My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way Shows His Guitar-Playing Skills on Newly Shared Demos
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way has added two more previously unheard demo recordings to his recent collection of solo songs on SoundCloud. The additions give a deeper look at the icon's recording process, including more evidence of the lead singer playing the electric guitar himself.
Earlier this month, the musician unveiled four separate recordings under the banner of Distraction or Despair. Now, that collection appears to be growing.
Listen to both new songs down toward the bottom of this post.
On Wednesday (April 22), "PS Earth" and "Crate Amp_01" joined the group of tunes that stem from around the time of Way's sole studio solo album, 2014's Hesitant Alien. The earlier version of "Crate Amp" offers a different take of the guitar-only demo shared by the singer three weeks ago, "Crate Amp_02."
Giving the music some context on Instagram, Way remembered the recording sessions with Hesitant Alien producer Doug McKean. The producer also plays on the recordings, adding some programmed percussion to "PS Earth." Otherwise, the My Chemical Romance frontman performs all the instruments.
Way said that "PS Earth" was "recorded at the tail end of the Hesitant Alien demo sessions, just Doug and I. I liked it well enough at the time, felt kind of '90s, didn't end up putting any vocals on it though. I like the bridge a lot. Looking back at the whole thing, I like it, but not sure if I'm going to finish it."
As for the first version of "Crate Amp," the musician remembered being "in the live room with the amp, so I just started playing. I feel like doing more of these Crate Amp jams. I think we can get it to sound even more messed up. At one point, I think in a later track, Doug tried to do this thing where he put a glass bottle over one of the mics, to make it sound more messed up and kind of underwater."
For those unfamiliar with guitar gear, Crate was an amplifier manufacturer that specialized in models for beginners. When the My Chemical Romance singer purchased his Crate amp, he also "bought an old Peavy, which is another kind of amp that is cheap and you saw a lot of metal bands using in the '80s."
Even though Way doesn't wield an axe in MCR, the performer does have a history with the guitar. During a panel discussion at last year's Los Angeles Comic Con, the musician recalled getting "kicked out" of an early band for not being able to play Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."
Way doesn't sing on the newly shared recordings, but My Chemical Romance fans are certainly hoping the singer exercises his vocal pipes in the future. The ever-changing bandleader reunited with his genre-defining outfit for their first concert in seven years in December 2019. More concerts are planned, although the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis has put some on hold for the time being.
Visit Way's SoundCloud page here.
Gerard Way, "PS Earth"
Gerard Way, "Crate Amp_01"
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