My Chemical Romance, su vida y su insesperada separación.

Después de 12 años, 4 albums de estudio y 2 en vivo, My Chemical Romance anunció, hace exactamente una semana, de forma repentina e inesperada su separación en la página oficial de la banda:

My Chemical Romance se inició en 2001, cuando Gerard Way - inspirado por, la también banda de Jersey, Thursday e impulsado por los ataques del 9/11 - decidió que tenía que "salir del sótano". Reclutó a Ray Toro y a su propio hermano menor Mikey para tocar el bajo. Iero se unió después de que su banda, Pencey Prep, se separó, y al baterista original Matt Pelissier, quien dejó el grupo después de I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002) y Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004, platino), dando paso a Bob Bryar en 2006 con The Black Parade (platino). La banda se formó a si misma a partir de cero, generando su audiencia en fiestas de sótano en Jersey antes de que explotaran en la "cultura pop", convirtiéndose en la voz de la juventud inadaptada mientras exploraban los límites del rock drámatico. Su sonido emo-punk era apropiado para un comienzo tan sombrío, a pesar de que pasaron mucho tiempo en casi todas las entrevistas de su carrera tratando de distanciarse del género.

Después de su segundo álbum Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge lanzaron su álbum más popular, The Black Parade. Un álbum de ópera rock, que mostraba el amor de la banda por Queen, Pink Floyd y los musicales antiguos y se convirtió en su lanzamiento más exitoso. 

Su mas reciente album fue Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2010) su álbum más optimista y directo - directo por su significado en una saga post-apocalíptica establecida en 2019, desde ahí Gerard Way ha colaborado con Deadmau5 en "Professional Griefers", y la banda anunció que lanzaría canciones de las sesiones que precedieron a Danger Days lo que se llamó Conventional Weapons. La banda dijo poco acerca de sus planes para nueva música. Sin embargo, continuaron tocando en vivo durante el 2011 y a principios del 2012.

MCR tuvo varios exitos radiales incluyendo el himno del 2004 "I'm not Okay (I Promise)", el épico "Welcome to the Black Parade" en el 2006 y "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" y "Sing " en el 2010, esta última fue interpretada en Glee (tanto en la serie como en la gira) y se utilizó en una campaña de publicidad para American Idol.

En fechas recientes, como octubre del año pasado, la banda informó que estaba trabajando en nuevas canciones para su quinto álbum, y en diciembre del 2011 se presentaron en Yo Gabba Gabba! Especial de Navidad. La última presentación de MCR en vivo fue el 19 de mayo de 2012 en el Bamboozle Festival en New Jersey. 

Después de todo esto, el anuncio de su separación, que se puede leer íntegramente en español a continuación, pareció haber salido de la nada.

"Estar en esta banda durante los últimos 12 años ha sido una verdadera bendición. Hemos llegado a lugares que nunca pensamos que lo haríamos. Hemos sido capaces de ver y experimentar cosas que nunca imaginé posibles. Hemos compartido escenario con gente que admiro, personas que admiramos y lo mejor de todo, nuestros amigos. Y ahora, como todas las grandes cosas, ha llegado el tiempo para que termine. Gracias por todo su apoyo y por ser parte de la aventura."

La primera reacción en Twitter de los integrantes de la banda fue la siguiente:

Por supuesto, antes que este individuo reaccionara, Twitter casi se viene abajo por nuestro llanto. Los comentarios de fans, incluyendo los nuestros made in Ecuador no se hicieron esperar:

Esto nos afectó mucho debido a que eran una banda creada a partir de personas como nosotros, que en algún momento de nuestras vidas nos habiamos vuelto invisibles ante la sociedad, una banda que se basaba en ideas y acciones, esperanzas y sueños. Estaban eternamente en la intersección de la creatividad y el conflicto. Es la razón por la que eran una gran banda, y hoy es una gran perdida.

Contados días después Gerard tomó su cuenta de Twitter para contarnos su versión de la historia en una carta de 2206 palabras en la que encontramos párrafos como este:

"We were spectacular. Every show I knew this, every show I felt it with or without external confirmation. There were some clunkers, sometimes our secondhand gear broke, sometimes I had no voice—we were still great. It is this belief that made us who we were, but also many other things, all of them vital. And all of the things that made us great were the very things that were going to end us,"

Bandas influenciadas por MCR, fans de ellos como nosotros, entre ellos Fall Out Boy, también se pronunciaron al respecto, Pete Wentz en una entrevista dijo lo siguiente:

"Creo que, de alguna manera, hemos estado allí. Cuando estas en una banda como esta, en algún momento, tienes que vivir tu vida. Te enredas tanto en la banda. Así que definitivamente lo entiendo y aprecio y tienen una gran fanáticada siguiendolos, así que estoy seguro de que es duro."

My Chemical Romance cambió la forma en que veiamos el mundo, no lo hizo necesariamente fácil, no nos pintó un camino amarillo ni nubes de colores alrededor, My Chemical Romance hizo que nuestro mundo sea un poquito mas "vivible", ayudandonos día a día a sobrevivir en el con las líneas de sus canciones, nos mostró que no estamos solos, el MCRmy es un ejercito, pero también es una familia, muchos hemos conocido a personas que hoy podemos llamar AMIGOS.

My Chemical Romance salvó vidas y con nuestra cuota de agradecimiento podemos seguir salvando mas, como digo yo "evangelizando", talvez la banda como tal terminó, pero las canciones quedan y duran mas allá de la vida. My Chemical Romance siempre será parte de nuestro presente, porque para muchos sin ellos hoy la historia sería otra, para muchos hoy no podrían leer este artículo... Para cada uno es diferente, cada fan tiene su historia, es intangible el sentimiento, pero les aseguro que cada uno lleva tatuado en el corazon un lazo muy fuerte con MCR.

