A Conversation with My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way – HuffPost 5.20.11

Mike Ragogna: Gerard, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys is your fourth studio album?

Gerard Way: Yeah, that’s right.

MR: The first couple of songs on the album seem to arc the material back to your first few albums.

GW: Yeah! A lot of this album feels like we went back to the original spirit of the band and I think that may be why it feels that way. There’s definitely more of an experimentation and artistic freedom to this one that makes it like the first records.

MR: Might there be something that unites all of Danger Days‘ songs?

GW: To me, the thing that unites these songs is the desire to go against what was happening to the band, and I’m sure this happens to other bands, where you get into your thirties and you’ve explored all of the younger artistic places. You hit a point where you sort of hit a crossroads. We can keep exploring all of these artistic places or we subconsciously sort of give in and get assimilated and comfortable in the thirty-something rock culture. So, to me, what unifies us on a day-to-day basis is a desire to not be a part of that. Maybe it’s the last thing for us to rebel against is that assimilation, and that, to me, is the big unifying thing. The songs on this album are very direct and deal with things that are happening right now. They’re talking about life.

MR: Yeah, although a majority of these songs also seem to be potential singles or emphasis songs, right?

GW: Yeah, actually. We put out a lot of songs before this album actually came out because we were trying not to be too precious about everything. We wanted everyone to get a scope of what the record was like, that’s why before the record came out, I think there were about six songs released so that people could hear them.

MR: How do you feel the band has grown from the first album to this one?

GW: I feel like this is the first time we started using color and I find that to be very interesting. We’ve made it as a band for 10 years with a certain aesthetic, and even though that aesthetic has been played within that sort of monochromatic pallet, now is our first time using color, now is the first time that it’s not so much about the dark stuff, and I think that’s the biggest thing. We’ve changed a lot in that way. In a lot of ways, the way I feel about this album is that it almost feels like a reboot of the band, which is interesting. The record did not take long to make, and I guess since the first attempt at the album took so long to make that once we had hit our creative stride, we really felt like we’d rebooted this band. So, I feel like this is, kind of, just the beginning now. It’s the beginning of our next 10 years.

MR: Nice, and you had Rob Cavallo producing again.

GW: We did, yeah! We had Rob Cavallo who made Black Parade with us. We used to have this rule that we wouldn’t go back to Producers even if we had fun with them because the band changes so much, but Rob also changes so much. I really feel like he’s the fifth member of the band in a lot of ways.

MR: Yeah, it very nice when a producer lets the band be itself, but also brings extra creative flavors as well.

GW: Yeah, and he’s an extremely challenging producer. I mean, he’s fun and he’s an artist, but he’s really hard on you if he feels that you’re not taking things to the next level. He’s very tough on the band, and it’s really good. He challenges us greatly.

MR: Now, when the band is in the studio who is in the driver’s seat? Do you guys take charge in the studio?

GW: Yeah, and I feel like that’s the way Rob really likes it. If the artist is making the album, I think he feels that that’s the way it should be. In a traditional sense, if an artist comes in and just expects the producer to lead them, I don’t think it will work. I don’t think they will hit greatness. The band kind of needs to be in the driver’s seat. The cool thing about this album is that we all wore different hats at different times. We stopped making music as just a singer, or just a guitar player. It didn’t matter who was doing what, we went in and everyone wrote music to drum parts.

MR: Out of all of the songs on this album, which would you say is the truest representation of what the band has to offer?

GW: Well, it’s interesting. Personally, I think it would be “The Kids From Yesterday.” That may not be showing what people think might be the obvious best side, but to me, that song kind of shows where the band is heading. It’s showing the ability to now make songs that aren’t solely relying on just the traditional guitar, bass, and drums. There’s a lot of programming on that track because we just sat down and constructed that song. I feel like that’s where the future is heading for us. That song was the last that was written and recorded for this album, so it’s a true representation of where we’re headed. But on this album, it’s truly hard to say what would be the best or truest representation of our work. All of the songs kind of are so varied that it feels like they all make sense. I feel “Sing” was the first universally lyrical song that we’ve written in terms of what it’s saying about the world. Also, at that point, we stopped making music as a genre band or a rock band and started making music simply as fans of music.

MR: Your brother, bassist Mikey Way, came up with the name “My Chemical Romance,” but the name itself also has ties to 9/11.

GW: Well, I think that’s another interesting thing about the reboot of the band. The first 10 years and even the genesis of the band was a reaction to something that was happening, though it was obviously not a direct political reaction, but a reaction to something that happens and affects a lot of people and causes them to reconsider what they’ve been doing with their lives. So, the reaction to seeing all of that and its affect on people and the world shaped the first 10 years of the band. Now it feels like we’re not reacting as much to that one event, but being proactive and creating something new.

MR: Is it fair to say that you guys are still true Jersey boys?

GW: Yeah, we’re still very much Jersey boys. We live in California, but most of that is just because of work. It’s easier to make records out there.

MR: Let’s go way back to your “Taste Of Chaos” tour in 2005. How has the band changed from that tour to now?

GW: Well, that was actually one of our earliest tours. Now, more than ever, it feels like people are actually getting to see who we are as people on stage. They can see how we’ve changed and grown but also who we were before the band started or before we got big. Your identity kind of gets stripped away sometimes with fame. Our shows are very different now and they feel more real. Casual is the wrong word because they’re still extremely aggressive, but they’re also fun and very fast paced. I guess we’re a little more relaxed in the sense that we’re not trying to prove anything anymore–we’re just getting up there and trying to be a good band and just doing what we love to do. We really enjoy playing. It’s less about nerves now and more about enjoying the people that you’re sharing the stage with. I know the touring industry has taken a pretty hard hit, but I haven’t really noticed any of that. I did notice, though, that more than half of our audience is new.

MR: Speaking of new, do you have any advice for new artists?

GW: Yeah, the thing that we say most, based on personal experience, is that starting a band for the right reasons is really important because the music industry, they say, is doing so poorly that you really have to love doing it and you really should have something to say as a band. Just always make the music that you’d want to hear and the music you feel like the world is missing. Just do it for the right reasons! To me, that’s the recipe for, at the very least, being a band that can get in the van and keep touring. That’s all we’d ever wanted. Anything else was kind of a bonus.

Transcribed by Evan Tyrone Martin