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Frank Iero

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Frank Iero
Iero performing in September 2014
Iero performing in September 2014
Background information
Born (1981-10-31) October 31, 1981 (age 43)
Belleville, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • bass
  • vocals
Years active1997–present
Labels
Member of
Formerly of
Websitefrank-iero.com
Spouse
Jamia Nestor
​
(m. 2007)​
Children3

Frank Anthony Iero, Jr. (/aɪˈɛ.roʊ/, born October 31, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist of the rock band My Chemical Romance and as a guitarist in the supergroup L.S. Dunes. He was also the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore band Leathermouth. He has a solo project titled Frank Iero and the Future Violents (formerly frnkiero andthe cellabration and Frank Iero and the Patience). He released his debut solo album titled Stomachaches on August 26, 2014.

Early life

Iero was born in Belleville, New Jersey.[1][2] As a child he suffered numerous bouts of bronchitis and ear infections, spending much of his childhood in the hospital.[3] He attended Queen of Peace High School.[4] He went to Rutgers University on a scholarship but dropped out his final year of college to go on tour with My Chemical Romance.

Iero's parents split when he was young and he grew up living with his mother, who lent out her basement to her son's many band practices; his father and grandfather were musicians and both were big influences on Iero when he was young. His father had taught him to play drums but Iero later began playing the guitar.[5]

Music career

Early bands and Pencey Prep (1997–2002)

Iero started playing in local bands on the New Jersey punk scene at age 11. Before joining My Chemical Romance he served as frontman for the punk band Pencey Prep. The band released an album, Heartbreak in Stereo, on the independent Eyeball Records before disbanding. Whilst playing with Pencey Prep he became friends with Gerard Way and the other My Chemical Romance members, and became a fan of their original demo and helped them get their first shows. After his band broke up Iero played in several bands including I Am A Graveyard, Hybrid, and Sector 12 before being offered the slot of rhythm guitar in My Chemical Romance.

My Chemical Romance (2002–2013)

Main article: My Chemical Romance
Iero (far left) with My Chemical Romance in 2007

Iero joined My Chemical Romance in 2002 and was featured on two tracks, "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" and "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville", on their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Iero performed on the band's second studio album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, released on June 8, 2004. My Chemical Romance released their third studio album The Black Parade, on October 24, 2006. My Chemical Romance's fourth and final studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was released on November 22, 2010. The band announced their breakup on March 22, 2013.

Leathermouth and side projects (2007–2016)

Iero fronted the hardcore punk quintet Leathermouth, who released their debut album XO in January 2009 on Epitaph Records. The band split later in 2010. He is involved in a tribute band to the Cure named the Love Cats, after the song of the same name, and played bass with Reggie and the Full Effect on their farewell tour. His first solo song "This Song Is A Curse"' was released as a bonus track on the official soundtrack to the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie. He later posted an anti-Xmas track he recorded as a joke in 15 minutes and followed that up with a cover of the song 'Be My Baby', originally made famous by the Ronettes.

On December 7, 2010, Iero left the record company Skeleton Crew that he and his wife had co-founded in order to concentrate on his family and his music with My Chemical Romance, stating that although he would have loved to carry on, he could not juggle his career with the band, the new additions to his family (newborn daughters), and co-running a business .[6] He was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[7]

In early 2013 Iero and James Dewees announced that they were working on a new project, a digital hardcore act called Death Spells. They also announced a tour supporting Mindless Self Indulgence and a performance at the Skate and Surf Festival in New Jersey. Starting a week before the Mindless Self Indulgence tour Death Spells posted a short demo of a new song each night at midnight, culminating this with their first full single Where Are My Fucking Pills? and an accompanying music video.[8] A full-length album was expected to be released in late 2013[9] but was delayed until 2016, when their album Nothing Above, Nothing Below was released on July 29 of that year.[10]

During Death Spells' initial inactivity in 2013 Iero performed new solo songs live and posted others to his SoundCloud, then implied he had a full album worth of songs wrote with more content being created on a continuous basis. This was confirmed to be for a solo album.[11]

Solo career (2013–present)

