Fall Out Boy – Pete Wentz – Interview – 06/09/04

Nicole sat down to interview Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, MI on June 9, 2004.

Can you tell me a little bit about the band?  Well, we’re called Fall Out Boy, we rock the Casba every night onstage.  We try to run around and break our equipment.  I already broke two basses last night.. two $2000 basses… and hurt my thumb on tour so far, so that’s about how we’re going right now.

How did you break basses? Well, I was throwing the bass around on my strap, and the strap was loose and the bass went flying and smashed on the floor.

Do you remember your first show? Yeah, it was horrible, there was about 30-40 people but we were the worst band.

What kind of bands have influenced you? Green Day, the Police, the Smiths, Elvis Costello

What kind of bands would you like to tour with? Not the kind of bands that people would like to see us tour with… Led Zepplin.

Do the lyrics come from personal experiences?  Yes, none of our lyrics are fiction.  There’s no point in writing fiction.

If you weren’t in a band, what would you be doing now? I’d be dead.  The band saved me, and changed who I am as a person.  It actually happened.

What got you guys through hard times?  Being in a band with your best friends is the best way to get through the hard times.  We can do stupid things and laugh at them later.  Like sitting in the desert in Arizona blasting the heat, that’s the stupidest thing we’ve done, and we can laugh about it.

What’s the best thing about being a band?  Everything.  The best thing about being in Metallica is you get to play Master of Puppets every night.

What’s your all time favorite song?  Oh wow, I have a lot… I really like “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey, Master of Puppets.. I can’t really pick just one.

What’s your favorite song to play live?  Well, mine’s Saturday.

What was the very first concert you went to?  Jimmy Buffet

What’s the last show you’ve been to?  Terror, two nights ago.  It was really awesome.

Do you remember your first job?  Ah, I didn’t really ever have a job.  When I was in 11th grade, I worked at a pool as a lifeguard, but then I got fired because I was bad at it.

What’s your favorite video game?  I like old school Nintendo, Ghost & Goblin.  Did you know that you can buy Dreamcast, and get an adapter for it, so it plays any Nintendo game?  It’s really sweet for a small investment. I play it on tour all the time, it’s rad.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?  One time in 2nd grade.. wait, it might have been 1st grade, I was the only kid who didn’t know the Pledge of Allegiance, and then all the kids made fun of me because they thought I was wearing mascara cuz my eyes apparently looked like a girls.  Pretty embarrassing.

Boxers or briefs?  Boxer briefs most definitely.

That’s what Stephen from Anberlin said too.  Yeah, for sure, he knows what he’s talking about.

Coke or Pepsi?  Most definitely Coke.  Pepsi is for freaks.  I had to drink one today and it was horrible.

The Simpsons or King of the Hill?  The Simpsons… I never really thought King of the Hill was funny ever.

You don’t think it’s funny to watch hicks sit around and drink beer? Nah, why not just watch it in real life? Haha.

Hilary Duff or Lindsay Lohan?  Ah.. I’d have to go with Lindsay Lohan… she seems more natural than Hilary Duff.

(Mike) Do you think she got a boob job?  Nah, those are natural, I like ’em.

George Bush or John Kerry?  Haha, neither.  But if I had to choose, it’d be John Kerry.

How much time do you spend on your phone a day? Way too much time.  I’ve gone my phone and my T-Mobile sidekick, so I spend lots of time on the phone.

Tell me something no one else knows.  Well, this one kid I hung out with and played soccer with in 8th grade or so… I made out with his sister, and he doesn’t know.