Frank Iero | |
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 Iero in 2014 | |
| Born | Frank Anthony Iero Jr. (1981-10-31)October 31, 1981 (age 44) Belleville, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
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| Formerly of | |
| Website | frank-iero |
Musical artist | |
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 therock bandMy Chemical Romance and as a guitarist in thesupergroupL.S. Dunes. He was also the lead vocalist of thepost-hardcore bandLeathermouth. He has a solo project titled Frank Iero and the Future Violents (formerly frnkiero andthe cellaboration and Frank Iero and the Patience). He released his debut solo album titledStomachaches on August 26, 2014.
Iero was born inBelleville, New Jersey.[1][2] As a child he suffered numerous bouts ofbronchitis and ear infections, spending much of his childhood in the hospital.[3] He attendedQueen of Peace High School.[4] He went toRutgers University on a scholarship but dropped out during his final year to go on tour withMy Chemical Romance.
Iero's parents split when he was young[5] 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.[6]
Iero started playing in local bands on theNew Jersey punk scene at age 11. Before joiningMy Chemical Romance he served as frontman for the punk bandPencey Prep. The band released an album,Heartbreak in Stereo, on the independent Eyeball Records before disbanding. Whilst playing with Pencey Prep he became friends withGerard Way and the other My Chemical Romance members, becoming a fan of their original demo and helping 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 inMy Chemical Romance.
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 albumI Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Iero performed on the band's second studio albumThree Cheers for Sweet Revenge, released on June 8, 2004. My Chemical Romance released their third studio albumThe Black Parade, on October 24, 2006. My Chemical Romance's fourth and final studio albumDanger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was released on November 22, 2010. The band announced their breakup on March 22, 2013.
Iero fronted thehardcore punk quintetLeathermouth, who released their debut albumXO in January 2009 onEpitaph Records. The band split later in 2010. He is involved in a tribute band tothe Cure named the Love Cats, after the song of the same name, and played bass withReggie 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 theTim Burton filmFrankenweenie. 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 bythe 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 withMy 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 .[7] He was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[8]
In early 2013 Iero andJames Dewees announced that they were working on a new project, adigital hardcore act calledDeath Spells. They also announced a tour supportingMindless 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 singleWhere Are My Fucking Pills? and an accompanying music video.[9] A full-length album was expected to be released in late 2013[10] but was delayed until 2016, when their albumNothing Above, Nothing Below was released on July 29 of that year.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13] 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 drummerJarrod Alexander. He also assembled a touring band composed of Evan Nestor,Rob Hughes and Matt Olsson.[14] In June 2014 he announced his signing to Staples Records and his debut album calledStomachaches due out August 25, under the monikerfrnkiero andthe cellabration. This was followed up with tour dates (a support slot on theTaking Back Sunday andthe 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 forMallory 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 forAgainst Me! in the US on a summer tour and ended the year on a headline run.
They performed two acoustic shows in New Jersey showcasing new material and announced that they were going into a 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 withthe 1975 in New Jersey and played bothRiot 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.[15] Iero released his second studio album titledParachutes on October 28 and returned to touring during 2017.[16]
On December 31, 2018 Iero announced his new solo moniker Frank Iero and the Future Violents.[17] 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.[18]
In August 2024, Iero announced and subsequently releasedXNauseousX, a deluxe version of his albumStomachaches to commemorate its ten-year anniversary.[19]
On October 31, 2019, My Chemical Romance announced they would be reuniting with a date inLos Angeles on December 20 and a new merchandise line.[24] They announced that they would also be playing shows in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in 2020.[25] The tour was later postponed to 2022, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[26][27] The last concert of the tour took place on March 26, 2023, inOsaka,Japan.
The band returned to headline theWhen We Were Young Festival in October 2024.[28] Shortly after, in November 2024, My Chemical Romance announcedLong Live The Black Parade Tour.[29] Opening on July 11, 2025, in Seattle Washington, the band toured until September 20, 2025, where they wrapped up their first leg of the tour in Atlanta at theShaky Knees festival.[30]
In the earlier days of My Chemical Romance Iero mainly used aGibson SG, and likely used this for his recording duties onI Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Although Iero continued to use his SG, he was well better known for usingEpiphoneLes 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 anMTV 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 forThe 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 aFender Stratocaster in theDesolation Row music video. In 2011 he collaborated with Epiphone to design theWilshire Phant-O-Matic guitar,[31] which he used onstage for the My Chemical Romance "World Contamination" Tour, the "Honda Civic" Tour and for the Reading and Leeds festivals.[32] 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 theMy Chemical Romance Reunion Tour (2019–2023) Iero had a much more expansive selection of guitars including his classic, anEpiphone Les Paul,Fender Telecaster,Fender Jaguar and more. Also for this tour, he received a new Dakota RedFender Custom ShopJazzmaster, alongside the band's bassistMikey Way (who collected his two signature-specFender Jazz Basses). Iero seems to have moved towardsFender Guitars recently while touring with MCR and also in his new band,L.S. Dunes.
Iero, along with theFender Custom Shop co-developed a guitar known as the "Frank"ensteinFender 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' vintageJazzmaster which was discovered in a waterlogged basement. Iero had the guitar finished in ablack relic with matchingheadstock,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 friendJames Bowman.[33]
When playing with ex-My Chemical Romance keyboardistJames Dewees' bandReggie and the Full Effect, replacing lateSlipknot bassistPaul Gray on bass, he played a blackFender Precision Bass through anAmpeg 8x10 amplifier previously owned by MCR bassistMikey Way, the latter of which he sold amongst many other items in his vast collection in 2023. Iero left the band in 2014.
| Epiphone Wilshire Phant-O-Matic | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Epiphone |
| Period | 2012 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid body, double cutaway |
| Neck joint | Set neck |
| Scale | 24.75" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Mahogany |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Pickup | Epiphone Les Paul |
| Colors available | |
| Antique Ivory, Emerald Green | |
TheEpiphone Wilshire Phant-o-matic is an electric guitar designed by Frank Iero alongside Epiphone. It is based on anEpiphone Wilshire body with many components off of anEpiphone 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 guitaristRay Toro, Epiphone guitars were always a cheap alternative to the likes ofFender andGibson 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.
Iero has many tattoos including logos for the bandsBlack Flag andThe Misfits, symbols of his love for his home state,New Jersey, a matching "revenge" tattoo withJames Dewees, and others by celebrity tattoo artistKat Von D: a Frankenstein's monster and portraits of his grandmothers and grandfather, all of which were featured in Von D's bookHigh Voltage Tattoo and the latter of which was done on an episode of her reality showLA 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 ofThe Black Parade.[34] 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.[35] On April 6, 2012, he announced via his official Twitter account that his wife had given birth to their son.[36][37]
On October 13, 2016, Iero was injured in a motor vehicle accident. As he and his band unloaded their van for a show inSydney, 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."[38][39]
In response toDonald Trump winning theUnited 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.'"[40]
In 2019, Iero shared in an interview with Hysteria magazine that he experiencessynesthesia, adding that “It’s very hard to explain because I don’t know why I feel that way or why I see it that way. I just know what it feels like when I write it.”[41]
He is a supporter ofLiverpool F.C.
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