Take one look at My Chemical Romance's goth-inspired video "Helena" and you'll see a band that doesn't take its image or creative vision lightly.
"It's just great to have a visual connection to music and I think that's definitely something that's been missing from rock'n'roll," guitarist Ray Toro tells Billboard.com. "A lot of bands these days don't work on creating an image for their band and their videos. We're looking to do that for our live shows too."
While currently happily opening for Green Day on a tour that plays Norfolk, Va., tomorrow (April 22), the members of My Chemical Romance are already looking past their summer Vans Warped supporting duties. In the works is a fall headlining outing that Toro says will be theatrical-based, including the possibility of live dancers and film projects to fully realize the vision behind the band's 2004 Reprise release "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge."
"We're going to kind of have a visual element to go along with the music," Toro says. "We're really interested in actually putting on a show. I think it's something missing. Bands get on stage, play their songs and have some lights, and that's cool, but we really want to try to take it to the next level."
Taking it to the next level is something this New Jersey band knows a lot about, having quickly risen from the emo ranks to become one of the hottest groups around. "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" has sold more than 585,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and earlier this month reached a new peak of No. 45 on The Billboard 200.
The quintet is making the most of its downtime during the Green Day tour by writing and recording demo material daily out of its makeshift tour bus studio. With half a dozen ideas already in the mix, Toro believes a few untitled tracks could receive stage time this year before the band retreats to the recording studio in early 2006. A tentative late spring street date is being eyed for a new album.
"Playing songs live to gain a reaction to see if it works is kind of risky because for the most part, people just stand there wanting to hear something they know," Toro says. "But we plan to try them out and see how they feel."
Even though many of its live shows are being filmed, the group doesn't care to release an average day-in-the-life-of-My Chemical Romance DVD. Instead, it's opting to wait a few years "to do something cooler."
For now, the five-piece is enjoying its unlikely rise from anonymity to celebrity. "It's like a script," Toro says. "Everything is going according to plan. It's pretty nuts."
"It's just great to have a visual connection to music and I think that's definitely something that's been missing from rock'n'roll," guitarist Ray Toro tells Billboard.com. "A lot of bands these days don't work on creating an image for their band and their videos. We're looking to do that for our live shows too."
While currently happily opening for Green Day on a tour that plays Norfolk, Va., tomorrow (April 22), the members of My Chemical Romance are already looking past their summer Vans Warped supporting duties. In the works is a fall headlining outing that Toro says will be theatrical-based, including the possibility of live dancers and film projects to fully realize the vision behind the band's 2004 Reprise release "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge."
"We're going to kind of have a visual element to go along with the music," Toro says. "We're really interested in actually putting on a show. I think it's something missing. Bands get on stage, play their songs and have some lights, and that's cool, but we really want to try to take it to the next level."
Taking it to the next level is something this New Jersey band knows a lot about, having quickly risen from the emo ranks to become one of the hottest groups around. "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" has sold more than 585,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and earlier this month reached a new peak of No. 45 on The Billboard 200.
The quintet is making the most of its downtime during the Green Day tour by writing and recording demo material daily out of its makeshift tour bus studio. With half a dozen ideas already in the mix, Toro believes a few untitled tracks could receive stage time this year before the band retreats to the recording studio in early 2006. A tentative late spring street date is being eyed for a new album.
"Playing songs live to gain a reaction to see if it works is kind of risky because for the most part, people just stand there wanting to hear something they know," Toro says. "But we plan to try them out and see how they feel."
Even though many of its live shows are being filmed, the group doesn't care to release an average day-in-the-life-of-My Chemical Romance DVD. Instead, it's opting to wait a few years "to do something cooler."
For now, the five-piece is enjoying its unlikely rise from anonymity to celebrity. "It's like a script," Toro says. "Everything is going according to plan. It's pretty nuts."
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