On Nov. 20, 2009, multiplatinum, Grammy-nominated rockers Fall Out Boy announced they were taking an indefinite hiatus. Bassist and chief songwriter Pete Wentz had become ubiquitous. His marriage to and subsequent divorce from singer Ashlee Simpson had turned into a celebrity gossip talking point and begun to overshadow their music. Wentz even publicly suggested the world could use a little less of him. Singer Patrick Stump went on to record a solo album. Guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley united forces to become part of heavy metal act, the Damned Things. Wentz, meanwhile, created Black Cards, a ska/electropop duo with vocalist Bebe Rexha. The future of the pop punk band from Wilmette, IL remained in doubt.
Then came February of this year, when they played the first single off their fifth studio album, Save Rock and Roll (Island), on Jimmy Kimmel Live. For the first time since 2008’s Folie A Deux, there would be new music from Fall Out Boy. They had returned.
But their resurrection raised as many questions as it answered. What was it that convinced them to reform? What does this resurgence mean for Decaydance, the imprint Wentz formed under the band’s first label, Fueled By Ramen? How had FOB’s sound changed in the intervening years? And could fans expect to see new material released in the coming years?
Wentz, who keeps himself active with all manner of endeavors including a film production company (Bartskull Films), acting (he’s appeared on One Tree Hill and Californication), writing (his book, The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, is based on his childhood nightmares) and a club (Angels & Kings, which first opened in New York and later expanded to Chicago), took time out of his whirlwind schedule to address these concerns and more in this revealing interview.
By Andy Kaufmann
Music Connection: You guys are back after an indefinite hiatus that went for three or four years. How did you know this was the right time to reform and record a new album?
Pete Wentz: I don’t know. It still could be the wrong time. When we took a break, we always thought it had to be about new music. None of us had any interest in being a heritage act or doing state fairs, that kind of thing. We really wanted it to be about the songs. We did try to write a couple times and it didn’t seem right. Then Patrick [Stump] and I wrote a couple songs and, when I heard the stuff he’d done, I was all in. There’s so much about our band that’s serendipity to me. So much about it seems to be being in the right place at the right time. Hopefully, that’s what it is again.
MC: Around the time you guys decided to take a break, you were the subject of a lot of tabloid fodder. Do you believe that sort of exposure helped or hurt your career? Do you suggest other artists seek out that type of coverage?
Wentz: I don’t think it really helped our career. It’s kind of a double-edged sword. We got a certain amount of press regardless of what was going on with the band. But at the same time, lots of the mainstream press only covered us from one perspective, you know? No one gave me a manual, like this is what you’re supposed to do, this is how you’re supposed to act. You kind of just figure it out on your own.
Tabloid culture is really just interested in famous people and not about people being known for their talent. So it was a weird space to be in and it was frustrating. It was a rollercoaster. There were a lot of ups, there were a lot of downs. More than anything, you’ve got to just do things for the right reasons. If you’re playing in your band and it’s fun, keep doing it. The rest of your life will fall into place around that.
MC: Is the sound of the new album different as a result of taking a hiatus? What are you doing this time around to make sure you don’t burn out?
Wentz: I feel like the sound hasn’t changed. To me, it sounds similar in that Patrick is singing over music with certain melodic structures. A lot of my friends who I’ve played it for were like, this is really different.
As far as burn-out goes, that’s the $64,000 question––how do we not get burnt out? You want it to succeed, do well, be big and be fun. But when it does well and succeeds and is fun, that’s when somebody’s quarterly stock profits depend on whether your band plays certain songs or you do certain things. That’s when it can stop being fun. I think, for all of us, it was just about having something that humanizes us. For me, it’s having my son. I think about him before anything we do.
We’ve never really done Fall Out Boy as real adults before. This is the first time where we’re doing it understanding each other’s schedules, what each other’s needs are and what each member wants out of the band.
MC: You have so many projects going on, including clothing, bars, writing and acting. How do you balance these things along with your musical career and does that personality trait account for the diverse nature of your songwriting?
Wentz: We’ve always been a band where we take all interests of the band members and mix them together. On top of that, I probably have some strange adult case of ADHD a bit and have a hard time focusing. The way it works for me is, if all the things I do are authentic to me and my brand, then they make sense and they can kind of intersperse with each other. You can do this tattoo show and this book and you can cross promote with the album, because they all make sense together. I’d only be in hot water if I did something that didn’t make sense with the rest of my brand or personality.
MC: You obviously make more money off these side projects because of your association with Fall Out Boy. Do you include your band mates in the sharing of that income, considering you’re taking time away from music to feed these projects?
Wentz: We’re a pretty inclusive band. We split four ways equally, which a lot of bands our size don’t. At the same time, like our endeavor with the bar, we let everybody be in on things like that. When I do stuff with Decaydance, Patrick’s the first producer I go to. And none of these other things are ever going to supersede Fall Out Boy.
There’s never going to be a time where I’m like, guys, we need to take a break because I’m doing this commercial or I’m doing this thing. That isn’t an option, and everybody I’m involved with knows that when it comes down to it, Fall Out Boy always takes precedence.
At the same time, Fall Out Boy makes those brands bigger. And some of those brands make Fall Out Boy bigger in certain places. To be honest, some of them are complete passion projects and don’t make money. It just depends on what it is and, if you make the Forbes list, they make it sound like certain things are more lucrative than they are. Try owning a bar in New York City for a year and let me know how much money it makes.
