Gerard Way

Former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way follows the September 29th release of his debut solo album ‘Hesitant Alien’ by embarking upon his first full solo tour in November.

Working with producer Doug McKean, Way knew immediately what he wanted ‘Hesitant Alien’ to sound like. “I wanted to make the small things sound big,” he says. “My intention was to make 100 percent uncompromised art, using the currently least radio-friendly instrument, the guitar. I knew there would be lots of fuzz pedals. I knew I would play Fender instruments. I knew I would look at who my guitar heroes were in art school, Mary Timony and Carrie Brownstein, and I drew a lot of influence from shoe-gaze and Britpop. I want the record to sonically galvanize people.”

Lyrically, Way wrote about what he knew at the time, “which was struggle, beginnings, finding a newness in the mundane and the abstract,” he says. “I looked to the Britpop poets like Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn, drawing upon everyday life. I also experimented with the abstract, and looked at Frank Black's work both with the Pixies, and as a solo artist. There was no concept and no call-to-arms.”

The reaction to his initial solo shows – a low-key introduction in Portsmouth as well as opening slots at the Reading and Leeds Festivals - demonstrated that his solo work will also be blessed with the huge fan adoration that accompanied My Chemical Romance’s rise to the top.