Gerard Way & Lyn-Z Welcome A Daughter: Bandit Lee

Rocker couple Gerard Way and Lyn-Z welcomed a baby girl, Bandit Lee Way, on Wednesday, May 27th his rep confirms to PEOPLE.

"Gerard and Lindsey Way welcomed their first child on May 27. Their daughter, Bandit Lee Way, was born in Los Angeles at 2:57 p.m. and weighs 6 lbs., 5.6 oz. Everyone is healthy and happy."

Gerard, 32, is the singer in band My Chemical Romance and a comic-book artist. Lyn-Z (given name: Lindsey Ballato) is the bassist for punk band Mindless Self Indulgence.

The couple were married in September 2007. They announced their pregnancy news in November.

Congratulations to the Ballato-Way family!

My Chemical Romance On Being A 'Comic Book Band'

'These days, everyone's kind of admitting to being a comic nerd,' frontman Gerard Way says.

By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias.

Last week, when MTV News sat down to talk with My Chemical Romance, we figured we'd get a bit of information about their Dylan cover in the upcoming "Watchmen" film and perhaps a few slivers of their still-being-written new album, and we'd call it a day. Turns out, we couldn't have been more wrong.

My Chem had so much to say that we were able to break the interview down into three pieces. In part one, the guys talked about putting The Black Parade to bed and getting back to basics on their new album. In part two, they got in-depth about their love of "Watchmen" and their decision to cover Bob Dylan. Now, in part three, they're talking about both.

Which is interesting, because whether they're aware of it or not, My Chemical Romance are now seen by many as not just as a rock band, but as a comic book rock band (having two comic-producing brothers in the band and a song in the biggest comic book film of all time tends to have that effect). So, will they be addressing that perception on their new album? Probably not.

"I'm glad you asked about that because these days, everyone's kind of admitting to being a comic nerd or something. Like 'nerdy' is kind of becoming 'cool' for some weird reason, so people will come out of the woodwork to admit that kind of thing," frontman Gerard Way said. "But a lot of people like comics, you know. But I don't think anybody sees us as, like, 'Oh that's a comic book band' ... even if we write or draw them. I never really worried too much about that."

But without comics, where will Way find his lyrical inspiration? He's already said he wants to drop the whole "conceptual" thing for MCR's next album, so where is he finding material these days? From his everyday life — which, if you've been following his updates on My Chem's official site, may not seem that interesting. But to hear Way explain it, being a husband and a father-to-be (Way's wife, Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z, is expecting their first child early this summer) makes him positively bursting with inspiration.

"I think any life experience [is inspiration]. And now that we've had seven or eight months off, and we've had a chance to do some living, I think any kind of experience ... like going to be a dad, for example," he explained, "that's going to be in my head. And I think there's no way that stuff won't affect what you're doing. I think if it doesn't, it's kind of lame."

So are fans prepared for a more, mature My Chemical Romance? Well, don't worry, because whatever Way's going to be singing about, the music is still going to be young, snotty and punky. And — somewhat strangely, given this is MCR we're talking about — fun.

"We want it to be a snapshot, we want it to be visceral. And it's not angry at all, which is fun too," Way said. "It just has this youthful energy to it, and the experience has this youthful energy to it too. And I want to capture that, and be done. You know, 'Let's play.' "

My Chemical Romance Go '80s For 'Watchmen,' Say No To 'New Moon'

'A lot of people would say that a vampire movie would fit, but I would disagree,' Gerard Way says of 'Twilight' sequel.

By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias.

By now, everyone is probably aware that My Chemical Romance are fairly gigantic comic book fans.

But if the Eisner Award-winning series penned by frontman Gerard Way or the Halloween-themed Batman strip his brother Mikey wrote weren't proof enough of this, check out Gerard's train of thought for MCR's punked-up take on Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row," which closes out Zack Snyder's upcoming "Watchmen" film:

"We were on the Projekt Revolution [Tour], and I got a call on my phone. Somebody had put Zack through to me, and he was immediately excited. And so we started talking [about the song], and he said, 'Well, what are you thinking?' because originally he said 'Let's just have a 10-minute version that goes through the whole credits.' And I was originally cool with it," Way told MTV News. "But since the story [of 'Watchmen'] takes place in an alternate early '80s, I wanted to make the song a product of that era. And there's a lot of gangs in 'Watchmen,' there's a couple bands [mentioned], like Pale Horse, and you never know what those bands sound like, but I'm assuming it sounds like early '80s punk or late-'70s punk. ... And he said, 'That sounds perfect.' "

And that dedication to "Watchmen" didn't end with MCR's version of the song. When it came time to shoot the "Desolation Row" video, Way and the guys took it one step further, decking themselves out like a skuzzy punk act from the "Watchmen" '80s — complete with deathly pallors and black eyes.

"I just wanted to look pale. Not gothy pale, but, like, sick. I thought a punk band from the early '80s should probably look sick, they should look kind of ill," he laughed. "And the black eye, I figured bands back then got into a lot more fights than they do these days. All those bands like to fight; we don't like to fight."

