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My Chemical Romance Visits The GRAMMY Museum

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New Jersey-based quartet discusses their formation, musical influences and latest album
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

My Chemical Romance participated in an installment of the GRAMMY Museum's An Evening With series on Jan. 26. Before an audience of 200 at the Clive Davis Theater, the four-piece band discussed their latest album, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, early musical influences and how Sept. 11 inspired their formation, among other topics.

"It was like watching a horror movie," said Gerard Way of Sept. 11. "I was doing something really irrelevant at the time that I didn't feel was important and I remember just thinking to myself, 'This is not a waste. I can't waste this.' And it was literally like two weeks later that we had our first rehearsal."

Formed in New Jersey, My Chemical Romance consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, bassist Mikey Way, and guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro. In 2002 the band released their debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, ripe with alternative rock and pop elements and dark, introspective lyrics. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge followed in 2004 and netted the band their first Top 40 hit, "Helena." My Chemical Romance's third album, The Black Parade, was released in 2006 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Conceptual in nature, the album centers around the story of a cancer patient in a hospital bed who reminisces on his life at the moment of his death. Certified platinum, The Black Parade spawned My Chemical Romance's highest-charting single to date, "Welcome To The Black Parade," which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gerard Way received a GRAMMY nomination in 2007 for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for his art direction for The Black Parade — Special Edition. Released on Nov. 22, 2010, the band's most recent album, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, is a sci-fi-themed depiction of anti-corporate outlaws living in the year 2019.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include An Evening With Booker T. Jones (May 12), From Vision To Vinyl: A Step-By-Step Look At Vinyl Production (May 18), and American Express Presents The Drop: Diane Schuur (June 9).

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

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John Legend & The Roots Visit GRAMMY Museum

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Legend and the Roots discuss Wake Up! in advance of their GRAMMY wins
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
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GRAMMY winners John Legend & The Roots visited the GRAMMY Museum as part of The Drop series to discuss their album consisting primarily of soul covers from the '60s and '70s, Wake Up! The album garnered Legend and the Roots Best R&B Album honors at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in February.

Before an intimate audience of 200, Legend and the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson talked about the concept behind the collaborative project, their process in selecting the songs and their recording philosophy. Legend and the Roots also performed a brief set, including the GRAMMY-nominated "Wake Up Everybody" and "Hard Times."

"One thing we didn't try to do was over-contemporize these songs," said Legend. "You could do the glossy hip-hop and R&B remix of all these songs if you wanted…. But it didn't feel right. We were making a soul record."

Born in Springfield, Ohio, Legend began playing piano at the early age of 5. After college he moved to New York to advance his recording career and worked as a session musician on recordings by artists such as Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others. He released his debut album, Get Lifted, in 2004. A nine-time GRAMMY winner, Legend picked up Best New Artist honors in 2005. He won three total GRAMMY Awards for Wake Up! at the 53rd GRAMMY Awards, including Best R&B Song for "Shine," the album's lone original composition.

Formed in the late '80s in Philadelphia, the Roots have emerged as one of the more influential hip-hop acts of the past two decades. They released Do You Want More?!!!??! — their major label debut — in 1995 and four years later won their first GRAMMY for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for "You Got Me." In addition to Best R&B Album, the Roots shared Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance honors with Legend for "Hang On In There."

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include An Evening With Kenny Rogers (March 28), Reel To Reel: Troubadours (March 30), and An Evening With R. Carlos Nakai (March 31).

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

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John Doe Visits The GRAMMY Museum

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Singer/songwriter discusses his latest solo album, Keeper
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

Singer/songwriter John Doe was the featured guest for a recent installment of the GRAMMY Museum's The Drop series. In an interview setting, Doe discussed his musical influences, songwriting and the creative process behind his most recent album, Keeper, among other topics. Following the discussion, Doe performed select tracks from the album, including "Never Enough," "Little Tiger" and "Painting The Town Blue."

