inception the actual 
My Chemical Romance ( often abbreviated as MCR ) was an American rock band from New Jersey , active from ___MASK43___ to 2013 . The band ' s best - known lineup consisted of lead vocalist Gerard Way , guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero , bassist Mikey Way and drummer Bob Bryar . Founded by Gerard , Mikey , Toro , Matt Pelissier , and later joined by Iero , the band signed to Eyeball Records and released their debut album " I Brought You My Bullets , You Brought Me Your Love " in 2002 . They signed with Reprise Records the next year and released their major label debut " Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge " in 2004 . Shortly after the album ' s release , Pelissier was replaced by Bob Bryar . A commercial success , the album was awarded platinum status over a year later . Vans is an American manufacturer of shoes , based in Cypress , California , owned by VF Corporation . The company also produces apparel and other products such as T - shirts , hoodies , socks , hats , and backpacks . As of August ___MASK25___ , the brand is active in the actions sports industry and sponsors skateboard , surf , snow , BMX , and motocross teams . Since ___MASK77___ , the company has also been the primary sponsor of the annual Vans Warped Tour traveling rock festival . The Warped Tour is a traveling rock festival that has toured the United States ( including 3 or ___MASK83___ stops in Canada ) annually each summer since 1995 . It is the largest traveling music festival in the United States , and is the longest - running touring music festival in North America . The first Warped Tour took place in 1995 , and the skateboard shoe manufacturer Vans became the main sponsor of the tour starting with the second tour in 1996 , when it became known as the Vans Warped Tour . Although Vans has continued to be the main sponsor and lend its name to the festival , other sponsors have also participated , with stages or other aspects of the festival sometimes being named after them . Guns N ' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in ___MASK22___ . The lineup , when first signed to Geffen Records in 1986 , consisted of vocalist Axl Rose , lead guitarist Slash , rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin , bassist Duff McKagan , and drummer Steven Adler . The current lineup consists of Rose , Slash , McKagan , keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese , guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer . The band has released six studio albums , accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide , including shipments of 45 million in the United States , making Guns N ' Roses one of the world ' s best - selling bands of all time . Matthew William " Matt " Sorum ( born November ___MASK13___ , 1960 ) is an American drummer and percussionist . He is best known as both a former member of the hard rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he recorded three studio albums , and as a member of the supergroup Velvet Revolver . Sorum is currently a member of the touring project , Kings of Chaos , and is a former member of both The Cult and Y Kant Tori Read . Sorum was also a member of Guns N ' Roses side - projects , Slash ' s Snakepit and Neurotic Outsiders , and released a solo album , " Hollywood Zen ", in 2004 . Stone Temple Pilots ( sometimes abbreviated as STP ) are an American rock band from San Diego , California , that originally consisted of Scott Weiland ( lead vocals ), brothers Dean ( guitar ) and Robert DeLeo ( bass , backing vocals ), and Eric Kretz ( drums ). Since the band ' s formation in ___MASK37___ , its line - up remained unchanged until the firing of Weiland in 2013 , who was replaced by Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington . In 2015 , Bennington left the band to focus solely on Linkin Park . On December 3 , 2015 , Weiland was found dead on his tour bus prior to a performance with his band The Wildabouts . In 2016 , the band launched an online audition for a new lead vocalist . Eyeball Records was an independent record label based in Northern New Jersey , formed in ___MASK63___ by Alex Saavedra . They released albums by artists such as Thursday , My Chemical Romance and Murder by Death . Michael Andrew " Duff " McKagan ( born February ___MASK76___ , 1964 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter and author . He is best known for his twelve - year tenure as the bass guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s . McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 , following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern United States and mid - Atlantic regions of the United States . It is bordered on the north and east by New York , on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean , on the west by Pennsylvania , and on the southwest by Delaware . New Jersey is the fourth - smallest state but the 11th - most populous and the most densely populated of the ___MASK30___ United States . New Jersey lies entirely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia and is the third - wealthiest U . S . state by per capita income as of 2014 . Softdrive Records ( formerly known as Lavish Records ) is an independent record label founded by Stone Temple Pilots / ex - Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland in ___MASK92___ . The now - defunct band The Actual was the first band to be signed to the label . Weiland ' s second solo album , "" Happy " in Galoshes ", was released on Softdrive Records on November 25 , 2008 . Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N ' Roses members Slash ( lead guitar ), Duff McKagan ( bass , backing vocals ), and Matt Sorum ( drums , backing vocals ), alongside Dave Kushner ( rhythm guitar ) formerly of punk band Wasted Youth . Original vocalist Scott Weiland formerly of Stone Temple Pilots left the band in ___MASK82___ . In ___MASK93___ , the band achieved commercial success with their debut album , " Contraband ". Despite positive reviews , some critics initially described Velvet Revolver as a mere combination of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N ' Roses , criticizing them for a " disconnection " between Scott Weiland and the rest of the band . With their single " Slither ", they won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance . A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used primarily for the activity of skateboarding . It usually consists of a specially designed maplewood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability . Most skateboards are made with ___MASK36___ plies of this wood . David " Dave " Kushner ( born November ___MASK23___ , ___MASK42___ ) is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver . Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth , Electric Love Hogs , Loaded , Danzig , Jane ' s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro ' s solo band , Sugartooth , Zilch while he has also recorded with Infectious Grooves , Cyco Miko and more recently collaborated with Scars on Broadway guitarist Franky Perez releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP , a combination of the initials of Perez and Kushner , as well as working with Indian singer and actress Shruti Haasan . Scott Richard Weiland ( born Scott Richard Kline ; October ___MASK35___ , 1967  December 3 , ___MASK4___ ) was an American musician , singer and songwriter . During a career spanning three decades , Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the band Stone Temple Pilots from ___MASK37___ to 2002 , when they disbanded and reunited 2008 to be fired in 2013 . He was also member of supergroups Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008 and Art of Anarchy from ___MASK78___ till ___MASK4___ . He established himself as a solo artist as well , releasing three studio albums , two cover albums , a live album and collaborations with several other musicians since 1995 . The Actual were a four piece alternative rock group from Los Angeles , California headed by guitarist and singer Max Bernstein . They were signed to Eyeball Records and released one album as a three piece for the label , `` Songs On Radio Idaho '' , before signing with Scott Weiland ' s label Softdrive Records . They opened for the supergroup Velvet Revolver at the Aladdin Hotel in the summer of ___MASK84___ and also played the Volcom stage on the 2007 Warped Tour . In ___MASK84___ , The Actual contributed two songs `` Promised Land '' and `` Dancing On The Perimeter '' to the film `` Bewitched '' ( ___MASK84___ ) . The Actual ' s second album In Stitches was released on May 31 , 2007 on the Softdrive label . They promoted the album by touring as the opening act for Velvet Revolver on their Spring 2007 club tour . Weiland is the co - producer of In Stitches . The album ' s first single , `` This is the Worst Day of My Life , '' was selected as song - of - the - week on MySpace in late May 2007 . In late 2007 , The Actual parted ways .