Getting To Know Meaghan D'Amico

The bands that you enjoy really say a lot about you. But also to a certain extent Generally there are positive and negative memories associated with music. Music has always been important to me. There are not many things that I do without listening to music. I have been a fan of alternative rock, rock and metal for at least 8 years now. However, there is one moment I can pinpoint that really solidified my love of those genres and one band that introduced me to the music I currently listen to.

One band that has been there for me for the last 9 years is My Chemical Romance. Although they are not a band anymore, it doesn’t make them any less important. Their songs such as “Helena” and “Famous Last Words” still mean as much to me now as they did when they came out. The record/ touring cycle that really changed that for me was The Black Parade tour with Rise Against in February of 2007. The album came out in October of 2006 and the tour for it was in early 2007, I got three tickets for Christmas and I knew it was going to be an amazing night. It almost seems weird to look back on it and see how little has changed in 8 years. My Chemical Romance, despite not being a band, continues to be my favorite band and a band whose music I lean on when I need it. I went to the show with two friends and my father. Being only in 9th grade, my dad came with me to a lot of shows. On top of seeing my favorite band, the memories of going to concerts with my dad are things I’ll treasure.

Being the tour for The Black Parade, they played the album in full. It was such a life-changing experience for me to see the theatrics of the record come to life with the opening of “the patient” and Gerard Way on a gurney sing “The End” then getting up and going right into “Dead.” I had been so excited to see the songs that I had been singing since the record came out. At the time I didn’t realize that this would be the only time I saw this band play the songs from The Black Parade. The show was cool because, much like my first concert, I experienced it with my dad. Although he did not really enjoy the music, he enjoyed watching my friends and I watch the band play their newest record and songs from their other albums. That night shaped me in more than a few ways. I started to realize my love of live music and fully realize my love and the importance of MCR in my life. Their music, despite being so dark, has a message of hope and has helped me through some dark and hard times in my life. I always resorted to them for study music in college too. I hope to one day get some of the lyrics from this record tattooed to serve as a daily reminder of the importance of music.

The true test of relevance of a record is if it works years later. This record is still as important to me as it was in 2006, and has really helped me grow as an individual.