#mcr interviews

"November 3, 2004 [interview by Jenna]

Estrella: State your name and what you do in the band?

Gerard: I'm Gerard and I sing, and I draw. Frank: Apparently, I’m Frank I play guitar and dance hard. Gerard: Dance Hard… Frank: Dance hard. [Repeats ‘Dance hard' about 4 or 5 times]

Estrella: What are you guys listening to now a days?

Gerard: Same fucking two CD’s me and Frank always listen to. Frank: Go ahead. Gerard: I listen to the Dresden Dolls, and Frank listens to… Frank: The Voice In The Wire, and umm... The Dreds?

Estrella: What was your worst subject in school?

Gerard: Math, I hate math. Frank: Uhhh, History. Gerard: I like history. Frank: I can’t remember shit. Gerard: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Frank: Math, at least you like… I mean you have to like remember like formulas and shit, but like the numbers are there. And as long as you can do shit with them…. Gerard: I can’t do shit with them. Frank: History, they don’t give you shit. Gerard: I got transferred to dummy math in fact. Actually, I failed math so many times that they put me in summer school. Frank: For math? Gerard: Yeah, and then I failed again, then they put me in dummy math. Frank: Oh man. Gerard: Yeah, I learned how to write checks. [Everyone laughs]Gerard: And the bad thing about that is that everybody in class, none of them were gonna ever have to write a check, because nobody’s gonna make any fucking money.

Estrella: Any interesting tour stories?

Gerard: Ya know, we are a pretty un-interesting tour story band. Frank: Yeah. Gerard: But... Frank: But, I guess I’ll make one up…Uhh, I think the funniest tour story of this tour would have to be us the day off going to the mall and sucking. That’s about it. That’s about all the funny tour stories.

Estrella: If you weren’t in this band do you think that you’d be playing the same style of music if you were in another one?

Gerard: Good question. Frank: I don’t know, like I can't really… I don’t know, I’d like to think that we try to do different styles in like every song and every record so maybe one of those styles I don’t know. It’d be weird. Gerard: I’d be in a cabaret band. Frank: Nah, you wouldn’t.

Estrella: Who in the band would you say has the shortest attention span?

Gerard & Frank [in unison]: MIKEY! [laughs]

Estrella: Who would you say is the messiest?

Frank: Oh uhh, Mikey. Gerard: Mikey, yeah. I almost tripped over…actually I didn’t trip over… Frank: I had to room with Mikey for 2 months. Gerard: OH YEAH! Frank: And I refused to do dishes until Mikey would clean something, and he refused to do anything, and stuff started to grow in the sink and in the bathroom and the kitchen and the bedroom and everything.

Estrella: Have any of you ever had to spend a night in jail?

Gerard: Uhh, no. Ray almost did. Ray spent a day in jail, Right? He shop lifted from a Wal-mart in Iowa. Fucking batteries too for his pedals. Frank: But he bought a twelve dollar blanket Gerard: Yeah! He bought a blanket for twelve dollars. Frank: And had the money for the batteries and still stole them.

Estrella: Have you ever gotten kicked out of anywhere as a band?

Gerard: Kicked out… as in like any establishment? Estrella: Yes. Gerard: We got kicked out of that fucking hotel the other night. That party? Frank: Oh yeah, ok. Gerard: Okay, basically, there was this thing called Bloodfest in Houston, and there was an after party, and it was like all these nu-metal bands. And basically on the way out somebody called us…there was this wedding party there, and they were drunk and one of them dudes called Mikey a faggot. And Mikey was kinda drunk so he was feeling really tough. We all got in a fight and the cops escorted Daniel out. Frank: Haha. Gerard: For using foul language. Frank: Oh, I got kicked out of that amusement park cause I was drunk and I tried to get on the rides. Gerard: Oh, they told us about.. Frank: I had to leave. Gerard: Oh, our manager gave us the day off to go to the amusement park but, basically we found the bar there. And we got fucking ripped. we did karaoke in an amusement park at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We were fucking ripped. Frank: We have pictures of Toro doing fucking Billy Joel songs. Gerard: He looked so uncomfortable too. Frank: Haha, He had his hand in his pocket.