El MCRmyEcuador ha tomado la decisión de no separarse, al menos no durante un buen tiempo, y si nuestras cuentas dejan de publicar, desaparecerán las cuentas mas no las personas, el grupo humano que se formó a partir de esta idea es un grupo que no solo se reune para ganar premios, este grupo significa mas que eso.

Como punto final de este articulo, lo que dijo Gerard, que debe estar presente siempre:

"My Chemical Romance terminó. Pero nunca puede morir. Está vivo en mí, en los chicos, y está vivo dentro de todos ustedes. Siempre lo supe, y creo que tú también. Porque no es una banda - se trata de una idea".

LONG LIVE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!

MCRmyEcuador
Proud to be a soldier... 

"FABULOUS KILLJOYS'" EVOLUTION - Way, Cloonan and Simon Interview [English]

Dark Horse Comics first teased "True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" way back in 2009 -- an eagerly anticipated science fiction epic from Eisner Award winner and My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. The book lingered in reader's imaginations as they awaited further news, but time kept moving on without the appearance of the book.

In late 2010, My Chemical Romance released their fourth studio album, "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys," which told bits and pieces of a story about a world dominated by a corporate entity, Better Living Industries, and a band of freedom fighters known as the Fabulous Killjoys. This world Way and his band mates had imagined was brought further to life in a pair of music videos for the singles "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" and "Sing," in which the freedom fighters, portrayed by the band members, duke it out against the forces of the corporate faction led by the character, Korse, played by comic book legend Grant Morrison. Time passed, and the story of the Fabulous Killjoys seemed, perhaps, to have ended there.

New York Comic Con 2012 brought the announcement from Dark Horse Comics that the long-awaited book would soon be seeing the light of day, making its first splash on 2013's Free Comic Book Day on May 4, with the first full issue of the "Fabulous Killjoys" miniseries, written by Way and Shaun Simon and featuring art byBecky Cloonan, on sale June 6. Comic Book Resources spoke with Way, Simon and Cloonan about the project.

The miniseries picks up some time after the events depicted in the My Chemical Romance music videos, with the story focusing on the young girl rescued by the Killjoys from Better Living Industries. Within the narrative of the videos, it seems apparent our protagonists are those fighting against corporate power, though Way said those assumptions are up in the air.

"It's really about this different story... between the bad guys and the good guys -- are there any good guys or bad guys?" said Way. "When you read this book you're going to assume that this big clean corporation are the bad guys, and all these punky-looking freedom fighters are the good guys, and I think that the story really explores that as well -- who in fact is good at all. You basically have two extremes, and in the middle of these two extremes -- one being about control and one being about total chaos -- you have this girl. Both sides basically want this girl for their own reasons."

A young child in the music videos, the girl is a little bit older now, and beginning to question her place in the world. "True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" looks closely at her journey and her struggle to figure out exactly what that place is.

"At the very core of it, it's the story of a young girl who, for her whole upbringing, pretty much has been told that she's the key to something very important," Way told CBR News. "It's about her self discovery and self actualization -- fulfilling destiny, or not fulfilling destiny -- and how one develops when one doesn't fulfill it."

"It’s basically the story of how society affects the lives of our three main characters," said co-writer Shaun Simon. "It’s about the choices they make when their lives stop fitting into what is expected of them."

While most of the characters depicted in the music videos set in the "Killjoys" world have faded into the background, there are several key players other than the girl that will be returning for their comic book debut.

"In the slums of Battery City, [in] an area called 'The Lobby,' we follow a pair of android call-girls who just want to be together," said Simon. "They're just trying to survive. We also follow Korse, Grant Morrison’s character from the videos, as someone who is working for BLI, the mega-corporation that controls Battery City. He's aged some since we last saw him and his trigger finger is getting rusty."

"There's another DJ named Cherry Cola. You find out something really interesting about him that connects him to the past and why he's still alive today," Way said. "He's probably my favorite character in the book -- he ends up developing an interesting friendship with the girl."

Much of the story Way originally had in mind for the "Killjoys" comic found its way into the My Chemical Romance album and music videos, transforming what was to be a self-contained story into a trans-media project. Despite drawing on the previous incarnations, the upcoming miniseries is a standalone story that is enriched by, but not predicated on, knowledge of past work.

"This is a comic I've been trying to make for years and it started out as something very different," Way explained. "It bled itself into the album I was doing with the band and ended up enveloping everything. It turned out as a much bigger art project than simply just a comic… We put a lot of effort into the fact that you don’t have to have seen the videos -- you don't have to listen to the record -- all of the information for this story that you're going to need is in the story. There're definitely situations that allude to stuff happening [in the videos] but it is a standalone story. That was really important for us."

The long gestation period, aside from allowing the story of the Killjoys to bleed into Way's other projects, allowed the story to shift and evolve over time. In many ways, the story Way and Simon are telling in the upcoming book is vastly different than what they set out to tell, and has changed to reflect their own shifting views of the world.

"A lot of the things that the original comic was [to be] about I feel like I was fortunate enough to be able to say within the videos," explained Way. "We didn't want to say that again -- we didn’t want to make this book about the direct struggle between, let's say, growing up and cleaning up versus keeping it dirty -- that's something that was really explored in the album, and that was a lot of the original comic."

