thePULSEHope reigns on “The Black Parade”
By Bobby Hankinson
The boys of punk-pop outfit My Chemical Romance, which comes to the DCU Center May 8, know the value of hope and aren’t afraid to use it to stir the masses. The message has persevered since the five piece band, spawned from the New Jersey punk scene, was transformed into a platinum-selling power group.
But before the videos and memorable performances at MTV award shows, My Chemical Romance found inspiration from the tragedy of September 11, 2001.
“That day happened and we started to realize, ‘I’m in this safe little environment where I think nothing can touch me and nothing in the outside world has any bearing on me,’ but you find out that you’re wrong,” guitarist Frank Iero said on the phone from Reno. “It makes you want to get out there and do something about it.”
And so Iero, along with singer Gerard Way, bassist Mikey Way, guitarist Ray Toro and drummer Matt Pelissier (who has since left the group and been replaced by Bob Bryar) decided to make a difference through music, influenced by bands like Pennywise and NOFX.
Their local punk scene had already been booming and Iero said members of the community were very supportive. Still, the proliferation of punkers only increased competition.
“There was a scene at one time when there were like maybe six shows a night, you had to pick which one you wanted to go to,” he said. “When My Chem finally started to come up in the scene, it was almost to the point where it was over-saturated … you had to be really good to make your mark.”
As the band started to gain a devout following, the world was formally introduced to My Chemical Romance after the release of their second album, “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” released on Reprise. With the mainstream success of singles like “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” “Helena,” and “The Ghost of You,” as well as an appearance at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, some punk fans might have been turned off. Not so for My Chem fans, Iero said.
“The cool thing is, really, and I mean this completely, it’s that our fans are so rad and they were the ones that made us feel like it was OK to take the next step to reach a lot of people.” But he conceded, “There’s always going to be a few kids here or there who talk sh*t on the internet.”
To follow up “Three Cheers,” the band embarked on an ambitious concept album, “The Black Parade.” Iero said the band had originally hoped to model the disc after the traditional morality plays about sin and redemption, but early on began to see an actual character emerging.
“When that happened it definitely became a lot more tangible … because everybody could put themselves in this person’s shoes,” he said. “The story started to come about and we really found out who he was and where he was going and the struggles he had and the people he meets along the way.”
As a further departure from the band’s previous work, Iero said they also began incorporating more of their positive message into the song’s lyrics. “We started to notice we’d be playing these songs live and the hope really came from what we said in between songs and now we’ve made a conscious effort to put that message within the songs.”
When it comes to the live show, Iero said that in addition to getting an old-school My Chem set, fans can count on seeing the “The Black Parade” brought to life visually.
Chances are if the fans come with open ears and open minds, they may also be treated to a whole new outlook on life.
Ummm…. Yeah I’ve been a fan of MCR for a long time and i let people know about it. But I’ve found that its not that they don’t care its that they don’t know. I mean everyone has problems just not as we do. People at my school are so simple and I envy that soo much, i wish I didn’t know half of what I do, and I can’t fake it because it suckx more. I have friends but there way different than me they’re not into MCR like I am they don’t feel this way. But I have a band And we like to be inspired and you guys do that so Thank you very much.