Estrella: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

Gerard: Violent pop. Blood bath sent to ballet. Frank: Yeah!

Estrella: What are your top three favorite movies?

Gerard: Empire Strikes Back. Frank: Nightmare Before Christmas, Rushmore, and uhhh lalalala... Gerard: The Cabinet of Dr. Calagary. Frank: All of them. Die hard.

Estrella: What would you say was your best Halloween costume ever?

Gerard: I’m always like a skeleton or a fucking zombie or something I’m never anything un-expected. Frank: I didn’t have anything cool but my friend had one. He had like a coat hanger wrapped around himself and it had like a point and he put like a potato on it and he was a Dictator. Gerard: I don’t get it. Frank: Huh? Gerard: I don’t get it. Frank: No, alright, so like here [points to crotch] and he had like a potato sticking here. Gerard: OH! Frank: Dic-Tater. Gerard: Dictator.

Estrella: What are some of your inspirations?

Gerard: My dad, I’m going to start answering with those kinds of inspirations. You know what I mean? Frank: Musically, Ritchie Havens, Thurston Moore, my mom and uhh Abraham Lincoln. Gerard: I know there's somebody else. Mark Hammel is really inspirational.

Estrella: Are there any like closing statements or advice you want to give?

Gerard: HELL YEAH! Frank: She rolled her eyes before she asked so I don’t know if I should say anything. Haha. Estrella: No, go for it.

How to write an EMO ANTHEM

The untold stories behind MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE'S best loved songs

WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE

GERARD WAY

M YCHEMICAL ROMANCE

THE BLACK PARADE

(VOCALS): "The funny thing about that song is that it's had four different incarnations. It used to be called 'The Five Of Us Are Dying'. It was written a long time ago but only one of the original elements - the verse - has survived. It used to be really slow. It was actually written during the writing process for [debut album] 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love' but we didn't have time to work on it-which I'm glad about. [Ray] Toro played it in on guitar and I sang to it; that's all it was then."

"I guess the original title suggests we were under a lot of pressure. Actually, we weren't when we first wrote it. But, when it came to recording it for 'The Black Parade', the pressure was tearing us up. It was the hardest song on the record to make. It happened at a point in my life where I had gone through some very difficult personal things. I was literally going through them as we were tracking the song. Originally it was sort of a plea for help, but that sentiment became something quite empowering in the end."

DID YOU KNOW? The recording of the song was hugely ambitious: the final mix boasts 167 separate vocal and instrumental parts.

DEAD!

"THIS WAS another one of the older songs. It was written when we were on our last tour. It originally had a Beatles or Billy Joel feel to it. It was the one song that we always knew was going to be on the record. It's about being dead and about people not liking you - it was a commentary on the band and how some people feel about us. Once we recorded it, it helped us to understand where the record was going. There's something about those 'la, las' at the end that's so powerful."

"It's a defiant song. We wanted to say, 'You may hate us but we're still here, more daring and more defiant than ever'. It was important that the record wasn't about us getting famous-that's why the metaphors are so strong and it's partly why the record is about a character [The Patient]. We also wanted there to be lots of colour so that people would actually feel like they were in a hospital or on a battlefield.

That visual element has always seemed important to My Chemical Romance.

When we started the band, music was all about people's girlfriends, there was no storytelling, settings or smells. I hope that people can see the confetti when they listen to 'The Black Parade', or that they can see the marching band when the piccolo and glockenspiel come in. I want them to be able to see a hospital when we sing about one."

DID YOU KNOW? The 'La la la' vocals were influenced by Gerard's teenage love of Britpop acts such as Blur.

HEADFIRST FOR HALOS

"THERE'S A song on every record that allows us to push ourselves further. On 'Bullets' it was this song and on 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' it was 'You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison'. This actually started out as a joke. Then we realised that, if we could pull it off, it would allow us to do so much more because it would prevent us from getting pigeonholed. We worked on it to the point that it wasn't a joke at all which, in turn,

allowed us to do a song like '…Prison'. "It happened naturally because it was only after we finished writing it that we realised where it might take us. We had a thrashy pop song in our laps and we thought, 'This doesn't sound like anything'. Maybe it was a bit of a Beatles rip-off, maybe it was a bit Britpop but that was all I could think of.

