Western Courier

Issue date: 4/23/04 Section: The Edge

Media Credit: Jonathan Hicks

Pete Wentz (foreground) and the rest of Fall Out Boy keep the crowd excited.

Fall Out Boy defies convention. The Chicago-based quintet displays hardcore influences that resonate with twinges of punk and pop. Not only does the band refuse to conform to the bland‚ formulaic standards of current emo/screamo acts‚ but it also goes on the offensive‚ attacking all that fails to push the limits of creativity.

This last year has seen major events for the band. "Take This to Your Grave‚" released on Fueled by Ramen Records‚ became an underground hit‚ and the band has seen its mainstream following rise steadily. The band members have toured virtually without end‚ not only crossing the United States several times‚ but also the Atlantic on their way to Europe. Band members Pete Wentz (bass)‚ Joe Trohman (guitar)‚ Andy Hurley (drums) and Patrick Stump (lead vocals) also made waves by signing a contract with Island Records.

The next several months look just as promising for the members of Fall Out Boy. They are set to open up several shows at large outdoor venues for Blink 182 - including May 15 in St. Louis. May 18 sees the release of the acoustic DVD/EP "My Heart Will Always Be the B-side to My Tongue." Then the band heads to Japan for several shows before returning stateside for dates on the Warped Tour and a national headlining tour.

Despite the breakneck speed of the band's schedule‚ Fall Out Boy's primary songwriter and founding member Wentz took the time to hang out before a show last week in Freeport. Wentz and I sat down and chatted in the band's van as its tour with Mest‚ Matchbook Romance and Dynamite Boy was about to come to a close.

Edge: How's the tour been? You've been on it for awhile.

Pete Wentz: Yeah‚ over eight weeks now. This is the last day of this tour. It's cool because you get used to playing to your own crowd‚ and on this tour we've gotten to play to a new crowd‚ which is good for us.

Edge: Do you have a crowd that follows you around?

PW: There's definitely a Fall Out Boy crowd. The Fall Out Boy crowd and the Matchbook Romance crowd are very similar‚ but Mest is a little bit different. So we get to play to their crowd and they get to play to our crowd‚ which is good for both of us.

Edge: What are some of the differences in the crowds?

PW: With Fall Out Boy and Matchbook Romance‚ we definitely play to more guys in general. With Fall Out Boy‚ because of the bands we've played with and the press we get and because we still have a very underground following‚ I think we tend to have people - you get a bunch of people that are more inquisitive and more underground in their thinking and follow bands like that. On the other half of that‚ you get people that are too cool for school‚ who (say) we're only cool while we're this big or we're only cool while we play with these bands. The Mest crowd - from touring with Good Charlotte - they will admit themselves that they have a crowd that is far more female‚ far younger. Their crowd is a lot younger than our crowd. Lots of times‚ their crowd is just a little bit more mainstream. On this tour‚ there hasn't really been a clash of those crowds. It's been a really good mix and people have shown respect. If their crowd doesn't want to watch us‚ they don't. But a lot of them have‚ which has been good for us.

Edge: Obviously‚ it's the goal of almost any band to get its sound out there and get its music heard. What are some of the downsides to that?

PW: People want a band that they can put in their back pocket and carry around and be theirs. So the minute you have your music out there to more people ... (with) the people who were your original fans‚ often you get a backlash. In general‚ the downside to getting your sound out there is that you open yourself up to having people into your band for the wrong reasons. A lot of the time‚ an image is what's sold more. One thing is that‚ our band‚ we don't consciously project an image and don't consciously try to sell it as a product like that. I'm not going to say that we don't get people who do that‚ because we definitely get that. I think that we get it a lot less because we make attacks on that on stage and I think our lyrics hopefully have a little bit more thought to them.

Edge: Have you gotten any of that backlash yet‚ after signing with a major label? Are there people who are just automatically pissed off by that?

