Cassie The Venomous' Blog

Avenged Sevenfold have posted the following on their website: --- It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time. Jimmy you are forever in our hearts. We love you. M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ --- The drummer was found dead in his home on December 28, 2009. According to The Orange County Register , police have said that Sullivan's death appeared to have been natural but is still under investigation by the Orange County Coroner's Office. Within moment's of the A7X's tweeting the news, Alternative Press 's page announcing the news crashed and mourning fans were trending " James Owen Sullivan ," the drummer's full name. I...

Stay with me, dudes and dudettes: I am about to turn into a nerdy journalism student. Wait. I guess that begs that I'm not usually a nerdy journalism student... Last quarter, when I found that my news writing class would feature a lecture titled "The Science of Linking," I scoffed and rolled my eyes, having been down with the old a-href since the days of GreatestJournal. Who seriously wouldn't know how to link, and why the hell would someone not link? Well, apparently some news websites didn't get the memo. Earlier this week, I stumbled across an article from MetalUnderground[dot]Com , wherein the writer made the accusation that Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance, had questioned Judas Priest's claim to metal. Briefly mentioning the source of the quote without linking, the writer posted this as Way's original quote: "Judas Priest is considered metal, but it’s great rock n roll. (New MCR songs have) nothing to do with that era of metal, the ...

(Note: The flier is not for this exact tour date, but it was on the Canadian tour. I will try to upload my personal pictures from the show when I can.) My Chemical Romance's 2005 Canadian headlining tour with Circa Survive and Thrice. December 1, 2005: Toronto/Mississauga. Note: This was written in 2005 and has had only minor editing. --- Thursday, December 1st My friend and I woke up at 7:30 A.M. to ready ourselves for the great Canadian line-wait. We ate what we could stomach with our nerves at the tiny restaurant that was attached to our hotel and went to wait in line. We met some awesome people and whatnot, as usual. We met girls who had gone to the same concert we had in Michigan, and we got fascinated by the Canadians. While waiting in line I learned: *Candians call Smarties "rockets" because they have these awesome chocolate Smarties (they're like big M&Ms) *They say "Washroom" instead of restroom and think that restroom is about the most ridicul...

My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way has divulged to Spinner and to Spin online that the upcoming My Chem release has inspirational roots in everything from the movie Blade Runner to his Trans Am: things that he says stand for much more than what they are, and it all goes back to the original theme the band had announced: making their "love letter to Rock'n'Roll." "It's working class rock versus Chanel fucking handbags and red carpets and all that bullshit," Way told Spin , going along with what he had recently said about the album's fighting fame-seeking musicians . He revealed to Spinner that the song "Trans Am," in particular, was inspired by Judas Priest (and also by The Killers, who Way says were the inspiration for a female character named "Jenny" in the song). "Judas Priest is considered metal, but it's great rock 'n' roll. It's having nothing to do with that era of metal, the hair rock, but ...

Part seven of my MCR classic reviews series! My Chemical Romance's 2005 Headlining tour with Alkaline Trio and Reggie & the Full Effect in Atlanta, Georgia. In my last entry , I noted that I had found out how some people had won meet and greet passes on this tour. Find out if I succeeded to get passes by reading! Note: This was originally written in 2005 and has had only light editing. --- I've returned from yet another out-of-state adventure. You guessed it: another MCR concert! Yea, yea... I'm "ridiculous," "insane." Remind me not; I've been told countless times. Your predictability bores me. Find another way to describe my obsession... Humor me *smirk* Immediately after school the day before the show, my friends Lauren and Emily and I piled into the backseat of the car, and we were off, heading south like a flock demented geese. What a car ride that was! When we finally got to our hotel, it was about 3 A.M. Eventually, despite our pre-show a...