NXTXT

"Again, it had a visual quality. That song and 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You' both gave us a real sense of identity. They brought in the entire gothic thing. It was those songs that made people think we were a vampire band!"

DID YOU KNOW? The line, … the red ones make me fly/And the blue ones help me fall' is a reference to Gerard's drug use at the time.

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO GUYS LIKE US IN PRISON

"APART FROM 'Helena', this is probably my favourite song from [second album] 'Revenge'. It has a flamboyance and I don't think people were expecting that. Again, like 'Headfirst For Halos', we knew that if we could pull it off then it would enable us to do all sorts of other stuff.

"Were we nervous about people's reactions? No. We actually had a lot of confidence. When we signed to the label we made it clear that we weren't interested in all the bonuses and money, but that we wanted the freedom to do what we wanted. When people bitch about major labels, they're usually the same people that ask for a lot of money. It means that when it's time to be creative, the record company want an input because they spent a million dollars on you.

I'M NOT OKAY I PROMISE

"If you have a partnership with the label, then you can deliver what you want and they'll be happy because they know that you want to be great. So, when they heard that song, the response was huge."

DID YOU KNOW? The girlish giggle at the end of the song belongs to The Used's Bert McCracken.

I'M NOT OKAY I PROMISE)

"THAT SONG was like an infiltrator! On first listen people would think, 'Oh, that's catchy, it's nice. Maybe it's punk, maybe it's pop'. Then, on the second listen, they realised what it was about and got a sense that it was more than a simple pop-punk song. The video does the same thing. People thought it was going to be a teen video and then they realised it was very dark and referenced things like [offbeat Bill Murray comedy] 'Rushmore'. A lot of people assume we hate playing it because it was the first hit but, actually, it's one of our favourite songs to play live.

"There are a lot of subversive elements in it because there's the Queen guitar solo and we stole the drums from Cheap Trick 'Live At The Budokan' - so there are lots of little nuances to that song. It was definitely an anthem. The straight-up lyric, 'I'm not okay' was a declaration from me to kids who would become our fans, and they realised, 'You know what? Everything's not Okay'. The odd thing was that it wasn't the outsiders who got that it was normal people, people who were tired of pretending to be something they're not." DID YOU KNOW? The lyrics were inspired by Gerard's lack of success with girls. "It's about high school, that sense of being alone. I was always looking for love. I just wanted someone to love me."

THANK YOU FOR THE VENOM

"IT'S A song that tried to make a statement about the music scene at the time. At that moment everyone was looking for this great white hope of emo. We wanted to have nothing to do with that. It also has a lot to do with the pressure of dealing with people. There were so many people who would tell me really disturbing things about their lives, and it was difficult for me to come to grips with. That song is about having that weight on your shoulders - everyone constantly calling you the next big thing.

"It's a song that we love opening with. It's awesome live because it's saying, 'This is what we are'. In the first verse along there's a lot of self-hate. And the line, 'I wouldn't front this scene if you paid me'is like, 'I don't give a shit about this money-making corporate agenda'. why that song's pretty awesome."

That's DID YOU KNOW? 'Thank You For The Venom' is a phrase that dates back to MCR's earliest days. Gerard wore a T-shirt that bore the phrase at one of their first gigs. It also appeared - translated into French - on the inside sleeve of 'I Brought You My Bullets…'.

Words: Tom Bryant Photos: Paul Harries

"A year ago, My Chemical Romance was a relatively unknown band. A year later, they've been on countless major tours and have scored a deal with Reprise Records. During the band's co-headlining tour with A Static Lullaby, I was able to sit down and have this chat with singer Gerard. Thanks to Molly at Warner Bros. Records for setting this up, and obviously to Gerard for taking the time to do this. This interview took place on October 29, 2003 in Boston, MA.

Sev: You're spent this entire year on the road, and this is your first real headlining tour. What have been your overall impressions of this tour so far?

