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December 5, 2006

Mikey Way, Recovering Bootlegger

We know how tough it can be to scare up the funding for concert tix when you're just a lost suburban soul (been there), but we've gotta hand it to My Chemical Romance Mike for developing a scheme far more creative than we ever could! (via RS):

RS: What names on My Chem's guest lists have freaked you out?
GERARD WAY: Billy Corgan. He didn't make the show, but that freaked me out -- I want to be good for a guy like that. I've listened to Siamese Dream more than any other record. It got me through getting dumped in my first relationship. One night I was really depressed and I went to the Little League field by my parents' house and I just laid in the dugout listening to it and fell asleep. When the Pumpkins toured on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Mikey took me to their show at Madison Square Garden.

RS: Your kid brother took you?
GERARD WAY: Yeah! I was really into them, but I was more of a hermit. Mikey was such a devout Pumpkins fan that he followed them up and down the East Coast. He had tickets to every gig.

RS: How could he afford to do that?
GERARD WAY: [Laughs] I don't think I should say this, but Mikey was bootlegging Disney movies that were only out, like, in the Philippines -- like Song of the South and The Black Cauldron -- which he'd fucking sell on eBay. A private investigator came to our house, and he got nabbed. But they didn't throw him in jail. He was fifteen!

Which is awesome, 'cause now we feel a little less guilty knowing our illicit Disney DVD purchases those years back went to sending Mike and Gerard to see the Pumpkins. You're welcome, MCR!

Posted at 4:09 PM
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23 Comments

I enjoyed stereogum much more when it wasn't filled with inane articles.

Posted by: michael at 12/05/06 5:51 PM | Reply
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I actually didn't mind this since I'm a Pumpkins fan boy and the Mellon Collie tour was my first concert ever (Rosemont Horizon - IL).

Posted by: Wolfy at 12/05/06 5:59 PM | Reply
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i liked this because i, too, have purchased a bootleg of song of the south.

Posted by: nick at 12/05/06 6:03 PM | Reply
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that album came out in '95 (with subsequent tour) and his brother was bootlegging dvd's on ebay?

Posted by: b at 12/05/06 6:19 PM | Reply
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enough with all the my chemical romance talk already. i'd rather have less posts on here than have a bunch of lame my chemical romance tidbits. leave that shit for trl.

Posted by: docbrown at 12/05/06 6:19 PM | Reply
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Song of the South and The Black Cauldron?

Mike Way IS Rock N' Roll!!!

Posted by: jOjOBA at 12/05/06 6:25 PM | Reply
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I'd rather read about K-Fed than My Chemical Romance. THAT's how much they suck.

Posted by: Jeff at 12/05/06 6:53 PM | Reply
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seriously, what's going on? stereogum gets some financial backing and it starts spewing my chemical romance factoids on a daily basis...

Posted by: speedrail at 12/05/06 7:03 PM | Reply
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This is fucking pointless. One more fucking article this worthless and utterly unfunny and i'm leaving, never to come back. C'mon stereogum.

Posted by: Yep at 12/05/06 7:48 PM | Reply
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agreed.

Posted by: corenaf at 12/05/06 8:17 PM | Reply
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Oh come on, it's a funny story. There's no comparing the oportunistic trainwreck that is K-Fed to...well, anyone. The man's continued existence in the media just serves as a way to root out the culturally flacid.

Posted by: Ian!!! at 12/05/06 9:01 PM | Reply
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this post makes me want to look for my bootleg song of the south vhs as well.

Posted by: chip at 12/05/06 10:55 PM | Reply
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woooooooot!!!

Posted by: cakes4rockstars at 12/05/06 11:32 PM | Reply
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blah blah blah.
I am a typical stereogum commenter.
I like to complain about how much Stereogum has gone downhill since __________.
I don't understand the concept of not reading articles that don't interest me, instead wasting even more time by leaving lame comments on said articles.
blah blah blah.

Posted by: Shawn at 12/06/06 2:44 AM | Reply
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that album came out in '95 (with subsequent tour) and his brother was bootlegging dvd's on ebay?

Posted by: that album came out in '95 (with subsequent tour) and his brother was bootlegging dvd's on ebay? at 12/06/06 2:57 AM | Reply
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While we are complaining, can I have the font a little bigger please? I'm tired of pressing ctrl+++ in firefox whenever I want to read what K-Fed is doing. And why is the comments font bigger than the article?

Posted by: Simon at 12/06/06 3:35 AM | Reply
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That guy is a liar!! Ebay didn't become well known until '97-98. That guy turned 15 years old eight days after Ebay was created. These guys blow and are full of shit. Thank you wikipedia!

Posted by: Know it All at 12/06/06 11:39 AM | Reply
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why would you try to play good in front of billy corgan when he's a shit performer himself...

Posted by: rgr_moore at 12/06/06 11:51 AM | Reply
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Damn, what's with all the anal Stereogum readers lately? If you don't like some of the recent posts suck it up and read other entries that interest you. That said, I wonder if my cousins still have all their bootlegged Disney VHS tapes...

Posted by: lh at 12/06/06 12:07 PM | Reply
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Didn't Stereogum used to cover indie rock? I don't know who the fuck My Chemical Romance even are. This website has turned into People magazine for jerkoffs who think they're too smart for People magazine.
Just post mp3s and leave this bullshit alone, please. (I feel that you owe it to me as someone who reads your website for free, never looks at the ads, never contributes anything positive to it, then bitches about it.)

Posted by: Flem at 12/06/06 1:09 PM | Reply
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fucking sell outs

Posted by: Beetlebumm at 12/06/06 7:19 PM | Reply
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shut up yo mcr haters and how can you not know who they even are, if you dont even know them then keep your mouthn shut you stupid bitch
K-Fed sucks
he is just some other lazy, ugly jerkoff thatno-one could care less about
MYCHEMICALROMANCE ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!
you stupid inconsiderate cunts!!!

Posted by: frankiesgirl14 at 01/17/07 2:11 PM | Reply
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My God, you people are whiny.

If you don't like something, don't read it.

Get over yourselves.

Posted by: Melissa at 03/20/07 6:45 PM | Reply
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