ARTICLE: My Chemical Romance No Longer Mearly Men in Black

Forget the controversy surrounding My Chemical Romance. To Geoff Riley, lead singer of the band Thursday, My Chemical Romance is just a bunch of ultra-talented guys who happen to be among his best friends. Music was almost an afterthought for Riley, who bonded with Romance's lead singer Gerard Way over comic book writing.
"I don't know if you know this, but I produced their first album," said Riley modestly of the band's 2002 debut album "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love." "It's great to watch every night and see the effect they have on the fans."

My Chemical Romance is currently touring behind "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys," their first album since the platinum release "The Black Parade." Although the album brought the band worldwide recognition, it also gave them pause.
"We saw the world and the world saw us," said guitarist Frank Iero. "It was fun but it was grueling. That was a dark record to relive every night."
In a way, lead singer Way said the band almost outgrew the image the album presented.
"I wasn't that person anymore," Way said. "I don't think anyone in the band was that person anymore. We looked like a bunch of guys in black. A bunch of really tired guys in black."
That's interesting when you consider that Riley and Way became ensnared in music as a secondary art form after comic book writing.
"I remember that I didn't want to do the band's demo," said Riley of his thoughts when he first considered Way's music. "I wanted to do a comic book with him. And then the record turned out way better than any of us had hoped and I watched them launch to superstardom. It's been amazing."
The new album by Thursday, "No Devolucion," was recorded in just seven days and has the most spontaneous feel to it that the band has found, said Riley.
"This record has such a good feeling to it because it works very naturally," said Riley. "Playing for [My Chemical Romance fans] is very strange because they are very young and rabidly intense waiting for My Chemical Romance.
"Our crowd is a little older and though they love our band, they don't live for it," said Riley. "[My Chemical Romance] is what's happens when everything aligns. ... People say 'Why do you want to drive these crazy, involved comic book lines when you can write about the life you live?' "

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2011/05/my-chemical-romance-no-longer-merely-men-black#ixzz1LtsEykRp