So, after knocking it out of the park with "Desolation Row," are My Chem looking at a second career (after, you know, being in a rock band) scoring films? Given their former, rather vampirish past, they seem naturals for "Twilight" sequel "New Moon."

"I don't think so," Way said. "We're very choosy. ... There were a few films that we didn't do the song for because it didn't fit. I guess a lot of people would say that a vampire movie would fit, but I would disagree with that these days. Even since Black Parade, I would kind of disagree with that. I don't know if we'd be interested in that."

We've got the biggest exclusives from tomorrow's blockbusters today. Check out MTV's "Spoilers" on Saturday, February 21, at 8 p.m., for a first look at "Watchmen."

My Chemical Romance Want To Sing About Lemonade On 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'

'I have this secret desire to do a children's show,' frontman Gerard Way reveals.

By James Montgomery.

Gerard Way wants you to know that My Chemical Romance are an American band — and proud of it. He'd also like you to know that becoming a father isn't changing his focus on that first fact.

Back in May, Way and his wife — Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z — welcomed their first child, a daughter named Bandit. In the months leading up to the birth, Way wondered aloud how his daughter's arrival would impact the lyrics he was writing for MCR's new album, saying, "That's going to be in my head. ... There's no way that stuff won't affect what you're doing. I think if it doesn't, it's kind of lame."

Well, as it turns out, he might have been over-thinking things.

"[When] we had the baby, it's this crazy thing. It's the most amazing thing, and what it alters is you have someone new in your life to love and share things with and protect and all this amazing stuff," Way told MTV News. "But literally the next morning, I woke up and I still felt like me. I mean, I felt like I had something really awesome in my life, besides my wife, but it hasn't changed any of the direction of where it was heading before she was born. And I think [Bandit] would appreciate that."

And if she doesn't, well, she'll most certainly appreciate Way's other musical plan, one that involves My Chemical Romance collaborating with DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Foofa and the rest of the kid-friendly "Yo Gabba Gabba!" gang. After all, just because he isn't letting fatherhood change his focus within MCR, doesn't mean he can't branch out a bit.

"That will absolutely happen. I have this secret desire to do a children's show, and then I saw 'Yo Gabba,' and I was like, 'Oh, this is genius. This is better than anything I could've come up with,' " Way laughed. "I watched [Devo mastermind] Mark Mothersbaugh draw a puppy, and I was like, 'This is the best thing I've ever seen.' I'm really aiming to get [My Chem] to perform a song about lemonade on 'Yo Gabba.' ... I'm cooking this lemonade song up in my head as we speak."

Exclusive: My Chemical Romance's New Album Is A 'Love Letter To Rock And Roll'

Forget all that talk about ditching the shtick and focusing on fast-and-furious punk. My Chemical Romance have one sentiment they'd like to get across on their new album, one that echoes what Grand Funk Railroad said decades ago: "We're an American band."

"The punk element was something a lot of people talked about. I think once I said we were pulling out the marching bands, they assumed it was going to be a punk record," Gerard Way told MTV News last month at San Diego Comic-Con, where he was promoting "Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion," the third series of his Eisner-winning comic. "I mean, it's definitely more aggressive, but to me it feels like a celebration of rock and roll. It feels like a true love letter to rock and roll. There's something about being an American rock-and-roll band that we've kind of grown into and we're very proud of. And I think that's what we're celebrating with this record. There's no agenda, there's no mission; it's just about rock and roll."

For proof, check out the fan footage of "Death Before Disco," one of three new tracks MCR unveiled last Friday, during a secret show at the Roxy in Los Angeles. It's a charging, fist-pumping number that recalls the Motor City pump of the MC5 and the L.A. strut of the Knack. And to help them hone in on that vibe even further, they've tapped producer Brendan O'Brien — who's done albums for Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Mastodon, to name just a few — to helm the sessions for the new album.

"We're so happy working with Brendan O'Brien," Way said. "We love him, we're having the best time of our lives. It's a total blast. I feel like it's getting close to being finished. We're doing tracking now. There's no title yet. It's crazy — this is the first time we're waiting to get really far into the project before [choosing a title]. I'm actually kind of excited about that. It's kind of 'anything goes' at this point, but I'm so happy with the songs."

Way said there's still no release date for the new album, though he added, "It's safe to say it'll come out next year." This is all keeping with the band's open-ended, fast-and-loose approach to recording and writing, a first for MCR, who — up to this point — have made their living on expansive conceptual fare.

"It's actually kind of liberating," Way said. "I'm writing lyrics simply about what the song's telling me, instead of trying to shoehorn something into a story line. I'd say they all have their own little stories. Some of them are direct, real life things that happened to us or me. Some of them are fiction, [because] I didn't want to lose that side. One of the things I really liked about Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is that we took people on a journey with each video and each single, even though it was a concept record. The Black Parade didn't do that. It stuck all the way through to this rigid vision up until the end, but this time I'm really excited about giving someone something new every time."