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Pete Wentz

Born in Chicago, IL

Pete Wentz's Genre:

Punk-Pop, Alternative/Indie Rock, Emo

Biography

A particularly polarizing musician -- something of a pop-punk figurehead and entrepreneur in a scene that once prided itself on having no celebrity -- Pete Wentz made a name for himself in the early 2000s as the outspoken bassist and lyricist for the popular Chicago pop-punk unit Fall Out Boy. Born Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Wentz (b. June 5, 1979) grew up an avid soccer player and music fan. He loved the Smiths, learned to play piano at a young age, and eventually picked up the bass guitar, deciding he wanted to be in a punk band. At age 14, during his freshmen year of high school, Wentz started regularly skipping school, so much so that his parents were ultimately persuaded to send him to a tough-love boot camp for eight weeks to straighten him out. Hating every second, Wentz learned to internalize his emotions during the program; later on, music and writing thus became one of his only real outlets for expression -- the highly personal nature of his lyrics and his clever wordplay easily resonated with fans and contributed to Fall Out Boy's popularity.

As a teen, Wentz eventually began cutting his teeth in various punk and hardcore bands throughout the local scene, often playing in multiple groups simultaneously and making a name for himself amid Chicago punk circles. He most notably served time in the '90s playing with metalcore acts Racetraitor and Arma Angelus, serving as the growling lead vocalist for the latter, through which he met guitarist and future Fall Out Boy bandmate Joe Trohman. Trohman approached Wentz about starting up a poppier punk group together, and Fall Out Boy was thus born in 2001; Wentz subsequently left Arma Angelus to concentrate on the new band full-time. Fall Out Boy steadily built up a loyal grassroots following across the country (Wentz especially spent a lot of time communicating directly and building kinships with fans) before exploding into the mainstream consciousness with their 2005 album, From Under the Cork Tree. During work on the album, pressure and stress started greatly affecting him; he began isolating himself and ultimately overdosed on anxiety medication in early 2005, leading to a weeklong hospital stay. He recovered, and as Fall Out Boy's celebrity rose -- thrusting emo and pop-punk onto radio and MTV airwaves alongside New Jersey peers My Chemical Romance -- so did Wentz's, and he essentially became the face (and mouth) of Fall Out Boy and an entire scene.

Wentz (eyeliner, tight jeans and all) suddenly became a person of interest to gossip columns and tabloids; they especially fed off one particular incident in early 2006 where naked photos taken of him on his cell phone leaked online. The paparazzi also enjoyed documenting his later romance with pop singer Ashlee Simpson. More than just a musician -- and much like his idol Jay-Z -- Wentz got involved in a variety of projects aside from Fall Out Boy, including acting as the head of his vanity label Decaydance (an imprint of Fueled by Ramen Records), where his A&R work led to the signing of the widely successful Panic! at the Disco, among others. Wentz further started a clothing company/book distributor called Clandestine Industries, and wrote a graphic novel entitled The Boy with the Thorn in His Side, which was inspired by the chronic insomnia and nightmares he'd had as a kid. In the summer of 2007, Wentz opened a bar with some of his musical colleagues and friends (including members of the Academy Is... and Gym Class Heroes) in New York City's East Village called Angels and Kings. ~ Corey Apar

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Pete Wentz

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco , The Academy Is..., Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Boys Like Girls, The All-American Rejects, Forever the Sickest Kids, Plain White T's and more.

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Artists Related to Pete Wentz (50)

