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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
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 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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Yoko Ono Visits The GRAMMY Museum

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Two-time GRAMMY winner discusses her art and the life and legacy of her late husband John Lennon
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of John Lennon's birth on Oct. 9, 1940, two-time GRAMMY winner Yoko Ono visited the GRAMMY Museum on Oct. 3 for an intimate conversation about her late husband's life and legacy. Ono also discussed her artistic influences, how she met Lennon and the origins of the Plastic Ono Band. The event was in support of the GRAMMY Museum's latest exhibit John Lennon, Songwriter.

"The first feeling I had of [John] was that he was very elegant, and very strange," Ono said regarding her first encounter with Lennon at one of her gallery showings. "He had all these different personas, and this was a gallery he was visiting, so he was wearing a nice suit and looking rather elegant."

Born in Tokyo, Ono is known as a peace activist, musician and artist. In the '60s, Ono became a prominent figure in Fluxus, a movement of artists known for incorporating experimental and avante-garde concepts. She met Lennon in November 1966 and the couple eventually married in 1969. Ono and Lennon collaborated musically beginning in 1968 with Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins (an album known for its nude cover art) up until 1980's Double Fantasy, the last recording released in Lennon's lifetime. The latter album won the Album Of The Year GRAMMY, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included the No. 1 single "(Just Like) Starting Over." Ono resumed her music career in 1981 with Seasons Of Glass, featuring the GRAMMY-nominated "Walking On Thin Ice." Her most recent recording, Between My Head And The Sky, was released under the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band moniker in 2009.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Fender Presents An Intimate Night With Los Lobos (Dec. 14) and What A Long Strange Trip it's Been: A Review Of Rock's Greatest Decade (Jan. 4).

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

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The Hold Steady Drops By

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Indie rockers visit the GRAMMY Museum
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

Indie rockers the Hold Steady joined the GRAMMY Museum's ongoing The Drop series on May 3, discussing their newly released album Heaven Is Whenever.

Before an audience of 200 in the Museum's GRAMMY Sound Stage, the group — heralded as the "best bar band in America" by NPR — addressed topics such as songwriting, production, and the creative influences behind the album. Following the discussion, the band took questions from the audience and performed a brief acoustic set.

Formed in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Hold Steady released its debut album, Almost Killed Me, in 2004. The group is currently comprised of drummer Bobby Drake, vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn, lead guitarist Tad Kubler, and bassist Galen Polivka. In its four-star review of Heaven Is Whenever, Rolling Stone magazine said, "The Hold Steady don't just show us how much they love classic rock — they make some of their own. It's their most polished record, nearly majestic at points, without scrimping on bloodshot angst or exuberance."

Upcoming events at the GRAMMY Museum include programs with Johnny Lang (June 1), Don Was (June 3) and Herbie Hancock (June 7).

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

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Mr. Happy Go Lucky

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John Mellencamp visits the GRAMMY Museum
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

GRAMMY-winning rocker John Mellencamp enjoyed a special evening at the GRAMMY Museum on Aug. 17, appearing before an intimate audience of 200 on the same day his new album, No Better Than This, hit stores and online retailers.

Additionally, the appearance came on the virtual eve — in October — of Farm Aid's 25th anniversary. Mellencamp founded Farm Aid in 1985 along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. The founding members, along with Dave Matthews, will perform at Farm Aid 25 on Oct. 2 in Milwaukee. The organization distributed more than $500,000 to family and rural farm service providers in 2009 alone. During this unique "evening with" appearance, Mellencamp discussed his new T Bone Burnett-produced album as well as his eventful career and social activism.

Mellencamp began his career as Johnny Cougar, a name foisted on him by his then-manager. He spent the next few years living with and then fighting to change the name to reflect the real person and his developing craft. In 1982 he broke through with the No. 1 album American Fool and the hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane." By his next album, 1983's Uh-Huh, he was at least being recognized as John "Cougar" Mellencamp, and was scoring hits such as "Pink Houses" that were beginning to dissect the daily hard-scrabble lives of his fellow Midwesterners. Songs such as "Small Town," "Minutes To Memories" and "Check It Out" would follow, solidifying his status as a heartland rocker with his finger on the pulse of the challenges of working-class Americans.

Mellencamp won a Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male GRAMMY in 1982 for "Hurts So Good" and has received a total of 14 nominations.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Bitches Brew: Celebrating The 40th Anniversary Of Miles Davis' Masterpiece (Sept. 2), The Latin Recording Academy Showcases Donato Poveda (Sept. 7) and The Hippest Trip In America: Celebrating The 40th Anniversary Of Soul Train (Sept. 8).

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

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Hello, It's Todd Rundgren

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Producer/songwriter visits the GRAMMY Museum
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

Acclaimed producer/songwriter Todd Rundgren was the featured guest for a recent installment of the GRAMMY Museum's An Evening With series. In an intimate interview setting, Rundgren discussed his musical influences, his tenure in the psychedelic rock band the Nazz and his work as a producer/engineer, among other topics. Following the interview, Rundgren performed a brief set, including "I Don't Want To Tie You Down," from his 1973 solo album A Wizard, A True Star, and "Bang The Drum All Day," from 1983's The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect.

"My very first professional gig was as a blues guitar player when I got out of high school," said Rundgren. "I was playing a mishmash of blues, Beatles and Yardbirds [songs]."

Born in Upper Darby, Pa., Rundgren landed his first professional gig as the guitarist for the Philadelphia-based blues band Woody's Truck Stop. He then formed the Nazz with bassist Carson Von Osten in 1967. A year later, the Nazz released their self-titled debut album featuring 10 songs, a majority of which were penned by Rundgren. Rundgren departed the band to focus on a solo career, releasing his debut album, Runt, under the guise of the band Runt, in 1970. Rundgren earned his renown as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with 1972's Something/Anything? peaking at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and featuring the Top 10 hit "Hello It's Me," one of his five songs to crack the Top 40. ("Hello It's Me" was originally recorded on the Nazz's debut album.) In 1974 Rundgren formed the progressive rock band Utopia, a project he continued to record with into the mid-'80s. As a producer, Rundgren's résumé includes work with artists such as Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, and Meat Loaf's 1977 album Bat Out Of Hell, which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than 14 million copies.

Released in April, Rundgren's latest solo album, Todd Rundgren's Johnson, is a tribute to the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. The album features 12 interpretations of Johnson's songs, including blues classics such as "Sweet Home Chicago," "Love In Vain" and "Crossroad Blues."

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include An Evening With Dave Alvin (Sept. 19), The Drop: Johnny Gil (Sept. 20), Spotlight: Matthew Morrison (Sept. 24), and An Evening With Blind Boys Of Alabama (Sept. 28).

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

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