Katie89015's Journals

Gerard

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 schoolâ�™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.

Health

He has recently 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. Gerardâ�™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.

Art

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".

My Chemical Romance

On September 11^th, 2001, Gerard was working in the comic industry of New York City. Witnessing the horrors of that day incited him to â�œdo something with his lifeâ�. The song, â�œSkylines and Turnstilesâ� is based upon the terrorism attacks of 9/11, and is the first song to ever be written by My Chemical Romance. The bandâ�™s name is based upon an Irvine Welsh novel, and was first suggested by Gerardâ�™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 â�œI'm Not Okay (I Promise)â� and later with a tribute to his late grandmother Elena Lee Rush, titled â�œHelenaâ�. 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 â�œYou Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prisonâ�, with additional vocals of Bert McCracken from one of their "brother" bands The Used, along with their tragic loss song, â�œThe Ghost of Youâ�. 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.

Makeup & Body Art

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. Marilyn Manson has been quoted saying that he would kick Gerardâ�™s ass if he ever got the chance for stealing his makeup style.

Discography & Lyrics

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, â�œDemolition Loversâ�, is said to be about Gerardâ�™s then girlfriend.

Musical Influences & Tastes

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).

Frank

Frank Anthony Iero was born on October 31st, 1981 (making him a Scorpio), in Belleville, New Jersey (which he prefers to big cities such as New York or L.A.). Not many people know how to say his last name, which is correctly pronounced "eye-year-oh". Frank is 5'4'' and has hazel eyes with a dark drown natural hair color (now dyed black). He grew up with his mom, Linda, who divorced his dad (a great influence to him over the years). Just like fellow band mate Gerard Way, he has been playing in bands since he was eleven. Frank went to a catholic school growing up, where he learned to tie a tie. He was bullied in high school. He went to Rutgers University on a scholarship, but dropped out to join My Chemical Romance.

My Chemical Romance

He currently is the rhythm guitarist for My Chemical Romance, and is the youngest member of the band. He was recruited after the band decided they needed another guitarist (in addition to Ray Toro) to fill out the sound. He also dropped out of college (and another band, Pencey Prep, scroll down for more) to pursue the band full time. At the time when he joined My Chemical Romance, he had dreadlocks. Frank plays an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Custom guitar with an Alpine White finish, among others. One of his guitars reads "Pansyâ� across it in honor of the ownerâ�™s nickname. Sadly, Pansy was broken in recent months by an MTV guitar tech.

Body Art

He has the word "HALLOWEEN" tattooed on his fingers and his other tattoos include a Jack O Lantern on his back, "Keep the Faith" on his upper back, the letters "N.J." inside his lip standing for New Jersey, "I wish I were a ghost" around his right wrist, a dove on his left lower chest, an anchor on the lower part of his right bicep with an "N" and "J" on either side, and he has a scorpion on the right side of his neck. Frank got the scorpion tattoo as high up on his body as he could once he decided that he didnâ�™t want a real job.

Prone to Injuries

He unfortunately has suffered from Bronchitis and ear infections, as well as two broken toes, four chipped teeth, lacerations to hands, knees, and his head, numerous contusions and bruises, and endured a nasty case of mono. Alas, he still smokes.

Interests

Some of his favorite bands are Black Flag, American Nightmare, The Bouncing Souls, and The Beastie Boys. Frank loves reading books, especially the Harry Potter series. Frank Iero admires Billie Joe Armstrong (front man of the punk band Green Day) so much he learned to play guitar by imitating him. He also plans on buying a guitar that looks like Billie Joe's. Frankâ�™s favorite movies are Tim Burtonâ�™s Nightmare Before Christmas, Rushmore, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Iero once expressed a want to meet Tim Burton. He loves dogs and prefers sunsets to sunrise. Frank used to go for strolls in cemeteries claiming, "Itâ�™s very peaceful.â�

Side Projects

Frank has his own clothing line, record label, and publishing company called Skeleton Crew. It is not a T-shirt company. Before he started playing with My Chemical Romance, Iero fronted a band called Pencey Prep. Along with Pencey Prep, he also has played with the bands Hybrid, Sector 12, and Give Up the Ghost.

Mikey

Mikey Way was born in Newark, New Jersey,USA, where he grew up. Mikey is the younger brother of My Chemical Romance front man, Gerard Way. He and Gerard are maternal second cousins of Joe Rogan, host of the NBC game/stunt show Fear Factor and former cast member of the sitcom News Radio. He is of Scottish and Italian descent.^[1] He came up with the band's name, taken from the book Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, by Irvine Welsh, while working at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Clifton, New Jersey. Mikey had been working in the music section of the store, and had decided to take out the books to discuss with a coworker. Mikey also got his brother Gerard a job there working in books. Early on in My Chemical Romance's career, it was said that Way learned bass in order to be able to play in the band, which lacked a bassist at the time. But during interviews with Way in their DVD release, Life on the Murder Scene, Mikey claims that he had been an amateur musician since he was young and was in bands as a bassist before My Chemical Romance. He plays a Highway 1 Precision Bass, a Fender Standard Precision Bass, and a Fender J.^[1] Mikey Way had been known for his trademark glasses to correct his nearsightedness, but had Lasik eye surgery and no longer wears them.^[1] Mikey recently became engaged to guitar tech Alicia Simmons. ^[1]

Music

Mikey, like the rest of the Band, is a huge Misfits fan and has heavily influenced by the punk rock scene in New jersey. Like his older brother he was also heavily influenced by Iron Maiden. His bass lines are very distinct in the Hardcore punk scene today due to the fact that he is influenced by Britpop and post-punk bands such as Pulp, Blur, Suede,The Smiths and Radiohead, which influence his bass playing in the sense that there is a distinctive groove found in his playing and either gives the band a very pop edge or a jazz feel, this is found in songs such as House Of Wolves, I'm Not Okay and I Don't Love You.

