gerard way

Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) in Newark, New Jersey is frontman and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance, in which his brother Mikey Way plays bass.

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 also taught him to sing, was so excited about his role that she made him a costume that included 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 crime-ridden town of Belleville, New Jersey. Dead bodies were almost frequently found in the West Hudson River, which was located in a park where children went to play. Way says that as a child, you couldn't really go out and play, so what he did was make up imaginary worlds in his head, which led on to his love for artwork.

After graduating from high school in 1995, he attended School of Visual Arts in New York City graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999. In 2001, Way says he tried to sell an animated television series to Cartoon Network^[1] called The Breakfast Monkey.^[2] He maintains that Cartoon Network turned down the pitch because it was too similar to Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then already in production.^[3].

The Formation of My Chemical Romance

When the September 11th attacks occurred, Way was working in the comic industry in New York, and could see the horror occurring at the Twin Towers. This inspired him to "do something with his life", and he formed the band My Chemical Romance. The song "Skylines and Turnstiles" is the first song ever written by My Chemical Romance, and it was inspired by Way's experience with the 9/11 incident. 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 soon released its first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002 under the at that time obscure New Jersey label Eyeball Records. Music turned out to be an effective means for Way to deal with his longtime battle against depression, alcoholism, and prescription drug abuse, leading to the creation of deeply personal songs such as "Helena"^[4], written after the death of his grandmother, Elena Lee Rush.

Despite his success as a musician, Way has not left his drawing behind: He drew all of the art on the band's second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge and has designed merchandise for his and other similar bands. He also has made efforts in order to raise money through his art for causes such as the fight against breast cancer. Other charity funds include working 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.

Recently on MTV2's All That Rocks, Way was voted "Almighty King of Rock" with 63% of the total votes.

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 recent months they have had a falling out. Fans suspect that the sudden feud has been caused by the amount of fame My Chemical Romance has had over the success of The Used, while others have said that it was because later productions of The Used's album contained the single "Under Pressure", which was originally intended to raise money for Tsunami victims. 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 anymore. 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.

Trivia

• Gerard has bleached his hair blond, causing quite a ruckus in the fan base.
• Gerard dyed his hair because as many fans know each album has a story, this time with The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance's third album) Gerard wanted to look like the main character, a man who had just gone through chemotherapy, hence his dark locks are gone and we have his newly buzzed blonde hair.
• Gerard has trypanophobia and is deathly afraid of needles, which is why he has no tattoos or piercings.
• August 11, 2006 marked the two-year anniversary of Gerard becoming clean and sober.
• 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 along with another bandmate were injured when filming a music video from their new album. Way tore a couple of ligaments in his ankle and bandmate Bob Bryar recieved burns on the back of his leg, causing them to cancel a show in San Diego and, in event of Bob receiving a Staph infection on September 1st caused by the burns, a cancellation in Syracuse, NY and Allentown, PA.

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/