Gerard Way facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gerard Way
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Way in 2017
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| Born |
Gerard Arthur Way
April 9, 1977 Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lindsey Ballato
(m. 2007) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is most famous as the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He also released his first solo album, Hesitant Alien, in 2014.
Way helped create and write the comic series The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and The Umbrella Academy. The Umbrella Academy was later made into a very popular Netflix TV show. He also started DC Comics' Young Animal comic book line. He wrote the main series for this line, called Doom Patrol.
Contents
Early Life and Creative Start
Gerard Way was born in Summit, New Jersey, on April 9, 1977. His parents are Donna Lee and Donald Way. He has Italian and Scottish family roots. He grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, with his brother Mikey Way.
Gerard first sang in public in fourth grade. He played Peter Pan in a school musical. His grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, was a big creative influence. She taught him to sing, paint, and perform from a young age. He said she taught him "everything I know." The band Bon Jovi also helped him love music. His first concert was Bruce Springsteen.
Way graduated from Belleville High School in 1995. He decided to work in the comic-book industry. He went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He earned a degree in 1999.
Music Career Highlights
My Chemical Romance: The Early Years
As teenagers, Gerard and his brother Mikey Way loved bands like Iron Maiden and Queen. Mikey later became the bassist for My Chemical Romance. Gerard first wanted to be a guitarist. His grandmother bought him his first guitar when he was eight. He played in small bands, but he wasn't very good at guitar. So, he decided to focus on his art instead.
Gerard was working in New York City during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Seeing these events made him think differently about life. To help with his feelings, Way wrote the song "Skylines and Turnstiles." This became the first song for My Chemical Romance.
Way also sang on songs for other bands. These include "Kill the Music" by Every Time I Die and "Graduation Day" by Head Automatica. He also wrote the song "Helena" to honor his late grandmother.
On March 22, 2013, My Chemical Romance announced they were breaking up.
Solo Music: Hesitant Alien and Beyond
In May 2014, Way announced he had signed with Warner Bros. Records. He was finishing his first solo album. He released a new song, "Action Cat," in June. This was a preview of his new album. He also announced his first solo shows at Reading and Leeds Festivals 2014.
On August 19, Way released a music video for "No Shows." This was the first single from his new album. The album, called Hesitant Alien, came out on September 30, 2014. Way said he liked the energy of Britpop music. He wanted to bring parts of that style to America.
In 2015, Way performed at the Australian 2015 Soundwave music festivals. He also played at the Boston Calling Music Festival. On Record Store Day 2016, Way released two new songs from Hesitant Alien: "Don't Try" and "Pinkish."
Later Solo Songs and Reunion
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On October 26, 2018, Way released his first solo song in over two years. It was called "Baby You're a Haunted House." His brother, Mikey Way, played bass on the song. A lyric video with skeleton-masked musicians came out the same day.
On November 15, Way released another song, "Getting Down the Germs." He wrote this with his former bandmate Ray Toro. Way said this song showed where his music was heading. On December 14, he released "Dasher," which featured Lydia Night. This Christmas song was about a girl who loved a reindeer.
In January 2019, Way released a cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" by Simon & Garfunkel. This song was used in the trailer for The Umbrella Academy TV show. In February 2019, he released a cover of "Happy Together" by The Turtles. This song also appeared in The Umbrella Academy.
On October 31, 2019, My Chemical Romance announced they were getting back together. They planned a show in Los Angeles in December. They later announced a tour for 2020, but it was moved to 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In July 2020, Way released a new song called "Here Comes the End." It featured singer Judith Hill and was on the second season of The Umbrella Academy. In November 2024, My Chemical Romance announced the Long Live The Black Parade Tour for 2025. This tour celebrates their album The Black Parade.
Gerard Way and The Hormones
When Gerard Way performs solo, he has a live band called The Hormones. They play instruments and sing backup.
Note: This was the band that toured with him for Hesitant Alien.
- Gerard Way – lead vocals, percussion
- Ian Fowles – guitar, backing vocals
- Matt Gorney – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jarrod Alexander – drums, percussion
- James Dewees – keyboards, synthesizer, piano, backing vocals
Other Musical Projects
In 2008, Way worked with Julien-K to remix a song by The Cure. All money from this song went to the International Red Cross. In 2009, Way worked with Japanese singer Kyosuke Himuro. They made a new theme song for the movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete. Way wrote the lyrics and sang on the song, called "Safe and Sound."
Way also helped produce the album I'm a UFO in This City (2012) by the band LostAlone. He sang on "Falling in Love Will Kill You" for Kill Hannah frontman Mat Devine's solo project. In 2015, Way helped write and sang backup on "Louder Than Your Love" for Black Veil Brides singer Andy Black. In 2022, he was featured on the song Rōnin by Trivium's lead singer Matt Heafy's project, Ibaraki.
