My Chemical Freak: My Chemical Romance All The Time

Some fans and their banner with Frank and Alicia.

 Photo finds… Mychemicalobsessionbrazil

Photos Property of Vanna
For NBC5

Pics of the guys from the Chicago Show. 

Thanks Mychemicalobsessionbrazil for the find!

Yup, another musician with a clothing label. But this just isn’t your average apparel company. Skeleton Crew, led by My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero is a social revolution complete with a manifesto and everything. Yeah, they make a mean t-shirt, they make a stylish hoodie but they also put out music, literature, support the arts and do a fair share of charitable contributions while they’re at it. They wear lots of hats, and all of them fit.

When did Skeleton Crew get started?

[It started] a couple of years back what Jamia (Frank’s wife) and a few friends started Bomb Shelter, a D.I.Y production company that put on shows at local VFW halls in North Jersey. It was a great thing because it formed a positive community of people that supported an underground movement. I remember seeing all my favourite bands play in a small room and it made a huge impression on me that kids could do this on their own. We really just wanted to be a part of something like that again so we decided to form a global crew, where like-minded individuals could get together and make a different in their own way and on their own terms. The clothing aspect is their flag to fly, a way of recognising each other and showing their affiliation. That’s why we encourage members to make their own S//C gear; it’s more creative that way. Any revenue that does come in goes right into supporting the artists that we showcase.

Who is Crew in Skeleton Crew?

Well, the board of directors – so to speak – are Jamia, Eddie, Sara and myself. We have final say over what happens with Skeleton Crew as a whole. But as far as who is ‘crew’? It’s the bands, the artists, the writers, the street teams, the friends we’ve made along the way…It’s everyone and anyone that wants to be a part of it. The great thing about S//C is that all are welcome. If you want to get involved log into the site and become part of something; the members take control of S//C.

Do you make everyone in the band wear your clothes? All your friends and family?

Nah, that’s not my thing. If friends want anything they ask me for it and I’ll give it to them but as far as travelling around with a load of goons all clad in S//C gear, that isn’t my style.

If you could have any one living or dead wear your clothes, who would it be?

Hmm…someone crafty and witty. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter as long as they have a great ass.

If Skeleton Crew was an animal what animal would it be?

The Tootsie Roll owl perched and ready to strike.

What bands are on Skeleton Crew records?

Well we’ve tried to keep the roster pretty diverse. We only put out bands we like and find interesting: David Costa, a hip-hop artist from Indiana who put out his first EP with us and it currently writing his follow-up. He is also playing Bamboozle East. A California-based band called New Tomorrow is our newest addition to the family. They are getting set to record soon and are playing Bamboozle Left. Leathermouth is a shitty murder rock band that hails from my basement; they definitely don’t get the attention they need ‘cause I’m always away. Hot Like A Robot was a great band from San Diego that split into different incarnations and the Mean Reds (RIP) were one of my favourite bands of all time who broke up way before they got the respect they deserved. Theirs was the first record we ever put out and was the catalyst that drove me to want to start Skeleton Crew. I wanted to work with that band so bad, I made a label for them.

How do you feel about so many musicians starting clothing companies? Is it ‘cause you can’t illegally download a hoodie?

Sure, it’s an easy way to make a quick buck. Make a name, throw some skulls on there, slap it on a t-shirt and you’ve got yourself a clothing company. It’s not Calvin Klein or anything but it’s a simple way to make cash off kids and not create anything new. It’s like starting a religion. But Skeleton Crew is different ‘cause God told me to start it.

What’s next for Skeleton Crew?

Next is the KGB. This is Skeleton Crew’s initiative to start a revolution one person at a time. Think about everyone you know doing one good selfless thing a day for the rest of their lives. It’s a pay-it-forward program that takes no money, just heart. We have homework assignments and different suggestions to make the world a better place but we want it to be publicly run. So this is our challenge for us and everyone.

Where can the kids go to find out more?

Click HERE to check out their site!

Article by Punk Rock Confidential
all rights reserved!