Alternative Press just announced the dates for the upcoming Alkaline Trio/Cursive tour! Feb 16 - Pomona, CA - Glass House Feb 17 - Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues Feb 18 - San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom Feb 19 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom Feb 20 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's Feb 23 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Feb 24 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue Feb 25 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre Feb 26 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater Feb 27 - Chicago, IL - Metro Feb 28 - Chicago, IL - Metro March 2 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak March 3 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall March 4 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues March 5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Zoo March 6 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre March 8 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Light March 9 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre March 11 - Philadelphia, PA - Tracadero March 12 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre March 13 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland March 14 - Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel March 16 - Towson, MD - Recher Thea...

For those of you who stumble across this thinking, " What is #MCRchat? " -- #MCRchat is a scheduled twitter-based chat about My Chemical Romance that I started in an effort to bring fans together and to promote the band. Recently, I was given the opportunity to give out special MCRchat-exclusive coupons for the official My Chemical Romance online store, which made me realize that I can do a lot more with the chat than offer a place for fans to meet and to promote MCR. I can give back to those who have helped MCRchat itself grow! Thus, I have decided to hold a contest with prizes for all you MCRchat-supporters! In 2006, The MCRmy (My Chem's official street-team), held a contest in which participants had to use promotional posters for The Black Parade to create a store display. I used mine to create a replica parade float that was displayed in my local Hot Topic. I didn't win the contest, but I had a few posters left over after I had completed the float, which doesn...

Bands that are to play 2010's Vans Warped Tour have just been announced . According to the Van's Warped Tour official website, the following are some of the bands that are to play Warped twenty-ten! Ace Enders (?) After Midnight Project Alesana Alkaline Trio (?) AM Taxi Anarbor Andrew W.K. Artist Vs Poet Attack Attack Breathe Carolina Breathe Electric Bring Me The Horizon Call The Cops Chase Long Beach Chaseband Closure in Moscow Confide Deal's Gone Bad Disco Curtis Emarosa Emmure Enter Shikari Every Time I Die Eyes Set To Kill Fake Problems Fight Fair Haste The Day Hey Monday I See Stars In Fear and Faith Initials iwrestledabearonce Last Call Chernobyl Mayday Parade Middle Finger Salute Motion City Soundtrack NeverShoutNever Of Mice and Men Parkway Drive Pierce The Veil Polar Bear Club Reel Big Fish Riverboat Gamblers Set Your Goals Sparks The Rescue Speakeasy Tiger Suicide Silence Sum 41 The All-American Rejects The Cab The Casualties The Frantic The Reverend Peytons Bi...

Part six of my classic live reviews series. My Chemical Romance's 2005 headlining tour with Alkaline Trio and Reggie & the Full Effect in Ypsilanti, Michigan. September 17, 2005 --- Ah, dear Eastern Michigan University and your convocation center, you're a hard place to find- a huge arena, but hard to find. My friend and I woke up early and headed north to Michigan to see MCR again just two days after we had seen them in Ohio! Eventually we did find the convocation center and went to wait in line. We met two awesome girls who came from Cincinnati while we were waiting, began a beautiful friendship and... found out our tickets weren't for floor?! DAMMIT!! And just a few seconds before that tragedy occurred I had saved a poor, innocent daddy-long-leg's life. That's how I'm re-payed... UPPER BOWL!!! Noooo!!! Oh, how I wanted to cry. Ticketmaster... Oh, those slick fuckers. said NOTHING about any "upper bowl" shit! Just general admission... UUGGGHHHH!!...