"If we had written the book three and a half years ago when it was announced it would have been a completely different book," said Simon. "The themes would have been there, they haven’t changed, but everything else -- the main characters, their journey, the settings -- the whole world would have been different. It originally started with more of a '90s comic vibe. The stuff Vertigo was putting out at the time had a huge impact on the both of us. What we originally intended to do was more of a love letter those types of comics, but after Gerard had finished the record and was ready to sit down and work on the comic, the new story just kind of came to us. It was a lot of fun, going back and reworking things to fit into this new concept."

Simon and Way have shared a friendship and creative bond for many years. Simon accompanied Way and My Chemical Romance on their first tour over ten years ago, and it was during that time that many of the ideas seeding "Killjoys" began to take root.

"The way we experienced seeing America together for the first time -- really seeing America, being out there on the highways in the desert -- we developed an understanding -- our understanding, I guess -- of America and society," said Way. "We would talk to each other all the time about it, and we'd have observations -- basically throwing observations at each other. I feel like in a lot of ways we were collaborating back then, in the way that we were viewing the world."

Several years later, as Way was beginning to allow the Killjoys story to take shape in his mind, he began tossing ideas back and forth with Simon.

"Gerard had just won the Eisner Award for his first 'Umbrella Academy' series and was gearing up for the second when I got a call from him," Simon recalled. "He asked me about this idea for a comic I was working on. He and I always keep each other in the loop on what we are working on, so there were bits and pieces of information floating around between us up to that point. I knew he was also coming up with something new that wouldn’t fit into his 'Umbrella Academy' universe. During that phone call we discussed our own, separate comic ideas and realized they were so similar that he asked me if I wanted to turn it into one book and do it together. That was that. We started creating this story and world together."

Artist Becky Cloonan has also been involved with the project almost since its inception, and the back and forth between Way, Simon and Cloonan has gone a long way toward building a nuanced, collaborative world. Way had been a fan of Cloonan's work long before the two met at NYCC following the release of Way's first issue of "Umbrella Academy." When "Killjoys" started to gain traction as a project, Cloonan was the only artist on Way's mind.

"I called her up, I gave her the idea and I sent her a rough sketch of the early characters," said Way. "She did these really amazing designs and sent them back, so even before we were really doing the book she was working on it -- this was years ago. She's just always been the artist for it. I just saw the final pages for one of the issues and, to me, it's the best work she's ever done."

"I'm trying to make the world feel lived in," Cloonan told CBR News. "I'm taking a lot from my own experiences -- stuff like hiking around the desert in California or getting lost in Tokyo -- right down to little things like being frustrated at the line at the DMV, or looking under my desk and feeling overwhelmed by the cables and wires I have to deal with. I use all of it to draw 'Killjoys.'"

"Becky is amazing," added Simon. "She’s been involved in this project since the beginning and knows this world better then Gerard and I at this point. She'll add little details in the story that make this world feel real, lived in, like it actually exists somewhere out in the universe. She gets into these characters' heads and makes the emotion come through. I couldn’t imagine anyone else drawing this book."

With Cloonan attached at such a nascent stage, her early sketches and character designs had some influence over the aesthetic of the album and videos, which she in turn folded back into the look and feel of the book.

"As much as I'm trying to stay true to the videos, I'm also taking into account that there is so much fan art for this story already -- people making up their own Killjoy characters, designing their own masks and ray guns," Cloonan said. "I'm trying as hard as I can to keep adding to this legacy and make it something people will want to immerse themselves into again. Between all that, I'm still doing my own thing. When I draw characters or places from the video, I'm drawing my take on them... A lot of it is about energy -- the album, the videos, they all have this vibrancy and fast rhythm -- it's something I want to keep intact, while still capturing all of the intense, personal moments of the story."

While Cloonan nods to the My Chemical Romance album "Danger Days," Way himself cites the precursors of punk as large, looming influences over the aesthetic and tone of "Killjoys."

"I think the look of the comic and the feel are actually more inspired by other music rather than music {My Chemical Romance] makes," said Way. "I thought about a lot of proto-punk, and things like the Stooges are really big influence...The thing about Iggy, as opposed to, say, Bowie, is Iggy is extremely explosive and volatile. I feel that way about this comic -- I feel like a lot of the characters, almost all of them, are extremely explosive... I feel like everybody in this comic has a detonating point."

While it's set in a dystopian future, "Killjoys" is really about people struggling to make due in the world.

"The biggest challenge is not the vast amounts of detailed environments, or the wide array of characters, each with a distinct personality and sense of fashion -- both of which are very challenging, don't get me wrong!" But it's finding and hitting those raw emotional beats," Cloonan said. "I'm worried that if I'm not careful, they could get lost under all the action. There are so many layers to the story -- I want it to be exciting, and stylish, but I also want to hit people in their guts. These characters are worth caring about, and as the artist, I always keep that in the front of my mind."

Way, despite his stature in the music world, has had a much longer and more durable professional life in comics than most might guess. He spent his youth reading and collecting comics, and his teenage years working at a comic book shop. After high school, he earned a degree in Illustration and Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts in New York, and went on to intern at DC Comics. Working in comics was his earliest professional aspiration. His foray back into comic books as a creator with "Umbrella Academy," actually made the return to touring and recording as a band difficult.

"Going back to music was actually a little bit challenging," said Way. "It was my first dream to be involved in comics, and the music kind of happened in a weird way on accident, so to then go back to this world where there's stuff like major corporations, security guards and combative bands and, just, you can imagine -- it's really different. It's scarier to go back to music, because it's such a jungle, and I'd often fantasize about coming back to comics."

