Joe Trohman Interview: Fall Out Boy

By: Matt Baamonde

Photo Courtesy of Fall Out Boy

During the past few years, Fall Out Boy has literally exploded over the pop music landscape. They’ve earned their keep by spending hard time on the road, building their music, giving it muscle and gathering a global network of fans.

They hit pay dirt in 2005 with their breakout CD, From Under The Cork Tree . That early Fall Out Boy album ramped up to #1 on the Billboard Charts, gained momentum and went triple platinum, earning the group a 2006 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

Next up for the group was, Infinity on High , released in 2007. Infinity debuted at #1, before going platinum a month later.

Beyond their music, Fall Out Boy is recognized as a brilliant marketing team. Their strategy included rolling out a plan to show up in Antarctica for a show, but was stalled due to freezing squalls.

But, you get it, they have the “know how” to make their mark. Check out bassist Pete Wentz’s resume. He’s launched his own fashion line of clothing, as well as established Fall Out Boy’s new label, Decaydance. This line-up of self-described nerds has given the lead guitarists among us some hope, with some staggering fret work to gnaw on and enjoy. All the while, Fall Out Boy still manages to crossover into the trendy dance and hip-hop scenes. It’s a musical fusion concept that works.

The band was formed in the suburbs of Chicago in 2001 by Joe Trohman and Wentz. All veterans of Chicago’s underground hardcore scene, each of the four members had been in and out of various bands. Along with Joe and Pete, the group clicks with Andrew Hurley (drums) and vocalist Patrick Stump (guitar).

The Fall Out Boy sound is awash with hardcore intensity, while fused with surprisingly melodic undercurrents of pop-punk-emo influences. The group’s on-stage intensity carries over to the rest of their efforts off-stage, with a work ethic that’s as daunting as it is admirable. All one has to do is reflect on the band’s motto, “Fuck Down-Time!” to grasp their focused intensity. With that, it won’t surprise anyone if the band’s half-life is a long stretch into the future.

Their latest release is a CD/DVD package titled Live In Phoenix . The release features all of their hits and highlights the band’s strength as an amazing high performance act. A highlight of the live album is their cover of Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Beat It.” None other than John Mayer added some muscle to that track, manhandling the famous chops that Eddie Van Halen cranked out on the original.

The Fall Out Boy version is a full frontal assault on the senses. While Mayer issues crunchy riffs, Patrick Stump furiously spits out the lyrics. Other fired up live action tracks include, “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” and “Grand Theft Autumn (Where is Your Boy?).”

I spoke with Joe about his and Fall Out Boy’s plans for the future, his new Joe Trohman Signature Model Washburn, the gear he keeps on stage and his professional goals as a guitar player.

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Matt Baamonde: How was finishing the tour for your album, Infinity on High?

Joe Trohman: It was rad! The last tour was really fun. By the end, we were all burnt out. You know, it was rad like all our tours. Had a lot of fun.

Matt: We’ve been told that you guys have a variety of materials written for a new album. Are you looking to record soon?

Joe Trohman: Yeah, we’re looking to go in [to the studio] relatively soon, in the next few months. We have a lot of songs, I mean, well over thirty. We’re narrowing it down in the mid-twenties, so we can have enough material to even narrow it down even further.

Songs are really cool, you know. I think it just kind of keeps getting a little more complex and a little more mature, but still definitely Fall Out Boy. It’s definitely never gonna lose that aspect. I think people like it a lot, though.

Matt: When you started the band with Pete Wentz, what was your primary focus? Were you bent on getting made and successful or were you more focused on doing what you loved and seeing where it would take you?

Joe Trohman: I always wanted to do bands and I always tried to do bands, so I’d say the latter. You know, doing what I loved. I think “trying” was the operative word. The plan at that time for me was to find people that were as dedicated to putting in 100% into a band. If you don’t have people that are willing to put in the same amount as you are, it’s going to fall apart.

Matt: Before the band was famous, were you worried about being in debt to Island Records when you received the advance for Take This to Your Grave , especially since it came with a right of first refusal for your second album?

Joe Trohman: We never really took the money. [Laughs] We started out from the bottom of the barrel and worked our way up. And while we were on Fueled [record label] by Ramen, is when we kind of started making a name for us, underground live, since we were a pretty big Indie band by that point in time.

So, by the time we got to Island, we got money to record a record, and all that stuff. We never really took any tour support or anything like that. We were pretty good at selling our own merch and making our own money on tour and not getting into debt with stuff. That’s the worst, getting into debt with a major label.

Matt: Who were the major influences when the band started?

Joe Trohman: At that point in time, Descendants were big for us. I mean, I think Green Day was definitely kind of a model for Fall Out Boy. But, you know, the Damned, even the Sex Pistols and the Kinks. I mean, it’s all sorts of different older pop and stuff like that. Also, the kind of ‘80s pop punk and punk rock.

