sandiegopunk.com
|
Brandon: Let's start with your name
and what you do in the band. |
 |
Brandon: Have you guys started working on the follow up to Take This To You Grave?
Pete: We have demoed about 15 songs and we'll probably write like 5 more and then we're going to go start recording in November.
Brandon: Was there anything that you were unhappy with or felt like you could have done better on Take This To Your Grave?
Pete: Oh yeah, absolutely. I can only hear the flaws when I listen to it, which I guess is the nature of things like that, like people that can't eat their own cooking. I don't think that there is much I would have done differently, but at the same time, like I said, I can only hear the mistakes and the flaws and I'm extra critical.
Brandon: Are there any aspects of the recording process in particular that you're looking forward to putting the resources signing with Island has afforded you with a bigger budget and more studio time?
Pete: The main thing is that we can focus solely on the band and we don't have to work or go to school. We're able to put all our attention on what we're doing as a band and I think that's really important and will only allow us to write better music.
Brandon: Will Sean O'Keefe be producing again?
Pete: Uhhh… I'm not sure right now. I kind of don't think so because he's doing a band right now called This Is Me Smiling and I don't really think he has much time to produce, but I don't know yet.
Brandon: Where did the idea come from to do all acoustic songs for the My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue EP and were the songs written as acoustic songs specifically for the EP or where they older songs you decided to use?
Pete: A couple people were interested in our acoustic songs and we decided that that would be a good idea as well. Island allowed us to work with Fueled By Ramen as long as we did something different like acoustic songs and only as an EP that wouldn't conflict with our full length for them. The cool thing for us is it allows us to road test our songs and to see if maybe we should try this or that and see what we like and it showed a different side of Fall Out Boy. All of our songs begin on acoustic guitar so I guess technically all of them could end up being acoustic songs. I guess they were just written as regular Fall Out Boy songs, only one was written with the intention that it would be an acoustic song.
Brandon: What made you decide to do the DVD that comes with the EP and how long did it take you guys to put it together?
Pete: We've been just taking footage since the very beginning of the band, I don't really know why, just of us doing stupid shit real early on. I guess it was because a lot of bands, in order to resell their record or to give it an extra push will include some little sample of a DVD of them hanging out in the studio or something really stupid. I think B-Sides is cool because it's like a full DVD and also the acoustic record. It's not an add-on and it's not a trick to get you to buy anything, it's worth the price and that was important to us. It also like documented our band's history which a lot of people ask about and is easier to just show.
Brandon: On the last EP it seemed like the lyrics got a little darker and could even be interpreted as being sadistic or misogynist, where did these come from and how literal do you think they should be taken?
Pete: First of all, I'd say don't mistake misogyny that people think is in Fall Out Boy for what is actually misanthropy, we don't hate girls, we hate everybody. The truth is I think out first record was assessment, the EP was reaction, and I think our next record will be more about repair and more of an introspective look because if you are willing to tear people apart you should be willing to tear yourself apart. I felt like a lot of what Take This To Your Grave was focused on was still hanging over my head and I wanted to get it out and then I had the person that a couple of the songs or the probably the majority of the songs on Take This To Your Grave were written about telling everybody who would listen all the songs were about her. Only a person like her could be proud of that. I feel like the EP was just my attempt of silencing that person or at least my reaction to them. And you know, I'm a guy and that's a girl but it could have just as easily been from a girl to a guy. But I think...you know, four years from now nobody is going to give a fuck about how my girlfriend treated me so it doesn't really matter.
Brandon: Having been in a band in the hardcore scene and now being in a band more in the pop-punk scene, what do you think are the best and worst parts about each scene?
Pete: They all have their issues. At the end of the day I think it's stupid to even label scenes because people float and everything flows freely between genres. In hardcore there's definitely an ideal and sincerity that's kind of held up and that's pretty awesome but at the same time now you see all these guys going to shows just beating the shit out of these dudes for no reason. Maybe it was always around but at some point I realized that wasn't really what I wanted to be involved in and those weren't the people I wanted to play music for. The people who are sincere and are rad in hardcore are awesome but it just made me feel shitty playing music for these fucking jocks who are just beating the shit out of people who don't deserve it at all. In the pop-punk scene there is more of an openness and there's more of a sense that like anyone could come in and be involved. Also, you can play different kinds of music and it's kind of more accepting, but at the same time I think some of the substance isn't always there and it's important to have that substance. I don't really know, whatever you want to label our band is fine and whatever you want to label me is fine, it doesn't really matter to me, we are who we are, we play the music we play and if you like it you like it and if you don't you don't. If someone wants to hate us because were a pop-punk band or because we're hardcore kids in a pop-punk band that's stupid. You should hate us for the music we play or what we say and love us for the music we play or what we say. Love us or hate us for those reasons rather than what we're called because at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.