Ray

Growing up,Toro lived on a "dead end" street where he grew up in a Puerto Rican household. Because of all the the dead bodies being found in the local park and in the nearby lake, Ray's mom was very protective of him and didnt let Ray go outside and play after a certain hour.Actually Ray was born on July 15,1977,with the name Raymond Toro-Ortiz,but is known worldwide as Ray Toro.Toro, unlike the other guitar player(Frank Iero)in My Chemical Romance, didnt start playing guitar until he was a sophmore in high school. He was introduced to music by his older brother who was into all types of music especially rock. I believe because of this influence he is classified as a "metal head" for his love of classic rock and metal bands(Iron maiden,Metallica,Mudvayne,etc.)
Ray's Influences

Ray's guitar influences are Randy Rhoads,Stevie Ray Vaughn,Slash,Jimi Hendrix,Kirk Hammett and Jimmy Page.Toro says that all of his work is patterned after those guys.

Ray Toro is the lead guitar player in My Chemical Romance. Toro does most of the guitar solos on Mcr songs.Ray also had a large role in the music video for My Chemical Romance's first single off of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, I'm Not Okay (I Promise).

Ray's Gear

Ray Toro mainly plays an Epiphone Elitist LesPaul guitar which has a mahogany body with maple cap and rosewood fingerboard. -colors:honey burst,and sunburst The other guitar Ray plays is an Epiphone 1958 Korina Explorer Ray uses Randall Amplifiers.

Ray's Injuries

During a particularly complicated move, guitarist Frank Iero's guitar flew away from his shoulder and hit Toro in the side of the head,resulting in Toro getting a concussion and minor blood loss.Also ray has also has been hurt by a snare drum in drummer Bob Bryar's drum kit fell from a height of eleven feet, hitting Toro. One of the first moments of My Chemical Romance live, captured on film consisted of Toro getting hit in the face with lead singer Gerard Way's microphone as he swung it, resulting in a torn lip and bloody nose. Ray has also broken his nose 3 times.

Music

Toro attended Kearny High School. Contrary to popular belief, he did not attend high school with any of his band-mates, but he did start playing guitar during his sophomore year. It was few years after graduating high school that he met Gerard Way and Mikey Way through a mutual friend from Gerard's art school. The three remained "loose friends" until he reconnected with Gerard at an Iron Maiden concert, which is where the formation of My Chemical Romance began.
Toro is a major contributor for all the My Chemical Romance instrumentals, as well as writing the majority of their music, and he often helps rhythm guitarist and a backup vocalist guitarist, Frank Iero, write his guitar music. Toro often harmonises his guitar solos, as heard on I'm Not Okay (I Promise). He has also been credited by Mikey Way as a "metalhead" due to his love of Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne. Unlike his bandmates, Toro is not a fan of punk or emo music. Toro cites Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Kirk Hammett and Jimmy Page as his guitar influences and had been quoted saying, "I'm into classic rock and metal. All of my style is patterned after these guys." He also had a large role in the music video for My Chemical Romance's first single off of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)". He plays an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul guitar which has a mahogany body with maple top and rosewood fingerboard.

Guitar playing style

Toro's guitar style has been heavily influenced by heavy metal of the 80's such as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. This can be heard in many of the rhythmic parts he plays with Frank Iero. A lot of his solos are based on hard rock and blues metal from the 70's, but have a very pop sound influenced by Johnny Marr, as mentioned on the Life on the Murder Scene DVD. On the forthcoming album "The Black Parade" distinct Brian May influences can be found in his playing, most noticeably in his solos. He has even been asked by the band Alkaline Trio to play on a song with the band.
Facts about Ray
-Ray has brown eyes-
-Ray has one tattoo-
-Ray is 6'1-
-Most feel it is an honor to play with Ray Toro-
-Ray has broken his nose 3 times-
-Ray's zodiac sign is a snake-
-Ray doesnt mind when people touch his hair,but understandably doesnt like it when fans pull on it-
-He has been asked by Alkaline Trio to play on a song with them-
-In Junior High,Ray stuck a runts candy in his nose(like a booger)to impress a girl,but unfortunately it got stuck in his nose and he had to go to the nurse to get it removed-
-In the Im not okay (i promise) video the reason he his spinning in the chair is to act like he trying to impress a girl and be "sexy" about it-
Wrapping things up As you can tell Ray Toro is more than the guy with the afro that can shred on his Epiphone guitar.

BOB

Born in Chicago, Bryar attended university in Gainesville, Florida and previously worked at Disney World as a drummer. He had attended Eisenhower Junior High in Daren, Illinois where he played drums in symphonic and jazz bands.

He joined the band in 2004 while working as a sound engineer for The Used, through whom he became friends with the members of My Chemical Romance. He first met the band on tour with The Used.Frank Iero, the rhythm guitarist of My Chemical Romance said on the DVD Life on the Murder Scene: "Bob and Toro are the two hardest working people I've ever met, and if there is a God, I thank him everyday for bringing us Bob." Mikey Way has also said Bob Bryar has taught them to "not take any shit from anybody."

He replaced Matt Pelissier when Pelissier left the band, after being a sound man for The Used for a few years. Contrary to popular belief, he did not play the drums for the band on their second album.

The video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was filmed with Bob drumming before he became an "official" member of the band.

In a clip from the making of the video "Welcome to the Black Parade", he said that he was working on a solo project, and all of the songs were written about Gerard, something that has become a joke among fans.

In the filming of the music video for "Famous Last Words", on The Black Parade, Bob's leg was badly burnt. He suffered third degree burns and later developed a gangrene infection from his burns. He went to a hospital afterwards and received treatment.