"The more tender songs on this record owe a debt to Joni Mitchell," said Doe regarding Keeper. "We [also] brought the band up a lot more, and allowed them to have a lot of interplay."
 


A native of Decatur, Ill., Doe was a founding member of the Los Angeles-based punk band X. Consisting of Doe o (bass/vocals), D.J. Bonebrake (drums), Exene Cervenka (vocals), and Billy Zoom (guitar) X emerged as one of the top bands on the L.A. punk circuit in the late '70s. Featuring eight songs co-written by Doe and Cervenka, X's debut album, Los Angeles, was released in 1980, selling 50,000 copies, an impressive figure for an independent punk band. X subsequently secured a deal with Elektra Records and released their major label debut, 1982's Under The Big Black Sun, which peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard 200. The band would record four more studio albums for Elektra, including Ain't Love Grand! (1985) and See How We Are (1987). The former album featured "Burning House Of Love," which reached No. 27 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

With X on hiatus, in 1990 Doe released Meet John Doe, his debut solo album that incorporated his country and roots rock influences. While X reunited in 1993 to release Hey Zeus!, two years later Doe released his sophomore solo album, Kissingsohard. He followed up with Freedom Is… (2000) and Dim Stars, Bright Sky (2002). In the interim, X continued to reunite for select shows, with a run of 2004 concerts at the House of Blues Sunset Strip resulting in 2005's live album Live In Los Angeles. Doe then secured a solo deal with Yep Roc Records and has released a series of albums, including Forever Hasn't Happened Yet (2005), For The Best Of Us (2006), A Year In The Wilderness (2007), and Country Club (2009). Recorded under the moniker John Doe And The Sadies, the latter album further showcased Doe's country influences and reached No. 32 on Billboard's Country Albums chart.

Released in August, Keeper features 10 songs written by Doe, a cover of Earl Jackson's "Moonbeam" and one Doe/Cervenka composition, "Painting The Town Blue," as well as contributions from musicians such as Patty Griffin, Jill Sobule and Don Was. NPR Music described the album as reflecting "a place somewhere between rock 'n' roll and country music," with some songs resembling a "gorgeous soundtrack to a darkly romantic movie."

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Reel To Reel: Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix At The Isle Of Wight (Dec. 8) and Reel To Reel: Looking Back On Love With Special Guest Lenny Kravitz (Dec. 12).

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

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Rosanne Cash's List

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Singer/songwriter visits the GRAMMY Museum to discuss GRAMMY-nominated album
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

GRAMMY winner and current GRAMMY nominee Rosanne Cash was featured at American Express Presents An Evening With Rosanne Cash at the GRAMMY Museum on Oct. 5. Before an intimate audience of 200, Cash discussed her songwriting process, writing her memoir Composed, and recording her 2006 album Black Cadillac and her most recent release, the GRAMMY-nominated The List.

Released in October 2009, The List features contemporary interpretations of songs taken from a list of 100 essential country songs made by her father, Johnny Cash.

In speaking about the album, Cash recalled a time when her father visited her daughter's kindergarten class to give a short presentation on the history of country music. "He came and gave this impromptu presentation to 5-year-olds, on a level they could understand, about the history of country music," recalled Cash. "It was unbelievable…and this mother turned over to me and said, 'Somebody should tape this.' I feel like in making The List, somebody did."

Following the discussion, Cash performed a short set of songs with husband/producer John Leventhal, including "House On The Lake" from Black Cadillac and "Sleeping In Paris" from her 1993 release The Wheel.

Born the first daughter of Johnny Cash and his then-wife Vivian Liberto, Rosanne Cash released her debut album, Right Or Wrong, in 1979. Cash has had five Top 10 Country Albums on Billboard's chart: Seven Year Ache (1981), Rhythm & Romance (1985), King's Record Shop (1987), Hits 1979–1989 (1989), and The List. King's Record Shop spawned four No. 1 hits, including "Tennessee Flat Top Box" (written by her father) and "Runaway Train," which was penned by singer/songwriter John Stewart. Cash is currently nominated for Best Americana Album for The List. She won a GRAMMY in 1985 for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me."

