My Favorite American Bands

My Chemical Romance came into being in 2001 when vocalist Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier (who would later be asked to leave in August 2004) decided to form a band. Way asked guitarist Ray Toro to join the pair. The lineup of My Chemical Romance became complete when Gerard Way's brother Mikey and Frank Iero joined. The new group began touring around the northeast U.S.

Trivia Fact About My Chemical Romance:

The song "Helena" is about the grandmother of Gerard and Mikey Way. According to Gerard she was an artist who taught him to sing, paint and perform. She bought My Chemical Romance their first van for touring. Her funeral was a formative event in the lives of Gerard and Mikey Way.

First Album:

My Chemical Romance signed with New York-based independent record label Eyeball Records for their first album. I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was produced by Geoff Rickly, lead vocalist of the group Thursday, and released in 2002. The tone of the album was very dark and the group were frequently compared to Thursday.

'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge':

In 2003 My Chemical Romance signed a major label contract with Warner Brothers subsidiary Reprise Records. They set to work on a second album. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge appeared in June 2004. It was designed as a concept album about two lovers who die in a gunfight in the desert. Much of the album's music is relentlessly loud, intense, and fast. The album debuted at #103 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart at the end of June 2004 and began a long, very slow climb up the chart. After more than a year on the album Band Members:

* Gerard Way - Vocals
* Mikey Way - Bass
* Frank Iero - Rhythm Guitar
* Ray Toro - Lead Guitar

Vocalist Brandon Flowers's first band was a synthpop group called Blush Response. He was asked to leave them when he refused to move with the group from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Looking to form a new band he answered an ad by guitarist Dave Keuning. The pair clicked and listened to a number of bass players and drummers. They chose medical courier Mark Stoermer on bass and classically trained percussionist Ronnie Vannuci for the drums.

Rise Of the Killers:

In 2003 the Killers came to the attention of independent British record label Lizard King and the band traveled to England for their first performances outside of the Las Vegas area. The buzz surrounding them was intense and they found themselves signed to a worldwide record deal with Island Records by the end of the year.

The band recorded material for their first album and continued to tour through the first half of 2004. The album, titled Hot Fuss was released in June. Their first single "Somebody Told Me" reached the pop top 30 in the U.K. and the top 3 of the modern rock chart in the U.S. Buzz around the group continued to build through the end of the year.

In early 2005, "Mr. Brightside," the first song written by Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, appeared as the next single from Hot Fuss. Radio airplay was strong and a dance remix of "Mr. Brightside" appeared as well. Soon "Mr. Brightside" was simultaneously a major pop, rock, and dance hit.

Brandon Flowers - Vocals and Keyboards

David Keuning - Guitars

Mark Stoermer - Bass

Ronnie Vannucci - Drums 

Originally known as simply Blink, the trio band was formed near San Diego by Mark Hoppus (b. 15 March 1972, USA; bass/vocals), who had moved to San Diego to study, and Tom DeLonge (b. 13 December 1975, USA; guitar/vocals). Hoppus and DeLonge were joined by drummer Scott Raynor, and began a non-stop gigging schedule on the local punk circuit. They debuted in 1993 with a self-released EP, Fly Swatter. After releasing the album Buddha in 1994, the trio signed to Grilled Cheese/Cargo and released Cheshire Cat the following year which featured several of the songs from the demo tape. Shortly afterwards the trio were forced to adopt the new moniker Blink-182 following the threat of legal action by an Irish techno outfit already recording as Blink. Despite the enforced name change, the trio's popularity continued to grow owing to support slots with several leading punk bands including No FX and Pennywise, and their ubiquitous presence on the skating and snow boarding scenes. They also developed a reputation for stripping off during live shows. The trio has a penchant for gloriously immature lyrics, crafting great tunes. The third blink-182 LP, Dude Ranch, was released in 1997. Dude Ranch expanded the group's audience and won the attention of major labels. blink-182 wound up signing with MCA, who released the band's fourth album, Enema of the State, in the summer of 1999. Travis Barker, formerly with the Aquabats, later replaced Raynor. After selling over four million copies of Enema of the State, the trio played on with the limited edition release The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) in fall 2000. Barker appeared on the band's major label debut, Enema Of The State, which debuted in the US Top 10 in June 1999 and went on to sell over a million copies in barely two months. The album was helped by two highly catchy hits, "What's My Name Again?" and "All The Small Things". Following the release of a stop-gap live set, the band confirmed the commercial appeal of their scatological punk rock when their fifth album, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, debuted at the top of the US charts in June 2001. DeLonge and Barker concurrently enjoyed success as part of Blink-182 soundalikes, Box Car Racer, while the latter also joined Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong in the Transplants. The band also graced the covers of Rolling Stone, Alternative Press (twice), Teen People, Teen and CosmoGirl, just to name a few. 

Band Members : 

Mark Hoppus (bass/vocals), 

Tom Delonge (guitar/vocalist) 

Scott Raynor (drums)