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Fall Out Boy: The Wilderness Years

Fall Out Boy

From the three years in between 2005’s From Under The Cork Tree to 2008’s Folie a Deux, emo-pop pioneers Fall Out Boy were virtually inescapable, topping the charts with their sophomore, Infinity On High, scoring twelve US Hot 100 entries including the No.2 hit “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” and winning a whole host of MTV Video Music Awards. But following the group’s self-imposed hiatus, each member has struggled to make the same impact with their respective side projects. After rattling off a new studio album (Save Rock & Roll) and a headlining North American tour in 2013, here’s a look at what they have all been up to during the lost five years.

Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump’s solo career might not have set the world on fire, but at least he took full advantage of the band’s lengthy break by committing to something entirely different from their trademark emo-pop sound. Named after his contrasting ‘pissed-off yet positive’ state of mind, 2011 debut Soul Punk was an unexpected mix of 80s-inspired synth-pop, funk, electro and R&B which saw him ditch the schlubby geek image he was renowned for in favour of a bleached blond, slimmed down and suited and booted look. Reaching a lowly No.47 on the Billboard charts, the 28-year-old later hinted that he was quitting the mainstream music industry due to the negative reaction it received, but of course quickly relented to team up with his old bandmates.

Alongside collaborations with Chester French’s David-Andrew Wallach, Driis and Sa-Ra’s Om’Mas Keith on an E.P. entitled Truant Wave, support slots on Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae’s Hooligans In Wonderland and Panic At The Disco’s North American tour, Stump also co-wrote tracks for Yellowcard (“Here I Am Alive”) and All Time Low (“Outlines”), contributed new recordings to a Buddy Holly tribute album (“Everyday”) and compilation Download To Donate: Japan Tsunami Relief (“Saturday Night Again”) and played lab technician Micah on the award-winning medical drama House.

Pete Wentz
Despite admitting that ‘the world might need a little less Pete Wentz,’ the band’s most high-profile member wasted little time in pursuing another musical venture, forming the ska/electropop outfit Black Cards in 2010 alongside drummer Spencer Peterson, guitarist Nate Patterson and vocalist Bebe Rexha. Like Stump’s solo efforts, Wentz’s side-project didn’t exactly run smooth with the latter two’s departures putting pay to the release of their debut album.

A mix-tape, Up The Anti – Volume 1, featuring the band’s remixes of tracks by Rihanna, Skrillex and M83 and an E.P., Use Your Disillusion, briefly quashed the clamour for new material, but as of yet, the slimmed-down duo have yet to commit their ‘weird pop’ sound to a full-length effort. But in addition to collaborating with Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus on the Alice In Wonderland soundtrack (“In Transit”), Wentz has also explored other avenues, directing the promo for Train’s “If It’s Love,” helming the Fall Out Toy Works comic book series and publishing a second book entitled Grey.

Joe Trohman & Andy Hurley
Not content with spending every waking hour of the previous six years with each other, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley continued their working relationship by forming the supergroup, The Damned Things, alongside Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano and Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley and Josh Newton. Named after the lyrics from Ram Jam’s 70s version of “Black Betty,” the band pursued a much harded-edged sound than Wentz and Stamp’s solo efforts by channelling the classic rock of Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy.

Following a performance at Download Festival, the sextet scored an unexpected Billboard Top 30 hit with “We’ve Got A Situation Here,” before their Trohman-produced debut LP, Ironiclast, reached No.1 on the U.S. Heatseekers Chart. Whilst the other members went back to their respective day-jobs, Trohman hooked up with Newton to form a second side-project, With Knives, who released the Schadenfreude E.P. in 2012. Hurley, meanwhile, embraced his hardcore punk past by performing in Milwaukee-based hardcore bands Enabler and FOCUSEDxMINDS.

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