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Gerard Way

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Gerard Way

Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) in Belleville, New Jersey is front man, lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance, and the older brother of My Chemical Romance's bass player, Mikey Way.

Biography

Childhood

Way is of Scottish and Italian descent. He first began singing in fourth grade, when he played the part of Peter Pan in a school production of the play. His grandmother Elena Lee Rush (who was known to friends as Helen), taught him to sing and made his costume, including traditional green tights. After this Way "turned his back" on singing, saying, "Well, I don't want to be this weird singer kid, [I'm] into other things like comics and Iron Maiden". He then decided to pursue graphic arts. Way had always been interested in drawing and comics because his childhood house was a "dark and dingy gothic-looking" place in the town of Belleville, New Jersey. Way says that as a child, he was not much able to play outside, because it was a dangerous area. So he made up imaginary worlds in his head, which led on to his love for artwork. As a child, Gerard came to the revelation that everyone he cares about will eventually die, and that he will die alone. This has led to his current obsession with the idea of death.

The Formation of My Chemical Romance

Way was working in the comic industry in New York when the September 11th attacks occurred. This event inspired him to "do something with his life", and he formed the band My Chemical Romance. The band's first song "Skylines and Turnstiles" was inspired by Way's experience on 9/11. The band's name, suggested by Mikey Way, came from a book written by Irvine Welsh, entitled Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. Gerard brought together Ray Toro, Matt Pelissier (later replaced by Bob Bryar), Frank Iero, and his brother Mikey to play gigs along the East Coast. The band released its first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002 under the New Jersey label Eyeball Records. Music turned out to be an effective means for Way to deal with his long-time battle against depression, alcoholism, and prescription drug abuse, leading to the creation of deeply personal songs such as "Helena"[1], written after the death of his grandmother.

Despite his success as a musician, Way has continued to draw; he produced the artwork for the band's second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge and has designed merchandise for My Chemical Romance and other bands. He has created artwork to raise money for causes such as the fight against breast cancer. Other charity work includes collaborating with The Used lead singer Bert McCracken to release a cover of the Queen and David Bowie single "Under Pressure" on iTunes for Tsunami Relief charity.

Health

Way has recovered from an addiction to drugs and alcohol, being sober as of August 2004, and visits a therapist when the band's not on tour. Gerard’s band mates have pulled him out of a deep depression twice (before the band really got started, and as he was sobering). However, he still enjoys his Marlboro Red cigarettes. [citation needed]

He recently stated in an interview that as a New Year's resolution he was trying to quit smoking; however many fans have claimed to still see him smoking outside concert venues. He also smoked a cigarette during a recent interview with NME magazine.

Art

After graduating from Belleville High School in 1995, he attended School of Visual Arts in New York City graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999. Gerard aspired to be a comic book artist (he loved comic books, and his favorite superhero was always Wolverine) before forming My Chemical Romance. In 2001, Way says he tried to sell an animated television series to Cartoon Network[2] called The Breakfast Monkey.[3] He maintains that Cartoon Network turned down the pitch because it was too similar to Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then already in production.[4]. He has also done the artwork for the My Chemical Romance albums and used to design merchandise for the band Thursday.[citation needed]

Discography & Lyrics

Way and his band released their first CD, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002, a CD titled Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge in June of 2004, and also their third concept album The Black Parade in October 2006. Way is always trying to write new material, and he usually gets song ideas from the newspaper. He sees lyrics as a way of telling a story, and usually loves dark stuff "anything twisted, weird, and a little evil". The song, “Demolition Lovers”, is said to be about Gerard’s then girlfriend, based on a dedication in the CD booklet.

Feud with Bert McCracken

Way was close friends with The Used singer Bert McCracken. The two recorded several songs together, including a cover of "Under Pressure" and the My Chemical Romance song, "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison", in which McCracken provides backup vocals.

However, in 2006 they have had a falling out. McCracken has said in an interview with VH1, "I'd prefer not to say anything about My Chemical Romance, except that we did have a falling out. We don't speak at all any more. It's got nothing to do with their success. I'm completely comfortable with where our band is at. We used to be very close, but no more. We had a falling out. The rest of my band, they're still mates with all the guys in that band. But I'd prefer to say nothing more about My Chemical Romance."[5]. Both Way and his brother have made statements since, indicating McCracken was only joking, confessing that they remain in contact with him and nothing has happened between them. In a recent magazine interview Alternative Press, McCracken denied ever hearing about them having a falling out, and wished Way "the best of luck". [citation needed]

In a recent interview with Blender magazine (late 2006), Gerard Way revealed the true manner of the falling out. After Gerard became sober their friendship turned sour, and soon thereafter McCracken began to trash-talk My Chemical Romance. Way stated that he hasn't spoken to Bert since the San Diego stop of the Warped Tour on June 30th of 2005. McCracken had tried to distract fans from My Chemical Romance's set with a megaphone, but failed. "It was really unfortunate" says Way. Bert declined to comment.

The Used's new song, "Pretty Handsome Awkward", is said to be about a man whose description suspiciously matches that of the former blond Gerard, although nothing is completely certain. McCracken and guitarist Quinn Allman had hinted to Kerrang! that the song was about Way, saying that "it's about someone with short blond hair." It has also been rumored that Gerard Way appears in The Used's upcoming live album, "Berth". [citation needed]

Trivia

  • Recently said his nickname is "Uncle Jiggy" on MTV Aust -Lair Foreplay 26 Jan 2007
  • In a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine, Gerard Way revealed he would be working on a comic book series called The Umbrella Academy. In the interview, Gerard stated he had a love for comic books and superheroes and said that the first issue may not be released until early to mid 2007.[1]
  • Gerard Way's favorite book is The Catcher in the Rye.
  • Gerard's favourite band is Queen. (Magazine Interview)
  • While performing on the Jimmy Kimmel show, live from New York, Gerard has dyed his hair black again.
  • According to an AOL interview Gerard and the rest of My Chemical Romance play World of Warcraft. Gerard is said to be an Undead Warrior.[2]
  • Gerard is deathly afraid of needles, hence his lack of piercings or tattoos.
  • Recently on MTV2's All That Rocks, Way was voted "Almighty King of Rock" with 63% of the total votes.
  • In an interview with NME magazine, quoted, "That Kasabian comment was meant as a slam, but ended up being a compliment" after Kasabian claimed that they should "get out more" and that their lyrics were depressive and negative to youth as part of the emo phenomenon.
  • Also stated in an NME interview that he is sick of New Jersey and is planning to move from there. "I've been here [New Jersey] my whole life. I need to get out. I've narrowed it down to either Portland, Oregon or LA. Houses in LA are like, a million dollars, so'd I'd prefer Portland, but it's an artsy little community. People like me might not be...welcome."
  • When he lived in New Jersey, he used to stalk Christina Ricci, after finding out she lived nearby. "She looks like an alien, but there's something really beautiful about her". Ironically, he was described by Kerrang! magazine as a Christina Ricci look a like.
  • His dream car is a red Corvette with the license plate KNIVES

References

  1. ^ Alternative Press Magazine Issue #197 (December 2004), pp. 129-138
  2. ^ "Teen Titans" — Rolling Stone (2005-07-14)
  3. ^ Breakfast Monkey concept clip
  4. ^ Band biography from the All Music Guide
  5. ^ Vh1 interview with Bert McCracken - by James Montgomery (November 9, 2005)
  6. Gerard's Bio and other Info on imnotokay.net
  1. ^ http://www.buzznet.com/tags/mikey%20way/journals/41800/
  2. ^ http://music.aol.com/artists/aim_celebrity_interview/my_chemical_romance
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