My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way solo drops two unreleased demos 'PS Earth' and 'Crate Amp_01'
Gerard Way of post-hardcore band My Chemical Romance is keeping his fans up-to-date with new music during the coronavirus lockdown. The 'Welcome To The Black Parade' singer took to social media to unveil two previously unreleased demos, titled 'PS Earth' and 'Crate Amp_01' on April 22.
Along with a photo of stars in which he circled two clusters of them, Way spoke on Instagram about the inspiration behind each of the two tracks. For 'PS Earth', he said, "This one was recorded at the tail end of the 'Hesitant Alien' demo sessions, just Doug [MCR producer] and I."
He continued, "I liked it well enough at the time, felt kind of '90s, didn't end up putting any vocals on it though," and added " 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."
Way revealed that he did the guitar and bass on the track while Doug McKean did the programming of the drums. For 'Crate Amp_01' Way gave a detailed description.
"This is the start of the Crate amp jam. Like I mentioned in the other post about the Crate amp jams, I wasn’t sure when Doug was in record-mode, because I was in the live room with the amp, so I just started playing," he said.
Explaining about the amps he used and plans to use more "Crate amp jams" to get a "more messed up" sound, he said, "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."
He goes on to explain how he drew inspiration from the equipment "all kinds of metal" bands were using in the '80s. "Years ago I heard about this successful musician buying up a ton of a certain kind of guitar, to corner the market on them, so I thought I would do what he was doing," Way said.
He added, "But in the complete opposite direction, and buy up a ton of guitars no one really wanted and that wouldn’t really increase in value. Just to be a clown."
He explained, "I ended up not doing that, as that would have been a gross misuse of funds simply to make a joke, but I did eventually get one. I like the shape a lot. It sounds metal af."
Both songs were taken from the sessions for 'Hesitant Alien', his solo debut studio album which released in 2014. The new tracks follow a recent release this month of four songs for a project he called 'Distraction Or Despair'.
Apart from releasing his new solo songs, Gerard Way's band, My Chemical Romance, has been selling branded face masks to support the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, according to Consequence of Sound.
Read Way's full description of 'PS Earth' and 'Crate Amp_01' here. Listen to 'PS Earth' here and listen to 'Crate Amp_01 here.