Has Forte found Chuck E Cheese’s number one fan? Whilst chatting to the former My Chemical Romance guitarist, Frank Iero, the multi-faceted artist let it slip that most of his downtime is spent at the American chain family restaurant.
“Whatever down time I have, it’s gladly spent with my kids and my wife. And for some reason that usually entails either Disney or Chuck E Cheese, I don’t know why, I think they enjoy it.”
But we think it may be him.
“I know! I totally do enjoy it. Any place that serves like overpriced drinks with a mouse, I’m there.”
In addition to his obsession with Chuck E Cheese, Iero has shown affection for music with chart-topping hits and multi-platinum albums since the early 2000s. A musician of many faces, most would remember Iero as the guitarist from the popular rock outfit My Chemical Romance, but the adept performer also spent time as vocalist of hardcore-punk Leathermouth and electronic-hardcore act Death Spells, and most recently as frontman of solo punk rock project frnkiero andthe patience.
With the upcoming release of his follow up album, Iero is preparing for a return trip Down Under with frnkiero andthe patience, making it his first stop before the new record comes out.
This tour comes not long after his recent trip to Australia where he performed free acoustic shows in Melbourne and Sydney following the cancellation of Soundwave, winning the hearts of his Aussie fans. “I’m over the moon seriously I can’t wait to come back to Australia. We were really looking forward to it for a very long time, you know, so we were like well who cares there’s no Soundwave tour, does that mean we can’t go? Like no, I guess not, so we came and it was awesome!
“I’ve always had a good time down there. It’s one of those places you know that just seems like it has these magical qualities. I think people really like music over there and I enjoy playing over there so I wanted to come to you guys first.”
For the fans lucky enough to attend one of the performances in October, expect to be the first to hear music from the new record, which will be sporting a completely different theme to the Stomachache album to reflect the changes in his life; including being a father, the passing of his grandfather and navigating the ups and downs of being an adult – a time in his life where all he says he needs is patience.
“I put a lot of myself into this record and it took a lot out of me. And I think it’s better for it – it’s such a passion project. This sounds so weird I guess, but if I was to be remembered along the line for one thing I did; I hope it’s this record.”
Joining Iero on his Aussie tour is rock musician and producer Walter Schreifels from New York. Being a fan of Walter’s for as long as he can remember, the two met a year ago and playing together has since been on the cards, now becoming a “dream come true” for Iero: “Honestly like even if I wasn’t excited to do the tour, I’d be just as excited to watch him every night.”
On announcinggggg the tour for frnkiero andthe patience, Iero confused fans worldwide with the unexplained name change, as his first album was actually released from frnkiero andthe celebration. Forte attempts to clear this up with the mysterious musician, who laughs as he prepares to explain himself.
“Okay well people always want a band to go into a studio and kind of reinvent themselves and do something new, right? Well, after the band comes out and they have this record and then it’s like wow it doesn’t even sound like that band anymore. You know what I mean?
“So I thought the way around that was to go into the studio, reinvent the music and call the band something new. So basically, I think for every record a band has to change. And so if the band is going to change, then the name has to change too.”
While Iero has been in many bands and is somewhat a creative genius in his artistry, his experience as frontman has not come easy to the former MCR rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist, forcing him to wear his emotions on his sleeve for the world to see.
“It’s very tasking and it is a hard position to be in – misunderstood and so very understood at the same time, you know what I mean? You try your best sometimes but it’s a hard thing to struggle the doubt, and that’s the hardest position to be in.”
With new perspectives, wider experiences and greater confidence in his music, Iero leaves Forte with some serious advice. “Just before I was about to play a show I was told: ‘Play all the wrong notes, as if they were the right one’. And I thought that was really awesome. To me, that means a couple of things. One; you know sometimes the best things can be really the things you fuck up, and two; it also means that if you mess up, no one knows. Just play it off like you got it.”
Quite frankly, we couldn’t agree more.
Written by Talia Rinaldo
When & Where: Arrow on Swanston, Melbourne – October 12