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Black
Velvet: You've talked about being inspired to be in a band by Geoff Rickly
of Thursday. You once said 'it seems like he's actually making a difference
and he's doing something'. Frank has also said: 'our major goal was to
make a difference'. What exactly do you want to make a difference in?
Gerard Way: When you want to play music or play live; we saw it as playing
live, we didn't realise you could help people by actually making music
too. Well, I didn't realise. When you play live it immediately responds
in people. What you're singing about connects with them and it helps them
like it's helping you. We're the kind of band that it was very much like
group therapy live. And then I realised that when we made records it helped
people too. We didn't always have to be playing shows to help people.
That's the kind of difference; that kind of immediate response from people.
You're helping them in their day to day life get through some really tough
shit.
BV: Do
you think not enough bands do that?
GW: I don't know, I think a lot of bands do. I think a lot of bands
aren't interested and are interested in other things be it chicks, having
fun, rocking out or whatever it is, money and shit like that. But I
think there's a good number of bands that actually want to do some good.
BV:
The band has great charisma and stage presence. Even on the Mariah Carey
Christmas cover, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' the band's personality
and charisma comes through. Where does that charisma come from? Do you
think you have the same aura and personality offstage and away from
music or does it stem back to wanting to make a difference?
GW: That's what it is. It stems back to really wanting to make a difference.
There's a certain kind of change that occurs, with everyone in the band,
from about 20 minutes before we go on, while we start getting dressed,
putting crap on our faces. There's something that happens and you get
in the game, and it's this kind of reckless level of good-natured arrogance,
just like a real passion, a desire and that kind of all just comes out
live. I'm not like that at all. I'm not really a show-off in person.
I'm not really over-the-top like that. I think we all have a really
crazy black sense of humour. But on stage it really comes out, cranked
up to 20. That's really what it is. We're all how we are on stage but
it's cranked up so much.
BV:
Why did you choose the Mariah Carey cover?
GW: One of our first tours in the US in a band in the winter, we really
weren't going to be home for holidays. We weren't depressed but it was
the first kind of wake-up call as to what touring was like. We were
freezing cold in the van and the Mariah Carey song came on the radio
and this was back when we used to carry knives and weapons and stuff
'cause you needed to. And there was something about that song because
it would get me so excited, but it was really violently excited, and
I just remember swinging a knife around and freaking out because the
song made me so God damn happy. So instead of covering a classic song
or instead of writing a new song, we decided to pick this ridiculous
song and see what we could make of it.
BV:
You've said about being onstage; 'it erases everything I hate about
myself'. What do you hate about yourself?
GW: That's kind of hard to answer. Various stuff, everyone hates about
themselves. I think what's more important is coming to grips with what
you hate about yourself as opposed to what you hate about yourself and
accepting it and being willing to change that stuff, or if you can't
change it just be willing to accept it. The fact that I'm an alcoholic,
I hate that about myself. The fact that I like drugs, I hate about myself.
Those are the main things I hate about myself.
BV:
Are you still off the alcohol?
GW: Yeah, I'm off everything still, but it's something that had taken
me over for so long. It's a drag that the desire is still there. Well,
it's always going to be - if you're an alcoholic that doesn't change,
so…
BV:
On a regular concert day, what emotions do you most often go through?
What's the rest of the day like to you?
GW: I'm always mentally preparing. I think the other guys are too. If
we have a day off we'll act very differently to if it's a show day.
Even if we have 15 hours before we're playing. Like today, we have a
lot of time, something like nine hours now. I'm always trying to keep
my head in that space, or at least trying to prepare myself for what's
about to happen at night. You can't do certain things, because certain
things will take your head out of place. I won't go an amusement park.
Let's say there's an amusement park a block away… I won't go there.
I'll avoid stuff like that. It'll fuck with my head all day. I can't
do anything that will really boost my serotonin level that much, or
make me too happy or too upset. I avoid movies. I'll occasionally watch
movies on the TV but we won't go to a theatre, we won't do stuff like
that. We just generally walk around and be bored.