Brandon: Personally, I'm generally more into hardcore and metal and usually not the biggest fan of pop-punk but I really dig your band. Do you guys hear that kind of thing a lot?
Pete: I think that we're a lot of hardcore kid's guilty pleasure. We hang out with a lot of hardcore kids and honestly in our heads we consider ourselves a hardcore band from the way we act and the way we write our songs and the way we structure them and what they are about. I grew up on Gorilla Biscuits, Minor Threat, Youth Of Today and then Earth Crisis and Strife to American Nightmare. So we do hear that a lot and it's awesome. It's rad because that's definitely people we've always tried to impress and people we've always have tried to keep involved in our band and it's cool that anybody gives a shit about it.
Brandon: Now that you guys have been getting more and more attention with videos on TV and landing on the cover of Alternative Press are there any aspects of your new found popularity you're less than thrilled with?
Pete: It's weird to have to like take into account things like when I go see my friend's bands in Chicago I don't want to stand in the crowd because I don't want the attention taken off the band and put on me. So that's an aspect and then there's another aspect that I call "punk rock famous" which is like people know the name of your band and maybe know a song or something but don't know what you look like because we're not like on TV or plastered everywhere. So I'm around a lot of conversations about Fall Out Boy, like I'll be sitting by somebody and they'll be like "Man, that band fucking sucks" or something. That's always kind of awkward because you're like "Wow this is weird, I'm like right here". We're kind of at an awkward stage of growth but it's cool, I'm having a good time, I would never have thought it would get to where it is.
Brandon: How has this tour with Taking Back Sunday been so far?
Pete: Amazing, TBS has been really rad to us. I guess when talking about tours we should do a lot of kids asked for this tour so it's really cool that it's actually happened.
Brandon: You've been through San Diego a couple times now, what's your impression of the city and do you usually have good shows here?
Pete: The first time we ever came to San Diego we played at the Scene and we came by ourselves so it was a really tough show. But San Diego kids and people have always been really supportive of us. Atticus was like on board with us from the beginning and Blink has always helped us out and I think that's always helped us here. On top of that San Diego has probably the best weather in the entire nation so it's always rad to come here. No matter what show you're playing it's always really nice out and the people are just laid back.
Brandon: You guys covered Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" which I thought was an inspired choice, what else is at the top of your "songs I want to cover" list?
Pete: I'd like to cover "Slip" by Quicksand, "Start Today" by Gorilla Biscuits, maybe "Hairdresser On Fire" by Morrissey. There are a lot of songs I'd really like to cover, there's some that I'd be nervous about butchering. That was definitely an aspect of "Love Will Tear Us Apart." There are Cure songs I'd like to cover.
Brandon: Would you rather cover songs from different genres that you can put your own spin on?
Pete: Absolutely, like I think "Start Today" we'd do a little more melodically or "Hairdresser On Fire" we'd do possibly a little heavier. Like the Joy Division song we definitely changed because the truth is that band wasn't the tightest band and they weren't the best band but they did that song the best anyone could ever do it. That moment in history is the best anyone could ever do that song and the best we could ever hope to do is put our own spin on it and hope that people will like it a little bit.
Brandon: Being a former Political Science major, do you have any thoughts on the upcoming election you'd like to share?
Pete: It's really one of those things we don't say too much about. I think that it's important but I think that a lot of people are too young to actually go out and vote but it's important to be aware anyway and when you get the chance to vote. You can even influence your parents and what they're doing. I'd like to get up and say we're all extremely liberal people in Fall Out Boy and I'd like to get up there and tell people what to do but I don't think that's the place for Fall Out Boy. Like I said, we're all very liberal people and we all pretty much know how we're voting. I think that one of the things that Fall Out Boy tries to address is rather than just have this in your face political message is that the personal is political and how you interact socially and how you view yourself and what your ego is and how you grew up affects how you act politically and affects how you interact with people and affects you social-politically. I think that there's more to George Bush being president than him stealing the election. It's interesting that George Bush seems like the type of person a lot of people would want to hang out with. He's got that frat boyish quality like you'd probably want to go have some beers with him and I think that affects how people view him and some people probably vote for him based on that. I think it's important to understand the interpersonal dynamics of human beings before you even take it to the level of politics.
Brandon: Alright, last question. What would you rather a kid do with his last $15, buy your record or catch your show?
Pete: I'd definitely rather they catch a show. I think the interaction there is more important.
Brandon: Any last words you'd like to say?
Pete: Check out www.falloutboyrock.com and thanks for the interview.
18 Visions interview conducted October
2004 via e-mail by Brandon Grigg.
Picture courtesy of falloutboyrock.com,
taken by John McKaig.
http://www.falloutboyrock.com
http://www.islandrecords.com
Help keep sandiegopunk alive by visiting our sponsors!
