My Chemical Romance: Chemists of Punk Rock

In mid-2001, My Chemical Romance’s Lead Singer Gerard Way was going through a rough patch in his life. Even as a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Way was battling depression, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse partially due to the 9/11 terrorists attacks.

One day, he and his high school friend, Matt Pelissier, decided to sit down and put his anger and frustration into music. 

“I was doing animation in New York City, living in my mother’s basement,” Way explained in the band’s biography. “And I was really starting to question the direction of my life. So I called Matt, who’d been asking himself a lot of the same questions. We decided we would get together and play some music.”

Out of this therapy session, the two wrote “Skylines and Turnstiles,” about the 9/11 attacks. Pleased with the song, Way and Pelisser called in their hometown friend of Belleville, New Jersey, Ray Toro, to be the group’s lead guitarist. From there, the other members of the band began to fall into place.

Way’s younger brother, Mikey Way, was added as a bass guitarist and Frank Iero was added as rhythm guitarist. Mikey came up with the name “My Chemical Romance” while working at Barnes and Noble and coming across Irvine Welsh’s book “Ecstasy: Three Tales Of Chemical Romance.” 

In 2002, the band signed with Eyeball Records and released their debut album, “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love” which included the song “Skylines and Turnstiles.”

Since then, the band has released three more albums while acquiring a dedicated fan base. Despite some member changes, the band was able to stick together and become know not only for their music but for always wearing coordinating suits or military uniforms.

Way explained to ConcertLivewire.com that the band began wearing uniforms “when I got clean and sober. It was almost important for us to be in the same gang. We needed it. We needed it for ourselves. It was the visual.”

Toro added that “when all that went down there was definitely a sense of unity among all of us that was never there before and I think it was just good to have a visual representation that staged the show with solidarity like a focus we all had and shared together.”

The sound of their music is loud, fast, and aggressive but melodic at the same time. In an interview with ConcertLivewire.com, Way explained that when writing songs he tries “to get the sound before I get the lyrics ’cause even though lyrics are the important thing, the most important thing is the sound that you are communicating. ‘Cause as human beings or animals, that’s the first thing you respond to emotionally is the sound. So I try to get this first.”  

Despite rumors of their music being more “emo” than punk rock, way explained to ConcertLivewire.com that they are a punk rock band.
Way said punk rock “is something that you believe in, not really dictated to you by something else. It’s not a fashion style. It’s how you live your life, how you choose to live your life, and the decisions that you make. If you even decide to acknowledge it as punk rock instead of acknowledging it as just being yourself. That’s all it means to us because it becomes such a marketing thing now or at least how people know punk rock.”

My Chemical Romance started out as a therapeutic jam session but is now one of the most successful alternative punk rock bands in the world. But don’t worry MCR fans, these guys aren’t done making music just yet.

The chemists of punk rock are currently concocting their fifth album. Earlier this year Way told Gigwise.com:

“We’re writing music every day at the moment. Now the band is in such a healthy place that there’s no more ‘I want to run away’ or ‘It’s about me’. Now it’s like this is what I do and I want to do this for the rest of my life. Everybody’s so happy.”

For more info on My Chemical Romance visit: http://www.mychemicalromance.com
-Alexandria Richard