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Gerard Way

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Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9 1977) is the front man, lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance; he is also elder brother to the band's bass player, Mikey Way.

Gerard Way

Background

Way was born in Newark, New Jersey[1] to Donald and Donna Lee Way; he is of Scottish and Italian descent.[citation needed] Way was born in Belleville, New Jersey. He first began singing in fourth grade, when he played the part of Peter Pan in a school production of the play. His maternal grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, taught him to sing, paint, and perform.[2]

After graduating from Belleville High School in 1995,[3] he attended School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.[2] Gerard aspired to be a comic book artist and claimed his favourite comic-book team was the Doom Patrol. In 2001, Way says he tried to sell an animated television series to Cartoon Network[1] called "The Breakfast Monkey".[citation needed] He maintains that Cartoon Network turned down the pitch because it was too similar to Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then already in production.[4]

Music and My Chemical Romance

In 2001, Way was working in the comic industry in New York when the September 11 attacks occurred. This event changed Way dramatically; he told Spin magazine, "I literally said to myself, 'Fuck art. I’ve gotta get out of the basement. I’ve gotta see the world. I’ve gotta make a difference!'"[5] Soon after, he formed the band My Chemical Romance. The band's first song "Skylines and Turnstiles" was inspired by Way's experience on 9/11.[6] 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. He cited his musical influences as The Cure, Queen, Iron Maiden, The Misfits, and The Smiths, while Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.[4]


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",[7] written after the death of his grandmother. The band also collaborated 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. Gerard has been clean and sober since August 11, 2004, although he still smokes cigarettes.

The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy
by Dark Horse Comics

In a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine, Gerard Way revealed he would be working on a comic book series called The Umbrella Academy. Gerard Way writes the storyline and Gabriel Ba does the artwork on the upcoming comic book. Artist James Jean does the cover artwork on The Umbrella Academy. In the interview, he stated he had a love for comic books and superheroes. The release date is September 19, 2007.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Teen Titans" — Rolling Stone (2005-07-14)
  2. Gerard's Bio and other Info on imnotokay.net
  1. ^ "Radio 1 Presents... My Chemical Romance". BBC Radio 1. From the radio interview
  2. ^ a b "Gerard's Biography". I'mNotOK.net. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |acessyear= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Geeks become No1 emo stars, The Sun, October 23, 2006. "His is taken from the 1995 yearbook for Belleville High School, New Jersey, when Gerard, then 18, posed for the camera alongside other students in his leaving year."
  4. ^ a b "Life On The Murder Scene". Wikipeda. From the DVD, Life on the Murder Scene
  5. ^ SPIN Magazine Cover Stories My Chemical Romance, Spin magazine, May 312005 “I literally said to myself, ‘Fuck art. I’ve gotta get out of the basement. I’ve gotta see the world. I’ve gotta make a difference!’”
  6. ^ "My Chemical Romance Biography". Yahoo.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "My Chemical Romance Biography". All Music Guide. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance's soon to be released CD". Buzznet.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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