	Fall Out Boy	Fall Out Boy rose to the forefront of emo pop in the mid-2000s, selling more than four million albums thanks to the band's tabloid-grabbing bassist, able-voiced frontman, and handful of Top 40 hits.
	Panic At The Disco	The members of Panic! at the Disco had barely graduated high school when their full-length debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, transformed the suburban Las Vegas teens into national emo-pop stars.
	The Academy Is...	Formerly in rival bands on the Chicago local scene, guitarist Mike Carden and vocalist William Beckett came together in 2003 to mark the beginning of emo-pop outfit the Academy Is.
	Paramore	Although their blend of emo-pop and slick, anthemic rock & roll eventually made them stars on both sides of the Atlantic, Paramore began humbly enough in Franklin, Tennessee, where Hayley Williams met brothers Josh and Zac Farro after moving to town from Mississippi.
	My Chemical Romance	With their emo-punk songwriting, theatrical vocals, and neo-goth appearance, My Chemical Romance rose from the East coast underground to the forefront of modern rock during the early 2000s.
	Taking Back Sunday	Formed in 1999 in Amityville, New York, Taking Back Sunday modeled their interpretation of melodic hardcore after bands like Lifetime, Endpoint, and Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as guitarist Ed Reyes' emo outfit the Movielife.
	Boys Like Girls	Boston-based emo-pop turned country-tinged pop outfit Boys Like Girls features singer/guitarist Martin Johnson, bassist Bryan Donahue, drummer John Keefe, and guitarist Paul DiGiovanni (the last two members being cousins).
	The All-American Rejects	Vocalist/bassist Tyson Ritter and guitarist Nick Wheeler both hail from Stillwater, OK, where the pair first embraced music as an appealing diversion from the ho-hum life of small-town America.
	Forever the Sickest Kids	Forever the Sickest Kids received their first break mere days after forming, when lead singer Jonathan Cook inadvertently spent several hundred dollars for front-page song placement on PureVolume.
	Plain White T's	Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, the punk-pop outfit Plain White T's began taking shape in 1997, a full ten years before the acoustic ballad "Hey There Delilah" made them Grammy-nominated stars.
	Say Anything	Say Anything are the pop-punk brainchild of Max Bemis, who founded the band while its initial members were still attending high school in Los Angeles.
	Cute Is What We Aim For	The emo-pop outfit Cute Is What We Aim For emerged from Buffalo, NY, in January 2005. Although originally formed as a quintet, the band ultimately stripped down to four members, with vocalist Shaant Hacikyan, guitarist/pianist Jeff Czum, drummer Tom Falcone, and bassist/guitarist Fred Cimato comprising the lineup.
	New Found Glory	Hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, punk-pop band New Found Glory were formed in mid-1997 by vocalist Jordan Pundik, bassist Ian Grushka, drummer Joe Moreno (replaced by longtime drummer Cyrus Bolooki after the band's first release), and guitarists Chad Gilbert (previously the vocalist for Shai Hulud) and Steve Klein.
	Yellowcard	The punk-inspired quintet Yellowcard formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 but didn't solidify their lineup until a move to Southern California in early 2000.
	The Audition	Drummer Ryan O'Connor and bassist Joe Lussa formed the core of punk-pop/emo hybridists the Audition in 2003, working with a revolving cast of early members to hone the band's sound and perform the material live.
	Motion City Soundtrack	A leading light in the punk-pop genre, Motion City Soundtrack includes members Joshua Cain (guitar), Tony Thaxton (drums), Justin Pierre (vocals/guitar), Jesse Johnson (Moog), and Matthew Taylor (bass).
	Hellogoodbye	A group of quirky, fun-loving emo-rockers from California, Hellogoodbye seem to take as much influence from modern pop-punk as they do from the original Nintendo sound bleeps that held children captive in the late '80s.
	Jonathan Cook
	Scenes from a Movie	With a sound that falls directly in line with the legions of post-Fall Out Boy emo/pop-punk bands (think Panic! at the Disco's vocals over FOB's hooks), Scenes from a Movie have their roots in Charleston, WV, centered on a pair of high-school friends, vocalist/bassist Tony Bush and guitarist Jon Ewing.
	Jimmy Eat World	Once a trailblazing name in the mid-'90s emocore scene, Jimmy Eat World eventually found a larger audience by embracing a blend of alternative rock and power pop that targeted the heart as well as the head.
	Cartel	Cartel's earnest brand of emo-pop emerged out of Atlanta in 2004, when vocalist Will Pugh, bassist Ryan Roberts, drummer Kevin Sanders, and guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson released an initial EP that caught the ear of the California-based Militia Group label.
	October Fall	A spawn of the fertile Chicago pop-punk scene of the 2000s, the piano-laced quintet October Fall came together in the summer of 2003.
	Dashboard Confessional	Singer/songwriter Christopher Carrabba became the poster boy for a new generation of emo fans in the early 2000s, having left behind his former band (the post-hardcore Christian outfit Further Seems Forever) to concentrate on vulnerable, introspective solo musings.
	Brand New	Although the members of Brand New cut their teeth in various hardcore bands, the group took a more melodic approach to its own work, embracing punk-pop on the debut album Your Favorite Weapon and incorporating aspects of indie rock during future projects.
