21st Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas Artist Spotlight: My Chemical Romance

With hits that range from “Helena” to “Welcome To The Black Parade,” My Chemical Romance have left a lasting impression on many of today’s youth. Don’t call them “emo” though, these guys are a blend of pop-punk, post-hardcore and alternative rock and despise the term “emo” and anyone who classifies them as such.

My Chemical Romance will be playing Night 1 of the SOLD OUT 21st Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas. Catch them alongside The Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, Bad Religion and so many more awesome bands.

After Gerard Way witnessed the disastrous events of September 11th, 2001, he began writing songs to express his feelings with his friend, drummer Matt Pelissier. Little did Gerard know, but that would be the beginning of something great, the earliest formation of MCR. At that time, Gerard wasn’t capable of both singing and playing guitar, so he recruited Ray Toro to help out. Gerard’s younger brother, Mikey Way, had recently dropped out of college and also joined on to play bass after hearing the first demos from the band.

Frank Iero, who had previously been in the band Pencey Prep, joined the crew just a few days prior to the recording of their first album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, and helped out on just a few tracks. The album was released in 2002 through Eyeball Records, although the success of it landed them a deal on Reprise Records in 2003.

After touring with OC natives Avenged Sevenfold, the band went back to the studio to work on their second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. The album, which contains songs like “Helena,” “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” and “The Ghost Of You,” had tremendous success and went platinum in just over a year. Following the release, Pelissier was replaced on the drums by Bob Bryar.

“Helena”

“I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”

The band then went on tour for a while, playing the first ever Taste Of Chaos Tour, opened for Green Day and co-headlined the 2005 Vans Warped Tour. They returned to the studio in 2006 to begin recording their third album, Welcome To The Black Parade, with the help of producer Rob Cavallo. The album was released on October 24th, 2006.

In early 2007, the band took off for the Black Parade World Tour, which featured Muse, Rise Against and Thursday as supporting bands. After a final US tour, MCR announced that they would be “taking a break” for a while.

In May 2009, it was announced that the band “ It's not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and makeup anymore.
” Gerard Way would be returning to the studio with producer Brendan O’Brien to work on their fourth album, which would later take on the title Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. In an interview with British publication NME, Gerard Way had this to say about their upcoming album – “I think (the next album) will definitely be stripped down. I think the band misses being a rock band. It’s not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and makeup anymore.”

In the beginning of 2010, drummer Bob Bryar announced his departure from My Chemical Romance. Iero took to Twitter, saying, “As of 4 weeks ago, My Chemical Romance and Bob Bryar parted ways. This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and expect you all to do the same.” By July, the album was finished and Gerard Way announced the official album title at Comic Con in San Diego. In September, the band stopped by KROQ to help world-premiere their first single off the album, called “Na Na Na.”

My Chemical Romance Interview with Kat Corbett

My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”

The band will not only be performing at Night 1 of the SOLD OUT 21st Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas, but they’ll also be playing an intimate album release show at the House of Blues Sunset on Monday, November 22nd. Filling in on drums currently is touring drummer Michael Pedicone. Here’s a full album stream of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, hosted by Dr. Death Defying, to hold you over until #KROQACX2010.