Dates for 2010's Vans Warped Tour were posted today despite the tour's being so many months in the future. --- Jun 24 - Cricket Amphitheatre - San Diego, CA Jun 25 - Pomona Fairplex - Pomona, CA Jun 26 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA Jun 27 - Seaside Park - Ventura, CA Jun 29 - Cricket Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ Jun 30 - N.M.S.U. Practice Field - Las Cruces, NM Jul 01 - AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX Jul 02 - The Showgrounds At Sam Houston Race Park - Houston, TX Jul 03 - Superpages.com Center - Dallas, TX Jul 05 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St.Louis, MO Jul 06 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Indianapolis, IN Jul 07 - Post Gazette Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA Jul 08 - Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre - Cleveland, OH Jul 09 - Arrow Hall - Toronto, ON Jul 10 - Parc Jean Drapeau - Montreal, QC Jul 11 - Comcast Theater - Hartford, CT Jul 13 - Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA Jul 14 - Darien Lake P.A.C. - Darien Center, NY Jul 15 - Toyota Pavilion - Scranton, PA Jul 1...

Promowest Live 's footage of Taking Back Sunday performing "New Again" at the LC Pavilion on Columbus on October 23. Check out my review of the show! Oh, and-- pause at 00:27: there you will see me and my line-wait buddies! Taking Back Sunday - Song2 from jason corron on Vimeo . XoXo c.

Just posted on twitvid , check it out: XoXo c.

Alkaline Trio's upcoming album, to be released on February 23, 2010, will be titled This Addiction . The album title, revealed in an article from Spinner yesterday, is also the name of a song the Trio has performed live. Spinner also announced that Alkaline Trio is set to tour with Cursive in February; though, dates have not been revealed. XoXo c.

Part Five of my Classic Reviews series. Originally posted on GreatestJournal.Com in 2005 First date of My Chemical Romance's 2005 headlining tour with Alkaline Trio & Reggie and the Full Effect @ (then-named) Promowest Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. --- Ughnn... *groan* I don't think I'm well enough to go to school, Grandma *smirks* Yes, that's right. Miss Cassie here played hooky. My friend and I left for the venue, got there at about 11:30, watched MCR do their soundcheck through a hole in a fence (it was an outdoor venue), then went to wait in line for... forever. Ha, but it is well worth it. My Chem is worth everything *clutches heart and smiles softly*. While we were waiting in line, we met some super cool people, all of which had dramatically different personalities, which made for an "adventurous" line wait. That morning, "Big Worm" came out and talked to all of us in line for a while, left, then returned with drumsticks from Bob. Mine is din...

Last month The Starting Line announced a reunion show in Philadelphia. After the show became "the fastest sold out show in the band's career," they added a second date, but is this -- as the band put it -- "break from their break" enough? After much to-do about the band's break, including Somebody's Gonna Miss Us , a DVD to chronicle their career, there was a semblance of finality, but last night as I talked to a member of a band with which TSL lead singer Kenny Vasoli's side project Person L , had played, I found out otherwise. According to this source, The Starting Line has tour plans in the works beyond the two Philly shows. We'll see. XoXo c.

I ran into a problem with this week's review. I wrote about this show, but the problem is I wrote about it on Greatestjournal.com, which is now shut down and users cannot retrieve blog entries that were once posted there. I dug into the deep corners of the internet to find another of my old blogs, where I posted only sparse notes on this show. I believe, however, that I may have written about this show in a diary I left in my dorm room. When I get back from Holiday break, I will add more details from my diary. --- Thursday, 11 August 2005 I'm back from North Carolina! I've learned a few things on my trip... Warped Tour: smells far worse in North Carolina makes me very greedy about my spot when I have barricade. I learned a new hip movement to keep my spot. I didn't want to lose it and get killed like I had in Columbus I... : bruise very easily will one day be murdered by a mass of angry extreme Fall Out Boy fans Can hold my pee for over 10 hours for MCR When my friend...

In an article posted earlier today on Spinner[dot]Com , Gerard Way divulges still more of the upcoming MCR album's secrets. Whereas in other recent interviews , Gerard has described the album as being about survival, in this one, he gives us a new perspective, calling out bands who are in this for the wrong reasons, a war MCR have waged for years: "That's what I like about us- our ability to terrify people who are doing this for the wrong reasons." -Gerard Way (from June 2005's Rock Sound ) In the article, the track we have previously seen titled "The Light Behind your Eyes" has changed to "Light Before your Eyes." Of the nine tracks Spinner got to preview, the author writes: "we were left suitably blown away." Seriously, with every new theme of this album that emerges, I grow more excited and... empowered as an MCR fan. I'm dying to hear more, and I'll keep everyone posted as I do! XoXo c.

