Frank Iero

Frank Anthony Iero Jr (born October 31, 1981) is the rhythm guitarist, co-lead guitarist and backup vocalist of the alternative rock band My Chemical Romance as well as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band Leathermouth.

Early life

He was born in Belleville, New Jersey and grew up in Kearny, New Jersey.^[1] Iero attended Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington.^{[citation needed]} As a child he suffered numerous bouts of bronchitis and ear infections which meant he spent a lot of his childhood in hospital and to this day he still suffers from Epstein Barr Virus which is usually to blame for his illnesses and absences on tour.^[2] Frank is also lactose intolerant and has other various food allergies.^[3] He went to Rutgers University on a scholarship, but dropped out 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 urged him to play drums, but Iero later began playing the guitar.

Music career

Frank 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, became a fan of their original demo and helped them get their first shows. After his band broke up, Frank played in several bands, including I Am A Graveyard, Hybrid, Sector 12, and American Nightmare before being offered the slot of rhythm guitar in My Chemical Romance. Iero is also the frontman of hardcore punk quintet Leathermouth, who released their debut album XO in January 2009, on Epitaph Records. 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.
He was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.^[4]
On 7 December 2010, Iero parted ways with the record company Skeleton Crew he and his wife co-founded years earlier 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 at the same time.^[5]

Equipment

In the earlier days of My Chemical Romance, Iero mainly used Gibson SG's & Epiphone Les Paul guitars (most notably his white Les Paul nicknamed 'Pansy' which proved popular amongst his fans but has since been broken while onstage) and Marshall amps. He has since switched to using Gibson Les Pauls (with the Neck Pick-up removed) and occasionally uses a Gibson SG. For the "World Contamination Tour" he has also been using an Epiphone Wilshire. He also used a Fender Stratocaster in the Desolation Row video.

Personal life and political views

On March 9, 2008 Iero married his long-term girlfriend Jamia Nestor after proposing during the recording of The Black Parade.^[6]
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 acclaimed 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 featured.^[2] In the aforementioned book, Von D states that she was present at Iero's wedding indicating that the two have remained friends.
Iero has expressed his pro-gay rights stance on numerous occasions, including wearing a pro-gay marriage t-shirt on tour and his home-custom red 'Homophobia is gay' t-shirt which has become a fan favourite. He also revealed to Rock Sound magazine that he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
He has been a vegetarian since childhood after discovering the mistreatment animals endure in slaughterhouses and rearing farms and in 2008 PETA dubbed Iero one of the World's Sexiest Vegetarians, alongside Alyssa Milano.^[7]
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 named Cherry and Lily.

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