GERARD WAY

'Gerard Arthur Way' (born April 9 1977) is an American musician who serves as the frontman, lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance. He is the elder brother of the band's bass player, Mikey Way.

Contents

Background

''The Umbrella Academy''

Music and My Chemical Romance

Discography

References

External links

Background

Way was born in Summit, New Jersey^[1] to Donald and Donna Lee Way. 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 and has referred to her in interviews saying 'she has taught me everything I know'.^[2]
After graduating from Belleville High School in 1995,^[3] he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.^[2]

''The Umbrella Academy''

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.^[5]

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!'"^[6] 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.^[7]
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",^[8] written after the death of his grandmother.

Discography

===My Chemical Romance===
Main articles: My Chemical Romance discography


★ 2002: ''Dreams of Stabbing and/or Being Stabbed''

★ 2002: ''I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love''

★ 2002: ''Like Phantoms, Forever''

★ 2004: ''Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge''

★ 2005: ''Warped Tour Bootleg Series''

★ 2006: ''Life on the Murder Scene''

★ 2006: ''The Black Parade''

References

#"Teen Titans" — ''Rolling Stone'' (2005-07-14)
1. Radio 1 Presents... My Chemical Romance From the radio interview
2. Gerard's Biography
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. Gerard's Biography
5. The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance's soon to be released CD
6. 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!’”
7. My Chemical Romance Biography
8. My Chemical Romance Biography

External links

★ My Chemical Romance Official Website

★ 97X video interview

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★ Gerard Way/My Chem Concert Gallery by Florida Entertainment Scene