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mikeywayarchive · 2 years ago

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Interview transcript under the cut:

THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT

TWO YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE MIKEY WAY UNVEILED HIS POST-MCR PROJECT, ELECTRIC CENTURY. FROM THE PITS OF ADDICTION AND NEAR-DEATH TO REHAB AND REDEMPTION, HERE HE TELLS MARK SUTHERLAND OF THE LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY TO BRING US THIS WEEK'S EXCLUSIVE CD, FOR THE NIGHT TO CONTROL...

It was still snowing when Mikey Way woke up.

As the flakes drifted against the window and his head pounded, he tried to piece together the jigsaw of the night before.

He remembered coming to visit his friend. He remembered the blizzard starting. And then he remembered the "pretty vicious cocktail" of drink and drugs that he'd consumed.

But he couldn't remember anything after that. He didn't recall blacking out. And he had absolutely no idea why he was lying in a pool of blood that had seeped from a myriad of cuts and scratches on his back.

But as he lay there, the snow piling up outside in the black American night, he realised something he should have known a long time ago. He found his phone and rang his brother. Gerard Way; his Electric Century bandmate, David Debiak: and some other close friends.

And he said the same three words to all of them.

"I need help."

That night set in motion a chain of events that would, ultimately, be the salvation of Mikey Way.

Today, as he and David cheerily make their way to Disneyland - yes, Disneyland - in the Southern Californian spring sunshine, the blackout in the whiteout seems like a lifetime ago, rather than just a couple of years in the past. But Mikey knows he couldn't have got here without going there.

He's hesitant to reveal too many details about the incident, only admitting to ingesting "a lot of different dangerous chemicals”. But he's very clear on one thing.

"I was told by doctors that I should never have woken up," he says. "What I was doing could have been deadly. There were plenty of occasions where I had no business waking up ever again and I did. There's a reason for that. I was given a second chance." And now, two years after he first unveiled his post-My Chemical Romance project, Electric Century, Mikey is ready to grab that second chance with both hands.

Rewind two years to the last time Electric Century spoke to Kerrang!… At the time, Mikey seemed full of beans. He fizzed with excitement about the sense of renewal and liberation he felt from forging a new songwriting partnership with David, a prolific musician who'd been in the band New London Fire and one of Mikey's favourite groups, Sleep Station.

He enthused about getting Electric Century's debut album out swiftly, certainly by summer 2014. And he declared: "The only rules are, there are no rules." Around the time he spoke to us, however, Mikey would enter a rehab facility in Pennsylvania. It turned out there were some rules after all, and the ex-MCR bassist had broken most of them. But then, Mikey himself had no idea he was going to rehab until he flew to the East Coast from his home in Los Angeles expecting to add the finishing touches to what would, eventually, become EC's debut album, For The Night To Control.

David met him at the airport.

"Right, are we going to the studio?" Mikey asked.

"Actually, man, I've got news for you," replied David.

“We're not going to the studio. We’re going to this place and this is what we’ve got in store for you, and you're going to have to do it."

David had hatched the intervention plan with Mikey's concerned family and friends. Even though Mikey had been "frank" about his problems and what he was going through, David was expecting him to fight against it, or at least argue. He didn't.

"He immediately said, 'Okay’," says David. "He didn't fight me one bit. He said, You're right, I need help. I took him to the place and that's where the process started."

"I was glad to submit," admits Mikey."It's something I should have done maybe earlier in my life, but you've got to make your own mistakes at your own pace." And Mikey, by his own admission, had made plenty of mistakes. His overdoses had brought matters to a head, but his problems had been brewing for a long time. He'd learned to "self-soothe", as he calls it, with drink and drugs in his awkward teenage years, and had carried on the practice through his years of global rock stardom with My Chemical Romance and out the other side.

"It was self-medication with a combination of recreational and pharmaceutical things." he says. "I'd always had really bad anxiety, which was no secret. I've always been pretty open about that."

Indeed, Mikey suffered an anxiety-induced breakdown during the recording of MCR's 2006 album, The Black Parade. And, even though he dreamed of rock stardom since he was a litte kid, he found the process of going onstage and acting out that dream increasingly stressful.