Creative Writing and Comics
Writing Comic Books
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Gerard Way first tried writing a comic book when he was 16, in 1993. It was called On Raven's Wings. But the series stopped after two issues.
In 2007, Way started writing the comic-book series The Umbrella Academy. Way wrote the story and drew the first version. Artist Gabriel Bá then redrew the art for the first book, Apocalypse Suite.
Apocalypse Suite first came out in a special comic book day issue in May 2007. The first official issue of The Umbrella Academy was released on September 19, 2007. It was so popular that it sold out and was printed again. Apocalypse Suite also won an Eisner Award in 2008 for Best Limited Series. The next book, Dallas, came out in 2008. A third book, Hotel Oblivion, was released in 2018–2019.
Way also created another comic series called The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys with Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan. This series continued ideas from the My Chemical Romance album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.
In 2014, Way started writing for Marvel Comics. He wrote for the Spider-Man series Edge of Spider-Verse. His story introduced Peni Parker, a Japanese-American student who pilots a robot suit called SP//dr.
On March 21, 2024, Way announced a new comic book series called Paranoid Gardens. The first issue is set to come out in July.
Television Work
In 2001, Way helped create a cartoon called The Breakfast Monkey. They showed it to Cartoon Network, but the network didn't pick it up.
In 2013, Way directed and co-wrote an episode of The Aquabats! Super Show! for The Hub. His brother Mikey also appeared in the episode. The next year, Way was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his writing on the show.
In 2018, the character Peni Parker, who Way co-created, appeared in the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Way was also a co-executive producer for the TV show based on his comic book series. He worked on the show from 2019 to 2024.
Personal Life and Family
On September 3, 2007, Gerard Way married Lyn-Z. She is the bassist for the band Mindless Self Indulgence. They got married backstage after a concert in Colorado. Their daughter was born on May 27, 2009. They live in Los Angeles.
Way was raised Catholic. In 2013, he said he was a theist and believed he received his artistic gifts from God. In June 2015, Way shared on Twitter that he uses he and they pronouns.
In 2015, Way said on Reddit that he is a first cousin once removed of comedian Joe Rogan. Rogan confirmed this in 2019, but said they had never met.
Music Releases
Studio Albums
- Hesitant Alien (2014)
Other Recordings
- "O Waly, Waly" (2014)
- "Pinkish" / "Don't Try" (2016)
- "Into the Cave We Wander" (with Ray Toro, 2016)
- "Baby You're a Haunted House" (2018)
- "Getting Down the Germs" (2018)
- "Dasher" (featuring Lydia Night, 2018)
- "Hazy Shade of Winter" (featuring Ray Toro, 2019)
- "Happy Together" (featuring Ray Toro, 2019)
- "Here Comes the End" (featuring Judith Hill, 2020)
Guest Performances
- "Jet Black New Year" (by Thursday, backing vocals, 2002)
- "Devil in Mexico" (by Murder by Death, backing vocals, 2003)
- "Barnabus Collins Has More Skeletons in His Closet than Vincent Price" (by The Oval Portrait, backing vocals, 2003)
- "From My Cold Dead Hands" (by The Oval Portrait, backing vocals, 2003)
- "Kill the Music" (by Every Time I Die, backing vocals, 2005)
- "Graduation Day" (by Head Automatica, backing vocals, 2006)
- "In Defense of the Genre" (by Say Anything, backing vocals, 2007)
- "Safe and Sound" (by Kyosuke Himuro, vocals, 2009)
- "My Space" (by Evelyn Evelyn, backing vocals, 2010)
- "Professional Griefers" (by Deadmau5, vocals, 2012)
- "Falling in Love (Will Kill You)" (by Wrongchilde, vocals, 2014)
- "Louder Than Your Love" (by Andy Black, backing vocals, 2016)
- "Sailor in a Life Boat" (by Euringer, backing vocals, 2018)
- "Rōnin" (by Ibaraki, unclean vocals, 2022)
Remixes
- "Sleep When I'm Dead" (Remix 4) (by The Cure, remix with Julien-K, 2008)
Film and TV Appearances
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Yo Gabba Gabba! | Himself | Episode: "A Very Awesome Christmas" |
| 2013 | The Aquabats! Super Show! | Co-writer, co-director | Episode: "Anti-bats!" |
| 2015 | Pancake Mountain | Himself | |
| 2019–2024 | The Umbrella Academy | Co-executive producer |
See also
In Spanish: Gerard Way para niños
