My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero has shared a statement reflecting on his relationship with the band’s former drummer Bob Bryar, who passed away in November at age 44.
In an Instagram post, Iero describes Bryar as “an enigma of sorts,” nothing that he “often inhabited both ends of any spectrum at the same time.”
“He was my friend and my bandmate, but he was also a stranger to me for most of my life,” Iero writes of Bryar. “We lived together for a while, on and off the road… but after the band we would go months on end without any type of contact.”
Iero adds that Bryar was an “incredibly talented” drummer who was also “incredibly self conscious and introverted whenever he felt placed outside of his comfort zone.” He says that he felt he could relate to Bryar over their shared dark sense of humor, which led to them planning matching tattoos reading “Bob/Frank hates” followed by a blank space that they could fill in with whatever “got on our nerves” that day in marker.
“There were also times when I think Bob disliked me immensely, and wished he could kick me out of the band,” Iero writes. “Maybe some days he would have written my name in sharpie on the black space of that tattoo.”
Iero shares that Bryar loved animals and was “wrecked” after an incident with a “shady” dog trainer that ended with one of his dogs dying. After that, Iero says, “things really went south with him and the band,” ultimately leading to his departure from MCR in 2010.
“I tried to see him a few times over the years, but he politely made it impossible,” Iero writes, adding, “I hope you found some peace.”
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