"I wanted to be in a rock’n’roll band and I wanted to reach people," he says. "I got that and it was a lot for me to process, but some of my methods of processing it were flawed. I was trying to tackle my anxiety, especially the anxiety that carried into performances. People would always say there were shows where I looked rigid or guarded, but I was petrified onstage sometimes."

Mikey soon discovered that certain things would take the edge off that anxiety. His main addiction problems were with alcohol and Vicodin, a prescription painkiller (“I had a way to get it and I was getting it," he sighs), but he freely admits to being a completely indiscriminate buzz-seeker: Nothing was off limits, except for sobriety.

In a way, it seems remarkable that Mikey managed to mask his problems for so long given the intense spotlight trained on everything MCR ever did. But his friends were moved to stage their intervention because Mikey was no longer high-functioning, more barely-functioning.

"I had peaks and valleys," he says of his addiction. "Sometimes, I didn't think it was a problem, but sometimes I knew it was a problem. I was able to keep it under the radar for a long time, then, at that point in time, I wasn't able to contain it. I was completely upfront with my close friends and family about what was happening and I was crying out for help to all of them." And while he had split with his girlfriend and found some people he thought were his buddies melted away (“When the party ends, you see who your friends are,” he sighs), most of his inner-circle came through for him.

"I'm really fortunate for that," he says. "I wasn't easy to deal with at the time, so it's a real testament to my close friends and family giving a shit about me. They could have written me off - and it would have been warranted."

Rehab was tough on Mikey Way, but post-rehab was tougher. Inside, he committed to the 12-step programme, originally devised by Alcoholics Anonymous. The process involves submitting to a "higher power". Many choose a religious figure, but Mikey opted for the little voice in the back of his head he'd hear during his various misdemeanours, his own "greater self". Once he was clean, he agreed to attend the 90 meetings in 90 days that the programme recommended. And that's when his "real journey" to recovery began.

"What a lot of people fall into when they get out is [saying], ‘I didn't have a problem with weed, so I can do weed now I don't do heroin,’" he says. "It becomes this reversal. But you have to be all-or-nothing, really - you can't pick and choose. There's no grey area."

And it seems to be working. Since Mikey went into rehab in early 2014, not a single alcoholic drink or narcotic drug has passed his lips, nose or vein.

"When you get into rehab, you think just getting out of rehab is the finish line," he explains. "You feel like, 'All I need to do is get out and I'll be fine,’ and it's not quite how it is. You need to get a new toolbox for processing emotions, because my old toolbox was to medicate in some way, either through narcotics or alcohol. You actually go and you deal with your emotions." Many former addicts say that once the physical trauma of withdrawal is behind you, the biggest obstacle to recovery is the yawning void in your life that was formerly occupied by the relentless pursuit of the next high. Mikey, however, chose to fill that hole with new people, new interests and new projects.

He met his new girlfriend, Kristin Colby, when he was fresh out of rehab, and the pair got engaged in March last year: He started hanging out at the zoo and California's theme parks. And when he tweeted last year: "Fitter, happier, more productive", it wasn't just because he was listening to Radiohead.

"That's how I feel now," he laughs. "They tell you in rehab that you're going to feel worse before you feel better but, once you feel better, it's going to be better than any high you've ever chased. And it's true.

"When you hear that, you're like, ‘Whatever’

Everyone thinks, 'That's not me,’ or, ‘I'm different, I'll be fine right away,’ or, ‘This is going to be easy’ It's the same story time and time again for people that go down the road I have: you feel worse before you feel better, but then you feel so much better. You feel reborn."

So, the PMA-infused Mikey Way of today is a far cry from the pasty-faced, jittery presence he was for most of the MCR years. But the thing that's really energised his post-MCR, post-rehab life is, of course, music.

Electric Century's album, For The Night To Control, has been a long time coming, but it's worth the wait.

Mikey says that, ultimately, the delay caused by his rehab - and, subsequently, his realisation that his recovery was too fragile to be risked by rushing back headfirst into the life of the travelling rockstar - was good for the record, allowing the songs to develop and the sound become more cohesive.

