The Fiddler - I just like what he has to say

thefiddler aka Sean Mackin
Yellowcard Message Board
Posted January 29 2006 in: "Thefiddler"

being in a band with an unconventional rock instrument is a frusterating thing. you will never be used as much as the other instruments, so you have to find other ways to sneak your parts in. i feel like i was more apparent in the lights and sounds recordings tthan in the ocean ave. recordings. in reflection to oa, i wanted to write more meaningful parts to whole songs. and because im not in dragonforce, and cant rip a solo throughout the entire song(which is what id love to do), i have to contribute to the song, as well as the songwriting. so where there is less solo violin, there is more arrangement. i thought it would be more challenging to write for 3-15 instruments, than one. we have always wanted to bring rodney and christine on the road with us, they have been so loyal and so amazing to work with....

so maybe someday you can see the trio that recorded almost everything back to one for the kids, perform with us live. as for the orchestra, i looked at my talents, and carreer, and realized i could arrange, or atleast try to push my repertoire foreward. and as for a beginner composer and arranger, i, as well as my band, are pleased with the outcome.i also stepped foreward with the electric violin and experimented with different effects so the instrument would blend better with the entire ensemble. i still have a tremendous amount of excitement nightly when im on stage and it is because i am doiing something new and exciting. i think i have stepped up my game, not taken a step back....

if you miss the solo stuff, there are still songs like grey on the new record....
but try to understand, im trying to push myself, and composing and arranging is the next step for me as a violinist and songwriter.

thefiddler aka Sean Mackin
Yellowcard Message Board
Posted January 29 2006 in "why can't we play music"

listen, here is the deal. as people and musicians get older, they become influenced more and more by new and different things. this sparks change, and causes one's music to evolve. part of our journey has taken us to many other parts of the world, where we have seen and heard many different things... including things about our country, president, and even us as people. complete strangers in parts of the world i have never known to exist, were plainly talking trash about me or you or your mom just because of our president/government. this can affect a person slightly and they might ask a question within themselves to maybe seek an answer to this hate, or they could choose to be ignorant and keep down the same path and write about the same things that one has sang about back in the day. i as well do not enjoy music saturated in politics, so i choose not to listen to them. but when someone shares and opinion that maybe i dont agree with, i dont get angry and try to reason with why they share their opinion within their own creation/song/poem/business or whatever youd like to call it, i am inspired to research, to answer my own questions. you have your opinion, that is fine. im am not going to share with you what i think about what you may have done back in the day, maybe you drank too much, maybe you used to play with my little pony, maybe you have changed.... but try to understand that maybe what we have said or experienced might ignite someone else to find their own opinion.