Q&A With Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz Ahead of May 7 Gig

原创 Kyle M. theBeijinger

Forget the Fall Out Boy that gave you an emo soundtrack to survive high school. Today, the band has grown far beyond the pop-punk sound that made them such megastars, incorporating Latin rhythms on some songs, collaborating with hip-hop heavyweights on others (be it MC's like Big Sean or dancehall stars like Burna Boy), and keeping fans on their toes with a myriad of other surprises. Ahead of their May 7 gig at the Wukesong Cadillac Arena, Fall Out Boy bassist, backup vocalist, and former teenie bopper heartthrob Pete Wentz tells us more about the band’s restless evolution.

Fans and critics have really enjoyed some of your boundary-pushing experiments on your latest LP, Mania, like the Latin-tinged “Hold Me Tight Or Don’t.” What inspired that choice of genre?
This one kind of just came out of nowhere. To me it feels kind of like an old No Doubt song. The video was inspired by the Day of the Dead in Mexico and some of those celebrations.

What was it like to work with Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter Burna Boy on the Mania song "Sunshine Riptide"?
Burna Boy is awesome. We hit him up when we came up with the song and he immediately had some ideas for his verse. I am a big fan of his. He has such a rad vibe!

"Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" has some fun lyrics, especially, "I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color." What do you think are the biggest lyrical achievements, overall, on this album?
That one is fun and simple with a few different layers. But my favorite is the line from [closing track] "Bishops Knife Trick": "I'm yours until the earth crumbles and the heavens roll away." I just like the idea of a forever kind of love.

Tell us about making the music video for "The Last of the Real Ones". People have described it as an homage to Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” video.
We went out into the desert and filmed this video in a very spontaneous way. Yes, this is supposed to be a shot for shot kind of remake of "Flashing Lights". But with llamas.

What’s next for Fall Out Boy?
Honestly, I'm not sure. Makes me think of the Back to the Future 2 – "Where we’re going, we don't need roads."

Tickets for Fall Out Boy’s May 7 gig at the Cadillac Arena in Wukesong (formerly LeSports Center and Huaxi Live) cost between RMB 380 and 1,280. For more information, click "Read more".

Photo: falloutboy.com