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Great Guitars: John Jorgenson (Jan. 24), Musicians Institute Presents: Follow That Lick (Jan. 27) and An Evening With My Chemical Romance (Jan. 26).

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

Click on the "GRAMMY Museum events" tag below for links to other GRAMMY News stories in this series.

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A Walk On The Dark Side With Nick Mason

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Pink Floyd founding member discusses classic albums such as The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall at the GRAMMY Museum
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

Pink Floyd founding member Nick Mason was the featured guest for a recent installment of the GRAMMY Museum's An Evening With series. In an intimate interview setting, Mason discussed Pink Floyd's unique sound, classic albums such as The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall, and EMI Music's recent Pink Floyd collectors' box set releases.

"We knew we'd made the best record, so far," said Mason regarding The Dark Side Of The Moon. "We were conscious of the fact that this was a step forward. It was much more sophisticated."

Formed in 1965 in London, Pink Floyd originally consisted of drummer Mason, lead guitarist/vocalist Syd Barrett, bassist Roger Waters, and Rick Wright. The band applied an experimental approach to their music, incorporating instrumental flurries, feedback and various sound effects within a psychedelic rock framework. Pink Floyd's debut album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, was released in 1967. Prior to their sophomore effort, 1968's A Saucerful Of Secrets, Barrett departed the band, with guitarist David Gilmour replacing him. Released in 1972, Obscured By Clouds was Pink Floyd's first album to crack the Top 50 on the Billboard 200. As the band continued to polish their sound, in 1973 they released an ambitious concept album, The Dark Side Of The Moon. The album addressed themes of conflict, death, time, and insanity, with each side of the album spanning a continuous piece of music. The Dark Side Of The Moon hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and ultimately remained on the chart for a record 741 weeks. Featuring the hit "Money," which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album has sold more than 15 million copies in the United States.

The band's follow-up, 1975's Wish You Were Here, also topped the Billboard 200. Containing just five songs, the album's themes center around the corruption of the music industry and the mental illness of former bandmate Barrett. Following 1977's Animals, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, in 1979 Pink Floyd released their most commercially successful album of all time, The Wall. Produced by Bob Ezrin, the double album was masterminded by Waters and weaves themes of isolation and abandonment. The Wall became the band's third chart-topping album, was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 23rd GRAMMY Awards in 1980 and spawned the No. 1 hit "Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2." The Wall has sold more than 23 million copies in the United States.

Pink Floyd dissolved following 1983's The Final Cut, with band members pursuing solo projects. Gilmour, Mason and Wright convened to reform Pink Floyd, resulting in 1987's A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. The album was recorded without Waters, who had sought an injunction against the trio for utilizing the Pink Floyd name, but lost the case. Pink Floyd won the lone GRAMMY of their career in 1994 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Marooned," a song from their second studio album without Waters, the chart-topping The Division Bell. In 1995 Pink Floyd scored their fifth No. 1 album with Pulse, a double live album featuring The Dark Side Of The Moon performed in its entirety.

The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1999 and 2008, respectively. In July 2005 Waters teamed with Gilmour, Mason and Wright for a one-off Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8 in London. Barrett died in 2006, and Wright died in 2008. Waters has toured in recent years, featuring a new band playing Pink Floyd favorites. His most recent tour placed fourth on Billboard's list of top 2011 tours with gross revenue of nearly $150 million.

Pink Floyd ranks seventh on RIAA's list of top-selling artists, with 74.5 million albums sold. EMI Music recently released a Pink Floyd "Discovery" box set, a collection culling remastered versions of the band's original 14 studio albums, in addition to collectors' box sets for The Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here. A similar box set for The Wall is scheduled to be released in February.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration (Jan. 18).

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

Click on the "GRAMMY Museum events" tag below for links to other GRAMMY News stories in this series.