BV:
What would happen if you did go to see a movie?
GW: I think the movie would affect my brain too much. I think walking
around and always starting to think about the show, you constantly build
this bored-ass nervous energy and it's boredom to the point that you're
ready to tear something off the wall and I think we all need that to
do what we do live.
BV:
How do you feel when you get off stage? Does it feel like a release?
GW: Yeah. It feels like you've just sweat and yelled every good and
bad thing out of your body. You really feel like a blank slate offstage.
Unless something disastrously goes wrong or something breaks, like that
night when the water hit the thing (when the band played Birmingham
Academy 2 in September someone threw water over the PA), then you're
kind of bummed on that so you focus on that and that's a drag. You sit
there and go 'oh God, I can't believe that happened' and usually you'll
joke about it with the guys. That sucks 'cause it's out of your control
and you're not used to something spiking your momentum. We weren't too
bummed; we actually had fun that night. We could've taken that a lot
worse I think than we did, but instead we were like 'let's have fun.
Whatever, we'll fix this. If we don't fix this, we'll still make it
through the set'.
BV:
Frank said 'when listening through this record we want you to go through
different emotions like a ride'. What sort of emotions? Do you want
listeners to experience sad emotions when listening to the album?
GW: Yes. 'Cause there are a lot of emotions, there's happiness, sadness,
anger…
BV:
Wouldn't you rather them just feel happiness?
GW: No, 'cause they can feel happiness from a lot of different records
I think. I think with our records you can feel everything. Maybe not
everything, but… you can feel a lot of things. The most present
feelings on the record are sadness and hope. I think there's a lot of
hope on the record so it doesn't matter to us that there's so much sadness
or depression or violence or anger, as there's so many other things
on there.
BV:
And you like getting a range of emotions from someone else's music yourself?
GW: Yeah.
BV:
Name an album by another band that has allowed you to experience a wide
range of emotions.
GW: Probably the 'Murder Ballads' by Nick Cave. Because that's got all
kinds of crazy shit. It's got really sad songs. It's got songs like
'Stagger Lee' on it which are just brutal. It's got really ironic ones.
I don't think I felt happy at any one point of that album. No, definitely
at the end, 'Death Is Not The End' with all his friends singing with
him. That song makes me happy. But that's about the only one that makes
me happy on the record.
BV:
Kyle Bishop of Black Maria once said 'to me, a song is never finished,
it always takes a new direction every time it is performed'. Would you
agree and which of your songs would you say has grown and taken new
directions since it was originally recorded?
GW: That's interesting that he said that. I would agree that the songs
take on new directions for sure. I'll tell you which ones I feel. You
never know how the song's going to be until you play it live. Sometimes
it takes on a whole new life and you're just 'woah, that isn't what
we thought it was going to be'. It's mostly good. I think they're finished.
I see what he's saying so I do agree with his point. A song like 'Prison'
is really super rowdy live and that's taking a kind of trashy, cabaret
live, it's more punk than it is on the record. 'It's Not Okay' has gone
from being this cry for help set to pop music to being this total freak-out,
all these kids' bodies flying over the barricade and losing their shit.
It's been really cool.
BV:
Frank's been in bands since the age of 11. You only a few years ago
decided to be in a band. How has the difference amount of time in bands
worked? Has Frank got all the experience from being in bands previously
while your outlook is maybe fresher?
GW: He does, he does. But the beauty of it is that everybody in this
band was all part of the same musical community from a young age, so
while we weren't in bands he was on the other side being in a band.
We were always supporting by going to the shows, meeting the bands,
being part of the community that way. He was always in the bands. So
was Ray from probably about the age of 16 or even earlier. He was also
in bands. It's interesting because he brings in those perspectives.