Gerard: As soon as we started, it just started to blow our minds. We don't know where these people are coming from that are sticking around to see us. Obviously there are Static [Lullaby] fans and there are My Chem fans. When they play before us, sometimes a few kids will leave; sometimes more than a few.

Sev: I would think that there would be a lot of crossover kids too.

Gerard: There are, but it's weird because it's also very divided. Our fans are our fans - I've noticed that, but a lot of our fans do dig them too. But last night we had an amazing night in Providence. That Met Cafe is small, and the sound is not fantastic, but it's a great atmosphere. Kids were amazing from the stage all the way back to the merch; they were clapping along, jumping, and it was awesome. But it's weird - there were people there that had never even heard of our band. So as much as things are starting to blow up, we're still very underground, and we feel very underground, which is a good feeling. I think it's a good feeling for some of the kids too. But something's happening and we can feel it every night when we see a bunch of people that came to see us.

Sev: Have you been switching on and off headlining spots with A Static Lullaby?

Gerard: Yea, we've just been swapping. Sometimes it depends on whose been there more, but sometimes it's random, such as last night and tonight.

Sev: Well, you probably draw around the same amount of kids - I think it's a good package.

Gerard: Yea, I feel that way too.

Sev: How does it compare to the other support tours you've done? Do you feel an added pressure knowing that the show rests on you?

Gerard: Yea, that's the main difference. When you're a support band, your job is to get up there and kill everything. Basically you try to get up there and try and prove that you shouldn't be playing first, or you shouldn't be playing second. At the same time when you're doing that, you forget that these kids still came to see the headlining band, and you obviously get humbled by that, even if you have a great night. But the main thing is added pressure: not knowing if they're going to stick around, if they're here to see us, if they're here because it's the cool thing to do, and if they really like us.

Sev: Out of all the support tours that you've done this past year, has there been any tour in particular that has been extra special and more fun?

Gerard: There's actually 3 that stand out in my mind. There's the Used tour that we did with Finch and The Movielife. That was our biggest tour, and Bert helped us out tremendously by giving us that. He basically made a call and said, "I want this band to open for us." He was solely responsible for getting us on that. And we just kept on going with them. We did a tour with them and Thrice after that, and we went to Europe with them. He just loved our band, and we didn't know much about them, but hit it off right away as people, and then grew to love their band because we had never been exposed to them. The other tour was the Taking Back Sunday, From Autumn to Ashes, Recover tour. There was such a feeling of camaraderie on that tour - everybody was in it together. That was a huge tour as well, and all indie bands. It was just a great feeling. And then Reggie and the Full Effect tour is always going to stick out in my mind.

Sev: You were Hungary Bear on the tour.

Gerard: Yea, I was Hungary Bear on the tour. Haha. I was Drug Awareness Bear because I started developing my own bear, because the Hungary Bear would show up sometimes, the original Sean from Coalesce.

Sev: How did you end up with the job?

Gerard: Well, James just came up to me. He watched every band on that tour. That's what's so great about James - he didn't bring anybody out just because he thought they'd pull in kids. He brought them out because he loved the band and would watch everybody.

Sev: That dude is such a great showman - easily one of the most entertaining people to watch on stage.

Gerard: He's fucking fantastic. So he saw us on stage, we were hanging out at a bar in Florida the night after the first show, and he goes, "Hey, I got a job for you if you want it." I'm like, "what is it?" "The bear! I need you to be a bear." So of course I did it. The next night it was House of Blues at Disney World. I jumped offstage in this bear suit, thinking all the kids would catch me, and the floor just parted and I went straight down. It was like a 10-foot drop to concrete - I thought I was going home in a helicopter, but then again I stopped after that.

Sev: You'd think that some kids would just rip the bear to shreds.

Gerard: Oh yea - I thought it would be awesome because I stage dove during our set, and the kids kind of caught me, but not the bear. Haha.

Sev: Now that your album has been out for a little over a year, looking back on it, anything that you're dissatisfied with or anything you'd change?

Gerard: The only think I would have to say about it, which is a weird point to argue, is that we were such a young band at the time, we had very little live experience, and I think that to record a record before you get that rawness that comes from the road - I think that's the one thing missing from the record. The way that we are live is not really captured in the record.

