Ever been listening to your music on shuffle, and a song comes on from a band that's no longer around? A song that means so much to you, that helped you get through so much. And the fact that the band that produced the song is no longer around just makes it that much more significant.
What I'm trying to get at is we all know of a band or two that is no longer together, and we feel they should be. I have an extensive list of bands that I miss...but it would take too long for me to go through each and every one. I just want to talk about the ones whose goodbye from the music industry came far too soon for me. The ones that had the most impact on me.
First off is a band called The Years Gone By. I found this band in 2008 I believe. By then, they had already released two albums (self-titled, 2006 and 'Forever Comes Too Soon', 2008) and an EP ('On The Verge', 2007). I was hooked the first time I heard them.
I used to have this weird method of looking for new bands to try out. Not the conventional YouTube suggestions or Pandora. I'd go to Wikipedia and search a band I already liked. From there, I'd read Wikipedia's article on the band, because it usually would give a list of either similar bands or other bands the original band had toured with. I'd just go down the list and search them all on ITunes, then listen to the 30 second preview of their songs (SO glad they've increased the preview time). If I liked them, I'd search even further into them on YouTube and so on.
I don't remember who I had searched to get The Years Gone By as a suggestion, but I'm forever grateful that I did. The first song I listened to was "You Might As Well Be In Space" off their album "Forever Comes Too Soon". I'll admit that when I first heard it, I had my mind shut off a little bit when I heard Nick's voice. I had never been too crazy about the idea of guys with high voices. But I decided that I would give them a shot. I continued listening and before I knew it I had listened to the whole album. I bought it off ITunes the next day and didn't take it off repeat for months. It's an amazing album. Honestly, it is a bit of an acquired taste. Like I said, his voice is high, and some people just don't like how that sounds. I fell in love with this band after I had heard the whole album. Their lyrics were some of the best and most meaningful I had heard yet. I loved the true punk sound they had, it was so unique to me. In my opinion, the drums sounded complex and I always challenged myself to air drum the hardest parts. I sat in my room for hours on end blasting this album, learning the words, and singing along.
Then I decided to listen to their older stuff. While their self-titled album wasn't bad, it hadn't reeled me in like the other. I listened to "On The Verge" next, and my favorites off that were "Them-1, Me-0", "High School Sensation", and "A Steady Approach To Sanity." After a while of waiting, they came out with "Something You Know Nothing About", and it made me feel like I was discovering them for the first time all over again. I loved every track of that EP. They were so upbeat and sincere. Every word made sense to me, every chorus hit me in a way I don't know how to explain. I felt so connected to these songs, like this band had personally come to me and interviewed me about what was going on in my life, and then made a record about it. It was surreal.
And then, about two years later, I heard that awful news that you never want to hear about a band that has come to mean so much to you, that has helped you through so much. The band was "taking a break", whether it was permanent or not was unclear (right now, it unfortunately seems to be for good). Two of the members had an epiphany of sorts, and realized that the music scene was changing and that it was no longer as promising as it had once seemed. They decided they wanted to go back to college and get some stability in their life, something to fall back on in case it did happen to fall through. While the other two members supported them, they didn't feel the same way. But it couldn't be helped, The Years Gone By officially announced their hiatus, and dropped three singles as a goodbye.
[Read more about the break here. http://www.myspace.com/theyearsgonebynj/blog/531647022]
The singles were "Down", "Heart In Boy", and "When We Were Kids". After listening to them, I had wished TYGB wouldn't have released them. They were so incredibly good, it hurt to know that this band would no longer be producing their unique sound. "When We Were Kids" instantly became my favorite TYGB song, and I always get this nostalgic, yet depressing, feeling when it comes on.
The Years Gone By and their music meant so much to me because when I found them I had just finished middle school. I hated middle school. I got bullied and made fun of daily. I had a few close friends, but I felt distant from them. We had nothing in common, I was a total tomboy with a taste for alt/pop/punk rock while they were the girliest girls you'd ever meet, and they loved pop, rap, and hip hop. I felt so alone, and I wasn't looking forward to high school at all. But when I found this band, their words gave me this sense of security. Music had always been an escape for me, something I turned to when I felt like I had no one else. The Years Gone By filled a void that I didn't even know was there. Some people won't get it. Some people don't understand, as much as I try to explain it, what music does for me. What it does for thousands of other people. And that's okay. They don't have to understand. But TYGB got me through that summer and gave me an optimistic outlook on what lie ahead.
I continue to listen to The Years Gone By daily while I wait for the band to finally make it's come back.
The next band I want to talk about is a band called Valencia.
