As the last chord of Yellowcard's hit song, "Ocean Avenue" echoes through the Pearl Concert Hall in Las Vegas, Nev., the house lights raise and the faces that have been singing along all night can finally be seen.

"It's a great feeling," Ryan Mendez said. "To know that people out there like your band enough to memorize the words to every song.It really blows me away."

But it hasn't always been that way, especially for Mendez who joined the band a little over two years ago.

The last two years have been a whirlwind for the 27-year-old.Mendez has not only made the biggest career move of his life in joining Yellowcard, he has also relocated to Southern California.On top of that, he has successfully dealt with all the controversy that goes along with being the "new guy" in the band.

It all began when Mendez received a call asking if he would like to join the pop/punk band due to their former lead guitarist, Ben Harper, leaving the band to pursue other endeavors. Mendez, who had just recently left his former band Staring Back for numerous reasons, agreed.He would have just two days to learn the band's set list before performing at Summer Sonic, a festival in Japan, in front of 80,000 people.

"It was really crazy," said Mendez. "But I didn't really have time to think about it, so in a way it helped with my nerves."

After performing in front of such a large crowd one would think the hard part was over.That was not the case.Mendez, who first picked up a guitar on the same night that O.J. Simpson was being chased by the cops in his white Ford Bronco, now had to win over the fans and convince them that he was a nice guy.

"I wasn't exactly accepted right away by a lot of fans, as they were upset over Ben leaving," Mendez said. "It took awhile before I was truly comfortable being in that position as that member of the band.

Not only did fans boo him while he played, some fans even wrote distasteful things about him on the band's official message board. Saying he "didn't deserve to take Ben's spot" and "he would never be as good."

Even though fans were not taking to him at first, his band mates were, especially violinist Sean Mackin.

"He's like a kid in a candy shop," Mackin said. "He came in and made us realize how fun it was to be in a band and play together.I think we stopped having fun, but Mendez came in and totally changed that."

Changing the other guys' attitudes was not the only thing he changed; he changed his address as well.

Mendez along with his wife of two years, Charlene, moved from Goleta, Calif., to Hollywood late last year so recording the band's new record would be easier.

"We're apart a lot of the year as it is," Mrs. Mendez said. "We put off moving as long as we could, but when they started recording the new album, we knew it was time."

And fans should be grateful they made the move.Their new record, "Paper Walls", showcases Mendez's talents with numerous guitar solos throughout the album.

"He really wanted to show the fans that he could play his own music, not just someone else's," Mrs. Mendez says. "He put his all into the record and it shows.I'm really proud of him."

After a recent show in Los Angeles, Mendez, dressed in the signature Johnny Cash black-on-black, stood in the middle of a large group of fans who were eagerly awaiting to give him praise.Mendez turned to one fan and while signing her Yellowcard ticket stub, laughed sheepishly as she gushed about how great of a guitar player he is.It has taken awhile, but it seems as though Mendez has endured the tidal wave of controversy he was hit with upon joining the band.

"I'm at a really great place right now," he said."But I'm not going to stop here.I can't."