Fall Out Boy
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND
Fall Out Boy Blaze Light-Years Ahead on Their Third Set
Although Warped Tour aficionados have long known the appeal of Fall Out Boy, 2006 was the year that the Chicago band conquered the mainstream. With tongue-twistingly titled tunes, naggingly insistent guitar riffs, and an all but total lack of pretension, the quartet forged an odd alliance of mosh pit maulers and pinup-posting teens -- a combo that vaulted the Fall Outs to multi-platinum status. Like other breakouts from the emo scene, the band have expanded their sound, and Infinity on High boasts horn sections, funk rhythms, and even a cameo from hip-hop honcho Jay-Z. Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump tells Barnes & Noble.com's David Sprague how his band has been able to take it to Infinity.
Barnes & Noble.com: What's been the best thing about making it to the top of the pop chart?
Patrick Stump: Being able to help out friends, definitely. Watching Panic [at the Disco!] and their ascent was so cool, 'cause we already did that and we'll never be able to do it again. We'll never be able to be the new band and go out there and surprise people again. But they did and they're some of our closest friends. Presenting them at the VMAs, it was like, Okay everyone, here's your next favorite band. It really was that feeling -- I kind of look at Panic like "Get ready, guys."
B&N.com: Have you felt much in the way of backlash from fans who think you've gotten too big?
PS: I keep using the example of Borat, 'cause everybody loved Borat until the guy in the cubicle next to you started doing the "Jak sie masz" and you're like, Dude, I hate this thing now and I never want to hear it again. I think that's what happens with art. It's silly to be that fickle with your music or your art or your movies or whatever it is. If you did that with your beliefs or whatever, you'd be ridiculous, but you're encouraged to do it with your art.
B&N.com: The new level of fame has made you guys internet targets as well. How much of an effect does that have on you?
PS: There are plenty of opportunities for people to be vile and heartless and really cruel, or whatever. But there's plenty of opportunity for people to do awesome, awesome things on the Internet and use it for everything from fundraising for saving dogs to starting a band. There's so much you can do. You can't get too mad at that stuff. Ultimately, you just have to be more careful about what you do and say, 'cause anything can and will be used against you in the court of YouTube.
B&N.com: Has the fairly quick move from clubs to arenas had much of an effect on the shows?
PS: Well, we've done the arena thing for a little while. The temptation is to go overboard and have this crazy light show and make it into a spectacle -- sometimes that can be cool. Ultimately, though, that can get distracting from the fact that there are songs being played and at the end of the day, you're a band and you're there to just rock. [laughs]
B&N.com: You've been using Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" as your entrance music lately -- is there a kinship there?
PS: [laughs] That's just been the crowd favorite. We've been so stoked on playing that. We tried a bunch of other stuff, but when it gets to "You gotta hold on, to what we've got," kids sing along so loud that I'm like, Why are we even playing right now? We could just play Bon Jovi through the loudspeakers and kids are just as happy.
B&N.com: You got into some trouble and had to change some song titles on Cork Tree, like the one that's now called "Our Lawyer made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued." Anything like that happen on this go-round?
PS: A lot of that was kind of a joke, but there's a thin line between what's a joke and what we actually might do. For a while, we were like, Let's call the album Thriller!
B&N.com: What was it like to work with Jay-Z?
PS: The Jay-Z thing was so cool because of two words -- no, two syllables -- Jay-Z! No, it was awesome, because that song in and of itself was really cool, and then Jay-Z came aboard. He was in, like, Monaco or something and he agreed to be on it and he summed up what the whole song was about in a ten-word, Jay-Z kinda way. He's one of the funniest guys I've ever met.
February, 2007
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