PW: I thought we were going to get it really bad. I was kind of nervous about it. One reason we haven't gotten it yet is because we're not all over the place still. We're still a smaller band on a major (label), I'd say one reason is that we've been entirely honest with people from day one and we were entirely honest about that part of the process. Before we were musicians‚ we were fans of music‚ and the music that's out there is just absolute garbage. It's just polished turds. I think it's important for people with sincerity and an honest message to be at the forefront of that - and to make attacks on that. I think there are plenty of bands that are on their way there‚ and I think we're one of them‚ and I want everyone to hear our music. I think that's an important thing. If you believe in something‚ someone else has the right to hear it - you have the responsibility to show somebody that. More than anything‚ what we've gotten is people that we've known for a long time have been really proud of us and think it's a really cool thing. We're just like the biggest local band. At every show we just hang out the whole time. Obviously at some level you get to (being) like Blink (182) or a band like that obviously can't hang out. The crowds are just too out of control. It's not because they're arrogant assholes. It's because (the crowd) is too out of control. Maintaining that connection is part of the reason that people haven't had a backlash with us. And we always help out younger bands in the same way that we were helped out. That's important as well. When you get too big for your own britches is when people take notice.

Edge: You said that people have helped you out and that you want to help other people out. Is that something that you've taken from bands like Blink?

PW: Absolutely. It's one of those unspoken things. The first person of major importance that ever listened to our demo was Kris Roe from the Ataris. He called us up and said‚ 'Your demo is amazing‚ I'm gonna call this label and that label‚ and you're going to play with us here.' Because of that‚ we listen to every single demo we ever get‚ because you never know which one is going to be that cool one. On top of that‚ bands deserve that right; they're throwing this thing at you because they hope you're going to listen to it. That's a really important thing. It's like a sacred thing that you shouldn't mess with.

Edge: Talk about your lyrics. I personally find that there's much deeper content and (the lyrics) aren't just there for a rhyme; there's some meaning there. What kind of mindset are you in when you do your writing? Where does that come from?

PW: One thing I have is that I carry a notebook with me everywhere. So whenever I think of something‚ I write it down. Then we just wade through these notebooks. I realized that I've become really attached to writing‚ and it's easier to write someone into an awful situation than it is to actually deal with people. It becomes very addictive. It's an addictive place to be‚ and I feel like I have become addicted to it in a weird way. The thing that you were saying is that it's not just there for a rhyme. A lot of these people that we obviously share stages with get on stage‚ and there's a formula. There's a formula to make kids be into you and sing along and pogo and buy your record. If anyone wanted to‚ you could just figure it out and do it. You see bands that throw in their own little twists‚ but it's all the same fucking thing. On our new record‚ it'll be a little bit of an attack on that‚ and it'll be a little bit tongue-in-cheek. It's really important for people to know what really goes on and when these people get off stage‚ how we really behave. Everybody's getting up here with their hearts on their sleeves‚ and then how they behave on the tour bus is completely different. It's really been getting under my skin‚ so I think that's something that will be addressed on our new record. As far as on the EP‚ I was really in a bad place in a relationship and it was an attempt to understand the dynamic of human interaction‚ rather than "Take This to Your Grave," (which) was so reactionary. It was like‚ 'This person did this. I feel like I want to do this.' I think it was well thought out‚ but on the EP‚ there's more of an attempt to understand why I behave like this and why these people behave this way. It's important to understand that a little bit. As far as expansive thinking and questioning ourselves‚ I think that this new stuff will be a more important aspect of it. I want to do something that other people aren't doing. That's what's really cool about what people have said about "Take This to Your Grave" - they were like‚ 'Yeah‚ I can understand this' and 'I can understand what it's like to be in that situation or even if I can't‚ you described it well.' Taking that to the next level is being able to have a record where every time we sing those lyrics we react to them the same way the crowd does. And that's a really hard thing to do‚ but I think with certain words you can do it. I think that will definitely be the case.

Edge: When I got my latest copy of AP (Alternative Press Magazine)‚ seeing that you guys were No. 1 on the reader's poll‚ I said‚ 'Wait a minute‚ that's just Fall Out Boy.' Is that how you react, too? It's almost like there's an impending fame for you guys.