Without those experiences with My Chemical Romance, however -- touring the country and exploring the highways of America -- it's unlikely that the stories Way has been telling in the pages of his books would have taken shape in quite the same way.

"I don't think this story would have existed, and I don't think 'Umbrella Academy' would have without creating and touring on 'The Black Parade.' That had a lot to do with what went into those characters. I think every piece of art you do is relative to every other piece -- I was working on 'Umbrella Academy' at the same time I was working on 'Black Parade,' and the two kind of affected each other in a weird way. The same thing started to happen with the next album, so I thought, 'Let's just join these things.' But, no -- I don’t think that either story would exist without what I do for a living."

Dark Horse will release a first look at "The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" by Way, Simon and Cloonan on Free Comic Book Day, with the first issue on sale June 6.

Source: CBR

Reunion MCRmyEcuador Noviembre - Aniversario Danger Days!

Es un placer una vez mas anunciarles nueva reunión en las tres ciudades con las que ya contamos, en esta ocasión el motivo de la reunión es para celebrar el aniversario de Danger Days ya que este mes se cumple un año mas de lanzamiento del ultimo disco que nos trajo a los Killjoys.

 

Es por eso que en esta ocasión hemos pensado que nuestra reunión sera TEMÁTICA, sigan leyendo para mas detalles.

 

Azogues/Cuenca:

Esta vez la reunión sera en Azogues, el domingo 18 de noviembre, en el parque que queda junto al Terminal (donde esta el avión), si son de Cuenca nos vemos en el Terminal a las 10:10am, lleguen puntuales :)

Si son de Azogues nos vemos en el parque a las 10:40am.

Se les pide(opcional): Vayan de acuerdo a como se hagan llamar, es decir, vayan con su propio traje que represente su nombre killjoy.

 

Quito:

Nos vemos el mismo domingo 18 de noviembre, 11am en el Parque de La Carolina, en la Cruz del Papa.

Se les pide(opcional): Llevar antifaces killjoy... Ah si, lleven para el cevichocho.

 

Guayaquil:

Para seguir con nuestra costumbre nómada, nos encontraremos en los bajos del barrio Las Peñas, en la subida de las escalinatas, el domingo 18 de noviembre, 3PM, no mas indicaciones, somos muy fáciles de reconocer.

Se les pide(opcional): Que vayan disfrazados como el killjoy que mas los identifique, recuerden tienen para escoger Kobra Kid, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul y Party Poison.

 

En cada una de las reuniones habrá juegos, premios y los asistentes recibirán indicaciones de su administrador con respecto a dos cositas que están preparándose. Es importante que asistan a esta reunión porque no queremos que nadie se quede fuera de los planes que tenemos.

 

Esperando que todos asistan, se tomó en consideracion las sugerencias de muchos que decían que sus sábados eran ocupados, esta vez las reuniones serán el domingo 18 y YA NO HAY EXCUSA PARA FALTAR xD

MCR's GERARD WAY & Crew Talk KILLJOYS [Video]

My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way & Shaun Simon and illustrator Becky Cloonan talk about the Killjoys' comic and answer audience questions.




 

Source: Newsarama

Happy IMCRD desde Ecuador!

Para conmemorar un año mas del lanzamiento de Bullets, un año mas de banda, un año mas de seguirlos, el MCRmyEcuador preparó un pequeño tributo en el IMCRD (International MCR Day) con el aporte de varios fans y algunas fotos de nuestras reuniones. La canción que se usó fue "Headfirst For Halos" sacada de una de los primeras presentaciones en vivo y grabada de MCR: Live At The Knitting Factory 2003.

Esperando que el vídeo sea de su agrado se los dejo a continuación:

"Killjoys" de Becky Coolan y Gerard Way será lanzado en el 2013

Becky Cloonan conversó con Keysha C., reportera de Bleeding Cool y le ha dicho que ella está a punto de comenzar a trabajar el proyecto de Dark Horse previamente anunciado en la Comic Con del 2009 llamado Killjoys escrito por Gerard Way de My Chemical Romance. 

Fuente: Bleeding Cool

Mikey Way Interview [Coup De Main Magazine]

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE commemorated their ten-year anniversary on September 11th last year, which was followed up by the announcement a couple of weeks later, that the band would finally be returning to New Zealand - for the first time in five years - as headliners on the 2012 BIG DAY OUT.

Bassist MIKEY WAY gave Coup De Main a call while doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in Los Angeles at the close of last year...

COUP DE MAIN: My Chemical Romance are playing Big Day Out 2012!
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - MIKEY WAY: Yeah, we're super excited! Big Day Out is one of our favourite festivals, it's such an eclectic mix of so many different things and it's really about music - which is what a good festival should be about. The reaction from the fans in that part of the world rivals our greatest territories and the kids are always very rabid and very appreciative of us being there, so we're super excited to get back.

CDM: Are you planning to bring any of 'The World Contamination Tour' stage set-up with you?
MIKEY: We're going to bring as many of the elements as we can - the stage permitting - because bringing production to a festival can be tricky sometimes, but I think we've found a middle-ground. There's definitely elements from that first stage-show, that are going to be present at the ones coming up.

CDM: What will your setlist be like?
MIKEY: Every tour is different. We like to give people a piece of something... as fans that go to shows ourselves, we like going on a journey of a band's career, and so that's kind of how we work out setlists ourselves. We give people a taste of different eras of us, it's kind of like a mix-tape of us. We make a mix-tape of our songs every time we make a setlist, so that older fans have something to love on there and newer fans still have something to love, and we even throw a surprise or two in.

