Fall Out Boy Bio

Back in 2001, Joseph Trohman was just another 16 year old Chicago suburb high school student stuck in a low paying job with dreams. Joe, as he was called by friends and family, had a passion, a passion for music. Joe could play the guitar well and had a dream to start a band. With this dream in mind, Joe called up a friend from another local band, that Joe had toured with, Arma Angelus and asked him to play. Pete Wentz was most noticeably the second member of an unnamed band.

Peter Wentz was a 21 year old college student with more passion for music then anything else. Pete comes from Wilmette, where his parents both lived up the suburban way of life. They lived in a townhouse where Pete's parents weren't one hundred percent ok with the idea of Pete wanting to peruse music. Pete as a child did things on his own terms, and he still was that way at 21. Pete had worked in numerous bands, but the one he was most well known in was Arma Angelus, a popular hardcore band in the Chicago music scene. Pete figured that Joe's band would be a side project, something that he could do in his spare time. Pete would soon realize that this band was something more then the garages and VFW halls.

Joe and Pete then set their sights on a drummer. Joe had a job at the local Borders bookstore with another 16 year old music fanatic. Patrick Stumph and Joe talked frequently about their common interests in music, ranging from artists like David Bowie to Neurosis and especially Arma Angelus. Patrick was approached by Joe to join this band that he had been working on with Pete. Liking the idea of drumming in a band and working with Pete, Patrick signed on to the band as the drummer.

In 2001, the band, which had remained unnamed, decided to play their first gig together in Chicago. It was at this show that the band got their well known name. Legend has it that the then front man of the band, Mike, asked the crowd what their name should be. After a couple of random names, a fan screamed "Fall Out Boy". The band liked the name and it stuck.

The bands fame was short lived, after some problems with the band, Mike decided to leave the band. The band was in a crunch for a guitarist and a lead singer. It was then that they decided to look to Patrick for vocals. Patrick had never given any thought into singing, but when asked to sing, he found that he had an amazing singing voice. Patrick decided to take the job as lead singer, but Patrick was a very shy boy, so he left the talking up to Pete.

In May of 2002, the band released their first split LP called Project Rocket. This LP had some of the bands more hardcore music on it. Not liking the hardcore music scene, the band decided to go for a more punk sound and look. Their second LP, Fall Out Boy's An Evening Out With Your Girlfriend, showed the punk playing skills that the band harbored for quite sometime. But not everyone in the band was happy with the punk sound and after a few weeks after the EP release, their latest drummer, TJ quit right before a tour. A friend of Pete and Joe from a band called Racetrator, Andy Hurley joined the band with the intent of staying on until the end of the tour. Andy meshed well with the rest of the band, so he decided to stick around.

In 2003, almost a year after Evening Out, the band was signed on to their first record label Fueled By Ramen. Shortly then after the band put out their EP Take This To Your Grave. TTYG, its shortened name, was written almost entirely by Patrick Stump. It is thought and said to be the bands best album. The band feels differently. TTYG had sound that Fall Out Boy wanted to achieve, it wasn't hardcore, it wasn't punk, and it wasn't pop, but all of them combined. Some songs like "Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today," had a deep underlying message about loathe and hatred. And then there are songs like "Grand Theft Autumn" which had a light had a lighthearted vibe to it about love. Sure the band has their favorite songs but they just couldn't accept the EP for what it was.

One member of the band, found the pressures of being "famous" to be too much. It is reported that in 2003, the bassist Pete decided that he could no longer go on with life and decided he would try to take his own life. Some people said it is because he had family problems, some say it was because he had another break up with his girlfriend Jeanea, but the reason is still unknown.

"I just didn't care anymore if I lived or died," Pete said when interviewed, "I took the bottle of Adavant in that parking lot with the intent to die." Thankfully, someone discovered Pete and his life was saved.

After this incident, and almost two years after, Fall Out Boy remained under the radar, playing small shows in Chicago and other various places, but not doing anything big. In 2004, Fall Out Boy was signed to their first major record label, Island Records. With the Island record producers, Fall Out Boy made their first full length CD. In April, before the CD came out, the bad decided to release their first single off the album. The song "Sugar We're Going Down" became an instant hit and quickly threw the boys into stardom. By the time the CD was released, the fan base had grown to expansive numbers and the CD, From Under The Cork Tree was easily one of the fastest selling CDS that Island has ever seen. The album became a gold album and "Sugar" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

"I didn't think that we would become that popular. I mean I am a