I bring in an interesting perspective as being an outsider in a way,
as someone who hasn't been in bands. Sometimes there's a fresher way
of looking at things, while a lot of times he has really good insight
too. Even stuff he learned at 11 years old. 'I've seen this shit happen
in bands'. He's seen shit go down in bands, emotionally, how a band's
structure works and all that.
BV:
What's Bob brought to the band since his addition?
GW: Bob is an extremely unique and special individual. Bob's kind of
a constant. Bob has your back. We all have each other's backs but Bob's
a really strong person too. You know getting up that you can always
count on him. You know that no matter what happens, he's going to make
it work. I've seen the kid play sets with half a drum set. I've seen
him play sets on other people's kits. I've seen him play on rented,
broken kits. I've seen Frankie take out most of his cymbals and bass
drum on national TV by accident and he's managed to finish the song.
There's nothing I'm ever worried about with him. He makes us all feel
very comfortable. There's a level of comfort that comes with him. There's
a kind of love we have for him, it's just very exciting to turn around…
It's gotten to the point where we look at him and it doesn't look weird
to us anymore. It's Bob, he's in the band. He's been in the band but
it's only been a few months, so that takes time, but it's gotten to
the point now where we look around and we expect to see Bob. We're not
surprised to see him. He's also someone that on an emotional level makes
you feel so good and makes you laugh and it carries over live.
BV:
'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' was a part concept album in which you
incorporated yourselves as you went along. If you were told right now
to finish the story, or write the song that would serve as 'the end'
what would the ending be like?
GW: I just figured out the ending to the story yesterday. This is the
total truth too. I was doing an interview and I didn't say it during
the interview but I actually figured out the end of the story. It's
weird because I never came up with an ending to this story. It's really
bleak though, but it would have to end this way if it was a movie, right?
So the guy has to bring the devil the souls of a thousand evil men to
be united with the woman he loves. I'm sure a lot of people saw this
coming but I never realised it. So obviously he kills 999 evil men and
then he realises the last evil man he has to kill is himself. I thought
of that and was like 'man, why didn't I think of that before?!' But
at the moment I don't know what it'd be like as a song.
BV:
Celebrity Big Brother recently graced UK TV screens. If you had to share
a house with six celebrities, who would you choose and why?
GW: I wanna mix it up. I don't want to pick obvious. What would be interesting?
See, they all used really interesting people already though. I met Ron
Jeremy in person. They have this kind of Big Brother in the US. Have
you seen it? In the second series they had Ron Jeremy in it and I actually
got to meet him and he was really cool in person. Probably Rip Taylor,
Liza Minelli… let's see who else… This is tough… Ashlee
Simpson and Lindsay Lohan, 'cause they probably wouldn't get along very
well. Let's pick some actors… Edward Norton… because I'd need
someone to hang out with in that house… he'd probably be the only
one I could hang out with. That's five… I just need one more. I
dunno, any MTV VJ or something like that. That'd probably be funny.
BV:
How would you get on living in a house with six others? Are you easy
to live with?
GW: Yeah, I think I'm easy to live with. I think all the guys in the
band are too. We never have any problems. We all have our moments of
complainingness or bitchiness and stuff like that.
BV:
Is there anything that might annoy you living with celebrities?
GW: Oh yeah, I'm sure a lot. I'm sure that they're all used to being
pampered and taken care of, none of them probably wash dishes, none
of them probably clean the toilet, they probably leave scum in the shower,
they probably have crazy fans trying to meet them all the time so there's
no privacy, that kind of stuff.
BV:
Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers has been missing for 10 years.
Do you think someone could run away and go missing for ten years and
still be alive?
GW: Yeah. Me and Mikey love the Manic Street Preachers. I didn't know
it was that long. That's crazy. I think he's missing. Once you develop
a persona that carries over into getting any sort of fame or recognition,
it's very easy to reverse the process, and it's very easy to change
who you really look like. For me, very simply if I cut my hair it'd
be very easy. And if you move somewhere where people really don't give
a shit about music, which is actually a lot of places in the country
and in the US too. A lot of places in the Midwest or the Northeast you
could just vanish. You'd have to move away from everybody you know but
you could do it.
