My Chemical Romance drummer Michael Pedicone has been fired by the band after they claim he stole from them after a concert in Washington state. Pedicone had been playing as the My Chemical Romance drummer for a year after replacing Bob Bryar.
“Some shit happened last night and before the blogosphere gets all crazy with false statements and ridiculous opinions we want the true story to come from us…” the band posted on their website on Friday. “But please listen close because this is the only time we are ever going to talk about this.”
“The relationship between My Chemical Romance and Michael Pedicone is over. He was caught red handed stealing from the band and confessed to police after our show last night in Auburn, Washington,” the statement read. “We are heartbroken and sick to our stomachs over this entire situation. The band has no intention of pressing charges or taking this matter any further than we have to. We just want him out of our lives.”
“The people who play in this band are a family, and family should not take advantage of each other like he did. We are currently moving forward, and hope to have a new drummer in place for our show in Salt Lake City, Utah. The show must go on,” the message concluded.
Michael Pedicone, who previously played for Death by Stereo and Suicide File, posted about the incident on his Twitter feed on Friday, saying that “what happened is more complicated than it sounds but I did make a mistake.” He said that it was “never my intention to hurt this band or all of you. … It was an error in judgement based on a whole other situation that’s way deeper but this does not define me.”
The band has already replaced Michael Pedicone with Jarrod Alexander from Dead Country, who joined them for a show Saturday night in Utah. Alexander will be the fourth drummer for the band following Pidicone, Bryar and original MCR drummer Matt Pelissier. It has not been announced yet whether Alexander will serve as a permanent replacement or just fill in for the tour.