I rarely (if ever) post anything truly personal aside from my artwork on this blog, but I feel so strongly about this that I must dedicate a few moments to acknowledge it.
My Chemical Romance has been one of my biggest influences in how I grew up as a person, as an artist, and how I was able to cope with my own personal demons without resorting to self-violence, medication, substance abuse, or acting out on my peers. I began to draw a lot more after first hearing them, and I continue to find Gerard Way's artwork as a muse to my own, and their music as a whole as a comforting guidance I won't ever turn away from.
This is the beginning of a new day at the end of an era. I thank My Chemical Romance every day for being my voice when I couldn't put my thoughts into words, for making it okay for me to be myself, for inspiring me to be an artist, and for the first footholds into an industry I've grown to love.
From the first time I saw the music video for "I'm Not Okay", til my first concert which was theirs with Taking Back Sunday on May 9th, 2008, until the very moment I grown deaf enough to no longer be able to hear any music whatsoever, My Chemical Romance will be my favorite band.
I cried a little while reading the letter that frontman Gerard Way wrote explaining the end of MCR. It doesn't make it any less of a shock to the system, but gives a source of closure and comfort for not just myself but the several million other people in their world that found MCR to be their guardian angels who dress in black. I'm twenty-one years old and still listen to them on a nearly daily basis, just as much as I did when I found them at thirteen years old while volunteering at a day camp, and one of my co-counselors on a whim asked, "Hey, you ever hear of a band called My Chemical Romance?"
I grew up with them, watched them blossom into one of the most influential bands of this genre and era for not just alternative rock, but all sorts of genres and bands who still look up to them, as well as a trove of artists, writers, poets, musicians, and anyone else who can credit My Chemical Romance as a factor in the creative process.
As cliche and typical as it sounds, My Chemical Romance saved my life. Thank you for all you have done to make me a better person.
MCR 2001-2013: a dozen years of imbedding yourselves so warmly and significantly into the lives of millions.
