Posted April 4, 200817 yr My Chemical Romance follows its own formula for success When kids from foreign countries start to love your music, you know you've made it. My Chemical Romance is proof with a story from a recent trip south of the border. "We were in Mexico City for a signing at a record store . . . and we thought it was going to be pretty small with just a couple hundred people," said guitarist Ray Toro. "But when we pulled up, there were thousands of kids waiting and going crazy, and we couldn't believe it. . . . Afterward we just had to get into the van as fast as we could and get out of there. Kids were jumping over fences and getting knocked down, and it was pretty scary. We kept hoping that all the kids were OK." The band's charismatic lead singer, Gerard Way, was known during their Warped Tour days for stopping by the medical tent after sets to check up on kids. Now, Toro said, that has been getting harder and harder. Rising to fame as fast as many of their bubble-gum pop and blinging hip-hop counterparts, the gritty but polished rock five-piece hasn't had much time to rest, let alone contemplate the success. "It has been non-stop from the beginning," Toro said. "We have pretty much been on the road since we started, and never really have time to sit down and think about everything that has happened until we go home, which is pretty rare." My Chemical Romance came out of New Jersey in 2001. After putting out its debut on an indie label in 2002, the band was quickly picked up by Reprise Records. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, released in 2004, skyrocketed MCR into the mainstream. Since the release of 2006's The Black Parade, the band has been riding the coattails of the critically acclaimed album. While most bands talk about maturing, MCR showed it with the epic 13-track rock opera and concept album. Toro said the band focused on doing something different. "We really progressed in our writing with this album and knew right away we had set a high standard for ourselves," Toro said. "(The album) embraced what we all were thinking and feeling at the time." When asked if the band ever fears the next album won't live up to the standard, Toro replies humbly. "Of course we have thought about that many times, like most bands do after they have a successful record, but we are going to keep doing what we do and making music that feels right," he said. It has been reported that the band will go back to its punk-rock roots with the next album. Toro is hesitant to use the term punk rock, but said it will definitely have a raw sound. MCR has several tracks written that the group has performed at select shows. After finishing its U.S. tour in May, the band will head back to the studio. Unlike other bands whose success came quickly, the band has never let itself get caught up in the limelight. "We were never the type to be all over the paparazzi," Toro said. "We grew up together and still act like we always have. We still go home and hang out with our families and friends, and none of that has changed." http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/a...mychem0327.html
