During the early years of the band, many demos were recorded and ripped to CDs which were often distributed for free. The demos were titled “Demo in a Bag” and the name references the fact that the CDs were “distributed” in plastic bags with homemade confetti.
In 2009, they self-released their debut album Record in a Bag in 2009 as a free download on their website. The name of their debut references their string of demos. Later that year, the band entered and won a “battle of the bands” contest in Ottawa, Ontario which was hosted by a local radio station. With the $250,000 prize money, the band reissued their self-released debut and formed Royal Mountain Records. Royal Mountain Records has since helped launch the career of other Toronto, Ontario artists such as PUP and Alvvays.
In 2011, the band was nominated for the Best New Group Award at the Canadian music awards show the 2011 Juno Awards, but lost out to Said the Whale
On February 26, 2013, the band released their second LP, White Paint. The pre-order sales of this album lead to the ambitious 111 Songs project which was eventually released in 2015. At the time, Hollerado stated "as part of the deal we would write them a custom song. The idea was the person would send us their name and where they were from and two facts about themselves, and a few months later we would send them a song we wrote for them”. The band sold over 100 of these packages before they realized the tremendous amount of work all these original songs would be. “111 Songs” actually resulted in two years of work on the songs and many of the songs were used in the band's third full-length album Born Yesterday which was released in 2017.
In early 2019, Hollerado announced the group would be disbanding following one last album and tour. Retaliation Vacation was released later that year and the band embarked on a final tour titled The One Last Time Tour. The band played their final shows on December 11th-13th at the Danforth Music Hall with a final performance at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on December 14, 2019.
Since the disbandment, frontman Menno Versteeg (vocals, guitar) has joined the Canadian supergroup Anyway Gang and released some music under the moniker Mav Karlo. Jake Boyd (drums) is part of the newly formed supergroup Girlfriend Material. Nixon Boyd (guitar) is an additional guitarist/tour guitarist in “Anyway Gang” and is credited as as a producer/composer on many albums/songs from bands signed under Royal Mountain Records.
Thanks For The Venom
Hollerado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Met you in a dog town, I was leaving out of a store
In the desert of my mind it was not and I was alone
You took me to the cold black top, you let me fly on my back
And you still don’t know that shit until the story goes and my muscle’s relaxed
(Chorus)
Oh, we could be friends
Thanks for the venom
Oh, we could be friends
But you are a rattle snake
(You are a rattle snake!)
Yea, yea, a rattle snake
(Verse)
You told me that your name was legs and hair, the irony
Surround the world into your place and we’re talking about things and thoughts
Til we came home on a Saturday night, I’ll cancel your snack
And I watched just how you drop on grind, swear I’ll never go back to you
(Chorus)
Oh, we could be friends
But you are a rattle snake
Thanks for the venom
Oh, we could be friends
But you are a rattle snake
(You are a rattle snake!)
Yea, yea, yea a rattle snake
(Verse)
Went and did it all again love
I was right into your eye of fear
I am letting go
When I get out of here
(Verse)
By the end of that summer I crawled back to your kitchen floor
Covered in the felons of bronze or by the meals before
And you get about the dead addictions I left in your sink
And your bags come and flash before I had one second to think about it
(Interlude)
Oh, you were my friend, we had a simple love
As simple as it, it gets up
We could be friends, we had a simple love
But you are a rattle snake
(x2)
Oh, you were my friend
But you are a rattle snake
(You are a rattle snake!)
Thanks for the venom
Oh, you were my friend
But you are a rattle snake
(You are a rattle snake!)
Yea, yea, you a rattle snake
In Hollerado’s song Thanks For The Venom, the singer meets someone in a desert town and is taken to a cold black top where they let him fly on his back. Despite this seemingly positive experience, the singer realizes that the person he is with is a rattle snake and cannot be trusted as a friend. The irony is highlighted as the person gives a false name of Legs and Hair, and they talk about things and thoughts. Despite the singer’s feelings of not wanting to go back to this person, he finds himself crawling back to their kitchen floor by the end of the summer, covered in the felonies of their meals before. The chorus repeats the idea of them potentially being friends, but the person is ultimately a rattle snake and the singer thanks them for the venom.