CDM: Do you think you'll play 'Bulletproof Heart'?
MIKEY: That's a strong possibility! We haven't gone through the setlist yet, but that's a song that we skipped on the Summer tour, so that coming back for this tour is highly probable.

CDM: Belatedly, congratulations on 'Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys' - it was my favourite album of 2010.
MIKEY: That's nice of you! Thank you so much.

CDM: Do you have any special plans for these upcoming shows, as they'll be the end of the 'Danger Days' touring cycle?
MIKEY: I think we're going to - us and the fans - we're both going to have a good time. We've waited just as long as they've waited for us to get there, we've been waiting to play for them! We still talk about our tours in New Zealand and Australia, we still talk about them all the time, like oh how great they were! We can come to the UK and have the most rabid fanbase, but they [NZ/AUS] give them a run for their money, so it's going to be something special and a good way to say goodbye to 'Danger Days'.

CDM: It seems like there was a lot of re-writing of songs during the 'Danger Days' recording process - e.g. how the song 'Trans Am' turned into 'Bulletproof Heart' - how do you know when a song is complete or finished?
MIKEY: It's weird... with us, it's like a song is finished when we run out of time and we can't work on it anymore... we'll go down to the very wire, because that's how we are about the little details and fine-tuning. The interesting thing about a song like 'Bulletproof Heart' - it was [originally] called 'Trans Am' - the interesting thing about the amalgamation of that song was that the song also lived within us, like we all got to live with the song and it was around for about a year before we recorded it again, so the song got to really transform, which you don't really get to do. Usually, when you write a song it's like: "Oh it's going right on the album and that's the way it is." And then like a year late you're like: "Well I would have done this different and I would have done that different." So we were actually given the opportunity to amend things that we decided against, which is a luxury that bands don't normally get. So that's what was so cool, [in] getting to recycle some of those 'Danger Days' songs, was that we got to change them to how we were feeling about them at that time/minute, instead of the year-and-a-half prior, how we felt at that moment when we wrote it and it was called 'Trans Am'. Then we found a new direction and we found a new flavour to add to the song, so it sounded more like a 'Bulletproof Heart'. It was a rare thing that bands don't normally get to do - to re-explore a song before anybody's gotten to it yet.

CDM: When you were musically experimenting with writing 'Planetary (GO!)', what was running through your mind?
MIKEY: 'Planetary (GO!)' is something that we've been going for since the very beginning of the band. We had a song called 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You' on the first album ['I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love'] and that had kind of a dance-feel to it, like very subtly. And then as we got more along, there was always a song that was closer and closer to being a full-blown dance song, like on 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' we had 'To The End', and then on 'The Black Parade' we had 'The Sharpest Lives'. 'The Sharpest Lives' is almost a dance-song, and then 'Planetary (GO!)' is full-blown. We wanted to go for it, we wanted to make a dance song, we wanted something to convey fun and a party-like atmosphere shooting through your speakers, and we wanted to channel some of our influences in the hip-hop world - and I think we finally accomplished that on 'Planetary (GO!)'.

CDM: Why does your Killjoy character KOBRA KID have "Good Luck" written on his helmet?
MIKEY: That's a nod to an old Nintendo game called 'Star Fox'. When you hit the 'Start' button there's this dog that shows up like a captain and would say "Good Luck" and it was just something that stuck with us for a long time. The game came out when we were teenagers [and] we always thought it was really interesting how the animals talked in that game. It also just means 'good luck' as well, but it's also a nod to Nintendo and 'Star Fox'.

CDM: Your brother Gerard has said that: "You'll see in the future that the Killjoys are not good people." Will there be any more Killjoys music videos to further explain this?
MIKEY: I don't think we're going to be making any more videos, but something is definitely on the horizon, the Killjoys story is far from over. I know Gee's working with SHAUN SIMON on the Killjoys comic - and I think that will... I don't know if it's going to directly tie in with the story, but there will at least be a sense of what happened somewhere within the story I'm sure.

CDM: I interviewed Shaun back in 2010 about the comic - so that's been a long time coming, right?
MIKEY: That's awesome, yeah! They're working on it, it should be relatively soon that you should hear something [new] about the comic.

CDM: Does the band still have any plans to release a THE MAD GEAR AND MISSILE KID full-length album?
MIKEY: Oh absolutely! That's something we talk about a lot, we just have to kinda find time. There's more songs we have that are Mad Gear songs and actually, there are more songs that Mad Gear have written that we are yet to discover. So sooner or later, that'll probably come to fruition as well.

CDM: If the 2012 doomsday prediction were to come true and you found yourself in a post-apocalyptic world, what would be the first steps you'd take to protect your family?
MIKEY: I think the safe bet would have to be: get canned food, you get your family, and find a bomb-shelter. <laughs> And then wait for everything to blow over, or try and come up with a solution from a safe haven, I think that would be the best course of action.

CDM: What do you think the spirit animal - or patronus - of each member of My Chemical Romance would be?
MIKEY: What's funny, is that we've all collectively talked about this, because it played into our characters of the Killjoys. Gerard's spirit animal is a gazelle - that's how he's always answered - Frankie would definitely be a wolverine, I would be a shark because of my inability to sit still, and Ray? Ray would be... I'm thinking super intelligent, super articulate, I would think owl.

