Biographic - Sunday September 25, 2016 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

As a teen growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way had two obsessions- music and comic books. So 2005 was a year of double triumph for the goth-punk quintet. Not only did the bad win the artist of the year award at the MTV Woodies, but they were also immortalized as a line of action figures! Although he dabbled in music as a teen, Gerard Way's passion was drawing, and he ended up studying at the school of visual arts in New York, graduating with a BFA in 1999. He subsequently worked at a company that sculpted action figures, and he tried his hand at pitching animation ideas to Cartoon Network. But by the end of 2001, making music was back at the top of his agenda. Teaming up with friend Ray Toro, he recruited drummer Matt Pelissier (later replaced by Bob Bryar) and recorded a demo. They soon persuaded Frank Iero and Gerard's kid brother, Mikey, to join the lineup. Taking the name My Chemical Romance from an Irvine Welsh novel, they began to build a loyal following through their intense live shows, releasing the album "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" on the small independent label Eyeball Records in 2002. Their big breakthrough came with the 2004 major-label release of "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge." it paved the way for the band's third studio album, 2006's "The Black Parade" which was a huge success, selling 3 million copies worldwide! My Chemical Romance toured the world and headlined major festivals, their fourth studio album, "Danger Days" The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" was released in 2010. A series of singles collected on the compilation album "Conventional Weapons" proved to be the final release, and My Chemical Romance disbanded in 2013. The band members have all since explored other musical avenues. Gerard, who has also enjoyed success as a comic book creator since 2007, released his solo album "Hesitant Alien." In 2014, having released a greatest hits album in 2014, the band has now commemorated the 10h anniversary of "The Black Parade" by reissuing the album with a collection of demos and rarities.

Tags