Fall Out Boy Rocks the Pavillion

Sell-out concerts, chart-topping singles, Grammy nominations - everyone wants a piece of the emo punk experience that is Fall Out Boy.

But the last thing these four young lads from Chicago expected when they were cranking their way through their sold-out show at Sydney's Hordern Pavillion was dodging the missiles hurled by fans!

What the hell happened? Bassist Pete Wentz, backstage after the gig, reckons it was just a show of affection. Australian audiences just like to throw stuff!

"I don't know if it was special for our band or whether they do it all the time," says Pete. "People in Australia appreciate the shows more because they don't get bands every second. They're more excited about it."

We caught up with Pete after their show to give the lowdown on everything that's been happening on their OZ tour.

Q. There were people of all different ages at your gig. What's it like knowing that your music is popular with a broad range of people?
A. I don't think it's good for the younger ones. I think some of them are too young for our music.

When you listen to our lyrics or what we say on stage, I don't know if they're too young to hear it. But at the same time I don't want to censor my mouth, so it's a fine line.

Yeah, every time you swore on stage, the little kids looked shocked!
Yeah, there's a lot of swearing, but what are you gonna do? You can't dumb it down too much or it loses it's meaning.

What about your cool moves on stage. Do you practice that sort of stuff at home?
No, that's why I fall down a lot. We don't practice! (laughs)

Do you ever hit your head on the amp or run into each other?
Yeah, stuff like that happens a lot. There are some injuries because none of it's choreographed. Half the time we'll say, "Oh, maybe I'll try this thing," and then it doesn't go very well. (laughs)

How do you prepare for your live shows?
We usually just hang out and... high-five each other right before we play in a certain order. We don't really have anything else that we do. It's like you're gonna feel it or you're not, you know?

And what about after the show?
If we've had a good show, then we'll hang out and go out, but if we have a bad show, we'll just go to bed.

And what about last night?
Last night was really good. It was better than the Melbourne show because we got into the swing of it.

Tell us about your new album Infinity on High. Are you proud of the end result?
I'm like the sentimental pessimist. I'm the kind of person who's never been into anything that I've ever done in my entire life.

But yeah, it's like 'key the sad sounding violins playing right now', you know? (laughs) But I think as a whole, the album's listenable.

It's not really for me to say whether people should like it or not. But I'm happy that people do.

What about in comparison to your other albums?
I think it's more listenable. This album is easier to listen to.

Do you have a favourite track?
It's not really my favourite but if I had to say, it would be 'Hum Hallelujah'.

This is the first time you have been to Australia. How do you like it?
I see it mostly through my hotel room and when we are flying over it.

Here is nice (Luna Park) and we went out last night and that was fun. I walked around a bit today and I didn't get lost, so that was a good start.

You guys are from Chicago. Is there anywhere else you'd like to live?
I don't like fitting in, so I'd say Osaka, Japan. I like to feel alien and totally foreign.

How would you describe the typical Fall Out Boy fan?
I think we have the same fans as what The Cure had in the 80's.

We have these fans where you can totally tell that they're
Fall Out fans, but then there are a lot of people who are total die hard fans and you can't really tell.

There's no uniform. There are some fans who dress like us, but at the same time I think there's diversity. That's a good thing.

There were a lot of guys at your concert last night that looked like you...
Yeah, there are more guys at the Australian shows then there are in the US. Definitely.

In the States it's mostly girls because I think when you start, guys are like your band runners and then when their girlfriend's get into you, they're like, yeah whatever! (laughs)

How do you handle being the pin-up boy for the band?
I just feel like, when I look in the mirror I see the same person as I saw when I was 14 and I don't see myself that way at all.

It's really surprising that other people do [think of me as the pin-up boy], you know what I mean? I'm short and weird looking.

Do you have lots of girls following you around?
If I went back to high school, I'd be a hit right now!

I don't know, I mean no more so than anyone else in the band. But it's hard for me to gauge.

I'm not really observant about that kind of stuff. I'd much rather people be into what I'm into or what I'm doing, rather than how I look.

That's why I'm like, every second, thinking about how weird am I going to try and make myself look tonight.

You know, my hair looks weird, I've got my purple pants on and a 'Caddyshack' t-shirt. I'm just bad looking. 

What is the go with the hoodie? Is it like a protection thing?
Yeah, it's my security blanket. I feel like I can do whatever when I'm wearing it.

Do you have a wardrobe full of them now?
I have four to five hundred hoodies! I have a few favourites - there are two that I tend to wear on stage. I'm a bit over-indulgent in the hoodie area.

Your record label just signed Panic! At the Disco, and now they're huge! Are you proud of their success?
Totally. I mean they're like the little dudes. It definitely feels good. It's really good to be a part of what they're doing.

What about Panic! At the Disco being on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine before you guys did?
I mean, it's funny. People would be like, are you jealous because Panic! are on tour or is Brendon jealous of Patrick's voice? And it's like, "Dude! We're all friends with each other! We're a gang,".

I think it would be bizarre if we got mad about any of that stuff. I think maybe karma would have kicked in if we had been jealous and maybe we wouldn't have been on the cover ever.

It's all good, man. My friend's successes are my successes too.

So do you guys hang out with Panic! At the Disco?
Oh yeah, all the time. All those guys from the label, we're all good friends and it's not just something for the magazine covers and stories. We all get along famously.

Are you always on the look out for new bands for your label?
Definitely. This is the place where you find great music - when you're out and about and you just come across something that's a bit special.

The internet has been positive and negative for you guys. How do you feel about it?
I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. It's like when you get too high on your horse, you get knocked down again, which is kind of a good thing as far as that goes.

The internet does level the playing field and it's a great tool, but I think people shouldn't believe everything they read on the internet.

Do you do any internet blogging?
I do, I blog hard (laughs). It's a good outlet.

What do you do in your spare time?
I hang out with my dog. I have a bulldog called Hemmingway. I like to watch a lot of movies. I read. I'm pretty boring. 

Do you go home much to see your parents?
No. Not really. We're always on the move, you know. Like a circus.

Do you miss the town you grew up in?
Sometimes. I don't miss the perspective I had when I lived there, you know? It was smaller. My head was wrapped around so many things that weren't important.

Have you got any new tattoos?
Hmm, not really. They're all old. The newest one I have is this one from Howl's Moving Castle.

Are you into Japanese Animation?
No, I'm only into Howl. Hayao Miyazaki is the best!

If you had a year off from music, what would you do?
I would sleep. Yeah, I don't sleep very well. But that's okay.

What's the best thing about being on the road and touring around with your band?
It's the greatest adventure ever written. It's exciting and cool to get out there and meet new people.