Ray Toro
| Ray Toro | |
|---|---|
Toro live with My Chemical Romance in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Raymond Toro |
| Born |
July 15, 1977 Kearny, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, guitarist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Reprise, Warner Bros., Eyeball |
| Associated acts | My Chemical Romance, Reggie and the Full Effect, The Rodneys |
Raymond "Ray" Toro (born July 15, 1977) is an American musician who served as lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the band My Chemical Romance until their split in 2013.
Ray Toro was born July 15, 1977 in Kearny, New Jersey. He is of Puerto Rican/Portuguese heritage. He grew up in a small house on the border between Kearny and Harrison, New Jersey, which he shared with his parents and two brothers.
By the time he entered Kearny High School, he had become interested in music. Toro's brother introduced him to several bands whose guitarists influenced him greatly. He enrolled in guitar lessons, as well as typing lessons to improve his manual dexterity.
Toro became involved with several local bands, the most successful of which were The Rodneys, who formed in 1994 and released their first and only album "Soccertown USA" in 1998. Future My Chemical Romance drummer Matt Pelissier also played for the band. However, after graduating from high school in 1995, Toro decided on film instead of music. He enrolled in an editing course at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, and his only musical pursuits involved playing drums in the short-lived band Dead Go West.
In an interview with Rock Sound, Toro said that "being in a band wasn't really a dream of mine. I always wanted to write music. I enjoy recording more and the process of writing, I never thought that being in a touring band was a possibility. I enjoyed getting a bunch of scenes and cutting it together so it makes sense. I made one short film about a guy who was obsessed with eating eggs every day. He finally opens up this egg carton and there's one egg left, but he can't crack it open, so he gets driven insane".
Rodney's frontman Shawn Dillon is credited with introducing Toro to Gerard Way in the late 1990s. Toro agreed to work with him and Pelissier in practice sessions, which were primarily held in Pelissier's attic. After Gerard's younger brother Mikey joined the trio as bassist, My Chemical Romance was formed.
In 2007, Toro appeared as himself in the slasher/horror/comedy movie Punk Rock Holocaust 2, with bandmate Frank Iero.
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