CDM: What was it like performing on 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'?
MIKEY: That was a real dream come true! We've been huge fans of that show from its inception, because it had that feeling of those old Sid and Marty Krofft 70's kids shows - and there was a huge void for that in TV, for a kid's show that adults can enjoy on a different level. And the songs are always fantastic! I think FRANKIE [IERO] was on an airplane with someone that worked on the show and they got to talking: "Yo, if you ever have an opening, it would be an honour for us to be on your show." And they were also interested in us being on their show, so it was like one of those things where we both admired each other's work, and [then] we got to work together being on the show. And then they let us write our own song, which is even cooler, which was our own take on a Christmas song ['Every Snowflake Is Different (Just Like You)']. The experience was incredible, the atmosphere on the 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' set was so relaxed, and everybody on that set is really good friends and they're all just having fun. It's all positivity, which when you shoot television shows, sometimes that's not the case - but yeah, super positive vibes on that set, the nicest people and so intelligent.

CDM: Are there any plans to release a follow-up DVD to 'Life On The Murder Scene'?
MIKEY: It's actually something we talk about a lot, making a spiritual successor to 'Life On The Murder Scene'. If you were a betting person, I'd say absolutely. It'll happen probably sooner than later, I'd say.

CDM: What did the band do to celebrate My Chemical Romance's ten-year anniversary?
MIKEY: We played 'Skylines And Turnstiles' on our Summer tour - we hadn't played that song in six or seven years - and we did a little bit of a different rendition of that song. We did it on the tour with us and Blink-182, so that's kinda what we did, pay tribute to what had happened on that day [September 11th, 2001], and to celebrate the history of the band.

CDM: Have you begun thinking about or working on the next My Chemical Romance album yet?
MIKEY: We're kinda always writing, so it's like we're always thinking about what's next, so that'd be a yes. We're always constantly wanting to get onto the next thing or the new thing. So as soon as Big Day Out ends, we'll probably jump right back into trans-ship. 

CDM: Tell me something that no-one else knows about each member of the band, including yourself...
MIKEY: That's a tough question! For me I'd say... a fact that nobody knows about me is that I hate eggs, they gross me out. It's this weird thing from childhood, I don't know what it is, but I just think eggs are disgusting. I can't really think of anything for anyone else, I think people know almost everything about us! <laughs> But I could say for me, I hate eggs.

CDM: Apparently you're a self-confessed fan of Britpop - who are your favourite Britpop bands of past and present, and why?
MIKEY: Oh man, there's a lot! Some of my favourites... there's the classics like Blur and Oasis and Pulp, Suede and The Charlatans, The La's, The Smiths, The Cure, stuff like that. That was a huge part of my teen-years and bands I still listen to right through to this day, but it had a huge bearing on me as a teen and it was some of my favourite music, and is still to this day some of my favourite music.

CDM: If you had a full day off in New Zealand, what would be number one on your bucket list?
MIKEY: I'd love to go visit the 'Lord Of The Rings' set! That's something that we always want to do, but we don't ever have the time. Maybe this time we can squeeze it in, but that's always the top thing that we always want to do when we get to that part of the world.

CDM: Lastly, do you have a message for your New Zealand fans?
MIKEY: Thank you for waiting for us! We miss you as much as you miss us - and we promise that the wait will be worth it and we can't wait to see you there.

...and with that, our time with Way is up. We thank him and he says: "No worries! Word up, we're very excited to come back. Excellent, bye!"

Read the original post here: Coup De Maine

Danger Days 2012 Calendar Poster

18" x 24" 2012 - 12 month calendar featuring images from “Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys.”

This will start shipping on 12.19.2011.

Cost: $ 9.99

More Information on My Chem Store

Killjoy Jacket Design Contest Winners

Grand Prize: by. WolfMistress

Runner Up #1: by. Scrumtrulescent

 
Runner Up #2: By. ViennaKiss

If you want to know more about these jackets enter to My Chemical Romance Website here!

Blackbird Meets My Chemical Romance Meets InAisce

Last week, we received an e-mail from rockers My Chemical Romance asking if we’d like to be their VIP guests at their show that evening. We are dorks, so we of course jumped up and down and cancelled any other silly plans we had. My Chemical Romance said they had been long time fans of Blackbird and were very excited about InAisce, and the boots shown below. Gerard, the lead singer was looking for just the right boot as inspiration for the look of the band’s upcoming album. Nicole, Blackbird’s owner and creative director, shared stories of hanging out and sharing ideas with Jona, InAisce’s lead Designer while Gerard made sure these were just the boots he was looking for. Thanks to all the guys for a great time, your humble hearts and talent will continue to take you far.

INAISCE - LOW BOOT DETAILS:

Gorgeous fully lined reverse horse leather boot with a waxed finish. Square deerskin laces, 9 eyelets, angled full zipper at inner left with deerskin pulls, reinforced ankle with double stitched details through out. 3” stacked heel finished with 1/4” rubber heel cap. Distressed detailing along sole and heel.

Handmade in ItalySizing: These fit approximately one size small. 

InAisce, meaning “in vain” in Gaelic is the work of a designer based out of New York, Jona. Inspired by historical figures, events, art and photography, as well as incredible stories of actual history the designer creates visions of utilitarian clothing from the past with a modern touch and unique fabrics. $1212

Blackbird

Source: Blackbird Blog

My Chemical Romance se unió a Brian May de Queen en el Reading Festival

My Chemical Romance encabezo por primera vez el Reading Festival y se unió en el escenario con el guitarrista de Queen, Brian May.

