supporting our new album "Paper Walls." We're so excited just to be out on the road, and to have an opportunity to do this for a living. I said before, so many bands are having a hard time surviving. Some of our friends can't really persevere, but we've been given another chance by our fans, and our record label to "keep on keeping on" as they say. I'm just really excited. The Blue October guys are really great. We just got on tour with Sum 41, and our fans are coming out and supporting. It's really an amazing thing watching the album cycle take shape. We're looking forward to a lot of wonderful things.

You can visit the band's site at http://www.yellowcardrock.com/.