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“And we’re back in three…two…one!”
Pink Station Zero had resumed from a commercial break. Gerard was sitting with the host, Juniper Stratford, a man with extravagant blonde hair and the classic television smile. The audience clapped when the camera man announced their return.
The host turned towards Gerard and shook his hand. “That was tremendous stuff, Gerard Way, thanks for joining us.”
“Thanks for having me.”
He was still sweaty from the performance of “No Shows” and his stuffy suit wasn’t any help. It was tempting to take off the jacket, but refrained in fear of coming off as immodest. Despite many years of space travel, it was always difficult to figure out the manners upheld by each species, especially in this situation where a variety of folks were watching.
“Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you appear to be an Earthling.” Gerard made a noise of confirmation before Juniper continued, “Are you a pure-streamed human or do you have any cyber enhancements?”
“Oh, I’m pure-streamed.” To his dismay, it was the truth. How fucking cool would it be to have some weird cyborg power, though?
“And you’re going to be touring around a lot because of your new album?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re going to be going into outer space?”
Well, yeah, like many times before. When wasn’t he exploring the intergalactic?
This time around would be different, though. He had released an album, which meant playing live shows and flying to many different destinations, meeting up with fans, and actually being able to afford sightseeing and the costs of travel. It was going to be brilliant.
Gerard gave the standard response. “Yes.”
The host seemed a bit irritated by his short responses. Gee couldn’t blame him, though, but he was irritated by all the redundant questions. It seemed that every single interview asked him the same damn things.
“What do you like about touring outer space?”
“Um, it’s quiet,” he provided, and was going to say more before the host spoke again.
He inquired, “What’s your favorite part of the galaxy?”
This was an easy question. “I mean, probably, like, my home galaxy.”
Gerard had always been fond of home. The Milky Way was where he made all his best memories, from reading comic books with his little brother, Mikey, to meeting and marrying the bassist of Mindless Self Indulgence, Lyn-Z Ballato.
There was a quick silence where the host was trying to think of what to say next. He opened his mouth once and then closed it, before opening it again and saying, “Y’know, I’ve noticed a lot of you Earthling musicians focus a lot on doom and gloom in your music…what’s up with that?”
“Um,” He thought for a second. That was a great thing to ask, he loved trying to explain what happens behind the creation of art. “Eh, hm, I’m actually not quite sure.”
He sensed the disappointment from the audience, but at the same time, he didn’t want to give an answer to such a broad question without giving it a proper thought.
Juniper pressed on. “Well, y’know, kids these days are listening to saga wave and corporate pop, yet you still choose to do rock and roll. Why?”
Was he actually questioning Gerard’s genre and why he wasn’t succumbing to the popular demand of music that teen were listening to?
“Rock and roll is something I believe in, y’know, I’ve just always have, and, um, there’s something about the kinetic force coming off the amplifiers, it has always excited me, it always makes me lose complete control.”
The host was finally getting the long winded answer he wanted, and Gerard was enthusiastic to explain his love and faith in rock. “Rock and roll is about…it’s all about control, it’s about the loss of control or taking control, or who has it—“
“It’s like the airport.” Damn, he wished he wasn’t interrupted.
Gerard stared at the ceiling as he spoke. “It’s very similar to that, y’know, I guess in some ways.” He really didn't know, Juniper didn't make a lot of sense.
Juniper changed the subject. “Now the new album is called “Hesitant Alien,” it’s about some venison or something, but, uh, tell us what that title is all about.”
“I thought of…I thought of not fitting in, but then, in music, you know what I mean?” He nodded towards the host, who nodded back at him. “…In the musical landscape, I've never really fit in, I‘ve never really thought I have, y’know, and I…I finally realized that that is how I fit. I think music needs numerous people who don’t quite fit in.”
“Is that your vision, kind of, when you go into the studio?” The host was moving his hands with each word he said, maybe it was a signal to wrap it up, but Gerard didn't catch on.
“Well—“
“As from, an outsider’s perspective?”
“Well the guitar is not very popular anymore,” the host shook his head in agreement. “And I spent a year making a fuzz rock record and a lot of people were telling me that the guitar was dead, that it wasn’t coming back, it’s dead and I just didn’t believe that, so—“
“You turned up the volume,” the other man finished.
Gerard continued. “Probably on the radio a lot, I don’t think you’re hearing much guitars anymore at that point, I think, yeah maybe there’s a guitar deep down in there—“
“But the guitar is the center of music, that’s all.”
“Yeah, you don’t hear guitar as the main—“
“You just hear sequencer and all that—“
“Yeah! And that stuff’s cool, but it’s never what got me going.”
He noticed that the host knew a lot about popular music and had appreciated the variety in Gerard’s sound and his opinions on the apparent death of the guitar, which brought life to Gee. Most people thought that the classic rock and roll instrument needed a resurrection, but it was never dead in the first place.
“So the song you did earlier was very…it’s one of my favorites from the new album, what is the message behind that song?”
“The message with ‘No Shows’ is not needing to, uh, is not needing to fit in in order to belong to something, um, like, you don’t need the lights, you don’t need the stage, you don’t need the band playing in front of you, you just need another person and connect what you have with them. It’s all about a connection to another human being or whatever. That’s better than any rock band, that’s better than any show, than any…than any happening, like you can have your own happening or whatever.”
He was satisfied with his answer. It had been a while since he revisited the meanings of his songs, what with all the busyness in his current life.
“Do you mind reciting some of the lyrics for us, right now?”
“Um, ‘the weeks I’ve been living, your smiles are giving all kinds of treble.’” He recalled. That was his favorite line. “’Weak knees have been giving and those nights are leaving me stars truck and metal.’”
“’Stay free. Don’t go. We don’t need no shows.’”
Gerard was finished, but the host motioned for him to carry on.
He looked behind his chair at the camera man, who gave him the thumbs up for time. “’Try to be living as my vice and can I be your type?’ ‘Because we need to be given a good life and can I be your type of metal?’”
Repeating his last line, the timer buzzed and he stood up to shake the host’s hand. “Thanks Gerard, good stuff.”
The two looked at the main camera. “We’ll be right back.”