translation: “my chemical romance interview. "for us, the live stage is the only place where we can be ourselves.”
The songs are like a collection of rock anthems from all over the world, past and present, and it sets the hearts of listeners ablaze.
Who is the emo band that rocked the Summer Sonic stage?
My Chemical Romance, from New Jersey, who just released their major debut album “THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE” in July, came to Japan for the first time at Summer Sonic 04. MCR’s music is called “screamo” because of their friendship with their friends, including THE USED, and their style, and it contains the street/garage sensibility unique to the generation that went through American punk in recent years… but if you listen to it with a calm ear, you can see that although the vocals are “screamo style,” the songs have a beautiful structure and tearful melodies that are related to British heavy metal, and they also feature beautiful guitar solos. In other words, MCR is a band that plays heavy metal at the street level… That’s why they must have been so welcomed right from the start in Japan, a country that has a strong tradition of heavy metal music (probably) – their first performance in Japan was a big success.
45 minutes after the end of the thunderous “Summer Sonic” stage
We caught up with the two excited guitarists!
I’ve never been to a show like that before! I’ll never forget this experience.
–Now Frank Iero (FI): This isn’t real.
How was the live show you just finished?
FI: Seriously! I’ve never done a show like that before. It was a memorable moment in my life. I’ll never forget it!
–You seem very excited. What was so amazing about it?
Ray Toro: No, not “What”. WTF! I mean, they were so welcoming! I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction at all. It felt like a hometown show. Oh, what can I say… ahhhh… anyway, it feels great!– (Laughs)
Was the positive reaction because the new york was great? Especially the first single “I’m Not Okay” it’s really exciting… It’s a great song, and the song structure is well-crafted, building up from the intro, and the solo is uplifting too. Did you feel any magic when you made it?
FI: Well, let me tell you something. This song is something that you can’t really call “written”.
Really? Is that so?
FI: That’s true. The song itself only has four chords, right? Except for the solo, it’s all four. So at first, I thought it would be a boring song. But when we got together in the studio and Ray was playing those four chords over and over… Gerald (Way/vocals) started singing. The other members were silent. I closed my eyes and listened carefully. Then I realized it was an incredibly beautiful song. I felt it was worth completing. So I tried to change it up with the chorus. The root remained four.
—The guitar solo in this song creates a harmony with the guitar, creating a grandeur that is reminiscent of Queen. How did this come about?
FI: That solo was all Ray!
RT: Of course we were totally inspired by Queen! We were all saying, “Let’s have a big guitar solo. Nobody does that anymore!” So I layered the guitars on it and made it as epic as possible. Also, when we were writing the song originally, we talked about making it as production-heavy as possible in the studio… Another thing I did consciously was to think of all the ‘80s pop and ’70s bands I liked. I thought, “What would they do to make a song that’s really epic…?” That’s also where the two-second piano in the middle of the song came from. It doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s a bit like a soundtrack.
In terms of age, he was still very much alive.
FI: To tell you the truth, that second part is from the live album “CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN” (1978) [laughs] I really wanted to include it. To begin with, even though some people have performed it live, I’ve never heard it performed in a studio album. I tried to include that as well and create the biggest anthem I could think of.
Q: Not just “I’m Not Okay,” but all of MCR’s songs…The composition is designed to make the listeners excited. They are all uplifting and dramatic. Is this something you do consciously?
FI: I’m totally aware of it.
RT: Yes. You can hear it in the song, but I change parts one after another. For example, We never repeat the same parts twice, and as the song progresses, new elements are added. We want it to feel like it’s building from one thing to the next. Every member of the band contributes to that. The drums, the vocals, the melodies…everything helps the song to go higher and higher.
FI: Especially the new album, “It’s Not A Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish” crescendos all the way through. It just gets stronger and stronger. It all comes together in a spectacular finale. The whole band sings together for an anthemic ending. Because I like it! Our styles are completely different, maybe that mismatch is a good thing?
MCR’s music tends to be dramatic. Is that due to the influence of the music you’ve listened to up until now?
RT: I grew up listening to heavy metal, like Ozzy Osbourne. I was obsessed with guitar heroes. I like bands that feature guitar players such as the late Randy Rhoads (g/Ozzy Osbourne) and Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix… In other words, Randy is the one who combined heavy metal with classical music, but his guitar playing I think he is the person who has had the biggest influence on my style. It’s a bit old-fashioned, but it has a melody. And it’s timeless. Melody.
FI: Richie Havens. My first woodstock. He was the opening act for the concert. He took me to an acoustic I just played it with one guitar, like a solo. There wasn’t much, just sitting on the stool. He played very melodic and rhythmic guitar. But it’s a completely unique style that can’t be imitated. He had tiles… Such a great performer. I’ve never seen him before! I’ve seen Richie on stage about 10 times now, and I’m blown away every time. He’s one of the reasons I don’t stop playing guitar. I also love Greg Ginn (guitar/Black Flag) and Thurston Moore (vocals, guitar/Sonic Youth). In other words, I like dirty and emotional guitar more than intellectual style.
——————Hmm. You two have completely different tastes…
FI: Well, we are completely different types of guitarists, but maybe that mismatch is a good thing.
–You mentioned a lot of artists, but listening to your album I can sense a strong influence from heavy metal. But you also listen to a lot of different music from the ’70s and ’80s, right?
RT: Well, you can’t just listen to one type of music, you know? There’s so much good music out there. We can’t just pretend not to notice it! All of us in the band try to listen to as much as we can and want to absorb as much as we can from all kinds of music.
FI: What we heard was an influence in some way.