BV:
Some musicians think of music as salvation. You've said that the next
album is more about 'damnation and salvation'. Can you comment more
on that?
GW: Sure. It's just all the feelings that we've gone through from the
rise of the band and the introduction of sobriety to my life. It brings
up a lot of subjects of damnation and salvation. It's not religious
in terms of Jesus Christ or organised religion of the church, but it's
more like the band is your salvation and the music is, and you start
looking at it that way and the band takes on a whole new light. The
songs feel obviously more mature, obviously more evolved, but they all
feel more honest, more direct, more desperate, a little less poetic,
but only from the standpoint of brutal honesty and from a need to really
be direct with people.
BV:
Prior to the UK tour you were on TRL. How was that?
GW: It was really weird. It was really interesting. Kind of like a science
experiment is the best way to describe it. They introduced us and brought
us out. It was probably one of the scariest things ever because not
only is it live television, but you are literally thrust into this TRL
world. Forget everything you know about the normal world. They bring
you out and there are all these kids screaming. There are these bright
colours everywhere and Times Square is right out the window and you're
like 'oh my God'. You look outside and there are hundreds of people,
there's NYPD, there are signs, and screaming and cars whizzing by almost
hitting all these people, and you're like 'oh man, this is not normal'.
I think I said it on the air, I felt like we were from Mars. Frank had
said he'd asked if they were sure they had the right band. And all I
heard from people who watched it was that we just looked very mean…
which we weren't trying to do on purpose, I think we were just a little
overwhelmed. Yeah, it felt like we'd come from another planet and people
were like 'welcome to planet earth!' and we were like 'wow'.
BV:
Did you feel like you conquered it?
GW: Definitely. We at least gave a performance that had never been given
on TRL. It felt like it. It's a victory just to have a band like us
on TRL I think. A lot of people could view it in a negative way, but
I think those are people that like to view anything in a negative way.
They could view it as 'oh, it's going to change for them now, there
are little girls that like them, they're going to sell out' and all
this stuff. If our band doesn't do that, doesn't go on TRL… not
selling out - 'cause we wouldn't do that… if our band doesn't go
on TRL, if a band like ours that comes from our community doesn't step
up the plate and make people aware of them and our scene, you're just
going to see the same shit on TV and the radio and it's going to be
this endless cycle of garbage. So whether we sink or swim on commercial
television, like TRL, that's neither here or there, the point is to
be on there.
BV:
It's almost like bringing salvation to the world!
GW: That's kind of a big thing to say! In a way it feels like bringing
a little more honesty to the world, to music at large. There are so
many honest, passionate, sincere bands out there but you don't see them
on TRL. There are some that you see on there, but not so many bands
that come from such an underground place, that literally come from the
basements and refuse to do things like showcase for major labels. There
are a lot of things we would refuse to do, like pander ourselves in
any way. For the first three months we wouldn't even say our band name
live or give out stickers. When we finally had a website we felt a little
apprehensive about it. So yeah, we decided it was important, that it
was necessary in a way that we were on TRL.
BV:
Some of your long-time fans on one of your fan site message boards were
saying they didn't like you being on there and seem threatened and worried
that all the trendy kids will start liking you.
GW: Yeah, it's understandable. Our fans from the beginning have been
going through that forever. What a lot of people don't realise is that
they got into us because they felt alienated and they were the only
people who were into us. And a lot of these kids, despite the fact that
they may be 14 years old, female and at high school, it doesn't mean
they're any less alienated. There's a lot of sexism, racism and homophobia
that these kids all have to face at high school and that's something
that we connect with. Just because them and their ten friends like the
band and you just liked it alone doesn't make it any different. I understand,
it makes sense that they feel threatened; I get it. It doesn't bum us
out that bad. It's kinda par for the course.