 
May se unió a la banda en el inicio de su encore para tocar una versión de 'We Will Rock You' de Queen y luego se quedo para cerrar el set con 'Welcome To The Black Parade'.

 
Antes de la llegada del guitarrista, la banda habia tocado un grupo de canciones en gran medida de su cuarto álbum 'Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys'. Se produjo un show espectacular, con fuegos artificiales, rayos láser, una vídeo pared con multipantallas y confeti.

 
Way hizo alusión a los recientes disturbios en el Reino Unido durante el show. Dijo a la multitud:

"Se que algunas personas han hablado de los recientes acontecimientos de aquí, pero solo quiero decir esto. Es increíble estar aquí con gente que ama la música de una manera no violenta. Si estas enojado, no lances un golpe, no enciendas fuego sobre eso, no grites al respecto. Canta, es el arma mas poderosa que puedes tener."

Cuando tocaron en el festival en 2006 la banda fue víctima de botellazos de parte de la multitud. Pero este año, la respuesta fue bastante mas positiva, un miembro de la audiencia, Pete Smith, dijo: "Fue muy bueno, no esperaba tanto, pero me sorprendió lo buenos que estuvieron."

Otro miembro de la multitud, Andy Lilleshall, dijo: "Me sorprendió cuantas canciones de ellos sabia, fue muy bueno." Emma Grant también elogio al grupo y al invitado especial de la banda diciendo: "Me encanto y no puedo creer que he visto a uno de Queen en vivo, lo mejor de la noche."

My Chemical Romance tocó:
 
'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)'
'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)'
'Planetary (Go!)'
'The Only Hope For Me Is You'
'DESTROYA'
'Mama'
'Sing'
'Vampire Money'
'The Kids From Yesterday'
'Famous Last Words'
'Teenagers'
'Dead!'
'S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W'
'Helena'
'We Will Rock You'
'Welcome To The Black Parade'

Fuente: NME Magazine

Live @ Reading Festival, Reading, UK - 26/08 [Videos]

Na Na Na



I'm Not OK



The Kids From Yesterday



S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W



Helena



Dead



Teenagers



Famous Last Words



Planetary(GO!)



The Only Hope For Me Is You



We Will Rock You / Welcome To The Black Parade Feat. Brian May (Queen)

Bowie, Battery City y libros de Comics… [Entrevista 2010]

La revista neozelandesa "Coup de Main" publicó en su pagina web una entrevista de casi dos horas antes de la salida de Danger Days, esto en Octubre del año anterior. Para mantenerlos entretenidos aquí dejo la transcripción de dicha entrevista, créditos al final :) 

Gerard Way: Creo que Ziggy Stardust ha sido una gran influencia, incluso para mí desde la escuela de arte. Y además, todos nosotros amamos a David Bowie y hay un poco de Bowie, mucho de Bowie en The Black Parade también. Creo que el Black Parade es como cuando el glam comenzó. Y está muy vivo y muy bien en este, pero extrañamente este disco comenzó a sentirse un poco como “Diamond Dogs” en una forma rara, porque fue como una especie de un último hurra con glam. Y sobre la finalización del álbum, comencé a ver varios paralelos entre “Danger Days” y “Diamond Dogs”. Él habla sobre una ciudad allí llamada Hunger City. Nosotros hablamos sobre una ciudad llamada Battery City. Ahí obviamente hay mucha letra, muy al estilo futurista. Como él dice, sabes, él habla sobre un tanque de oxigeno y sobre salir de allí. Hay cosas así en el disco, el solo hecho de hablar de lasers y cosas así. Así que se sintió como si, tu sabes, él hizo esto. Y no creo que “Diamond Dogs” es un álbum concepto, y tampoco creo que “Danger Days sea un álbum concepto. Creo que tiene, creo que ambos tienen un concepto elevado, y que puedes entender mucho de la historia en solo una canción y luego el resto es una especie de…diferentes perspectivas del mundo.

Frank Iero: Creo que…creo que el concepto completo fue realizado probablemente hacia el final de la grabación, como una historia y el mundo que vino a realizar el disco, lo que lo hace sentir muy orgánico. Y no estábamos tratando de mostrar cosas en pequeños espacios, como: “Oh, esta canción es grandiosa, pero no calza por que la historia es así”. Fue mas como…nuestra historia del mundo es ahora esto por esta canción.

Ray Toro: Si, definitivamente es eso. Creo que el gran punto para este disco fue que es mas temático que la base de la historia, sabes? Y creo que funcionó mejor para nuestro beneficio. Si, como él dijo, cuando tratas de contar una historia, definitivamente a veces te estancas un poco por que estas como: “Oh, necesitamos este estilo de canción o esto… sabes, esta parte para completar la historia”. Y es mas sobre tener las bases sobre los temas y como él decía, usar el lenguaje, ahí es de donde viene el concepto.

Gerard: Bueno, comenzó como un comic, yo y mi amigo Shaun Simon, quien es amigo, de hecho, estuvo en la primera banda que Frank tocó –él nos ayudó en el comienzo. Básicamente todos estábamos en la banda, y él fue el amigo que trajimos con nosotros. Y nosotros…cuando eres joven y es tu primera salida y vas a ver a América por primera vez y eres una joven banda de rock hambrienta y un artista hambriento y lo estás haciendo, comienzas a formularte opiniones sobre el mundo y sobre el país en donde vives y simplemente haces observaciones. Así que años después, él y yo tuvimos una idea para un comic y nos juntamos para armar las cosas. Pero sobre hacerlo un disco, amo que Danger Days sea el título y The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys sea secundario al título, por que como The Black Parade, siento que The Fabulous Killjoys sómos nosotros, son los fans, son los artistas que conocemos. Es Shaun, es Becky, es Gabriel y Fabio, sabes? Es toda esta gente y es…es como todos nuestros amigos artistas, Grant y Kristan. Y se siente como una mejor y exacta forma para describir la banda como gente, como artistas, sus amigos y los fans. Así que está conectado a The Black Parade en una extraña manera. Y son una pandilla del año 2019.

