Yellowcard (photo: Adam Elmakias)
Yellowcard (photo: Adam Elmakias)

By MIKEL TOOMBS

You’re far more likely to find violence than violins inspiring rock music.

Oh, back in the day there was hippie-dippy It’s a Beautiful Day, featuring David LaFlamme. And not all that long ago I chanced upon Guarneri Underground, outside Bellevue Square, playing an electric-violin-based version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” (duh duh duhnt, duh duh duhnt).

With a female vocalist, of course, because that’s the only way you’re going to come close to approximating Robert Plant. (Plant, by the way, and his Band of Joy, featuring guitarist Buddy Miller and the exquisite singer Patty Griffin, will be performing April 20 at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre.)

I was excited, then, to hear that Yellowcard, promoted as “violin induced pop-punk,” would be second-billed to All Time Low (great band name) Monday, April 18, at Seattle’s Showbox SoDo.

Now, since I can’t really tell my Yellowcard from my Plain White T’s, I admit I wasn’t familiar with the band’s music. But its new album, the positive prog-pop-punk “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” (Hopeless Records, great label name), is a super-deluxe effort, as Yellowcard, well, fiddles with the generic formula.

Also, there’s something irresistible about a song (“With You Around”) that involves driving and singing along to your favorite group (Saves the Day, in this case) and one that truly believes “we”ll forever be the young” (“Be the Young,” the closing anthem).

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Mikel Toombs is a frequent contributor to GeneStout.com. Read his recent post on Paul Simon.)

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