BV:
Do you have a message for fans who've been around right from the beginning
- and also a message for any new fans.
GW: Yeah. Definitely what I just said to the old-time fans. We were
just as alienated as you which is why you got into the band and a lot
of these kids that are new are just as alienated as us. There's nothing
that's going to change about the five guys in the band. We may make
videos that cost more money and we may really get to execute our vision,
which is all we really use money for, to make a live show better or
really execute something that we bought, 'cause we've always wanted
bigger things in terms of production. That's the only thing that's going
to really change. You're going to see more lights and cooler stuff on
stage hopefully as the band gets more income to do that. For the new
people, I really ask them to look into the band, but don't even go by
what you read on message boards. The internet is a really evil place.
Go by what you hear on the CD and what you see live. That's really all
there is to it. And when you meet us in person, if we have the time,
and it's a safe condition in which to talk to you, then we'll always
try and make that time, and maybe you'll find out a little bit more
about the band that way. But the best way to find out about the band
and make assumptions is by listening to that CD because it's all right
there. The old fans we have always loved and we're always going to love
to the end, and we know they're the people that will be there to the
end and we don't forget that kind of thing. But the thing is we're one
of those unique bands where the newer fans that we attract will also
be there at the end 'cause of what this band will do for them and what
we do for ourselves, and what we try and do for society.
BV:
On 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love' there's a song
called 'This Is The Best Day Ever'. What's been the best day ever so
far?
GW: It's hard to say, we've had so many amazing things happen…
I think the best day at least from my perspective was hearing that we
got the Green Day tour. A lot of really great things happen to your
band and you get so used to it and then when something like that happens
you go 'wait a minute, a lot of that stuff didn't really matter as much
as this'. To have recognition from a band that's done it their way for
so long and cares so much about their music and their fans and their
integrity, to be acknowledged by that kind of band is the biggest thing
that could happen to a band. To be accepted by that band. It's kinda
like being lead in, it's kinda like being made in the mafia. We haven't
been made yet, but we've been given a chance and that's rad. A chance
to prove ourselves by our heroes.
BV:
What would be your best day ever in the future?
G: Playing Times Square outside on New Years. That would probably be
the best day ever. That would be nuts… especially if we had pyro.
That'd be pretty cool.
Indeed. Black Velvet's
always wanted to go to Times Square for New Years. If My Chemical Romance
played we'd be there like a shot. Sounds like a plan.
Visit www.mychemicalromance.com for more info.
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Off the back of
the success of 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love'
My Chemical Romance (Gerard Way - vocals, Ray Toro - guitar, Mikey Way
- bass, Frank Iero - guitar and Matt Pelissier - drums) rushed into
the studio in between tours to complete work on their second full length
offering 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge'. "It's definitely a lot
of growth for the band, rapidly from the first record," Gerard
explains. "It's definitely a transitional record. You can hear
a lot of the stuff we did well on the first record, that's all brought
onto the second record but we explore a lot of different song types,
structures, it's actually more structured for sure. The songs are all
collectively a lot shorter."
Many bands profess
to either being a 'studio' or a 'touring' band, enduring one because
of the enjoyment the other brings. Unusually, My Chemical Romance claim
to have no preference. "I think we're split pretty much. We like
making records; we already want to make a new one. But at the same time,
after three months in LA recording, the first night of our first tour
we were like "fuck man this is what we live for". At the same
time when you're on tour for a year and a half you're like, "I
wanna make a fucking record".
The band is also
unable to write on the road. "We like to write together in Jersey
at our little shitbox practice space, that's where we write everything.
We like to have stuff ready, sitting around in a studio, wasting thousands
of dollars, going "ah I got a riff". That's a waste of time
to us."
