In the past year, My Chemical Romance, as a band, but also as individuals, has been through a lot. Gerard has watched his little brother marry, turned 30, and called off his own engagement. Yet he's very calm and accepting, and full of sage advice.
It's not entirely surprising, coming from the man who wrote the lyrics to The Black Parade, but some of it strikes a deep chord.
On turning 30:
"I actually really looked forward to it, and I was very content. I got a sense of peace from turning 30. I've met a couple of people who are obsessed with retaining their youth and Botox and everything. Each one of those age lines is an experience. Each one of those grey hairs is a good or a bad time you had to go through. I think it's gross that you would want to reverse the aging process, when in fact aging is what makes you more and more special."
On fan reaction to his engagement:
"I got a little bit of wind of it," Way says of the frenzy that greeted news of his engagement. I think it was big news more so for the fact that people really couldn't figure out my sexual orientation for the last six years. So I think that, if anything, it gave them a lot of answers.
When we were on Taste of Chaos, there were people I met in other bands that didn't even think I had relationships or anything, they thought I was some bizarre dude that just locks himself in a coffin every night, some kind of bizarre, over-driven, asexual weirdo."
On groupies:
"I didn't take advantage of any of that stuff, like groupies, because I was in a committed relationship at the time (the band began) for a long time, and I had a lot of respect for who I was with. Aside from that, it never interested me. It was all about the show, the creation, the moment and the movement. So I didn't really care. Being very unattached right now, I still don't care about that stuff."
On home:
"I constantly have to redefine what real life is for myself. I'm still homeless, and it's starting to get to a point where it's getting really old, and I really need to settle down somewhere. I mean, I'm a very unattached person, so I could kind of drift wherever I want, which is a great, liberating feeling. But sometimes when you're home off the road, if you don't have a home, you start to feel like you're still on tour."
Most people who have -- or haven't -- met Gerard tend to think of him as "interesting." Although "attractive" could trump it, "interesting" tends to be my first thought as well. Someone so driven to create, to make art -- be it music, drawings, or comics -- that he doesn't really bother to have a home? And considers it "really old," rather than a "holy crap!" sort of situation? Interesting. Someone who doesn't freak out about grey hairs? Interesting.
For one of the world's biggest rock stars, Gerard has an amazingly laid-back, come-what-may attitude, while simultaneously expressing deep emotions that resonate with millions of people. Perhaps that's what draws fans to him and his music -- both the sense of understanding, as much as the desire to have that same Zen-like attitude. Because it sure as hell is hard to obtain.