By Stacie Peart
For Salt Lake Community College

Other hits were performed from the band’s latest album including “Teenagers” where the general admission crowd thrust their fists in the air with every thump of the drum beat mimicking MCR’s well-known music video for the song. “Mama” was also well received as fans chanted along to the unique tune as the song’s distinctive sound grabbed immediate attention. MCR did slow it down for a moment to play the ballad “I Don’t Love You.” They also performed “Helena,” the song known as Gerard and Mikey Way’s tribute to their late grandmother.

Ok so I am volunteering this weekend to help the local Food Pantry out.  So there won’t be any major posts until at least Sunday morningish.  In the meantime, here is something nice for your eyes!

Photo property of Steve Mitchell
All rights reserved.

The Special Edition of The Black Parade on Vinyl is back in the MCR online store for all you vinyl freaks. The special edition comes in a slip-case box with two 15-page books and 2 triple gatefold sleeves with the vinyl housed in a center sleeve. Only 2,500 copies were made of this edition and ONLY 200 are left. Get your copy today here: MCR Store!

By Adam Graham
For detnews.com

My Chemical Romance makes music for and about teenagers. They sing about life and death with an urgency and fatalism only teens can truly understand. Heck, one of their biggest singles is called “Teenagers.”None of that bothers me, however. Although my teenage years are ancient history, I love My Chemical Romance.

OK, admitting a My Chemical Romance crush isn’t as embarrassing as saying I’m a 29-year-old Jonas Brothers fan. (I’m not, by the way.)

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My Chem’s 2006 album “The Black Parade” — a relentlessly thrilling rock opera about, you guessed it, life and death — was one of that year’s most acclaimed releases, and in its wake, plenty of rock critics stepped up to the plate and branded My Chem the real deal.

But there’s still something about the band — playing Saturday and Sunday at the Fillmore Detroit — that makes me feel like I have to apologize for liking them. Maybe it’s their over-the-top theatrics, the layers of make-up they wear onstage or the sheer pompousness of frontman Gerard Way’s wild-eyed delivery. Whatever it is, there’s something that says responsible married men such as myself should not have a childish obsession with this band.

I’m done apologizing, however, and I’m not ashamed. My Chemical Romance rocks my world.

It wasn’t always this way. When MCR first emerged, I wrote them off as another in the long line of disposable screamo bands that were emerging at the time. Taking Back Sunday, the Used, My Chemical Romance — whatever; life’s too short to study the intricacies of dozens of faceless, interchangeable bands.

Then I saw the video for “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).”

Cut to look like the trailer for a coming-of-age teen comedy, it was sharp, cutting and clever — and the song wasn’t bad either. A slice of ramped up, slap-you-in-the-face pop-punk, it was served with copious attitude from Way, who frothed, “but you really need to listen to me, because I’m telling you the truth, I mean this, I’m okay!” The next line? “I’m not okay.”

“I’m Not Okay” was followed by “Helena,” the “TRL” staple which cemented them as anti-teen idol teen idols. Set at a funeral and featuring a full chorus of dancers, it nailed everything My Chem was about: Black-clad and death-obsessed but hopeful and celebratory about life.

Both tracks came from the group’s second album, “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” which was a cut above the works of their peers but still fully emerged in the muddy waters of emo. But on “The Black Parade,” the band blew away their contemporaries by becoming bigger than life, and incorporating pieces of Kiss, Queen and the Green Day into their repertoire.

The album’s first single “Welcome to the Black Parade” is a rock opera unto itself — it’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the MySpace generation. It’s so epic in scope it transcends mere age demographics, and it one day deserves a spot on classic rock radio.

I’ve listened to “The Black Parade” more than any other album in the last year — when my iPod went kaput in December, I repurchased the album so I wouldn’t be without it — and it stands as one of my favorite albums of the decade.

I’ve never worn eyeliner; I’m not from New Jersey; and aside from my fanfare of horror movies, I don’t think about death more than anyone else. But I know good music when I hear it, and My Chemical Romance gives me a reaction like none other.

