Man of many talents, Pete Wentz, co-founder and bassist of Fall Out Boy, entrepreneur, celebrity figure and father, talks with Notion about his fast rise to fame and the consequences that come with being part of one of the biggest alternative music groups in the world.
Pete, the fourth of five covers to be revealed for Notion Magazine's Issue 70, discusses his new direction following the band's infamous hiatus, his more modest approach to his projects and the band's journey from Fall Out Boy to 'Fall Out Men'. Set for another sold-out UK headline tour in October 2015, Pete Wentz demonstrates why he's more in demand than he's ever been before.
ON PRODUCING NEW MATERIAL WITH FALL OUT BOY
The new stuff is definitely different. When we were recording the new album my friends would say 'Oh you should do something like Dance Dance' or 'Is it going to sound like [From Under The] Cork Tree?' and I was like 'No! We can't do that'. What's the point making something that sounds like something we've already done. But at the same time... you want to remind people of the spirit of your music, not do something that was a direct replication of that. So it was kind of terrifying.
ON THE BAND'S INFAMOUS BREAK UP
So much of it was a hazy experience, so much of it happened too fast! You don't realise that the ups would end, or that the downs would end, too. That perspective has been really helpful the second time around.
ON TAKING RISKS IN MUSIC
I remember when we did This Ain't A Scene for Infinity On High, and our label heard it and said 'This might be the end of you guys, sorry'. I shit you not!
ON THE REALITY OF LIVING THE HIGH LIFE
When we were younger we splashed out. I used to always have a Christmas ham on the rider, because I could. It was kind of insane, but I wanted a ham, you know. But later, after a show, we were in the club, and I saw a few women were in our seating area, eating the cold ham. It was so gross and greasy. We ended up removing the ham after that.
ON THE BAND MATURING
Now we're like Fall Out Men. That would be the tagline. I think we've realised that there are people that we want in our lives, and people that we perhaps don't. We have such a better handle on it now.
ON DREAMS TO COLLABORATE WITH TAYLOR SWIFT & RIHANNA
We did this Victoria's Secret show with Taylor and she sang Light Em Up with us. She is very in demand though, isn't she? I wouldn't hold my breath. She was so sweet. I'd really like to do something cool with Rihanna.
ON WORKING WITH WIZ KHALIFA ON UPCOMING TOUR (THE BOYS OF ZUMMER TOUR)
We'll do some kind of collaboration; we had him on a remix of Uma Thurman, so I'd love to remix on one of his songs. That would be great!
ON GOOD FRIEND, SINGER SIA
When we hang out she has this quirk where she makes up nicknames for people. She calls me 'Cookie'.
ON BEING UNDERDOGS
We've never been content with being comfortable. We're still underdogs, even now. So we're just gonna pull the pin on the grenade, throw it, and hope it goes off.