On November 28, 2013 he announced via his official website and his Twitter account that a two-track release entitled "For Jamia..." would be released digitally and via limited vinyl on December 10.[12] After his former band broke up Iero began writing songs in his home studio. Throughout the rest of 2013 he started playing a couple of songs live at events, posted a demo of "joyriding", and recorded a full-length album. Iero plays everything on the album except for drums which were handled by former My Chemical Romance drummer Jarrod Alexander. He also assembled a touring band composed of Evan Nestor, Rob Hughes and Matt Olsson.[13] In June 2014 he announced his signing to Staples Records and his debut album called Stomachaches due out August 25, under the moniker frnkiero andthe cellabration. This was followed up with tour dates (a support slot on the Taking Back Sunday and the Used co-headline US fall tour) and a debut single called "Weighted". On August 4, 2014 he released the music video for this song. A second single and accompanying video for the song "Joyriding" was released. The band opened for Mallory Knox in the UK in November 2014 on their first overseas run. The band announced headline dates for 2015 in Mexico, the US, and Europe and played the Reading and Leeds festivals of that year. The band also opened for Against Me! in the US on a summer tour and ended the year on a headline run.

Frank Iero and the Future Violents performing in Chile, as part of their Southamerican Tour 2019

They performed two acoustic shows in New Jersey showcasing new material and announcing they were go into studio to record a second album in two weeks. On May 22, 2016 they officially announced recording a new album and an Australian tour, with a name change to the band, to be then known as Frank Iero and the Patience. The band performed at Shadow of the City with the 1975 in New Jersey and played both Riot Fest dates (Denver and Chicago) in September 2016. After a motor vehicle accident that injured Iero and his bandmates, all remaining 2016 dates were canceled.[14] Iero released his second studio album titled Parachutes on October 28 and returned to touring during 2017.[15]

On December 31, 2018 Iero announced his new solo moniker Frank Iero and the Future Violents.[16] He released his third solo studio album, Barriers, under the new moniker on May 31, 2019. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.[17]

Live band members

Frank Iero and the Future Violents[18][19]
  • Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
  • Evan Nestor – guitars, percussion, backing vocals
  • Matt Armstrong – bass guitar
  • Tucker Rule – drums, percussion
  • Kayleigh Goldsworthy – keyboards, violin, mandolin, backing vocals
Frank Iero and the Patience[20]
  • Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
  • Evan Nestor – guitars, backing vocals
  • Steve Evetts – bass guitar
  • Matt Olson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
frnkiero andthe cellabration.[21]
  • Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
  • Evan Nestor – guitars, backing vocals
  • Rob Hughes – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Matt Olson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Timeline

My Chemical Romance Reunion (2019–present)

Main article: My Chemical Romance Reunion Tour

On October 31, 2019, My Chemical Romance announced they would be reuniting with a date in Los Angeles on December 20 and a new merchandise line.[22] They announced that they would also be playing shows in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in 2020.[23] The tour was later postponed to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24][25] The last concert of the tour took place on March 26, 2023, in Osaka, Japan. The status of the band post-tour is currently unknown.

Equipment

In the earlier days of My Chemical Romance Iero mainly used a Gibson SG, and likely used this for his recording duties on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Although Iero continued to use his SG, he was well better known for using Epiphone Les Paul guitars, particularly a Japanese made Les Paul Elitist model finished in Antique Ivory known as "Pansy", which became the hero guitar of Iero's collection, so much so he has built replicas for decoration in his home. However, at an MTV performance around 2006 Pansy was destroyed after it was intended to be thrown through an MTV sign, however the integrity of such sign was underestimated and resulted in the fracture of the neck of the Pansy guitar. The neck has since been repaired and the truss rod replaced and remains in Iero's personal collection. After this Iero moved to Gibson Les Paul guitars for The Black Parade, including his Antique White Gibson Les Paul Studio. Iero also used a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Junior whilst touring in support of the album. Another Epiphone Les Paul Elitist was used by Iero touring for The Black Parade, alongside another guitar known as "Zombie". Iero used a Fender Stratocaster in the Desolation Row music video. In 2011 he collaborated with Epiphone to design the Wilshire Phant-O-Matic guitar,[26] which he used onstage for the My Chemical Romance "World Contamination" Tour, the "Honda Civic" Tour and for the Reading and Leeds festivals.[27] He continued to use this guitar while touring on with his own bands. He also uses the Orange Rockerverb MKII 100 head and Orange 160 Watt Guitar 4x10 Vintage Cabinet. He primarily uses a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal as his main overdrive.