My Chemical Romance are among the acts attempting to make a big difference this Earth Day – by donating items for a huge music memorabilia auction.

As well as selling off merchandise and personal items, Linkin Park and Panic At The Disco will be offering VIP concert tickets and the chance to meet the bands.

The acts were all asked to donate items that would be dumped or placed in storage to aid Music For Relief and Unite The United in their ongoing environmental and disaster relief efforts.
Earth Day falls on 22 April this year. The auction will take place on eBay.com.

YAY FOR DOING GOOD DEEDS!

Plant a tree for earth day!  They are cheap!  Help the world!  Do good things!

By Sarah
posted here

So after staying up until 4 in the morning like the retards we are, Mikey and I got about 3 hours of sleep before getting up at 7 to get ready to head to Denver. We made it to the line at about 10 and there were already about 25 people in front of us. We were directly after this really cool mother/daughter pair who had come from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and in front of this lady who we at first thought was going to suck a lot but eventually turned out to be awesome. She was a 45 year old Def Leppard fan with a fondness for leopard print who really, really liked Gerard. She made us laugh for days and made the day go so much faster. She also stole our notebook containing RP plottage and read it, then added some smutty stuff of her own involving Gerard as a creamcicle (or cream cycle as she wrote it).

We had found a little alcove against a brick wall, and while we were sitting there a car pulled up and someone started to get out right next to us. Mikey was like, “Is that Alicia?” and I was like “OMG YES!” After she wrangled her luggage out of the car, Mikey said hi to her and she turned around and gave us a big smile and said hi. She then proceeded to schlep her own luggage down the sidewalk past all of the fangirls and back to the buses, which I thought was pretty brave tbh. Either nobody else recognized her or they just ignored her, though, because we didn’t see anyone else talk to her. But OMG SHE LOOKED SO PRETTY. Her new tattoo is gorgeous and she was so nice.

It was ridiculously sunny and hot, so we all got fried to a crisp. Mikey got her period and period shits, and we all had gastrointestinal distress. Mikey’s was much worse, however, and she actually had to wipe her ass with a napkin in the parking lot. It was epic. The line grew ridiculously fast, and by the time we made our last trip to the car at 4 or 4:30, it was several city blocks long. Then there was some drama with a bunch of jerkoffs rushing the line and line-cutting way up at the front, and everyone who’d been there all day got jostled out of line. We still managed to get barricade, but we didn’t see if everyone who was in front of us in line managed to pull it off too or not.

So YAY we got barricade stage Frank, and almost immediately the heat and time spent in the sun started affecting the audience. People were being pulled out before Drive By even came out, and from then on it was a steady stream of people coming out. I started to worry a lot at first because between the altitude, the heat, and the time we’d spent in the sun, I was really to get dehydrated and wasn’t sweating. I was afraid if I didn’t start sweating I was going to get sick, but luckily security was amazing and did an awesome job getting water to us. I still had to save my breath a lot, especially during Billy Talent, but by that point I think it was less dehydration and more just the altitude.

Drive By were excellent, which was a pleasant surprise. Most of the reviews I’ve read were pretty negative towards them, so I was really happy to discover that I actually liked them a lot. We’d seen them earlier in the day at Wendy’s and when they came out we were like HEY WE SAW THEM! After the show, even though we were desperate to just get water and get out, not even stopping for merch, we made a point to stop by their table and tell them how much we liked them. They really seemed to appreciate it, and were super friendly.

By the time Billy Talent came out I was really uncomfortable and feeling a little sick-ish, so even though they were pretty good live I kind of rode through it on autopilot. They’re not a band I’m super fond of because I think their songs all kind of sound the same and his voice tends to grate on me after a while, but they did put on a good show and they played the couple of songs I do like. I felt like their set was too long, though, but maybe that’s because we were all dying at that point.