But, at the same time, it can't have been easy. Mikey had to watch his brother. Gerard, and his former MCR bandmate Frank Iero establish vibrant solo careers.

And David - who'd been waiting for years for the oft-mooted project with Mikey to bear fruit - had to sit around twiddling his thumbs.

"I was never in a rush to do this project," insists David. "When I took Mikey to rehab, I knew it was going to stall the project for a year or two and I didn't care. It's more important to me that he gets help and gets well. I never felt a pressing need to get this done. It's always been about us making a great record together."

And For The Night To Control - a title that alludes to Mikey's new-found willingness to submit his life to the fates, rather than try to control everything - is a great record. But perhaps what's most striking about it is that, while its songs of loss (Live When We Die), heartbreak (Let You Get Away), the pressures of fame (Lately) and addiction (I Lied) seem to be ripped from the pages of Mikey's recent history, the vast majority of the lyrics were written by David. Not that the duo mind if people want to read too much into it...

"I think the measure of a song that you love is making it your own," shrugs David. "We're sharing it with them but, once they connect with the song, it's all theirs."

"That's what the whole thing is about," agrees Mikey.

"From the title to the picture on the cover, I want people to get their own meaning out of it." And, indeed, while he might not have penned the lyrics, all of Mikey's experiences since the MCR split were poured into Electric Century songs. The overriding feeling in these tracks is of a fresh start, with the formerly uncomfortably numb Mikey now alive to the possibilities of his post-MCR future, whether that's being able to explore new sounds or release his music in a brand-new way, via his amazing decision to give away the album via the pages of Kerrang!.

As the record was being painstakingly pieced together, however, Mikey had to actively seek out that sense of purpose. And he did it - now drugs and alcohol were out of his life - the only way he knew how: through his music. EC were on a stop-start trajectory, but it was hardly his only project.

Despite its reputation for hard living, the LA rock community rallied round Mikey, and soon the sessions where they would "drink coffee and talk about life" turned into something more musical. His former MCR bandmate Ray Toro lives in the same neighbourhood as him and they regularly meet up to hang out and watch movies. Joel and Benji Madden supported him in his sobriety and he appeared in Good Charlotte's Makeshift Love video. Andy Biersack asked him to contribute to his Andy Black solo project. ("He's a sweetheart." Mikey enthuses. "There's such a bright future ahead for that guy. He's a great rockstar.")

But most significantly, Deryck Whibley - a man who himself knows a thing or two about the demons of addiction - invited him to play live with Sum 41.

Mikey had been worried about the pressures of life on tour and falling back into old habits, but his dates with Sum 41 last July - and his one-off appearance with his brother in Japan in February 2015 - taught him that the road could lead to redemption as well as ruin.

"I'll be honest, the first night [with Sum 41] in Orange County, I was a little frazzled," he says. "Because I've never done this without some kind of... cushioning. It's for real now. I was scared for a couple of minutes before I went on, but then I loosened up and it felt great. I was also able to play with my brother in Japan, and that was the first time I really got a taste of it. I was like, 'This is what I miss, this is what I do. It was renewing, it was refreshing. I was up there and completely sober - it's been a very long time since I've done that, and it tasted sweeter."

Mikey now feels "concrete with my sobriety and ready to deal with the rigours of touring and be sober". "At the time, I wasn't ready to dive back in," he says. “I feel like I am now. If I had jumped into it, who knows what would have happened..."

His voice trails off. Mikey doesn't like to think about what might have been. That's surely the reason he seems unable to utter the name of the band that made him famous - referring only to them as "my previous band", never My Chemical Romance, My Chem or MCR.

And it's surely the reason Mikey prefers not to contemplate what could - or, more likely, would - have happened, had he continued in his self-destructive ways.

"That's the big question mark," he says. "I don't know. But there's someone out there looking out for me. I seem to have nine lives, kinda like a cat. I just want to thank everyone who stuck around. Thanks for the patience, thanks for believing in me and we're going to have a fun ride with this."