For the My Chemical Romance Reunion Tour (2019–2023) Iero had a much more expansive selection of guitars including his classic, an Epiphone Les Paul, Fender Telecaster, Fender Jaguar and more. Also for this tour, he received a new Dakota Red Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster, alongside the band's bassist Mikey Way (who collected his two signature-spec Fender Jazz Basses). Iero seems to have moved towards Fender Guitars recently while touring with MCR and also in his new band, L.S. Dunes.

Iero, along with the Fender Custom Shop co-developed a guitar known as the "Frank"enstein Fender Jaguar, which has now become a staple of Iero's collection, Based upon the body of a long scale Jaguar crafted by Masterbuilder Dennis Galuszka, combined with the neck of 'offset connoisseur' Mike 'Puisheen' Adams' vintage Jazzmaster which was discovered in a waterlogged basement. Iero had the guitar finished in a black relic with matching headstock, tortoiseshell pick guard, rosewood fingerboard and pearloid block inlays. The rear of example 1 of 2 features 'BCALM' in holographic letters reminiscent of his iconic Pansy guitar. Example 1 also features custom Scorpion inlaid speed dial knobs crafted by Iero's friend James Bowman. [28]

When playing with ex-My Chemical Romance keyboardist James Dewees' band Reggie and the Full Effect, replacing late Slipknot bassist Paul Gray on bass, he played a black Fender Precision Bass through an Ampeg 8x10 amplifier previously owned by MCR bassist Mikey Way, the latter of which he sold amongst many other items in his vast collection in 2023. Iero left the band in 2014.

Epiphone Frank Iero Wilshire Phant-O-Matic

Epiphone Wilshire Phant-O-Matic
ManufacturerEpiphone
Period2012
Construction
Body typeSolid body, double cutaway
Neck jointSet neck
Scale24.75"
Woods
BodyMahogany
NeckMahogany
FretboardRosewood
Hardware
Pickup(s)Epiphone Les Paul
Colors available
Antique Ivory, Emerald Green

The Epiphone Wilshire Phant-o-matic is an electric guitar designed by Frank Iero alongside Epiphone. It is based on an Epiphone Wilshire body with many components off of an Epiphone Les Paul, such as the neck and pickups. The guitar was birthed from Iero's long-lasting relationship with Epiphone guitars, saying in an interview that back when the band was first starting out they would need to be careful with money and spend it only where they needed, and stated that between him and lead guitarist Ray Toro, Epiphone guitars were always a cheap alternative to the likes of Fender and Gibson guitars that would also hold up on the road. When Epiphone reached out to Iero about supplying guitars for their upcoming tours and the idea of a signature was thrown in the air, Iero swooped on it to create a guitar that retained the Les Paul tone and feel whilst shedding the weight of a Les Paul to reduce fatigue and back strain. The Phant-o-matic was available in Antique Ivory and Emerald Green.

Personal life and political views

Frank Iero shows his hand tattoos to a fan.

Iero has many tattoos including logos for the bands Black Flag and The Misfits, symbols of his love for his home state, New Jersey, a matching "revenge" tattoo with James Dewees, and others by celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D: a Frankenstein's monster and portraits of his grandmothers and grandfather, all of which were featured in Von D's book High Voltage Tattoo and the latter of which was done on an episode of her reality show LA Ink in which Iero was featured. Others among Iero's best-known tattoos include the words 'BOOKWORM' and 'HALLOWEEN' across his knuckles.[3]

On February 5, 2007, Iero married his long-term girlfriend Jamia Nestor after proposing on May 25, 2006, during the recording of The Black Parade.[29] On September 7, 2010, Iero announced on the My Chemical Romance official website that he and his wife Jamia had become parents of twin girls.[30] On April 6, 2012, he announced via his official Twitter account that his wife had given birth to their son.[31][32]

On October 13, 2016, Iero was injured in a motor vehicle accident. As he and his band unloaded their van for a show in Sydney, Australia, a passenger bus with no passengers hit them. Iero was dragged about 10 feet along the curb by the bus and credits "an enormous rucksack" for saving his life that day. He canceled all remaining 2016 shows and would later speak about that day saying, "It's incredible to me that we're all still alive. No one that witnessed the accident thought that we would be."[33][34]

In response to Donald Trump winning the United States presidential election of 2016 Iero tweeted, "I feel sad and ashamed. This morning, all I could say to my kids when they woke up was 'I'm so sorry.'"[35]