Valencia is a band that I can honestly say is on my top 10 list of all-time favorite bands. They mean a lot to me, and when I heard they were going on hiatus, it hit me hard.
I started listening to Valencia in 2008, because a friend had told me about the release of their album "We All Need A Reason To Believe". I was surprised at the sound, because it wasn't what I was usually into. It seemed a little more indie than I was used to, but it definitely wasn't a bad thing. At first, I was kind of on the fence about the band. I didn't immediately buy the album, but I went to YouTube often to listen to it. I decided to check into their old stuff, which consisted of an album they had released in 2005 called "This Could Be A Possibility". Honestly, nothing on it stood out to me, there wasn't that one song I had to have. It was a bit disappointing, and discouraged me from continuing on with listening to them. I knew it'd be unfair to give up on them because of their past music, so I remained optimistic.
Through 2009 and early 2010, I realized just how good their music was. I had bought the album early 2009, and sat down one day to listen to it. It spoke to me, I loved Shane's voice and his lyrics. Like with TYGB, I felt that connection. Maybe it wasn't instantly, but I had found it, and it made Valencia quickly rise to the top of the "Top 25 Most Played" list in my iTunes library. On October 12, 2011, they released their third and final album "Dancing With A Ghost". It was also their best.
If you haven't realized it by now, I'm not amazing with words or descriptions. I have so much I want to say, but when I try to put it into words, it comes out the same way, so I know I seem repetitive. But I mean what I say and if I knew a different way to put it I would. "Dancing With A Ghost" mesmerized me, I absolutely loved it. Every single track on the record meant something to me, I could relate to them all in one way or another. I bought the album the day it released and learned all the words in just a few days. Valencia was one of the bands that I wanted to see in concert the most.
Valencia also meant a lot to me because I had a personal interaction with them. As small as it may be, and as insignificant as it may seem to some one else, when this happened, I told everyone I knew. (At the time) I had just recently been introduced to Twitter, and they were one of the first bands I followed. I had sent them a DM (direct message) saying how much their music meant and that they were one of my favorite bands and so on. It's hard to do in 140 characters. Anyways, I wasn't exactly expecting a response, since none of the bands I was trying to contact responded via Twitter, but deep down there was a small hope they'd say something. A few hours later, I got a notification for a new DM and my heart soared. I checked it immediately and almost lost my cool. Valencia had responded to me. I'll never forget what the message said. "That's awesome! Hope to see you this summer!" I am very aware it could have been some kid of automated response or something, but I just have this feeling it wasn't. Eight, small, insignificant words meant a whole lot to me just because of who had said them.
Unfortunately, in 2011, tragedy struck the band. Their former drummer, Maxim Soria (he had left on good terms in 2009) was killed in a motorcycle accident. As thorough as I thought I had been with learning about all the bands I listened to, I didn't ever hear of this until recently. Sadly enough, it's not the first time something this bad had happened. In 2006, Shane's (lead singer) girlfriend passed away. I don't know many details pertaining to his girlfriend's death, but I know that Max had been on his motorcycle and supposedly lost control, crashing into a guard rail. I don't believe there were any other cars involved.
Going through so much as a band, Valencia officially announced it's hiatus on October 11th, 2011. That was a bad day for me, but I didn't question it. I was just happy they had been in my life for so long, and happy they were leaving their music behind for me to remember them by. They had made a huge impact on my life, and my only regret was never getting to see them play live. It bugs me to this day, and I can only hope for some kind of reunion show or something, so that I can finally see them.
Now, the last band I'm going to talk about is a big one. Almost everyone I know has heard of them or likes them in some way, and their recently announced break up has trended and effected people worldwide. The band is My Chemical Romance.
"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure.
My Chemical Romance"
This was the message fans of the band were left with on March 22, 2013. Not only were they left with this, but they were left with so many questions, the main one being: Why?
I'll be honest, I am not a big fan of MCR. But I have an enormous amount of respect for them and what they do. I know how many people they've touched and how many lives they've saved, and I can relate with all the people who might be going through a hard time now because they've parted ways. I only wanted to write about them to say to anyone who might read this that I know what it's like. I only ever bought four of their songs, but I know there were people who had every album. Who knew every word to every song on every album. And people who are still left in shock by this.
I just wanted to say thanks to My Chemical Romance, because they helped some of my friends, they saved lives, and they made great music.
R.I.P MCR, Maxim Soria, and if this article is correct [http://mydeathspace.com/article/2006/11/11/Dana_Burrell_(18)_was_killed_in_a_freak_lawnmower_accident] Dana Burrell.
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