Sputnik Music Forums - Featured Artist #26: Fall Out Boy

[center][size=4]Fall Out Boy[/size][/center]

[b]Fall Out Boy is:[/b]
Patrick Stump - Vocals, Guitar
Peter Wentz - Bass
Andrew Hurley - Drums
Joseph Trohman - Guitar

Fall Out Boy have quickly risen from playing garages and clubs in Chicago to places all around America and Europe. Their blend of beautifully crafted hooks, fast beats and tongue-in-cheek lyrics have gotten them to where they are now; a part of Island Records roster.

The band appeared on the scene no shorter than 4 years ago in 2001, when they made a 3 song demo. These 3 songs were enough to catch the eye of label Uprising Records, and in 2002, the band made a split EP with Project Rocket.

It wasnt until Janurary 2003 that the band made their first full length record, [i]Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend[/i]. The 3 songs on the demos were redone, and put together with 6 more hard-hitting and raw pop-punk songs, including the now famous "Honorable Mention" and "Pretty In Punk".

Touring for this CD was quick, as major pop-punk label Fueled By Ramen Records were eager to sign the band. The label were allowed an advance from Island Records to let the band record their debut for FBR.

So in May 2003, 4 months after they recorded their first LP, Fall Out Boy headed to the studio again to record what some say is the best record of 2003. [i]Take This To Your Grave[/i] was unleashed on the world May 6th, 2003. Jam-packed with 12 chirpy pop-punk anthems like "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy?", "Saturday" and "Chicago Is So Two Years Ago" (An obvious play on their former choice of venue for the band), the album featured more polished sounds without losing the momentum the band prevously had.

The band played 280 gigs in 2003, supporting both records released that year. Of course, it wasn't just this that go them their fanbase they have now. Touring with bands like Less Than Jake, Rufio, All American Rejects, Yellowcard and more got them noticed, and the band just 2 years old headlined the Radiotakeover “Back to School Tour” in August and September.

And how did Fall Out Boy bring in the new year? They signed with major label Island Records. That's right, in one year, all this drama went on for the band, and they managed to get a deal with one of the biggest major labels in the world, sporting bands like cKy, Sum 41, Thrice and Thursday.

2004 saw Fall Out Boy in the studio again, this time recording an acoustic EP which was tenetively entitled [i]My Heart Will Always Be On The B-Side Of My Tongue[/i]. 4 new acoustic songs (1 of these would later feature on their Island Records album debut) and 1 acoustic version of "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy?", and a DVD included with the pack, left fans begging for more.

The band toured hard in 2004, heading across the pond to Europe and toured with huge bands such as Blink-182. The band also headlined the “Believers Never Die” tour over summer, quickly followed by a slot on the Warped Tour. It was at the end of the year the band headed back to the studio to record their first album in 2 years; [i]From Under The Cork Tree[/i].

The title came from when the band's tour van crashed, and apparently Patrick wrote a bunch of the songs on this album from under a cork tree while waiting for help. The album sounds completely perfect in sound quality, losing some of it's raw feel previous albums had. But this is quickly made up by the fact that FOB never lost their gift for making superb pop-punk songs. Newer riffs were tried out on this record, and Patrick's vocals sound tremendous. Songs like "Dance, Dance", the previously acoustic "Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner" and "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me" really prove how matured Fall Out Boy are, yet how they never lost their touch with the music.

As if this wasn't enough, the band have decided to remaster their first 2 albums. [I]TTTYG[/I] was remastered back in January, retitled [i]Take This To Your Grave: The Director's Cut[/i] (And included 2 extra tracks. Roxanne, a Police cover, and a remix of Grand Theft Autum/Where Is Your Boy), and [i]FOBEWYG[/i] was remastered last month in May, and retitled as [i]Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Grlfriend: The 2nd Date Remix[/i].

And as for the band, they are busy touring and promoting the new album. They have toured with FBR new kids on the block Gym Class Heroes and The Academy Is..., and have toured with Silverstein as well. The band have appeared on television sets all around the world on such programs like The Conan O' Brian Show and TRL (Beating off The White Stripes in the video chart). Hell, they recently took over KROCK2 radio for an hour and got to pick their own playlist. They decided to play the whole of their new album, something only the cockiest and funniest band could get away with!