SO THEN OMFG MCR. They came out to Sleep and were just so amazing omfg. Frank has shaved and looked adorable, even though he wasn’t particularly active last night. I am assuming due to the altitude, because Mikey noticed that he didn’t even do a lot of the backing vocals. He rolled around on the floor a little at the beginning of the show, but after that he mellowed some. Ray also didn’t seem to be as active as usual, although Mikey Fuckin Way was the most active I’ve ever seen him. Which is to say that he smiled a few times, thrust his hips, and shook his hair around a lot. Bob looked like he had possibly tamed his viking woman hair with a slight trim, but it’s still epically long and hawt tbh. Gerard was having a little trouble because of the altitude and had to stop a couple of times to suck down some oxygen, but they all sounded and looked amazing. Aside from the douchebaggery re: the line, the crowd was actually really good and really into it, and he commented on it a lot and it was just seriously not only the best MCR show I’ve ever seen, but the best show I’ve seen ever. PERIOD.

We kept ourselves awake on the way home remembering the set list (although we are pretty sketchy on order) and all of the funny/interesting things that happened. I’m just going to post them in bullet point.

- During Give ‘Em Hell, Kid, Mikey and I were rocking out so hard that Gerard totally looked over at us and we made eye contact. He was probably concerned tbh.

- Gerard asked everybody if we’d watched the season finale of Rock of Love, and then asked if we’d stay in the house and continue to rock his fuckin’ world, at which Frank totally lolled and was playing the Twilight Zone theme.

- Introducing Hang ‘Em High, Gerard asked if we were ready to rock this cowboy style, then let out a few cringe-inducing Yeeeeeeehaw!s. *facepalm*

- Between songs, Gerard gave Mikey a little back rub and then slapped his shoulder before walking away. I died, tbh.

- Gerard mentioned that he’d gotten married in Denver, and talked about Lyn and dedicated My Way Home is Through You to her. N’awwwwwww!

- At some point (I forget which song) Gerard had some pretty epically gay tambourine-playing going on.

- He introduced I’m Not Okay as the number one summer jam. Dorkface.

- At one point, Gerard gave his epic “take care of each other” speech, and then at another point made us turn and hug our neighbor.

- Someone had thrown a bag of handmade scarves on the stage, and (possibly) someone else had tossed up a silk scarf, and Gerard thanked the crowd. He did a gay little scarf dance with the silk scarf and then said he’d definitely be using that. We were like WE BET YOU WILL.

- He had us sing happy birthday to their booking agent, whose birthday was the day before.

- Someone had thrown something that (we’re still contesting this point) was either a princess tiara or a sparkly thong, and Gerard tossed it over at the drum set and said he would definitely not be wearing that. MUAHAHA.

- Gerard said we were going to rock Teenagers Lynyrd Skynyrd style, to which amused Frank shook his head and laughed. A tech came out and played harmonica on it.

- Gerard said Mikeyway had bought a Ouija board and consulted it to decide what songs they should play, and said that explained the unusual set list (OM NOM NOM B-SIDES!)

- Before Prison, Gerard had us all “testify” and then was going on about “here comes the judge” and I was just like, *facepalm*.

- Gerard reached for a set of Bob’s sticks and was like, “Are these for me? Can I give these to the kids?”

- Gerard totally jerked his mic off into his mouth. NNNGH.

- During the encore break, James played and sang November Rain, then finished it by announcing that he thought he’d just gotten hit in the balls. <3

AND NOW. The set list, to the best of our memory. As I said we can’t really remember the order, but I at least tried to put the songs into some semblance of order. The middle is definitely sketchy, but I’m pretty sure the first several songs are right as well as the encore.

Sleep
Give ‘Em Hell, Kid
Dead!
My Way Home is Through You
Welcome to the Black Parade
This is How I Disappear
Hang ‘Em High
I Don’t Love You
Kill All Your Friends
Headfirst For Halos
I’m Not Okay
Teenagers
You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us in Prison
The Sharpest Lives
The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You
Mama
Famous Last Words
House of Wolves
I Never Told You What I Do for a Living
Cancer
November Rain
Desert Song
Helena

So today we pretty much feel like we’ve been beaten with sticks and can’t breathe/walk/talk/move properly, but I would do it again in a second. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OMFG. *flail*