Believers Never Die. Ask any fan of Chicago-based rockers, Fall Out Boy. The band has gone five years without a new release and three years of inactivity. That’s enough to make the average music fan abandon ship. The Overcast Kids, however, knew Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley would be back with a vengeance – however long it took.
After months of Fall Out Boy denying rumors, they sent out one tweet that led to a hit single, a VMA-nominated music video and the release date for a number one album. Their website crashed within a few minutes, and just like that, Fall Out Boy was back.
Following the release of the single “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,” music videos for “The Phoenix” and “Young Volcanoes” were released in an 11-part series, titled “The Youngblood Chronicles.” FOB embarked on a sold-out tour with New Politics, performed live on shows like The Today Show and America’s Got Talent and flew overseas for a string of International music festivals. Sept. 5 marked the beginning of the Save Rock & Roll Arena Tour with their good friends Panic! At the Disco.
Drummer Andy Hurley sat down to talk about saving rock and roll, touring the world and what’s next.
LM: The album is titled Save Rock & Roll. Do you think there’s a lack of real rock & roll in current mainstream culture?
AH: The title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a real problem with the conception of rock & roll these days. You hear about the newest rock revival bands every year, but that isn’t rock & roll. Rock & Roll doesn’t need a revival, it needs a reinvention. Rock & Roll isn’t just one sound. It’s an attitude of doing something new and different and weird.
LM: The initial album release date was moved up due to the response to “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark.” How does it feel to be dominating music again?
AH: It feels amazing. None of us expected the response. Usually, an album gets pushed back for heavier advertisement and to push the single to radio longer, but we had the opportunity to release earlier, which we wanted to do in the first place.
LM: Do you think the hiatus has made FOB a stronger band?
AH: The break was something we really needed, or we would’ve ended in a bad way. Being able to do our own projects and explore other genres made us better musicians, and being able to hang out with each other outside of the context of the band and of business made our friendships so mu0ch stronger.
LM: A little over a decade ago you were touring in a van and playing shows for crowds of ten people. Do you ever wake up and say, “Wow, this is my life?”
AH: I wake up every day and think how crazy my life is. I appreciate this opportunity more than anything. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and to be able to do it in this scale, all over the world… It’s just insane. But I love playing shows and touring no matter the scale.
LM: With SR&R being a different sound/direction for FOB, how was the pressure to release new music?
AH: There was no pressure for new music, which was the great thing about recording and writing in secrecy. If the album turned out crappy, we could have just trashed it and moved on. So the only pressure was to make sure we were all happy with what the album turned out to be. Evolving musically was the most important factor in the writing process.
LM: Pete mentioned in a recent interview that you’re the “glue of the band.” Would you agree?
AH: I definitely agree. I’ve always been the most level headed and able to navigate the business of the band and our schedule. The other guys vent to me and I can always help find sanity on the road. The other guys are married and there’s a kid in the mix, so it’s often more difficult for them to be away for so long, so consistently.
LM: You’re currently on an arena tour with Panic! At The Disco. What makes this tour bigger and louder than the last?
AH: With this tour we’re able to have a bigger stage with a lot of dressing and lighting that we can’t have on the smaller tours. It’s almost like the production for a play. It’s really exciting, and a lot more nerve-wracking as well. It’s really fun to be able to add a visual/staging aspect to a show when we can. And it’s definitely louder, because for this tour were turning up to twelve!
LM: Tampa is the last date on the arena tour. Saving the best for last?
AH: Absolutely! Florida shows are always amazing to play, and we’ll lay it all out at that show. It’s nice to just let loose when you don’t have to have anything left afterwards.
LM: What’s next for FOB? What should fans expect in the last few months of 2013?
AH: We have some more international tours, some more videos to shoot to finish off the Youngblood Chronicles, and other fun things for TV. We’re hopefully hitting U.S. cities again around Christmas time.
Fall Out Boy is playing the USF Sun Dome Arena on Sept. 29 with Panic! At the Disco.
Lauren Milici can be reached at lauren.milici@spartans.ut.edu