Cellist Clarice Jensen has been playing an integral role during My Chemical Romance's ‘Long Live…The Black Parade’ tour across the US, performing the piece ‘from a to b’ as the band wrap up the full album performance. Rock Sound spoke with Jensen about her experience on the road and what she has learned from playing to stadiums full of rock fans.
How did you first get involved with the tour?
Jeremy Lambert first introduced my music to Gerard Way some years ago; I was very happy and humbled to learn that he was a fan! Jeremy and Gerard came to a concert I played with Max Richter at Disney Hall in early May and we met afterwards. And shortly after that, Gerard asked if I’d be interested in joining the tour.
The whole tour was shrouded in mystery and surprise. Tell us about your experience of playing that opening show in Seattle for the unsuspecting crowd.
There was such a buildup because we had run each and every element a number of times, but it still felt like an alternate reality finally doing the show in front of tens of thousands of fans. I’ve never played such a large scale show and I am in awe of how so many separate teams all came together to make this experience for everyone. So that first performance felt like a real culmination and celebration!
Tell us about writing ‘from a to b’.
I wrote From a to b in my cabin in the woods; it was August and I was going on a solo Europe tour in a few weeks and, this never happens to me, but that one came to me all at once. I rethought a few things like the tempo and the delays I was using, but the composition just flowed. It’s the first single from my new full length ‘In holiday clothing’, out of the great darkness which comes out in October on FatCat/130701 Records.
MCR are known for their passionate fan community who seem to have really embraced you, what do you make of that fan reaction?
I’m so touched by the warm response I’ve gotten from MCR fans. I didn’t quite understand how strong their community is and it makes me really happy. I feel like lately, a lot of music criticism and writing has focused on how music creation happens in isolation and how music consumption happens alone too. We all keep hearing about how attention spans are growing increasingly shorter and that no one is interested in listening to entire albums anymore. But for these shows, like 45,000 people between the ages of maybe 15 and 50 come together and sing along to every single word of this wild concept album, and I think that’s amazing and flies in the face of any sentiment that we aren’t interested in shared experiences or that we don’t care about entire albums… which is reassuring, because I wrote ‘In holiday clothing’ as a complete album, in the hopes that it will be listened to top to bottom by at least some!
What has it been like getting to collaborate on such a huge theatrical production as this?
I’ve loved it. I have experience playing in Broadway pit orchestras, and this is sort of like that but on major steroids.
Do you have a favourite My Chemical Romance song or moment in the show?
My favorite part is the ‘Mama’/Dagger sequence – so many dramatic elements come together, the string parts are really fun, someone is on fire…. there’s so much going on. And selfishly, I also love the moment just before I play my solo set from the B stage, just after the suicidal Pagliacci sequence; everything explodes, no one knows what is going on, and I get to begin playing some somber tones on the cello. What a dream.
You have previously worked with the likes of Michael Stipe, Taylor Swift and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. What is it that appeals to you about these sorts of crossover projects?
In the case of recording with bands or popular recording artists, I love filling in gaps or adding layers or dimensions that the unique sound of the cello can offer to what are often already pretty amazing sounding tracks. Introducing a new timbre adds a bit of magic, I think. And when it comes to performing, on a basic level I feel very lucky to have the unique vantage point of witnessing legends from the stage while playing music with them; I have vivid memories of Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett, and also Nick Cave. And I love playing rock shows (just like I like going to shows) because, compared to classical concerts, everything is more immediate and demonstrative and loudly expressed; people dance and sing along and cheer and as a shared experience, I think that’s incredible. But don’t get me wrong, I think classical music concerts offer a different but equally amazing experience. There’s something profoundly wonderful about sitting in a darkened room and weeping quietly whilst experiencing a Handel opera.
Is there anything you have learned from this experience with My Chem that will feed back into your own work?
Like I said, I’ve been really blown away by the fans’ reaction to my solo set, which I didn’t alter in any way to adapt for this audience, or for these venues. And on a larger scale, I’m blown away by the unwavering artistic vision Gerard and the band have had in creating these shows. I’m really inspired by the dedication to the creative vision and the programmatic mythology; nothing is sacrificed! Things get messy when you start to second guess your work based on what you think an audience wants to hear. So I think the lesson I’m taking away is to continue to make the work that’s in my heart.
Jensen’s new album ‘In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness’ is out on October 17. My Chemical Romance continue to tour through the US this summer. They will bring their ‘Long Live…The Black Parade’ show to the UK in 2026, performing two nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.
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