Matt: What gear do you currently use on stage? In the studio? Tell us about your custom shop Washburn guitars and your new signature model.

Joe Trohman: On stage, I use a Bogner Ubershchall and an Orange Rockerverb 50, so I A/B between those two and don’t use pedals. I’m of the mindset that the best tones can come straight out of an amp. So, I’ve messed with five amps for five different tunes, then use one amp and a bunch of pedals, because I think it just confuses things for me.

You know, if I need pedals when we record new songs and we need those effects or we need those specific tones that we can only achieve through using pedals, then, I will definitely go for it. But, neither I nor Patrick have ever been of the mindset that Fall Out Boy has needed a bunch of pedals.

Matt: Really? So no tuner pedals, no volume pedals?

Joe Trohman: Well, I have a tech for that stuff, who does my tuning for me. Before then, I used to have a rack tuner and all that stuff.

But, that was a while ago. But yeah, no effects pedals. I mean, if I go out of tune on stage really bad, I’ll just switch it out to a new guitar. I’ve got the changes down pretty well. So, by the time I switch, it’s like I haven’t really lost much time at all.

And yeah, I use my signature guitar. Where to start on it, man? I spent a lot of time kind of putting it together. Aesthetically, it’s a pretty simple design. It’s based off the Idol. But, it’s a much thinner body. It’s not thick like the custom shop Idol. But, it’s still quite a durable guitar. I tried smashing it the other day at a “one-off” show.

Matt: I read that it was a pretty bare-bones model and that you wanted it to be very simple, for lots of different uses.

Joe Trohman: Yeah, I wanted it to be something that could be used for whatever. And I wanted it to be something that somebody could play in a show and take on the road. It’s not gonna break and it’s gonna sound good. It’s gonna play well. I mean, the neck feels awesome! It’s got great stock pickups in it. The hardware is all quality hardware, so you don’t have to deal with changes. It’s a one-piece body. So, right there I feel like it’s worth it, especially for how cheap they’re able to price it.

It’s the guitar I’m playing on stage. It sounds great. It’s got that VCC [Voice Contour Control] on it. So, you can play with the tone, the tone knob and kind of get a single coil versus a humbucker sound. For me, it’s cool to play around with, especially when we kind of go from a heavier sound to lead guitar parts. I think the things that are most important to me are to make sure to not compromise the tone of the guitar, by making the body lighter.

Matt: How do you go about building lead guitar parts when writing a new song?

Joe Trohman: With Patrick, he’ll write the basic songs. We’ve been doing this for so long that it’s kind of easy to tell what we’re gonna do, sort of a lead versus a single note lead. It just has to sound right, you know?

I’ll play around for a while. It’s definitely a little like throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks. [Laughs] You know, trying out some bad ideas, to weed out, to get the good ideas.

I think it started out with wanting to keep a million things and now it’s kind of gotten to the point where I prefer to do a few things that stand out, that sound good, rather than try to layer lead parts. I guess I have a short attention span. I’ve always been a fan of solos. But, I like it when somebody does a two second to thirty second lead solo part, something that is fast, that stands out next to some rhythm parts.

Matt: Besides for pop punk and rock, what other styles of music would you like to tackle?

Joe Trohman: A lot of classic rock and types of metal and a lot of Sabbath style stuff. I write a lot of metal on the side, stuff I’ve been demoing out. I’m trying to work on some stuff with other people in that realm. A lot of what we’ve come up with is kind of like a dichotomy between some Black Sabbath and some Kyas. But, like heavy, really heavy. I think that’s just like what I grew up playing and more comfortable for me. Fall Out Boy, I guess, it’s just something I do for fun.

Matt: So is that what you are looking at doing for solo work or making your own album, more metal, more hard-edged?

Joe Trohman: I can’t honestly tell you for sure, gotta play it by ear, sort of. All I can tell you is I work on all this stuff and I definitely jam on it with other people. It could totally turn into putting out a side project or it could stay exactly what it is. I think, the stuff is really cool. I would totally love to do something with it. But, my main focus is, and has to be Fall Out Boy, Because, it’s my band, you know?

I already have a band that’s doing pretty well. I don’t need to drop that and start a new band. I just like being able to make stuff that’s really heavy, stuff that’s kind of aggressive.

You always want to make stuff that you’re not making all the time. It’s cool just to make it, just to be able to sit in my room. I dabble a bit in Garageband. So, it’s really easy for me to sit there and hook up, like, just a POD, and get some decent enough tones.

I went to the Apple store and I got this $20 converter. So, I can plug in the guitar cable to one side, the other side I plug into the audio. That’s how I plug the guitar in. And then, I’ll usually run it through a POD, just because the tones in Garageband are cool.