Most of you who follow my blog already know that I run a twitter-based My Chemical Romance chat . The awesome folks at WBR have given me a special discount code for the My Chemical Romance online store to give to those who participate in the upcoming #MCRchats! Join the chat this coming week to get your coupon code: Friday: 7-9 P.M. Saturday: 12-2 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time) For the back-story on #MCRchat, check out this blog entry . XoXo c.

During the recording of and through the band’s touring on their previous release The Black Parade , My Chemical Romance found themselves going through a hell-on-earth too closely resembling the sort of purgatory in which the album’s main character, The Patient, finds himself stuck. They lived in a haunted mansion, wherein a gloom clouded them and lead singer Gerard Way developed sleep problems while bassist Mikey Way started facing demons of his own. Drummer Bob Bryar was severely burned on the set of the “Famous Last Words” video and later contracted gangrene in the wound. Rhythm guitarist Frank Iero started having health problems that sent him home for a while during their touring for Parade . Later, Bryar had to have wrist surgery while guitarist Ray Toro, who had avoided the curse until this year, found his canine companion severely sick. Could this next album be a reversal of The Black Parade curse? Members of MCR reveal in a feature article showcasing their upcoming album as the ...

Part Three of my 'Classic MCR Live Reviews' Series Originally posted on June 18, 2005 --- Today I went to Warped Tour, got there around 9 and was at the main stage by 10, in the front and hugging the barricade for dear life. All of the bands were good (Underoath, The Starting Line, Hawthorne Heights, Atreyu...), but I was waiting for the real treat at 5:45 -- My Chemical Romance! After Strung Out finished their set, I could feel the pressure of the crowd go way up and was even popped out of my place at the barricade (though, I was still holding it). Everyone was gathering for MCR. Bob came out and started testing the drums. No one seemed to notice that it was him beside a few of us in the front who were yelling to him. I got a few pictures of him then I saw Frankie walking around behind the stage with his strange, new make-up: Red streaming from his eyes like blood and half of his face and lips painted blackish. It was different. Finally MCR went on, and my arm became permanent...

So, MyChemicalRomance.com makeover part two just blew fans' minds to hell. The new MCR.com layout is arguably more navigable than the older version of the site and features new aesthetic features as well as new functioning features. Some new attributes of the site include: -A new photo section featuring pictures of the band in the studio on which fans can comment. - Messaging between fans -Larger avatars -A member search feature -New user information available (join date) -Separate pages for users' profiles, blogs and friends -Fan photo uploading on merch pages of the MCR online store -A new background image featuring repeating "CHEMICAL ROMANCE" ("MY" actually isn't shown) in grainy, gray block letters against a black background. -Red paint streak borders surrounding important titles and links __ Yesterday, fans were whipped into a suspicion frenzy that something like this would happen when a blog post appeared announcing that the site would be down...

Alternative Press just revealed the cover of their January issue, which will feature their 'Most Anticipated Albums of 2010' list and My Chemical Romance as the cover-featured artist! According to AP , there will be 5 different collectible covers for this issue on newsstands while the full band cover is for subscribers. My predictions were correct! Who, other than MCR, do you hope to see on AP's 'most anticipated albums' list for the coming year? Pre-order any of the collectible issues here ! XoXo c. ::EDIT:: For details from this issue's My Chemical Romance article, go here .