But not too much fun, obviously.

"You've got to take care of yourself and get well," he smiles. "Before you walk on the moon, you've got to go to Space Camp."

Now, though, it's time for Mikey and David to go to Space Mountain (David loves the Pirates Of The Caribbean, although Mikey's favourite ride is actually the Haunted Mansion -"A very goth choice," he chortles), as it's time for their Disney day-trip to begin.

The pair may well be the only visitors ever to hope for longer queues, as they plan to discuss every aspect of the EC project while waiting in line. Mikey might be happy to leave certain things to fate, but he doesn't want the band to miss a single opportunity. As we say our goodbyes, Mikey describes himself as "the happiest I've ever been" while David labels him as "a totally different guy". "It's really been a pleasure watching him grow," he says, supportively.

"I finally feel like I'm enjoying life in ways I didn't think I could," smiles Mikey. "I'm doing everything completely differently and feeling really fulfilled."

Because, these days, when Mikey comes round, it's to warm sunshine, and he remembers everything of the night before. After two years of slumbering, and a lifetime of sleepwalking into trouble, Mikey Way and the Electric Century are wide awake at last.

Come back next week as Mikey Way faces the future, only in Kerrang!

INSIDE FOR THE NIGHT TO CONTROL

MIKEY AND DAVID GUIDE YOU THROUGH YOUR KERRANG!-EXCLUSIVE ALBUM

1. YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG

MIKEY: "This song is a big piece of the album. Because people think one thing about me, and this is another side. That sentiment is fitting for this project. But I don't necessarily think people do have the wrong idea about me - it's just me being tongue-in-cheek."

DAVID: "It was a great way to start the record. It's just a groove. It sums the whole thing up."

2. RIGHT THERE

DAVID: "Was it influenced by The Cure? Absolutely. Mikey sent me the bassline that starts off the song. He was playing it over and over, then, when we got to the studio, we wrote it on the spot. He played the lick and then - boom! I jumped in with the chorus. The lyrics are pretty uplifting and I don't know why. The hook just really spoke to me like that. That was the most fun I had in the studio."

MIKEY: "Me too!"

3. HEY LACEY

DAVID: "Who's Lacey? Lacey is a girl. She's fictional, nobody we know. It's about trying to take on the world together. Having to struggle to get that done. It's not especially based on my own experiences, but there's a character I thought of when I was writing the song, a guy who's yearning for somebody who's out of his reach. It's a struggle for them to unite and that's the basis of that song."

MIKEY: "We've all been there before, right?"

4. I LIED

DAVID: "It's about addiction, but Mikey wasn't really in my mind. But it totally fits with that period of our lives. When the song came together and was released, it was around the same time Mikey was in the thralls of his addiction."

MIKEY: "It was eerie, because a lot of Dave's lyrics spoke to me. It was cool because I got to write [the music] and be a fan of the lyrics. I'm totally a novice about writing lyrics. It's really enthralling to me because it's not something I do at all."

5. FOR YOU

DAVID: "That song's about somebody who's falling apart and you're trying to pick them up. My wife lost her mom to cancer and I was there for her throughout that entire process, just watching her struggle with the everyday reality of her mom dying."

MIKEY: "It all screamed to me. Having someone there for you was an important aspect of what I was going through, and Dave was someone that was there for me. It had a bunch of different dimensions to it."

6. LET YOU GET AWAY

DAVID: "I wrote that song about the girl that got away. I think everyone can relate to that on some level. I wanted to do something that was more of a summer, feel-good, roll-your-window-down song."

MIKEY: "Like (Bryan Adams'] Summer Of '69! It's our Boys Of Summer [by Don Henley]."

DAVID: "I looked at it lyrically from her perspective, like, 'This guy is cool and I dig him but something just didn't work out.' He's reflecting on a better time in life when he had less responsibility."

7. UNTIL THE LIGHT GOES OUT ON ME

DAVID: "That was a song I wrote for [previous band] New London Fire. Mikey decided we could take it in a totally different direction and have it in the vibe of Electric Century. We had a gang of people come into the studio and sing the chorus. We had a blast."

