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Norris: Was the future of the band in question?
GW: Not necessarily, but all the confidence we had built up … we were at our most vulnerable because one of us couldn't be in that house anymore. We started to see all our weaknesses. It put us in a very paralyzed state. It's a very delicate balance in this band and momentum is a large part of it. I'd say whether we'd like to believe it or not, we questioned our very existence.
Norris: So what made things better?
MW: Um, I think everyone would do something similar, not to my degree, but it was just ... This album was emotionally draining for everybody and I think I had the most baggage, probably, of everyone else. I went away from the house for a while ... Uh, I started to slowly come back in the house and practicing.
GW: I think therapy helped.
MW: And I was going to tons of therapy and whatnot. I stayed with a friend in Los Angeles for two months, I think. I just tried to repair myself slowly but surely.
Norris: Is the Paramour the same house that you guys have said was kind of like the hotel in "The Shining"?
GW: Yeah. It immediately felt like "The Shining." Immediately. You were just like, "Oh man, this place consumes people."
FI: And it was freezing the whole time we were there for, like, no reason. We had over a hundred space heaters.
Bob Bryar: We cleaned out the entire Los Angeles area of space heaters. It was the biggest firetrap.
Norris: So how did the impact of the house manifest itself?
GW: You know, as much as we disliked that house at certain times, it gave us what we wanted. The impact of the house was total alienation. There was no one around, no one came to visit us, we didn't have phone service.
FI: The only thing there was us and, what, five dogs? One of which was really nice but then the rest were just mean. German Shepherds who would chase you.
BB: I remember walking in to the driveway because I heard barking, and it was you [He points to Toro], standing in the middle of four dogs.
RT: They wouldn't let me in the car.
MW: There was a painting above the television with a demon on it.
FI: Yeah, but it was, like, hidden, it was like this huge angel and then a hidden demon coming up and trying to grab its feet.
MW: (To Iero) And you found it, right?
FI: Yeah, it was awesome.
GW: The demon was covered by something and then one day someone saw it and they pulled it away and they were like, "Oh my God."
Norris: Gerard, you've been very open in the past about your sobriety and I think it was August of '04 you stopped drinking. Did circumstances like this, or the depression you've talked about with this record, test that at all?
GW: No. Actually, that's really interesting: There were only a couple moments during that ultra-bleak period where I was borderline, like, "Man, I could really use a drink right now." There were definitely moments when I said it, like when we'd had a couple heavy meetings where I was just like, "I can't even deal with this anymore." But if anything that's why I made it through: being clean. And I knew that the whole time. If I was drinking or on drugs I would have lost it. So it actually furthered me away from drinking and drugs.
Norris: You've said recently that "we're ready for whatever comes our way." Is there a possibility that my Chemical Romance could get too big too fast?
GW: I think because of what we went through on Revenge, which was a real crash course because of how difficult it was to make, it really made us ready for anything. This band has always had really big imaginations, and I think however big we get, it's all going to help that vision come to life. So, I don't know if there is a "too big" — and when it stops becoming special is when we would stop doing it anyway. It's all about us and what's in our hearts.
Norris: It's almost exactly five years ago that you formed, right?
GW: 9/11 [2001] was the day I kind of made the decision to move on with my life. And within two weeks after that day, started making phone calls. It's a nice way to make that day — not only is it a day to remember what happened, but to make it a little more special and make you not feel so bad on that day. So I actually try to think of 9/11 as the anniversary of the band.
Norris: Final thing: Do you ever say, "Why us?"
FI: There's a lot of bands we've met over the [last] couple years that I think are truly amazing, that I really think should have as much attention as us. And sometimes it's unfortunate that they don't. But I don't know if I've ever questioned "why us" because I just have so much fun being in this band that you don't even have time to question that kind of thing. We really believe in what we do and we have a lot of heart.
GW: We know there's something special about us. And it may not last forever and it probably won't, but there's, like he said, lot of heart. And there's something different when we take the stage. I can feel it. Whenever we're playing certain shows, there's a different kind of energy right before we go on. And then, when we're up there, I'm like, "This band's worth it!"
# # #
You Tell Us
MCR has exposed a lot of raw nerves in this interview — what do you think? You Tell Us — and then take a look at what people from the band's fan sites had to say!
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