Frank Iero on the year after the accident, roasting fans and more
In AP 354 (January 2018), Frank Iero shared his thoughts with us in our 10 Topics section. In typically Frank form, he was funny, dead honest and positively awesome. Jason Pettigrew gave him the prompts and he took it from there.
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THE SONG YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN.
Oh man, where do I start? [The Cure’s] “Boys Don’t Cry,” definitely. [The Who’s] “My Generation.” [Black Flag’s] “Nervous Breakdown.”
THE ONE FOOD YOU USED TO LOVE THAT YOU NOW CAN’T STAND.
Canned, creamed spinach. I remember as a very young kid, that was my favorite food. Just saying…actually, thinking those words…[Shudders.]
THE YEAR AFTER THE ACCIDENT.
Tumultuous and totally nonlinear. We played a show on the anniversary of it, and it was this weird, bittersweet moment. We ended up coming home on the exact same day that we came from Australia. JFK, the same fucking airport. It was very surreal. It sent me into this weird spiral for at least a week, almost starting back to square one.
Read more: Frank Iero reveals the MCR reunion clues in front of us all along.
After you endure something like that, you don’t progress in an uphill form; it’s very choppy. One day, I’m like [exuberantly], “Oh, my God! This is great! I’m fine! I don’t even think about it!” And the next day feels like the day the accident happened. Your body fucking hurts, and your mind is reeling from it. I go through that a lot. A big part of me had to get back on the road in this defiant stance against what happened to us and take control of our lives again. “As soon as the doctor is silly enough to let us go on tour again, we’re going.” We did that and it did give us something to strive for, but I feel like now, with hindsight being 20/20, it might not have been the best thing for our recovery. I definitely rushed us through it, and I had good intentions, but I think now, I’m definitely feeling it. To start the year thinking you’ll never play again to six months later, being on the road nonstop for another six months…
THE ONE PLACE YOU VISIT IN EVERY CITY.
It’s usually a record store. Usually on tour, I wake up every morning and I have an app that tells me where the local record stores are.
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IF PUNK ROCK IS ANY BETTER, A YEAR INTO THE PRESIDENCY.
Oh, man. I hope so. Something’s gotta get better. I feel like…I don’t know. There’s so much fucked-up stuff that’s happening on an hourly basis, it’s hard to take a stand on anything because the next thing is even more fucked up.
WHY YOU ROAST YOUR FANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
[Extreme laughter.] Because it’s funny. Next question.
WHAT YOU LOVE AND HATE ABOUT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
[Laughs.] The same fear-based cycle of doing the same thing over and over again or making the same mistakes. That drives me insane. People are scared to take a risk on things because the sales aren’t there, so you keep rehashing the same stuff that’s not selling. The hope comes from the fact that it does sometimes feel like the wild West and that the people with all the money don’t actually hold all the power.
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DO YOU CRINGE AT THE SOUND OF THE WORD “REUNION?”
[Extreme laughter.] I do not! I was really, really, really excited for Jawbreaker to reunite. And I feel like that stuff is really awesome. I got to see the Misfits in Chicago, and I loved every single second of it: It was everything I wanted it to be. I missed Jawbreaker: I had tickets to the show and bought a plane ticket and then my son fell off a slide and broke his arm two hours before I had to leave for the airport. It’s the second arm he’s broken in nine months—he’s a maniac! Me and Armbreaker hung out instead of Jawbreaker. [Laughter.]
Anyway, I’m also getting to see bands I never thought I’d get to see. Oh and by the way, I’m not stupid: I know what you’re talking about. In my younger days, I used to cringe at all kinds of things. Now that I’m older, not so cringey. Times are different.
YOUR NEXT TATTOO.
I just did a Jesus head on my left thigh and on my right thigh there’s going to be a devil head. I just haven’t gotten the time to book [the session] just yet.
WHEN YOUR DAUGHTERS TURN 16, HOW WILL YOU TORTURE THEIR DATES?
[Laughs.] I think I’ll pack the house with all of my goon friends. Just fill the place up with the most hardcore, tattooed-face idiots I know!
Frank Iero will return to the stage with My Chemical Romance for a string of festival dates beginning in March. The band will then embark on a sold out North American tour this fall. See all of the upcoming shows and grab the remaining tickets here.