The lyrics suggest the singer was initially charmed by this person, but ultimately realizes their dangerous nature. The “venom” can be seen as a metaphor for this person’s harmful actions and deceitful nature. The line “you let me fly on my back and you still don’t know that shit” implies that the singer was vulnerable around this person and they did not realize the extent of their impact on him until later. Despite this, the singer still thanks them for the venom, indicating perhaps a sense of resolution and acceptance of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Met you in a dog town, I was leaving out of a store
I saw you in a place so barren and desolate that I can only compare it to a town inhabited by stray dogs as I left a store
In the desert of my mind it was not and I was alone
I was feeling lonely and lost, as if wandering in a desert, with no one to keep me company
You took me to the cold black top, you let me fly on my back
You showed me a place where I could be carefree and reckless, like a child playing on cold pavement, looking up to the sky
And you still don’t know that shit until the story goes and my muscle’s relaxed
You haven't realized how much I appreciate what you did for me until I tell the whole story and feel relieved from all tension and anxiety
Oh, we could be friends
I thought we could have a simple, friendly relationship
But you are a rattle snake
But you turned out to be a dangerous and deceptive person, like a venomous rattlesnake
Thanks for the venom
Thank you for exposing your true colors, and teaching me a valuable lesson, even though it hurt me
You told me that your name was legs and hair, the irony
You introduced yourself with a witty nickname that referenced your attractive features, but it turned out to be ironic because you were not what you appeared to be
Surround the world into your place and we’re talking about things and thoughts
We had deep conversations about life and philosophy that made me feel like I traveled around the world, and ended up in your presence
Til we came home on a Saturday night, I’ll cancel your snack
Until the moment we returned home on a weekend night, when I cancelled my hunger for food and felt disgusted by your behavior
And I watched just how you drop on grind, swear I’ll never go back to you
I witnessed how you acted without inhibition and morality, and promised myself that I will never return to your deceitful ways
Went and did it all again love
I made the mistake of falling for you again, despite knowing your true nature
I was right into your eye of fear
I saw the fear and danger in your eyes, but still went along with you
I am letting go
I am finally realizing that I need to let go of you and move on with my life
By the end of that summer I crawled back to your kitchen floor
At the end of that summer, I found myself in a vulnerable, submissive position in your kitchen, just like before
Covered in the felons of bronze or by the meals before
I was either covered in the residue of your questionable actions, or the remnants of your cooking
And you get about the dead addictions I left in your sink
You know about the harmful habits and substances I left in your sink, and how they affected our relationship
And your bags come and flash before I had one second to think about it
You left me suddenly, without giving me any time to react or process what was happening
Oh, you were my friend, we had a simple love
I thought we had a straightforward, uncomplicated relationship based on camaraderie
As simple as it, it gets up
It was as basic and easy as it could be, devoid of any complexity or drama
Yea, yea, you a rattle snake
Yes, you are definitely a dangerous and sly individual, like a rattlesnake
Contributed by Savannah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gnomesmusher
This sounds so much like The Clash's Clampdown.
J. Gremmer
How can the song only have 36k views when I have listened 37k times myself?
J. Gremmer
p.s. the vocal harmonies are the BEST
ELISABETH ROSE BEAUTY
I'M SO HAPPY
doomofvalyria
Beauty!
Luke Bossio
The title.
Hmmmm
Thank You for the Venom by My Chemical Romance
James Lewis
+Alexx Litman Lol, that's what I thought it was going to be too. I've been listening to them for 10 years and TYFTV is one of my favorite songs on Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. I DEFINITELY wouldn't want that song to get ruined. Not that I don't think these guys couldn't do it, I'm just saying that their styles are different enough to where an actual cover from them just wouldn't make sense and it would probably come out far worse than the original due to the fact they would probably try to change it up a lot to match up with what they normally make :/
gale
right??? at first I was like is this a cheap cover or something
lanier1000
Lame, but I have heard worse.