Discography

References

  1. ^ "Frank Iero - Biography, Albums, Streaming Links - AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  2. ^ La Gorce, Tammy. "Bellowing Like Iron Maiden, but Very, Very Sensitive" Archived April 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed November 2, 2007. "Which is more what Mr. Way – along with his bassist and brother, Mikey; Ray Toro, a guitarist from Belleville; Frank Iero, a guitarist from Sheffield; and the Chicago-area drummer Bob Bryer – is going for..."
  3. ^ a b "Frank Iero". ImNotOkay.net. October 31, 1981. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  4. ^ Foster, D. R. "Where they are now: They hail from here; But they left their mark on the world", South Bergenite, June 24, 2009. Accessed June 24, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Last but not least, North Arlington's Queen of Peace High School recently produced Frank Iero, rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist for the pop punkemo band My Chemical Romance."
  5. ^ "Drummer renounced promising career to raise son, a future punk rock idol". Community News. December 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Leading Skeleton Crew Online Site on the Net". SkeletonCrewOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  7. ^ "7th Annual Judges". Independent Music Awards. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  8. ^ Whitt, Cassie (April 8, 2013). "Death Spells (Frank Iero and James Dewees) release video for 'Where Are My Fucking Pills?'". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  9. ^ Whitt, Cassie (June 3, 2013). "'The plan is to have a Death Spells release out this year' – Frank Iero on post-My Chem projects". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  10. ^ Pettigrew, Jason (June 26, 2016). "Frank Iero and James Dewees bring catharsis with Death Spells' debut LP". Alternative Press. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  11. ^ [1] Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ frnkiero: Party Dad [@FrankIero] (November 28, 2013). "'for jamia...' by frnkiero. 2 songs, digital & limited vinyl available dec.10, 2013.more details this weekend xofrnk" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Whitt, Cassie (August 4, 2014). "Frnkiero Andthe Cellabration release "Weighted" video". Alt Press. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  14. ^ "Frank Iero: Ex-My Chemical Romance star cancels tour following bus crash - NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "Frank Iero and the Patience's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives". www.concertarchives.org. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  16. ^ "Frank Iero Officially Announces the Name of His New Band". Alternative Press. December 31, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 5, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Frank Iero and the Future Violents – Barriers (2019, Clear w/ Gold Splatter [24k Lush], Vinyl)". Discogs.
  19. ^ "Frank Iero and the Future Violence – Heaven is a Place, This is a Place (2021, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  20. ^ "Frank Iero and the Patience - Parachutes". Discogs.
  21. ^ "Frnkiero Andthe Cellabration release "Weighted" video". Alternative Press. August 4, 2014.
  22. ^ "Like Phantoms Forever... Tickets on Sale Friday 11/1/19 at 12:00 PM Pacific". Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2019 – via Instagram.
  23. ^ "My Chemical Romance announce three 2020 dates". November 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "Check Out My Chemical Romance's Rescheduled US Tour Dates for 2021". June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020 – via NME.
  25. ^ Campbell, Rachel (April 16, 2021). "My Chemical Romance reschedule tour dates for 2022". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  26. ^ "Epiphone Wilshire Phantomatic". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  27. ^ "Introducing the Epiphone Wilshire Phant-o-matic". Epiphone.com. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  28. ^ "#AMGearstories: Frank Iero talks about his Fender Custom Shop "Frank"enstein Long Scale Jaguar". Alto music. August 12, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  29. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ^ Iero, Frank (September 7, 2010). "To Kill A Demon Shark". Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  31. ^ frnkiero: Party Dad [@FrankIero] (April 6, 2012). "AHH-MAZING!!! He's here!!! My son was born today!!! @jamiasan is the absolute greatest ever!!! Xoxox" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ frnkiero: Party Dad [@FrankIero] (April 7, 2012). "Thanks for all the congrats & well wishes! Mommy & baby are well. Miles spent his first day alive consistently pissed & devilishly handsome" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ "Frank Iero opens up on accident for first time: "It's incredible to me that we're all still alive" - News - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. January 7, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  34. ^ "Frank Iero: Ex-My Chemical Romance star cancels tour following bus crash - NME". NME. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  35. ^ "How the Music Scene Responded to Donald Trump Becoming the US President". Deadpress. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  36. ^ "Kerrang! Does Green Day's American Idiot Tribute Album - Kerrang!". Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
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