Gerard Arthur Way, born April 9, 1977 and hailing from
Newark, New Jersey, is the lead singer of the band My Chemical Romance, brother
to band mate Mikey Way (bass). When he lived in New Jersey, he used to stalk
Christina Ricci, after finding out she lived nearby. He went to his first
concert (Bruce Springsteen) with his mother, and once worked as a cart boy/bagger
in a Grocery store. Gerard is 1/2 Italian (mother's side), and also 1/2 Scottish
(father's side). Gerard's maternal grandmother Elena taught him how to draw,
sing and perform. In the fourth grade, he starred in his school’s production of
Peter Pan. He started to play in bands when he was only eleven. 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.
He 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 up). However, he still enjoys smoking Marlboro
red cigarettes.
He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and graduated with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999. As a child, Gerard grew up in a dangerous and
crime-ridden neighborhood. Way has said that he was never really allowed outside
to play when he was younger. Instead, he remained indoors and created his own
imaginary worlds in his head. This led to his later in life love for artwork.
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. He
pitched a cartoon for Cartoon Network called "The Breakfast Monkey", but it
sadly didn't work out. He considers himself a failed comic book artist yet has
still done the artwork for the My Chemical Romance albums and used to design
merchandise for the band "Thursday".
On September 11th, 2001, Gerard was working in the comic industry of New York
City. Witnessing the horrors of that day incited him to “do something with his
life”. The song, “Skylines and Turnstiles” is based upon the terrorism attacks
of 9/11, and is the first song to ever be written by My Chemical Romance. The
band’s name is based upon an Irvine Welsh novel, and was first suggested by
Gerard’s brother, Mikey. Together with Matt Pelissier, Ray Toro, Frank Iero, and
Mikey Way, My Chemical Romance recorded their debut album. At their first show,
Gerard and the rest of the band got very drunk because they were so nervous.
Pelissier was later replaced by Bob Bryar. Gerard and his band mates hope to
start working on their third album late 2006. They earned popularity with their
hit single “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” and later with a tribute to his late
grandmother Elena Lee Rush, titled “Helena”. Gerard came up with the wardrobe
ideas for the Helena video. Both songs are from their CD "Three Cheers for Sweet
Revenge". Their next two singles, in which they hope to get videos for, are “You
Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison”, with additional vocals of Bert
McCracken from one of their "brother" bands The Used, along with their tragic
loss song, “The Ghost of You”. The band has made several efforts for various
causes such as the South Asian tsunami victims, and the fight against breast
cancer. Despite the pictures of Gerard looking ghostly pale, he tans very well.
The bulletproof vests they sometimes sport onstage represent where they grew up
because the crime rate there was very high.
Way and his band released their first CD, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought
Me Your Love in 2002 and have released a CD titled Three Cheers for Sweet
Revenge in June of 2004. 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.
Way is known to wear heavy eye shadow during his band's concerts, but has been
seen with a thick black strip along his eyes, during the Taste Of Chaos Tour
2005. He is deathly afraid of needles, so he doesn't have any piercings or
tattoos. Nipple rings freak him out.
Their musical influences include Iron Maiden,
the Misfits, and David Bowie. He has undoubtedly confirmed that he thinks Brody
Dalle from the Distillers is hot. His favorite band is now Iron Maiden, but is
still a David Bowie fan. He has been obsessed with revenge ever since he heard
the Black Flag song 'Revenge'. He owns the same color Stratocasters as Billie
Joe Armstrong (front man of the smash pop/punk trio Green Day).