PW: It's really strange. One thing that's weird about it is that all the guys in bands that we used to play with back in our hometown are like‚ 'Yeah‚ I just read about you guys in AP.' Then they'll be bummed about their own situation. You shouldn't be. To an extent it feels like there's some of the luck of the draw‚ right situation‚ right time. Obviously‚ the cool thing about making "Take This to Your Grave" is nobody knew who we are‚ nobody cared about us at all‚ as far as labels or critics. The funny thing is‚ you read that article on Story of the Year and they kind of bash it as this pre-made thing and this is the impending doom of screamo. Obviously‚ you don't want to be lumped in with that. Nobody wants to be what they are. If you're an emo band you want to be a hardcore band; if you're a hardcore band you want to be an emo band ... No one thinks they are what they are and nobody wants to accept any of the labels. I have so many thoughts on that‚ actually (pauses). It's like a surreal feeling‚ like you're watching someone else's life. It doesn't even feel real at all. At the same time‚ any credit we've ever been given or anyone who's ever cared about us has been people who are fans of the music. It hasn't been through critical acclaim or because these bands all like you or because this record label pushed us a lot. It's the reader's poll. The only reason AP ever looked at us is because they got so many e-mails that they had to. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that‚ but if we go down in history for anything‚ that's going to be what it is. And I'm completely fine with that. Bands don't care about us and critics don't care about us and A & R does not care about us. The only people that care about us are people who download the music or people who buy the music or people who come to all the shows. I think that forces other people to pay attention to us‚ If anything‚ I'm proud of that‚ though. I'm this guy who's into playing "Tony Hawk 4" all the time. It's just so weird that anybody would care. If people knew how the record was written - we were just sitting at Joe's house eating pizza. It's very strange that anybody would care about it at all.

Edge: There are going to be some people reading this that will be hearing about you guys for the first time. If they want to go out and see you guys live‚ what can they expect?

PW: We realized at some point that we can't play our music like it sounds on the CD. When we sit still‚ it just doesn't happen. When you first start being a band‚ you imitate the bands you want to be like. We'd get up there and we'd act like them and it seemed very contrived. At some point we were just ourselves. I think that a lot of music is heading that way in general. But that's just how we are and this is how we were raised and this is the kind of music we were raised on. So I think it's a little bit chaotic. That's one thing that I think is missing from punk rock - there's some kind of danger. The last five shows we've played‚ outside of yesterday‚ have ended up with the kids onstage and so many kids on the stage that it muffles the music and all you can hear is the drums. And I think it's amazing. The person sitting 30 feet back probably thinks it sucks because he can't hear a goddamned thing. But that's OK‚ because this is me acting the way I want to and reacting the way I want to‚ and these people do that as well - and that's amazing. To hear the words coming back louder than Patrick is one of the coolest things ever. I guess that's what I'd expect.

Edge: People are going to be lumping you into an unbelievable amount of other pop punk bands‚ failing to realize that there are more hard-core influences at work. Why do you think that you guys stand out in this sea of pop punk?

PW: There are some very physical differences. Patrick's voice just doesn't sound like all these other people's voices. First of all‚ he's got the voice of a classical singer. He could sing anything‚ and it's weird that he sings pop punk music. That's just one of those reasons that we're never going to sound like a Blink or a New Found Glory-voice‚ because that just isn't possible out of his voice. I think‚ two‚ we're right now not afraid to be different and we're not afraid to be Fall Out Boy and write Fall Out Boy songs. A lot of bands are afraid to write their own songs right now. For that reason‚ they don't stand out. Certain bands - bands like Brand New - just raised the bar. And you want to know what? If you put out a record worse than that‚ or you put out a record that's not as exploratory as them‚ that's just on you. I think that was very dangerous and it was very awesome. We're a band that's not scared to do that either. So hopefully that will come through.

Edge: Anything else you want to add or anything that we should know about?

PW: I got nothing. Check out falloutboyrock.com.

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