MC: Speaking of making money, do you have any product endorsement deals?
Wentz: Not a ton. I have a signature bass deal with Fender and I use Fender amps as well. But other than that, no. I did an endorsement deal with K-Swiss a couple years ago. They let me design a shoe and have a lot of fun with that. But for the most part, it’s just been people that I’m friends with and want to do stuff with. I like Neff headwear a lot. I would love to do something with them. There are a couple of those opportunities, but I don’t have endorsement deals with any of them currently.
MC: For your new album, you’re signed to Island as opposed to Fueled By Ramen, your former label. Why are you on Island now? You’ve outgrown the confines of an indie?
Wentz: We’ve been on Island/Def Jam since From Under the Cork Tree came out. At the time, Fueled By Ramen had a relationship with Island/Def Jam and had a lot of input and helped us out. John Janick helped us a lot with From Under the Cork Tree and even with Infinity on High, whether it was marketing or different ideas. John moved Fueled By Ramen to Atlantic and now he’s at Interscope. At some point, it just became a label that was stuck on the album. It wasn’t actually a meaningful business relationship. But I’m still tight with everybody from Fueled By Ramen. They’re still a family and a good network for us. There was never a falling out or a real change of label. It’s basically the same team we’ve been with since From Under the Cork Tree.
MC: Did you undergo a contract renegotiation for being upstreamed? Were there particular points or things that you asked for? And how did you come to a decision with your band mates as to what to do?
Wentz: There was definitely a contract renegotiation. I think the stipulation was that we had a right of first refusal of our next album. Between albums, I’m sure there were contract renegotiations. Obviously, a major record label wants to keep you and your investors for as long as possible and, depending on what kind of artist you are, your goal is to renegotiate so you get more money or become independent. We’ve had a good relationship with people at our label, so there’s never been a strong desire to be independent. At the same time, I know we could function on our own if we needed to. But it’s like, why would we when we have a good relationship?
MC: Your label, Decaydance, started as a Fueled By Ramen imprint. How did the label come about and why did your label become independent?
Wentz: The label came about because I was bugging my buddy, John Janick, who was at Fueled By Ramen. A zillion times, I was like, listen to my friend’s band, The Academy Is… And he was like, why don’t we just do an imprint? It quickly became more than a vanity label when Panic! at the Disco sold some albums and then Gym Class Heroes as well.
At that time, there was a partnership with Atlantic Records, who we partnered with for Cobra Starship and Panic! at the Disco and Gym Class Heroes and Travie McCoy. We wanted to try things that were slightly more independent, so that included being able to work with labels outside of Atlantic. That’s kind of where the relationship changed. It wasn’t negative. We still work together on those three bands. But we got a chance to work with Cassadee Pope when she was in Hey Monday on Sony. We got to work with Tyga when we collaborated with Young Money. And then we did the Ready Set with Warner Brothers.
Being able to work with so many labels and seeing how they each worked has been really interesting, because they’re all cool and they all work. It’s just they’re all different. They have different priorities.
MC: Are you currently looking to sign artists? How should artists get in touch with you and what are you looking for from them?
Wentz: I’m always looking. It’s harder now, because there are a lot of artists signed into management deals or bad label deals. Sometimes, you find these great artists and then you’re like, I can’t even help you because you’re so legally tied up. I guess the best way to reach me is on Twitter or social media like Facebook. But if you see me, hand me a demo. I listen to all that stuff. That’s how Fall Out Boy tried to get found. And that’s how we found Panic! at the Disco. That’s how we found the Cab. I believe in word of mouth. It’s just different now. I would say to young bands, you don’t need to sign the first deal that’s thrown in front of you. You don’t necessarily need a manager or a merch company. There is something to DIY and there is something to doing it on your own, because when you’re making great music good things should come to you.
MC: You’ve had an incredible track record with your Decaydance imprint. What accounts for that?
Wentz: I think it’s surrounding yourself with a good team. I like to be surrounded by people who believe in music and aren’t just hunting after money. I definitely don’t believe in chasing songs. I would chase a songwriter over a song. It’s more important to develop than anything. Just about anybody can take an artist from 80,000 to a million records. It’s a lot harder to take somebody from 5,000 to 80,000 records. And that’s what our label’s always specialized in––artist development. It’s very important to take your time and create quality products.
MC: The industry has changed a lot since Fall Out Boy disbanded. Now you have stuff like streaming services, etc. How are you going to adapt your monetization strategy in light of all this?
Wentz: We’ve thought about it a bit on the publishing side. And we’ve thought about it a bit with online auditing and monetizing YouTube. But to be honest, a good friend of mine, Jonathan Daniel, who works at our management company, Crush, has shown me that you create the momentum and all the other stuff comes. If you can’t get the momentum going, then there’s no point in having a strategy to monetize anything.
It’s like when you watch the movie The Social Network. You can’t put up ads and try to make money before you make the thing cool, because it makes it stop being cool. And kids can sniff a fake. So to me it’s always been about doing cool new things. We just created a media department that’s really going to help out. We try to stay at the forefront of all of that stuff.
MC: How long is it going to be before we get another Fall Out Boy album? Another three or four years?
Wentz: You’ll get this one on April 16th. We’ve already started working on the next one, but we’ll see how this one does.
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