In fact, work on
the album got so pressured that Gerard disappeared for a few days during
the recording process, prompting a post on the band's official website
declaring the front man 'Missing in Action', much to the concern of
their loyal fan base. He explains, "It was more irresponsibility
than MIA. I had forgotten my phone charger, I had a credit card on me,
a notebook and some art supplies. I realised I had to finish two songs
lyrically and do the artwork, so I found a hotel, charged a room and
stayed there for a couple of days. But it got out of hand and it was
really irresponsible of me. It was a little bit drink-fuelled, not majorly.
It was more like I gotta get all this shit done and I'm gonna stay up
constantly to do it and not use the phone or tell anybody where I was."
In the early stages
of writing, the new album was rumoured to be a concept album about a
guy that comes back from the dead to wreak revenge on those that had
wronged him during his life. It turns out that although things did not
pan out exactly as planned, fans hoping for a revenge-fuelled zombie
killing spree will not be disappointed. "It is and it isn't a concept
record. The coolest thing that happened on this record is the fact that
we went into it as a concept record and then partway through making
it you kinda get lost in the story, in your own life and stuff like
that. And you can't help but write about your own life. There's a lot
of stuff that happened in the band that I wanted to relate through lyrics
about what happened in our first year and a half that I really just
said 'fuck it' to the concept.
"So it's like
this cool concept where you get lost in it then you gotta figure out
what's part of the concept. 'Cause I'd say at least half of the record
follows the concept, even the songs that have nothing to do with the
concept too. You can't really plan things when you make a record 'cause
if you do that then you get stuck. Oh you gotta use this song because
it tells the story as opposed to oh you gotta use this song because
it's a great song."
It seems that lately
concept albums have been making somewhat of a surprising comeback. Coheed
And Cambria are partway through a Star Wars-like trilogy of albums detailing
the untimely end of a pair of characters confusingly called Coheed And
Cambria, The Mars Volta's critic pleasing debut 'Deloused In The Comatorium'
is a tale of a friend's coma after a failed suicide attempt and The
Street's 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' is a moving account of, erm,
losing a thousand pounds. My Chemical Romance believe this lyrical revival
is a change for the better. "I think they're just bored of the
same old shit and people are coming up with very creative science fiction
horror movie type things and they wanna tell those stories through music,
and I think that's really really awesome. I think people are kinda moving
away from singing about relationships between men and women and moving
onto more fictional things. And I think that's really cool because you
can relate fiction sometimes better than reality."
With songtitles
like 'Vampires Can Never Hurt You', some would argue that Gerard's lyrics
are pure fiction. However, the frontman reveals that it is a conscious
decision by the band to mask the true meaning of the songs behind horror
movie imagery rather than the lyrics being completely straightforward
(albeit supernatural metaphor-less.) Although the paranormal associations
make for some extremely cool merchandise, the new album is a step away
from all things Halloween themed. "The second record has a lot
less of the supernatural element aside from the fact that it's a concept
record about a guy that comes back from the dead. Obviously that's supernatural.
We've kinda moved away from the vampire thing."
In case you are
wondering, yes, the band are massive horror movie fans. The quintet
saw Dawn Of The Dead together in Los Angeles whilst recording, the movie
getting a big thumbs up from the band, unlike over the top blockbuster
Van Helsing, Frank describing as "awful".
Another of the
band's passions is cartoons, an obsession of Gerard's in particular.
Before the group took off, the singer was working for a company making
a series called 'Sheep In The Big City', as well as developing a show
of his own called 'The Breakfast Monkey.' Intrigued, Black Velvet asked
the obviously multi skilled front man to explain more. "It was
a failed idea, it never got sold but it got close. It was about a monkey.
He doesn't really look like a monkey though so it's kinda weird. He
looks more like a cross between a monkey and the Pillsbury Dough Boy,
and he has breakfast magic powers which are unexplainable. He hangs
out with a Spanish wrestler and a kid who is really sugar damaged and
has ADD and he rides his bike in all the pictures."
