Mood:
happy Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American musician Gerard Arthur Way 
Background information Born April 9, 1977
Newark, New Jersey, United StatesGenre(s) Alternative rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, emo Occupation(s) Musician, artist Instrument(s) Vocals Associated acts My Chemical Romance
Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American musician who has served as frontman, lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance since its formation in 2001. He currently lives in West New York, New Jersey.
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Background
Gerard Way was born in Newark, New Jersey[1] to Donald and Donna Lee Way. He was raised in Belleville, New Jersey and first began singing publicly in the fourth grade, when he played the role of Peter Pan in a school musical production. His maternal grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, was a great creative influence who taught him to sing, paint, and perform from a young age. He has referred to her in interviews, quoting that "She has taught me everything I know".[2]
At the age of 15, Gerard was held up at gun point, as stated in a recent Rolling Stones article: "I got held up with a .357 Magnum, [I] had a gun pointed to my head and [was] put on the floor, execution-style." The incident did not, however, impinge on his views of the world. He went on to say that "no matter how ugly the world gets or how stupid it shows me it is, I always have faith."[3]
Education
Gerard Way attended Belleville High School until he graduated in 1995. Deciding to pursue a career in the comic-book industry[4] he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.[5][2]
Career and music
Way was working for Cartoon Network in New York City during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Seeing the effects of the attacks first hand prompted Way to change his views on life in the following weeks. 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.'"[6] To help deal with the emotional effects the attacks had on him, Way wrote the lyrics to the song 'Skylines and Turnstiles' which since, has been regarded as "the first song by My Chemical Romance".[7]Soon after, the formation of My Chemical Romance began.
In many interviews Way has stated that music turned out to be an effective outlet to deal with his long-time battles against depression, alcoholism and prescription drug use. The use of music as a way to resolve personal battles has caused Way to create deeply personal songs such as "Helena",[8] which was written in memory of his late grandmother mentioned above.
Way has recently established himself as comic-book writer, writing for the comic miniseries, The Umbrella Academy. The Umbrella Academy was first released in the Dark Horse '2007-Free-Comic-Book-Day' issue on May 5th.[9] Since then, an eight-page story has been published on MySpace, entitled "Safe & Sound"[10].The first official issue was released on September 19, 2007.[11] Mass sales caused the first issue to sell out and consequently there was a second printing released on October 17, 2007.[12]
Personal life
On September 3, 2007 after a concert in Colorado, Gerard married Lyn-Z of Mindless Self Indulgence.[13] The pair tied the knot following the final date of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour backstage. A member of Live Nation's touring staff who happened to be an ordained minister, performed the low-key ceremony.[14]
The Breakfast Monkey
In 2001 Way co-created a cartoon with Joe Boyle called The Breakfast Monkey. They pitched the cartoon to Cartoon Network, but they declined to pick up the concept, saying that it was too similar to the existing property Aqua Teen Hunger Force.[15]
Discography
- 2002: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
- 2004: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
- 2006: The Black Parade
References
Notes
- ^ "Radio 1 Presents... My Chemical Romance". BBC Radio 1.From the radio interview
- ^ a b "Gerard's Biography". I'mNotOK.net.
- ^ "Future of Music: Gerard Way". rollingstone.com.
- ^ 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."
- ^ Gustines, George Gene. "Superhero Stylings From Stars of Pop", The New York Times, October 20, 2007. Accessed November 27, 2007. "For Mr. Way, “Umbrella Academy” was another way to be productive when he wasn’t recording with the band. It also used skills he developed as a student at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan."
- ^ SPIN Magazine Cover Stories My Chemical Romance, Spin magazine, May 31, 2005 “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.’”
- ^ "My Chemical Romance Biography". Yahoo.com. Retrieved on February 10, 2007.
- ^ "My Chemical Romance Biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved on February 10, 2007.
- ^ "Free Comic Book Day 2007". darkhorse.com.
- ^ "Dark Horse Presents". myspace.com.
- ^ "Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1". darkhorse.com.
- ^ "Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1 2nd printing". darkhorse.com.
- ^ Gerard Way photo, The New York Times Agency, October 19, 2007. Caption: "Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance, near his home in West New York, N.J., on Sept. 24, 2007."
- ^ "MCR: Gerard ties the knot".
- ^ "Gerard Way Biography". TV.com. Retrieved on September 14th, 2007.
See also
External links
- My Chemical Romance Official Website
- 97X video interview
- Gerard Way at the Internet Movie Database
- Gerard Way/My Chem Concert Gallery by Florida Entertainment Scene
- Blender Video Interview
- Gerard Way audio interview about Umbrella Academy
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