Sev: How much had you toured before you did the record?

Gerard: We hadn't toured. We had played some local shows, but the furthest we ever went was probably Connecticut or something like that. But yea, I think that's the one thing missing that we're going to put on the next record.

Sev: Were you surprised at the amount of support the album has received?

Gerard: Oh yea. When we started this band, our whole attitude with the music we were playing was that we don't give a shit who likes this. People would probably hate it, because we thought that this was a really big throwback to 80s metal. We didn't think that kids would be into this rock and roll power metal shit. But we just said fuck it, we're going to do it anyway. Then from our first show, people started clapping right away, which we thought was kind of weird. So we had it from the first show, and when the album came out, as soon as kids knew the words they were singing along. We had the lyrics on the site, without an album out, and they were singing along. It was very rapid, and it's still growing but it's amazing.

Sev: You had Geoff from Thursday produce the album. What advantages do you think that it had to have someone who sings in a band like Thursday?

Gerard: For me, it wasn't about the fact that he was in Thursday, and it wasn't about the fact that he was in a band that was getting big - it wasn't a selling point for the record. For me it was a vocalist who had learned and grown so much in 2 years after touring his ass off, and had so much to offer as far as getting performances out of us. He brought all that live experience to us, so as much as there is on there, he did. I think that's the biggest thing - performance. He taught me how to think about doing vocals and what it really meant when I was singing.

Sev: You must have written some new songs by now.

Gerard: Yea, we've written 10, and we're going to do another 10 before the record. We'll be recording in January.

Sev: Do you know who'll be producing?

Gerard: Not sure yet, but this is probably going to be the first time we work with a "real producer." Right now we're thinking about Don Gilmore who did all the Pixies record. I love the way his records sounds, and I think it would be amazing to work with somebody like that. He's a British dude so I'm sure he'll add some kind of interesting element to that. We're also thinking of Trent Reznor - I would love to work with him. He has a studio in New Orleans that I think would add a lot of vibe to it. I think he would get the subject matter a lot better than a lot of people.

Sev: Well, now that you mention that, what's the fascination you have with all the dark themes that you talk about, especially dealing with the occult.

Gerard: Well, since I was a kid I watched a lot of horror movies. What I always noticed is that in music there's a lot of Halloween type shit: pumpkins and skeletons type stuff, and I wasn't about that. I wanted to use the supernatural as a metaphor for something else as opposed to singing about zombies, which is great. Murder By Death have a fantastic song about a zombie, but they do it in a certain way that is not gimmicky or Halloween-y. There are a lot of bands out there that do that, that are horror punk. I didn't want to be horror punk but I wanted to use the elements of the supernatural but still retain this gritty crime scene Jersey image that we had.

Sev: Do you plan on doing anything special for Halloween?

Gerard: Oh yea - we're going to have a Halloween party show. I want to keep our costumes a secret, but it's not going to be anything surprising. We're all going to be something, and we'll probably all be dead or something like that. It's going to be lots of fun - something that we know the kids would like to see us in. I would preferably like to dress up as chimney sweeps but my band wasn't into that.

Sev: Haha, chimney sweeps like in Mary Poppins?

Gerard: Yea, exactly - with the hats and everything. They didn't think that anyone would get it, but whatever.

Sev: Now you're written new lyrics. Having been on the road so much, has that drastically changed the way you approach a song?

Gerard: You've got to be careful, because you're on the road so much, you don't want to start writing songs about being on the road. Who's going to relate to that, besides other guys in bands? So there's very little mention of that in the new lyrics, but there is some talk about our lives because our lives have been crazy. I want the record to be more positive, a more positive influence on people. I want there to be a light in the tunnel more often than at the end of the record. I think the new record is definitely more optimistic - it's violently happy and ironically bleak. It's darker than the first, but at the same time it's definitely psychotically happier, and for sure it's more uplifting.

Sev: Musically speaking, did you try a lot of new things?