Gerard Way: Si hay alguna rebelión en este disco, es una rebelión en contra de nosotros mismos y definitivamente en contra de ser asimilados en la cultura del rock moderno y cortar tu cabello y lucir respetable y llegar a tus treinta y ser como “Bien, seremos este tipo de banda de rock”, porque así es como la gente quiere que nos limpiemos. Es una rebelión en contra de eso, y no hay una rebeldía en contra de la corporación. Veo a los Killjoys como simples supervivientes. También me gusta pensar que las Industrias Better Living no son necesariamente los chicos malos y tampoco son los Killjoys. Es como que ambos desordenan las cosas, entiendes? Creo que tal vez en el segundo o tercer video, vamos a estar disparándole a los policías. Es muy colorido de esa forma. No hay negro o blanco. Si, así que no siento que ellos estén realmente peleando en contra de ninguno, pero, supongo que podríamos hablar sobre algunos de los personajes. Grant Morrison hace el papel llamado Korse. Y básicamente él es el jefe exterminador. Y él sale al desierto y limpia todo porque existe esta ciudad llamada Battery City donde todo es realmente agradable y limpio. Y ellos envían gente como Korse al desierto para exterminar, básicamente, los insectos y la inmundicia. Y él tiene esta unidad de soldados de su parte llamada Draculoids, que son básicamente una unidad incluso más alta que la policía, y literalmente nosotros estamos armando esto mientras avanzamos.

Frank Iero: Si, creo que es mas como pelear en contra de una idea, cierto? Más que cualquier otra entidad…

Gerard: Absolutamente. Es un todo peleando en contra de la idea de una limpieza corporativa. Y de mejor manera, quién está más capacitado para decirlo o hacerlo que una banda que de hecho está dentro del sistema corporativo? Y nosotros no estamos encerrados en ello, pero hay otro tipo de limpieza corporativa que no nos gusta, como la asimilación dentro del rock moderno. Es definitivamente una batalla en contra de una idea como él dijo. Aunque no hay tiranos diabólicos, no hay nadie lanzando cocteles de bombas Molotov.

Frank: Debes ser artísticamente verdadero contigo mismo. Creo que el mayor testamento de eso para nosotros fue escribir un disco y sentirnos como: “Bien, esto es mierda”, sabes? Esto es grandioso, y la gente está diciendo que es muy bueno, pero cuando miramos hacia atrás, no era algo de lo que estuviéramos cien por ciento felices. Y si no lo estás, entonces no debes vender eso. Y así, es un esfuerzo constante para la grandeza. Siempre, no debes cuestionarte hasta el punto en que te caigas, si no ser tu peor crítico…y realmente empujarte a ti mismo. Es extraño. A veces escribimos canciones y son grandiosas, pero si no lo son, no estamos recordándonos, no nos sentimos cómodos…creo.

Ray Toro: Cierto. Debe hablar por ti, si. Eso es.

Gerard: Eso es.

Ray: Creo que de la primera grabación que hicimos, habían…incluso del disco que Frank estaba hablando, el que desechamos. Habían unas tres o cuatro canciones que nos hablaron, fuera del resto. Y cuando llegó el momento de volver a enfocarnos, las extrañamos. Y esa es la razón de porqué las trajimos de vuelta. Pero entonces las trajimos de vuelta, tuvimos que trabajar y reinventarlas un poco para refrescarlas. Y, tu sabes, siempre está esa cosa. Escribimos –amamos escribir canciones y amamos escribir música- pero, no siempre lo haces mejor de lo que esperas, sabes? Y creo que las que si terminaron quedando en el disco son las que realmente resaltaron y las que significan algo especial para todos nosotros.

Gerard: Si, creo que algún día lanzaremos eso. Creo que sería importante porque pasó, sabes? Al mismo tiempo, siento que ya no pienso en ello como dos discos. Creo que el disco siendo Danger Days, y lo que tomó para ser Danger Days fue simplemente hacer un montón de canciones y muchas grabaciones lo que de hecho es algo que incluso sucedió con The Black Parade. Llegamos, hicimos una pre producción, pero luego cuando lo teníamos, y creo que nuestra habilidad para cambiar el guión inmediatamente y/o escribir un nuevo material y desechar lo viejo fue lo que hizo a ese disco algo grandioso. Y siento que fue un proceso largo, pero fue un proceso similar.

Frank: Definitivamente valió la pena.

Gerard: Pero a veces, como escritor, tú debes golpear eso para escribir, como…no sé, una corta y asombrosa historia o un haiku o un artículo donde lo lograste inmediatamente y eso también pasa –es solo que todos sabemos que como artistas, eso no sucede siempre. Es un caso raro. “Na Na Na” es un gran ejemplo, no creo que nada haya cambiado realmente desde la primera vez que la tocamos. Agregamos una parte y ya. Así que a veces tienes la magia, pero no siempre puedes atraparla. Tienes que trabajar y a veces puede ser las 3 A.M. y estar molido, pero debes hacerlo para llegar ahí.

Fuente: Coup de Main

Traduccion: You're Not In This Alone