Submit Music Help

Industry: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

Tue, Nov 27, 2007, 10:25 AM

John Naclerio, owner of Nada Recordings, knows his stuff. Having worked with the likes of Senses Fail, Autopilot Off, Just Surrender, Steel Train, theAUDITION, Brand New, The Ataris, Matchbook Romance, and The Forecast he is also responsible for one of the first My Chemical Romance recordings. What follows is a short Q&A with John about his experience with a young My Chemical Romance.
 
When did you work with My Chemical Romance and how did you meet them?

MCR came in to Nada Studios in March/April of 2002. I used to record this band called Bomb Paris featuring Alex Saavedra on bass and owner of Eyeball Records. We got along and he sent a lot of his bands to come and record at Nada. This is how I met Frank Iero. Frank was in Pencey Prep, a band on Eyeball. I did their first record. When they disbanded Frank joined MCR. Alex called me up for a one day session with the band to record a trial demo to see if they were worth signing to Eyeball. We started recording the song "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" on a beautiful sunny day. Around 3pm, we went outside for a break and saw the sky turn all sorts of dark greens and blacks and we proceeded to have one of the biggest storms of that month. Everyone in the band was saying that this was fate and some sort of sign.



When you finally started recording, was there a particular song or moment when the band struggled?

We really didn't have much of a problem until we started recording vocals. Gerard had an excruciating headache during the first half of recording vocals. He went to the doctor a few times but no one could figure out was was wrong with him. When we recorded vocals, he could only sing for about 20 minutes before the pain took over. One day it got so bad that we had to call an ambulance. This time the hospital figured out it was an infected tooth. He fixed it and healed up a bit and it was business as usual and the rest of the session.

Did Gerard have a ritual or do anything peculiar before singing?

Gerard didn't have any bizarre rituals or anything. Geoff Rickley (singer for Thursday and My Chem's producer) would come in and just get Gerard all pumped up. That was Geoff's strongest point as a producer since he is a singer himself. He had great ideas and was good boosting Gerard's morale before he sang.



Were there any in-studio fights/quarrals/artistic differences that threatened the band and/or recording?

The session was completely stress free. Everyone was happy and content with each other and the music they created. There was a moment when we finished recording "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville" when Ray (Toro) came flying into the control room with tears in his eyes and proclaiming that this was the best song the band ever written and he couldn't have imagined it coming out any better. It was a genuine feel-good moment for the three or so people in the room with us at the time.

How long did it take to complete the recording?

"Vampires" was done in a day and was meant to be a demo for Eyeball. After we finished that song, Alex called me the next day and wanted to book more time so they could do a full length. I squeezed them in to the studio two weeks later to start the album. So in all, I think we finished that record in about 2 1/2 weeks.

During the weeks you worked with MCR, did the band have any odd requests either recording related or "green room" type things?

Aside from the constant flow of beer, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about their requests. Even if the beer hadn't been there, I'm sure the band wouldn't have thrown any hissy fits or anything.



All in all, how was your experience with My Chemical Romance?

It was nothing short of amazing. When they came into the studio they weren't rockstars. They were just another band looking to record a demo. There definitely were signs of them being bigger than who they were already though. I remember telling people I knew to watch out for
them. I just had a certain instinct that something much larger was in store for MCR.

For more info on Nada Recordings, check out their official site and MySpace page.

Flag as Inappropriate

Submit:

2 Comments.

Previous Blogs from Music Nation