Gerard: I don't think it's going to be too much of a surprise, but there are a lot of songs people are going to hear in which we hadn't tried these types of things before. Basically, everything that was crazy on the first record, the craziness on this new one has been cranked. There's lots of random yelling, babbling, and nonsense, but it all means something. There's lots of stuff like that. The metal is more metal, the punk is more punk, and we're just starting to refine ourselves in that sense. We're learning how song structure can benefit. You learn it on the road when you play live. You play a song that you think kicks ass, and then there are certain parts when you see the kids falling asleep, or they just drag, so you learn when it works and when it doesn't.

Sev: You guys signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Did that have any effect at all when coming up with songs for the new album, knowing that a major is going to be pushing it?

Gerard: I know what you're saying. Actually, that had no effect because we started writing all this stuff before the singing. And the idea for the record was there as soon as we finished the first record - we already had a concept. This one's a concept, so it was already set in my head as far as lyrics goes. The music comes from all of us, but lyrically I knew where I wanted to go. But we made sure that the kind of deal we took isn't the kind of deal where you're going to feel the pressure that you need the single, you need the radio - we're not that kind of band and they know that. We write accordingly, but they do push us to be the best band we can be, and that's something we always get along with.

Sev: Why did you decide to move to a major so early in the life of the band?

Gerard: It's all about distribution - just wider distribution to get our message out there and to reach more people. That's basically the sole reason.

Sev: You put up a long statement on your website when you signed to Reprise. Why did you feel the need for such a statement?

Gerard: It's interesting because unfortunately that thing I wrote was looked upon as an explanation, rather than all these things that I'd been feeling. I basically mentioned it at the end and had nothing to do with the rest of the statement. I did it that way because I just wanted to announce it and didn't want to make a big deal out of it, because it's not a big deal. We're still operating in the same way.

Sev: There are a lot of bands that have signed this year to majors and feel that they need to give out long explanations. I guess coming from an indie/punk/hardcore upbringing, most of the fans will be, "Hey, wait a minute. What do you mean a major?"

Gerard: Yea, I totally agree. I'm bummed that it was looked upon as an explanation because it wasn't. What it was is the culmination of viewing the scene at large and at small in various places around the country and the world. I said a lot of things I really wanted to say about music, that I felt really needed to be said, and nobody was saying to these kids. These kids need a positive influence, and they need somebody that's going to be give it to them straight. That's all we wanted to do with that. The signing thing, if I thought about it a little more, I wouldn't even announce the signing at all in the letter.

Sev: How satisfied are you up to now with the way that Eyeball has been treating you?

Gerard: Oh, they busted their ass. We all did it together, we worked out of our attic, and we made great things happen. We reached a lot of people. It was just the kind of thing - Alex is the kind of guy who wants more than anything to help people get their start. That's all he's interested in, and he does it well. He finds amazing bands that later on grow to be amazing bands elsewhere. That's the way he operates. He finds the talent, and that's all he's happy with. He isn't the type of guy who feels betrayed if you leave the label. The way it is with him, you give him a record, and that's basically it.

Sev: Let's talk a little bit about the current state of the punk/indie/hardcore scene. With all the bands that are instantly huge, signing onto major labels, and appearing on commercial radio and MTV, do you think that something has been lost or compromised in the process?

Gerard: I feel that there's exploitation going on in the scene, with our scene, because there are bands and there are labels that are solely producing bands to get signed to majors in order for them to seem to have credibility. That is the biggest compromise that is happening. I think other than that I think it's ok. There's labels that are bogus labels, and I think kids are starting to smell that. They have real bands, and some of them have been working their asses off, but it's a marketing tool. They put them in a van, nobody is going to know that they're on the major label, because they're on this other indie, and they're already signed to a major. It's a trick that's happening. I've seen it many times, and it's been mentioned to us. That kind of offer came our way to do that, and it's the most asinine thing in the world. I think that without a doubt a band should earn their way into a major label, because the people you touch in the beginning and the fans you make, it makes who you are as a band - it shapes you into what you are. If you don't have that, you just hit the scene, and you don't know shit about yourself, and you don't know shit about your fans. It just depends on what you want - if you want the short way to the top, then that's the way to do it, but those things never last. As far as compromise goes, look at Thursday's record on a major, look at Thrice's record - there's no compromise whatsoever, and I think that's amazing. By both bands making that statement with their albums it kind of abolishes the whole thing. None of these bands have to make what you'd think a major label sounding record is. They're shaping what that major label sound is right now.