FI: I like to use a Marshall JCM900 connected to a SUNN cabinet, and an Epiphone Zak Wylde model Les Paul as the only guitar. I turn up the bass all the way (laughs). Treble is about mid-range. I add gain here and there. But I like to keep it sounding like a real guitar. Not a “buzzing” sound with too much gain, but more of a solid sound.
RT: Yes! And we both try to only use effects when absolutely necessary, and usually plug them straight into the amp. Oh, but we do use wah pedals. Personally, I’d love to see the wah come back!
–I see. So with Frank on the bass and Ray raising the middle, it feels like you’ve managed to balance the band sound well?
FI&RT: Exactly!
FI: That’s how I make it clear that there are two guitars. It’s better to have a difference where you can hear each guitar part and it doesn’t sound too cluttered.
――――So, let’s talk about your playing, not just the guitar sound.
RT: I’ve been in the middle of it all. But the best thing to do is come to a show and see for yourself! I think there have been times when people thought it was Frank and it was me, and vice versa. We’ve influenced each other so we have some similarities.
—So you’re influenced by each other’s playing?
RT: Yeah. At least I got it from Frank.
I learned to play dirty. Not just clean, but more emotional. Instead of being super technical and perfect, I gave myself a little more leeway and tried to avoid feedback and pick-squeezing.
Frank is especially good at pick slides. He likes to make noise out of the guitar, rather than a pretty sound.
He’s really good at bringing that out. Making noise, not just playing, is something I’m still learning.
FI: I’m the opposite, I’m learning to play clean, to keep things under control, but still let out emotion when necessary.
RT: A classic example of what you’re talking about is “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You.” Frank has a really great part here. After the second chorus, it gets really quiet.
“THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE” Warner Music Japan [CD] WPCR-11883 Sensual vocal melodies and emotional guitars, as heard on the 1st single.Their popularity is on the rise thanks to the explosive emotion of their vocals. This is the band’s second album and their major label debut. Ray’s strengths are in his guitar playing, which always lifts the listener up. While talking about the existing screamo sound, such as the “screamo” part, a new sense of flavoring with the essence of gothic and metal shines. And it’s the same with everyday experiences! Everything that comes out of it naturally comes out in the work, and the more I shut out certain types of music or certain experiences, the less fertilizer I have. The goal is the stage. Keep playing to the limit. From what I saw on stage a while ago, the live equipment was, you both used similar things. How do you differentiate between the sounds?
RT: I’m more into distortion. I play a lot of riffs and generally like to emphasize the mid-range.
My model was the crunch guitar sound of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (1986).
FI: On the other hand, I only use distortion to a natural degree.
Can you tell me the specific equipment names?
RT: The amps are Marshall “JCM2000” and “1960”.
Cabinet. The guitar was bought by my brother for Christmas 10 years ago.
It’s a very easy one to make, but the sound is great!
I also use an Epiphone Les Paul.
036 GuitarBreakers Vol.8
He said it was a good example of how the differences between the two of them are well expressed.
Can you name any?
FI: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us
In Prison, I guess?
RT: You’re right!
FI: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us
“In Prison” is huge! The first two verses are
It’s rhythmic and dirty, and then…
Ray’s guitar hero-like, epic solo begins (laughs). And it has a light rhythm. And then there’s “To The End” too.
RT: Yes. In some ways, I play more technically than Frank, but “To the End” has a great guitar solo, it’s fast, and it’s got some rhythmic, dirty parts. But I think you can hear the difference in our playing styles on every song to some extent.
—By the way, on the album, which is left and which is right?
Are you playing the channel?
RT: Well, in the verses, I mostly play on the left.
Ray is on the left. And Frank is on the right in the chorus.
Frank really blossoms in this scene. It’s totally different from his previous style.
FI: Mmhmm!
—Finally, could you tell us about your future goals regarding guitar and songwriting?
FI: For now, I’d like to be able to turn the parts I’ve written for the next album into proper songs.
Also, we have a clear goal as a band.
But I’ll keep it a secret until I achieve it (lol).
RT: For me personally, I just want to keep improving.
FI: Me too!
RT: We both love playing guitar.
That’s what life is all about, so I want to keep improving both in technique and melody.
FI: For us, it was a live show that lasted less than two hours. I think that the only chance I have is to be myself, to experience a pure and spiritual moment. So my goal is to continue to play all the way to the end. There is a joy that cannot be expressed in words. I don’t think you can understand it unless you have experienced it!
My Chemical Playing – A magnificent world created with guitar
The key to My Chemical Romance’s songs is the twin guitars. When the two guitars intertwine, sometimes intensely and sometimes elegantly, it gives the listener a great sense of exhilaration.
Ray was crazy about guitar heroes like Randy Rhoads and Joe Satriani, while Frank loves Greg Ginn and Thurston Moore. They come from completely different backgrounds, but as Ray says, “When we get together, we don’t know why, but a special atmosphere is born,” which is the characteristic of the My Chemical Romance sound. In fact, Alba
If you check out his playing, you can hear many good examples of two-guitar ensemble. One of the best is the backing for “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).” As mentioned in the interview, the bass in this song is a repeat of four chords (D → Bm Em → A), but it is amazing how the performance is not at all simple. Due to space limitations, I will not post an example.
“I’m Not Okay” style guitar solo sheet music.
I’m sorry I can’t introduce it, but I definitely want you to check out the ensemble in the A-melody. So, I’ll introduce the solo below. This performance was inspired by Queen and was meant to be grand. The harmonies are great, but the chord progression is deliberately E/G#, even though E would have been fine in the flow. This is one of the reasons why it feels so grand.
In the harmonies from bars 1 to 8, you want to be aware of the speed at which you raise the pitch of the choking, and the speed and depth of the vibrato.
The first half of bar 12 means “play five notes in two beats.”
2004 volume 8 guitar breakers from theydrewblood.blogspot.com
