WHY MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE IS THE GREATEST BAND EVER, by Jeff Watson.

Background: I worked at Warner Bros Records from 2002 to 2017 in the digital marketing department. I started as an assistant to the assistant and slowly gained enough traction to give me my first big boy project, Less Than Jake, who are still wonderful. I worked as hard as I could to prove myself, which, back in those days was basically get a website up and promote it. This is was long ago before social media (FUCK DO I SOUND OLD) so our marketing plans were thin. No one knew what we did; we just made things “go viral.”

My next band was My Chemical Romance. They were smelly Jersey kids who were opening up for Avenged Sevenfold. They blew me away. All heart and great songs. I heard their second record (the first on Warner) before it came out and I was instantly hooked.

Not only were they talented and clear rock stars, but they were also the nicest band I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve met a lot of bands. They made sure to invite me to everything from video shoots to weddings. We bonded immediately when I walked into the studio and they were in a corner meticulously painting their miniature Dungeons and Dragons. I’m a nerd, but fuck me. I took them to a comic shop and told them to buy whatever they wanted on my company card. We fell in love.

Initially, there were only a few people on the original team. But as the band gained heat, the label backed them all the way which lead to success. The Warner record, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, became an international hit and helped pave the way for emo, full of angsty lyrics and wonderful melodies. I described them as Bauhaus meets The Monkees. I’m still right.

The Black Parade came next, a grandiose epic with everything and the kitchen sink, including Liza Minelli. Yup, you read that right. The band fired off three singles, all of which were hits, and the album sold 7 million worldwide.

But despite all their success, every one of them, including their old manager Brian Schecter who literally saved my life, was humble and kind. And fucking funny — Lordy! After a show in Madison Square Garden in 2006, they went backstage to meet some fans. Usually, the meet and greets are where you get to take a picture with a celeb whose face is looking like she wants to get out immediately. Then it’s a whoop-de-doo and don’t let the door hit you on the ass. My Chem on the other hand prepared each winner’s plates and served them to them. I said “Uh dude? You can be a rockstar if you want.” I think he looked at me like I was crazy and moved on to get plates.

Part of my job was to set up live video shoots for our partners at AOL, Yahoo, MySpace, and others. I got an AOL Session booked and we were off to the races. The band would play 4 songs live without an audience, all captured in a three-camera shoot. I was about to leave work for the studio when I got a panicked phone call from Ray, the guitarist. “Dude — you know how to play keyboards, right??” I said “Yeah. Kinda. Not really. Why? “Our keyboardist missed his flight and you have to get down here and play with us!” I went white, then looked down to see I was wearing all black. Perfect. No need to change.

I raced over to the studio to find Ray giving me the keyboard and teaching me in 5 minutes. It was “Welcome To The Black Parade,” a song whose opening notes are performed on the piano. I got about 10 minutes of rehearsal and boom — I’m on stage with my friends and I am freaking the fuck out. The camera started on my hand, zooming in on my quasi-shaking fingers. Somehow I made it through, but I was suuuper nervous. There is video of this and you can see it here:

https://youtu.be/UYda1X3eLZo

But this is not the point of the story. The story is about how My Chemical Romance gave their love to me at a time I so desperately needed it. The band knew and loved my wife and were gutted after she died. They all reached out to me immediately for support. I certainly didn’t want to go back to our old home and wasn’t sure of the next step. The day after Missy died, Gerard said to me “Dude. I have four showers. Stay with me.” I stayed for a month.

I miss that time. Gerard and I would sit up all morning and night talking about love, the universe, and the movie Contact featuring Jodie Foster. Yup. Complete truth. We would drink coffee and smoke a million cigarettes and listen to Teenage Fanclub in his backyard and just talked to each other. I cried and cried on his shoulder for weeks and he was always patient with me. And Zen-like. Dude gives out wonderful and healing advice, I promise you. The whole band even came to my wife’s funeral and wake. I will never forget them. They gave me a career and love.

So here’s the ultimate point. We are interconnected, each of us. We often miss that, as do I, living in our little worlds. But we forget that by recognizing the connection, we attach ourselves to a higher consciousness where we can become our best selves to others.

It took a while to recognize that we are all one, especially after the suicide. But I have come to realize that you can only be truly happy by being grateful and helping another person. That’s it. Nothing more. Happiness is a by-product of good works. You’ll never “find” happiness — happiness will find you if you let it.