It may have only taken 4 years for Fall Out Boy to get into iPods of pop-punk fans everywhere, but they were 4 long years filled with studio time, touring and promotions. They have never taken themselves too seriously, something I think has helped them get to where they are. Yet they have always expressed their hate for the decline of the pop-punk and "emo" scene, and have done their part to get kids to not follow the scene (One demo for the new album was called "I Like You A Whole Lot More Before You Were A [size=2]Fu[/size]cking Myspace Whore")

[b]Discography[/b]
[i]Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend[/i]
1. Honorable Mention
2. Calm Before The Storm
3. Switchblades And Infidelity
4. Pretty In Punk
5. Growing Up
6. The World's Not Waiting (For Five Tired Boys And A Broken Down Van)
7. Short, Fast, And Loud
8. Moving Pictures
9. Parker Lewis Can't Lose (But I'm Going To Give It My Best Shot)

[i]Take This To Your Grave[/i]
1. Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today
2. Dead On Arrival
3. Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
4. Saturday
5. Homesick At Space Camp
6. Sending Postcards From A Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here)
7. Chicago Is So Two Years Ago
8. The Pros And Cons Of Breathing
9. Grenade Jumper
10. Calm Before The Storm
11. Reinventing The Wheel To Run Myself Over
12. The Patron Saint Of Liars And Fakes

[i]My Heart Will Always Be On The B-Side Of My Tongue[/i] (* = DVD tracks)
1. My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon
2. It's Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine. I Am Thinking It Must Be Love.
3. Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner
4. Love Will Tear Us Apart
5. Grand Theft Autumn (Where Is Your Boy)

1. The Story*
2. Grenade Jumper (Acoustic)*
3. Chicago Is So Two Years Ago (Acoustic)*
4. Saturday (Acoustic)*
5. The Cutting Room Floor*
6. Hidden Video*

[i]From Under The Cork Tree[/i]
1. Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued
2. Of All The Gin Joints In The World
3. Dance, Dance
4. Sugar, We're Goin' Down
5. Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner
6. I've Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)
7. 7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)
8. Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year
9. Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends
10. I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
11. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"
12. Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows)
13. XO

[B]Download these songs[/b]
[i]Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend[/i]
- [url=http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=17E2DVFF05YAV37ITOJY4LBT73]Honourable Mention[/url]
- [url=http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=17IFKOSE0B5A92Q1ICS58HNAB7]Pretty In Punk[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0OK6SG3J5TB3A0L89F90MMC5RW]The World's Not Waiting (For Five Tired Boys In A Broken Down Van)[/url]

[i]Take This To Your Grave[/i]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1MD5FBIA0S6LV3BO4OJ1U7ROFW]Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0LX1GOLHI3J643KJE3EEVP0QMY]Saturday[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3PY51LAF690Q72BJC2I173PDDN]Chicago Is So Two Years Ago[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3P6DRB1HPXUSH01FQF5M0Z01OM]The Pros And Cons Of Breathing[/url]

[i]My Heart Will Always Be On The B-Side Of My Tongue[/i]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0D9PXHLCS1HY2377IDNZLXE0VJ]My Heart Is The Worst Kind Of Weapon[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2M9GKHDRVHHTS292J2QPOAOU7F]Nobody Puts Baby In the Corner[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=321NXP6SMXZNQ2WVSO4LMYUJ6G]Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division Cover)[/url]

[i]From Under The Cork Tree[/i]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=37NR9ESJ4XNM92PJ3S679GFYI1]Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued[/url]
- [url=http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=30ITBWSGD7L1H2TSZ2X2I54DPN]Dance, Dance[/url]
- [url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3CK3YWZD3TRZZ0HA4GFLIOJZVY]I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me[/url]
- [url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=12WA57AU1Y9PX3D8YQYPZZIVQ7]Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows)[/url]

[b]Links[/b]
[url=http://www.falloutboyrock.com]Fall Out Boy's website[/url]
[url=http://www.purevolume.com/falloutboy]Fall Out Boy's Purevolume[/url]
[url=http://www.myspace.com/falloutboy]Fall Out Boy's Myspace[/url]
[url=http://www.livejournal.com/community/falloutboylove/]Fall Out Boy's Livejournal Community[/url]