MIKEY: "I love so many of Dave's songs and that was one that particularly spoke to me. I wanted to give it a different flavour. I don't think I took it that far away, it still has the original feeling."

8. SOMEONE LIKE YOU

MIKEY: "It's not the Adele song!"

DAVID: "As with Until The Light..., this was a New London Fire song. We recut it because Mikey said, “We can make this song a little different and give it a different flavour. We both have to give Dan [D. James Goodwin, producer] a lot of credit for it."

MIKEY: "I said I wanted a real driving, Depeche Mode sound, and he knocked it out of the park."

9. LATELY

DAVID: "When I wrote it, I had Mikey in mind - and Gerard. It's about watching a person blossom into a star. A lot of the lyrics are to do with seeing [My Chemical Romance] explode and get big."

MIKEY: "It's a super-unique situation, because I've always been a fan of Dave. When he was in a band called Sleep Station, I used to listen to his albums all the time and was like, 'Oh, man, I need to make music with this guy! And here we are, 10 years later!"

10. LIVE WHEN WE DIE

MIKEY: "This is the only song I wrote lyrics for. It's that feeling of when you can't [do something]. but you have to. It's been a common theme throughout a lot of my life. Because sometimes you can when you can’t.”

DAVID: "It made me feel for my grandfather, who I was literally watching die at that time. My bit is about how he kept his family close to his heart and how it meant the world to him that everyone knew that."

MIKEY: "It's a really heavy song."

FAMILY GUYS

MIKEY REVEALS BROTHER GERARD'S IMPACT ON HIM

LAST YEAR, GERARD TOLD K! HOW PROUD HE WAS OF YOU FOR OVERCOMING YOUR PROBLEMS. HOW DID THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?

"He's always my beacon of light. He's always there for me, he's so supportive and loving and caring and nurturing. I couldn't ask for a better big brother: I won in the sibling lottery of life."

ARE YOU STILL AS CLOSE AS YOU WERE IN MCR?

"Absolutely. We talk all the time, and we live fairly close to each other and find time to hang out.”

WHAT DO YOU DO TOGETHER?

"We drink coffee and talk about life, what's going on in our heads and what we're doing creatively. He's a great soundboard for creativity and I'm always able to share what I'm doing with him. He gives honest, brutal feedback."

WHAT DOES HE THINK OF THE ALBUM?

"He really likes it a lot. He's heard every version of every song since the beginning. He's into it."

DID HE GIVE YOU ANY ADVICE?

"Just have fun, and to remember to make stuff you want to make and have a blast doing it."

ELECTRIC CENTURY: THE K! VERDICT

FOR THE NIGHT TO CONTROL

КККК

AFTER THE FALL, MIKEY WAY RISES IN STUNNING STYLE

So, we've had Gerard Way, and we've had Frank lero, both of whom's solo albums pointed at which element its creator brought to the My Chemical Romance mix. The former was all indie class and David Bowie slither, tied-up in a fuzzy alt rock package, while the latter was a clattering, raucous blast of furious, atonal punk rock.

But of all the albums released post-split by My Chemical Romance alumni, it's Mikey's that sits furthest from the work of his former band. Chiefly, guitars do not make a mark, or even much of an appearance.

The heart of For The Night To Control is an electronic one that beats with a pulsing, digital rhythm, rather than the raw, open-wound attack of MCR's hardest moments. It slinks like a lounge-lizard in a club at 2am, perfectly riding the waves of blissful synth that make up You Got It All Wrong and For You. It's very different, but instantly likeable, sliding into your brain without you even realising.

But perhaps the best aspect of the whole thing is that it doesn't sound like someone having a go at this stuff for a laugh, or because they discovered a type of music five minutes ago - it's a long-existing itch being scratched by someone who has this stuff in them and knows its intricacies and subtleties.

Clearly, Mikey and David know what they're doing, and it's this, just as much as the songwriting, that makes For The Night To Control such a triumph. This is a passionate display of genuine love for this music, brilliantly written and expertly pulled-off.

NICK RUSKELL

Electric Century interview from Kerrang

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