Today, Alternative Press posted , hinting at who would be their cover artist for their annual 'Most Anticipated' issue. The hints AP posted were quotes from Anthony Green and Matt Skiba about the mystery cover artist. Being a hardcore Alkaline Trio and Matt Skiba fan, I would recognize this quote from him about MCR anywhere: I remember seeing them at Warped Tour. They were playing a small side stage to small crowds, while we were playing to big crowds on the main stage. I told their singer that they were going to be humongous in a year. We made an agreement that if I was wrong, we would bring them out to support us on our next tour, and that if I was right, we would open for them. A year later, they had a platinum record and they took us out to support them on a sold-out arena tour. Mikey Way also twittered about it, making it more blatantly obvious. Keep your eyes open for AP 258! XoXo c. ::EDIT:: Udate: View the cover of and pre-order the magazine !

In an article posted today on Spinner.Com, Alkaline Trio guitarist and co-vocalist Matt Skiba divulged details of the band's upcoming album to be released jointly on Epitaph and the band's own Heart & Skull label in February. Skiba expressed excitement for the fans to hear the album and says that it will more resemble their earlier, more punk-fueled work than their previous few releases. Skiba said the 11-track album was written in a similar manner to their first album, Goddammit , the simple approach resulting in what Skiba described as "a record that we could easily play live." Fans of the signature dark emotion of Alkaline Trio will not be disappointed; as, Skiba mentioned that the some of the songwriting on their upcoming release centered around very personal and tragic events in the band members' lives. Song titles mentioned in the article were "Dorothy" and "The American Scream". In addition to those songs, one can assume that the al...

Second of my fourteen-part "Classic MCR Reviews" blog series. Written the day after the show. May 6th, 2005. As I warned last time, I was fifteen when I wrote this and edited only minor mistakes; so, there are probably many errors and things that are liable to make you raise an eyebrow. --- Last night, I saw Green Day and MCR in concert! Very few people were there when I got to the venue and in line. My friend and I got in quick, found our seats and sat down to wait for the show to start. As we were sitting there, we realized that -- from our seats (which were AWESOME) -- we could see backstage. Suddenly, Mikey Way went walking by beside the steps to the stage, and I'm, like, freaking out, wishing I could jump from my seat and run over to excitedly meet him (which would result in startling Mikey into having an asthma attack and Gerard's running up with his inhaler to save his life {yea, I've thought this one out}), but I resisted temptation. As I looked around, I ...

Pete Wentz is set to call in to premiere Fall Out Boy's new single, "From Now On We're Enemies," on FriendsOrEnemies.Com -powered online station Rock-It Radio tomorrow at 4 P.M. EST. According to Rock-It Radio reps, "[Wentz] also has a big announcement you won't want to miss!" With the band's being on "break" , I'm sure FOB fans will be ecstatic to hear from their favorite bassist. Be sure to tune in tomorrow at 4 P.M.. Fall Out Boy's "greatest hits" album Believers Never Die is set for worldwide release tomorrow (Nov 17). XoXo c.

As I was snooping about today, I came across a twitter account for @MCRofficial that was being followed by one of the MyChemicalRomance.Com moderators who works for WBR. At the time I found it, there were three posts that started from November 10 and only three followers including myself. I have a feeling this is official and will be announced soon. If not, I'm just over-excited and blabbing, but it seems legitimate. Finally a full band twitter account! XoXo c. ::EDIT:: Confirmed on Nov 13!

Jeff Watson has just posted a new blog entry at MyChemicalRomance.Com announcing a Soundwave Festival side-show that MCR is set to play with The Get Up Kids. The club show, which is set to take place on February 24th at The Big Top Auditorium in Luna Park in Sydney, Australia, comes in the middle of MCR's five-date run on Australia's Soundwave Festival . Many Australian fans told me, when the band announced that they were going to play Soundwave, that there are often side stops on the festival tour. This is the first MCR side stop announced, and - according to the Big Top event page - their only: "On the back of their Soundwave 2010 appearances My Chemical Romance will be performing one club show only in Australia." Tickets will go on sale Friday, November 20. XoXo c.