But, you get more control with a POD and you get decent enough tones through that. You can play any kind of pedal through it. So, I do that and you can program [Garageband] to make drums.

I’ll write Fall Out Boy parts that way too. I’ll demo Fall Out Boy stuff to give Patrick. And then I demo stuff just for myself on there. It’s so easy. I remember trying to learn how to use Pro Tools a long time ago. And I have the whole Pro Tools setup that I spent like thousands of dollars on. Now, it just sits in the closet.

Matt: Do you have any formal music training or are you garage band trained?

Joe Trohman: I definitely would say more bar band trained, just learned from playing with other people. I took guitar lessons when I was younger. They definitely helped me. But, when I started playing with other people, I learned more of the feeling. It kind of forces you to catch up, I suppose.

Matt: What else was an integral part of being successful in the music industry?

Joe Trohman: Yeah, I mean, [laughs] it’s so weird, because nowadays it’s hard to be successful in anything. It’s like with how you present yourself the first time. I think it’s really important, how real you are to people. Like, there’s an artist out there and I’m not gonna name names, but, they don’t believe that their fans, or their public, are smart enough to see through what they really are.

So, I think being “real” is really important. Also, putting the fans before anything. Because, when you make art, and you’re making music, one fifth goes out to the public. It’s not really all commercial. It’s everything! You know, like when Van Gogh or Gauguin made a painting, their first impressionist paintings. Those are everybody’s. Everybody knows those. They’re kind of part of everybody’s life. Back then, they were just theirs.

Matt: Is knowledge of the music business important for aspiring musicians?

Joe Trohman: Yeah, it definitely is. You can’t go to school for it. There are so many people who try to go to music business school. That’s like the biggest bullshit, unless you want to get some crummy A&R job. More power to you, whatever. But, I think the easiest way to learn it is from the industry, like thrusting yourself into it. I think, honestly, when people start bands, they’re like, “Alright, should I get a manager.” Or, “How should we do this?” I’m like, “I don’t know. You should go play a bunch of shows and write a bunch of songs and then worry about it.” People want to jump fifty steps before they come to step number one.

Matt: I was a student at Berklee College of Music and we had a band there and, I can tell you, that’s what all of us go through. What are the right steps for a band to go through between the stages of getting made and just getting your name out there?

Joe Trohman: Totally. I mean, like, Berklee is an awesome school for formal music training. I don’t know what you think about it. But, that’s what I know from knowing people that have gone there and stuff. So, you definitely get that aspect. I don’t know. It’s like you know how you get your book smarts versus your street smarts.

You can be brimming full of book smarts. But, it’s not going to help you when the guy comes up and asks if he can shine your shoes, and you’re like, “Alright,” and then he just steals your shoes. You just have to thrust yourself in the middle of it, you know?

If you’ve got a band going, ask somebody at the venue, “Who do I talk to about booking a show?” Start from the bottom. Even if it’s not where you want to start from. Even if you’re the sickest musician and you guys have great songs. Amazing things can happen. Start at the bottom and you’ll have an easier time getting to the top. People will be interested in what you’re doing.

If you’re making something good, there will always be people there to pay attention to it. And hard work. It’s so hard! It’s a lot of hard work. But, you can get it. A lot of people do. It just gets more complicated as things get better.

Matt: What does the future hold for Fall Out Boy, and you in particular?

Joe Trohman: Like I said, a new record, and then touring. We’ve got some more “One-off” shows that we’ve been doing. It’s kind of like, during this time off, every couple of weeks we’ve got a show to do. But, then it’s back to our regular schedule, which is like constant touring. I’ve, just gotta finish this record first.

For myself, there’s obviously that, which is the main part of my life. And then there’s always the side stuff I’ve been working on. Hopefully, at some point in time, I can release it under some name. And until then, honestly, Fall Out Boy is my main focus. I’m putting everything I have into Fall Out Boy. I’ll probably be doing that for a long, long time.

Matt: It really seems like in this industry, when you’re a starting musician, you have to be the artist itself, be your own manager, be your own producer, your own songwriter, agent and things like that. How much has that changed for you from the beginning to where you are now?

Joe Trohman: I think we’re still doing so much of our own stuff, you know? I just think the possibilities and the opportunities are right at our fingertips. We have so much stuff to choose from now. Before, it was like we struggled for anything! We’re on the other side. Yeah, I mean, you have to do it all yourself.

I remember, at one time, me and Pete used to sit in my bedroom in my parent’s house and make demos for hours, just make ‘em for hours. We’d go to Kinkos and copy all the fucking liner notes, cut ‘em out, get the cases, burn CD’s for hours, and then go to shows and hand them out with flyers. We’d do everything we could just to show people that we were putting in the work.

When people see you putting in the work, you can at least get a cool local following. You know, a lot of people have hometown pride, since that’s where they’re from. Chicago was ours.