Sev: What are some of the biggest disagreements amongst yourselves?

Gerard: We mesh really well musically and personally. We all have a good time, so there's probably not that many disagreements. The only thing I think we ever disagree upon is if we're going to play "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville" or not. We had a little thing tonight. Some guys wanted to play it tonight, but I'm not sure. It's an ad lib song - the first verse was written, but the last part of the song was freestyle. And I'm not fucking Eminem, so unless the vibe is right, I don't like to do it. I did it in Chicago because the vibe was perfect. It basically happens in the middle of the set. We feel the energy, and if they can deal with it, we can deal with it.

Sev: A few years ago, the New Jersey scene really exploded nationally. Many of Jersey bands have achieved a large level of success. In terms of more of an underground scene, how are things in Jersey these days?

Gerard: I think that very exciting things are starting to happen now in Jersey. You're starting to see bands like the Oval Portrait, who are on Eyeball, but they're playing a kind of music that is very uncharacteristic of the Jersey scene. The Jersey scene at large, a lot of kids out there that ape Thursday. That's kind of the way it is at large, and then every once in a while you'll get a band that doesn't fit in, that sticks out amongst the rest. Now there are starting to emerge some better bands as far as that's concerned. But if you earn people's respect, the Jersey scene can be very supportive.

Sev: Can you tell us a recent crazy tour story?

Gerard: I wish I could. We ran out of gas 3 weeks ago, but we don't have crazy tour stories. Maybe next year. Everything is just business as usual - hit a truck stop, fill up the gas, and drive for another 5 hours. It's so business as usual. But the running out of gas thing has happened twice to us, so it's starting to become a pattern. Our manager hitchhiked with a trucker who was hauling 40,000 pounds of onions. Then they came back, and when he hitchhiked back, he had to hitchhike with one of those guys that fix those really big windmill things that you see in the Midwest. So that's our crazy story right there.

Sev: Are there any vegetarian members in the band?

Gerard: No - I'll do it on tour for most of it, whenever I can. At home I'll eat a little fish and a little chicken. It's hard on the road, but you also feel so much better. It keeps you from eating McDonalds and Burger King every day. Otherwise that's what you're going to eat.

Sev: What's your take on doing all these interviews? Any questions in particular that you never want to be asked again?

Gerard: Only because they're very uninteresting answers. There are certain questions like how the band started, which is obviously a question you'd want to know, but it's just a very uninteresting answer. We literally got together, came out of nowhere, and worked our asses off. The band name is an easy one so I don't mind that. The people who have done their homework and ask thought-provoking questions, those are great interviews. I have bummer interviews and I give bummer answers. I have people who have an attitude, and I give attitude back. They'll try to get you to shit-talk, and they know I'm not going to shit-talk. A lot of people feed right into that. Lots of people don't think about these questions and just give out a bunch of silly ones. A few silly ones are fine, especially if they're creative, but then some questions that they're obviously no answers - that's just ridiculous.

Sev: What are 3 bands that you don't think get nearly as much attention as they deserve, and you think kids should be checking out?

Gerard: Hmm, let me think. Vaux for sure. Murder By Death for sure. Definitely the bands we're on tour with, which is a lot of the reason behind bringing these people out.

Sev: Did you bring both of those bands yourselves, or did Static pick out one of them?

Gerard: Vaux was a mutual decision. Murder By Death was our choice, but they also brought out Christiansen, which is another band. There you go - Static brought Christiansen which is another band that doesn't get enough press.

Sev: After you're done with this tour, you're planning on taking a break and writing?

Gerard: Oh yea - we have 2 or 3 more shows, and then we're going to write. We're going to write more, hopefully another 10 songs. This is the last tour supporting the last album. We might do another tour in the UK and that's about it. We should be recording in January. We're hoping for a late spring/early summer release.

Sev: Ok, I think that covers all my questions. Anything else you want to add?

Gerard: Wait, let me call Frank - he has a thing at the end of every interview. Frank, come here. Final comments?