Recommending 'Aquatine
Hunger Force', ("It's incredible. Makes no fucking sense, it's
awesome") and 'Adult Swim' as cartoons for us Brits to look out
for in the future, My Chemical Romance feel that television in the UK
is a bit of a let down. As is the food. "I did have a nice pizza
today, I will say that," announces Ray, before adding "at
a pub, but I might have had four beers anyway by that point." The
culture shock topic is one the assembled give careful consideration
to. The measures used to pour spirits are a particular pet peeve of
Gerard's. Unbelievably such devices are non existent in America, "the
bartender just puts as much as he wants in there. Sometimes you get
a bartender that will put almost all vodka in your drink," he explains.
"In the States, if you get a vodka cranberry it's almost clear,
just a little bit of pink in it. In the UK there is just a smidgen of
vodka in it, so yeah that was kind of a culture shock for me personally."
Before the topic
is well and truly exhausted, Ray remarks "the toilet bowls flush
differently" and "all the toilet paper is really rough."
My Chemical Romance have toured with a bizarre variety of bands, from
hardcore to emo and everything in between, their dream being to open
for Iron Maiden one day. Whilst not as high profile as a support slot
with Bruce Dickinson and co, the band did play this year's Concert For
Compassion in Los Angeles. They explain to Black Velvet how they got
involved, "I think that happened pretty quickly. John Reese, who
manages The Used and Story Of The Year, has been a big supporter of
the band for a long time and they were like "you wanna play this
thing? It's gonna be cool and you're already gonna be out here."
We said absolutely 'cause it's a good cause. So we did that and it was
fun." A show to raise awareness of animal cruelty and to stop animal
testing at Huntington Life Science's lab, many of the bands on the bill
were extremely passionate and vocal supporters of animal rights, actively
involved in work with charities like PETA. My Chemical Romance, however,
do not fall into that category, and whilst you are unlikely to find
the band protesting outside your local KFC, it would be equally as unjust
to suggest that the band does not care. "We don't really have any
kind of political stance or anything, but we support good causes. If
it's a cause like that then we'll absolutely support it. We haven't
really got into that aspect of things as a band" Gerard clarifies.
None of the band
are vegetarian, "I wear a leather jacket" the singer states.
"I didn't wear my leather jacket that day obviously, but I wear
one every show so it's kind of interesting they even asked us to play.
PETA contacted us once and I was like "dude what are you doing?
I'm wearing a leather jacket!" I mean I didn't kill it, I just
saw it in a second hand store, it's a cool jacket."
Despite claiming
not to get into "that" aspect of things as a band, the one
cause the band readily lends their support to is suicide prevention.
When asked if they feel it is important to communicate such a positive
message, Gerard answers "absolutely. Especially when you get up
there and you and your band are so violent and abrasive and drunk sometimes
onstage. It's very important to at the same time give a positive message.
And even if we weren't that way live, I think it's kind of your duty
as an artist that young people listen to and look up to or whatever
they do, to lead people in the right direction, as opposed to just an
extremely nihilistic attitude where you just say "fuck everything,
it's all pointless, we should just die". There has been a lot of
art like that made. There's nothing wrong with being crazy and cursing
your head off and being nuts on stage but at least have something important
to say."
Wise words indeed. Nu metal is then mentioned, where a generation of
frustrated teens were encouraged to respond to life's problems by sticking
their middle fingers in the air. "Exactly," Gerard proceeds.
"I think an example of that is Limp Bizkit. They have a song where
it's just like "break stuff". It's ridiculous. They played
Woodstock and incited riots and people got raped. Is that leading anybody
to anything good? I don't think so."
And there you have
it. Jekyll and Hyde undoubtedly. My Chemical Romance not only want to
send you home from their shows with temporary tinnitus and clothes drenched
in other people's sweat (the tell tale signs of a good gig); they want
to lead you in the right direction. They rock, but they care.
Visit www.mychemicalromance.com for more info.
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