	June
	Saves the Day	Perfecting their power pop rock since the mid-'90s, New Jersey's Saves the Day call it like it is. They refrain from characteristic pogo-bouncing anthems for their own quirky post-punk and energetic live shows, influencing a new school of emo/punk bands along the way.
	Punchline	Founding their themes upon an effervescent punk-pop formula, combining catchy rhythms and sharp melodies, and revealing influences coming from bands like Green Day and Weezer, Punchline bring forward distinctive tunes to the alternative rock scene.
	The Half Jeffersons	Richmond, VA, natives the Half Jeffersons formed in 2002 with the sole goal of writing tunes with extremely catchy punk/pop hooks.
	The Maine	Despite sharing their name with a northeastern state, the Maine formed in 2007 in Tempe, AZ, a collegiate suburb of Phoenix.
	Race the Sun
	Boys Night Out	Ontario-based pop-punk/emo/lotsa yelling combo Boys Night Out included vocalist Connor Lovat-Fraser, guitarists Jeff Davis and Rob Pasalic, bassist Dave Costa, and drummer Ben Arseneau.
	Powerspace	Although Ohio-bred, Chicago-based indie rockers Powerspace are part of the same Fueled by Ramen empire that unleashed Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, and The Academy Is.
	Dave Grabowski
	Cinematic Sunrise	Originating as a side project for members of Chiodos, punk-pop/emo group Cinematic Sunrise were founded by Craig Owens (vocals) and Bradley Bell (keyboards) as an outlet for a brighter, more cheerful sound that wouldn't fit with the musical idiom of their other group.
	The Starting Line	Pennsylvanian punk-poppers the Starting Line originally came together in 1999 via version 2.0 of the old "vocalist wanted" flyer hanging at the local record store.
	Sick City	Formed in early 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba's Sick City skipped a lot of the usual new-band grunt work and went straight to the (semi) big time -- almost immediately landing slots opening for such acts as Papa Roach, It Dies Today, Bedlight for Blue Eyes, and From Autumn to Ashes, as well as touring with the Taste of Chaos and Warped package shows.
	Kiros
	Mayday Parade	Mayday Parade arose from the merger of two popular Tallahassee local bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment, whose combination helped the emo-pop unit amass a quick buzz around its hometown scene.
	The Junior Varsity	Emo rock outfit the Junior Varsity originally came together in 2002 around guitarist Andy Wildrick. An EP, various shows around central Illinois, and several lineup changes later, the group released their first full-length, The Great Compromise, on British Records.
	Hidden in Plain View	Hidden in Plain View originally consisted of vocalist Joe Reo, guitarists Rob Freeman and Kenny Ryan, bassist Chris Amato, and drummer Derek Reilly.
	Knockout	Knockout emerged from Chicago, IL, in January 1999. They recorded a few demos themselves in their suburban home studio and released a nine-song record titled Driven to Distraction on Mr.
	School Boy Humor	Founded by Caleb Spillyards (vocals, keyboards), Phil Evans (vocals, guitar), Anthony Evans (guitar, vocals), Pierce Hunter (bass), and Greg Scherer (drums) in Little Rock, AR, the emo-pop group School Boy Humor debuted in 2005 and self-released their first EP, To Make Hearts Reluctant, the following year.
	The Early November	The members of the Early November were young enough to have grown up with the Drive-Thru Records sound, a formula that incorporated sensitive emo, pop, and punk revivalist amalgams with a bit of post-hardcore grit.
	Something Corporate	Of the myriad young alt-rock bands to arise in the early 2000s, Something Corporate stood out with their piano-fueled songcraft and crossover potential.
	Small Towns Burn a Little Slower	Twin Cities-area emo rockers Small Towns Burn a Little Slower started out in 2002. They eventually settled into a lineup of vocalist Danny Wolf, guitarists Tommy Rehbein and Joel Trowbridge, bassist Ryan Traster, and drummer Sean Carey, and issued a self-titled EP on Rise Records.
	Just Surrender	Emo-rocking pop-punk act Just Surrender formed in 2003, originally dubbed A Second Chance. The group sprang up around high-school buddies bassist/vocalist Jason Maffucci, guitarist Andrew Meunier, and drummer Steve Miller before the search for a suitable fourth member eventually ended with the addition of guitarist/vocalist Dan Simons.
	Dorian Paszkowski
	Halifax	Halifax is a five-piece pop-punk/emo-rock band out of Southern California. Comprised of Mike Hunau (vocals), Chris Brandt (guitar/vocals), Tommy Guindon (drums), Adam Charles (guitar), and Doug Peyton (bass) by the mid-2000s, the group owed much of its rabidly loyal fan base to constant touring and huge amounts of Internet exposure on sites like www.
	We the Kings	We the Kings are a melodic emo-pop band from Bradenton, Florida, a small Southern town that doubles as the home base for Tropicana orange juice.
	Senses Fail	Comprised of vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, guitarists Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki, bassist Michael Glita (former percussionist for Tokyo Rose), and drummer Dan Trapp, the New Jersey outfit Senses Fail developed a slick amalgam of post-hardcore chuggery and emo heartbreak that recalled such fellow New Jersey-based groups as Saves the Day.