Local Q&A: Patrick Stump
Older and on his own, singer of defunct chart-toppers Fall Out Boy becomes a “Soul Punk”
By Andy Downing
Things have been fairly quiet for Patrick Stump since Fall Out Boy went on hiatus in November 2009. But that’s all about to change.
The singer, born and raised in suburban Glenview, recently released a six-song teaser EP of wildly-varied arena-pop sketches dubbed “Truant Wave,” culled from material leftover from recording sessions for his long-in-the-works solo debut. Initially scheduled for a February release, that full-length record, “Soul Punk,” is now expected in June.
In the interim, Stump-still one of the most underrated vocalists in pop music-is hitting the road for a handful of shows, including a pair of intimate homecoming gigs at Schubas. Reached at home in Los Angeles in late February, the 26-year-old discussed the challenges of going solo, how his John Hughes-ian upbringing helped him survive Fall Out Boy’s success and if fans can ever expect to see the band reunited.
What’s the most enthusiastic fan reaction you had to deal with in Fall Out Boy?
I remember we played in Texas once years and years ago and some girl was up in the front row. There were kids pushing from behind and she broke her arm on the edge of the stage. We stopped playing, brought her up the side and called her an ambulance. She refused to leave because she wanted to see the rest of the show. It was a stalemate. “No. We’re not going to play until you go to the hospital.” “I’m not leaving until you play.”
How did you keep yourself grounded throughout that Fall Out Boy roller coaster?
I was still pretty young when the band took off, but for the most part I had enough of the traditional John Hughes, suburban Chicago childhood that it outlasted a lot of the other influences.
Did you have to pause and take some time off to figure out who you wanted to be as a solo artist?
The weird thing is that I didn’t pause. I went right into it then took a step back and said, “Okay, what is this? Who is this?” The first pass at “Soul Punk” was really, really scatterbrained. I mean, that’s kind of where the title comes from in the first place. It’s really easy for a lot of my friends to assume I’m going to put out an R&B record. And it’s really easy for pop culture to assume I’m going to put out a punk record. But I’m really neither. I’m my own me.
Are you going for the one-man-loops-everything, Jon Brion at Largo-type approach at Schubas?
There might be some intimate moments, but I’m not doing my troubadour, Jim Croce on the stool kind of show. I’m bringing a band-in part because I finally saw the Jon Brion show. I’ve known about him for a long time, but I never actually went and saw him. Afterwards it was like, “Yeah, he does this way better than me. I shouldn’t do this.”
What’s the status of “Soul Punk”?
I had intended to release it this month. And it’s ready. It’s been ready. I finished the record and I was getting ready to go to mastering and then I wrote a song that totally changed the whole record for me. When you do that it throws everything else off. An artist has whims and them I guess the rest of the people figure out the logistics [laughs].
Has that been one of the challenges of going solo, not having someone to counter those whims?
Yes, absolutely. Learning to discern when you have a bad idea is a really strange thing. It’s kind of trial by fire. At times I really need to keep my inner Kubrick in check. You can totally pour over an album way too long and pour over the individual details way too much. I remember one quote from Kubrick where he said his one biggest regret was that he didn’t make more movies.
Just don’t die and leave Steven Spielberg to finish “Soul Punk,” like Kubrick with “Eyes Wide Shut.”
[Laughs] I think that’s going to happen. I think I’m going to die and Spielberg is going to finish my album.
You recorded every instrument on “Soul Punk.” Why was it so important to you to approach things in that manner?
Well, because it’s really easy to fake these things now, isn’t it? Fall Out Boy made enough of a splash that I’m sure people think I have a lot of money. It probably wouldn’t be too far-fetched for me to hire a bunch of really big songwriters and producers and made a big, Auto-Tuned hit record. So I said to myself, “I want to make sure that I know that I did everything myself.” It wasn’t something where I paid someone to do that. I was actually pouring over every detail.
Was getting back into lyric-writing a challenge for you after all those years in Fall Out Boy where Pete Wentz handled that end of things?
It’s definitely weird. Years ago I used to write for the band. I even had a three-ring binder where I kept all the lyrics. Then one day we were in an accident heading out to shoot a video for [a track off of “Take This to Your Grave”] and the binder got crunched in the van. We would have needed the Jaws of Life to get this book out. So I stopped writing.
Once you started writing again, did it take you some time to find that voice?
Absolutely. When I stopped I was 19. You get older and your tastes and feelings change. I found I used to be a lot wordier. It’s almost like I had all these records that nobody heard and nobody will ever hear where I was a completely different writer. I know in my head how I evolved to get to where I am now, but no one will ever get to see that.
The lost years.
Yeah, right. That book is somewhere in some junkyard. We can fill in the gaps there. It’s going to be found like Metropolis 100 years from now.
Was there a particular song where the writing started to click for you?
Yeah, but not anything that’s on “Truant Wave” or “Soul Punk” or that will ever see release. As a writer, if you figure out how to tell a good-enough joke, then you write a comedy. You have these little epiphany moments. And that’s all it was. I had a couple little songs that just kind of came out in a strong enough way where it was like, “Well, I don’t know about this song, but I think I can write again.”
When I listen to “Truant Wave” songs like “Porcelain” and “Big Hype,” I get the sense you have some conflicted views on fame.
It's interesting that you noticed a connection because I didn’t really think about the parallels between “Porcelain” and “Big Hype” in that way. Big hype, big letdown. In life, there are so many of those experiences that are supposed to be your “Wonder Years” moments or whatever and they come and you’re like, “That’s it?” It’s almost a little bit of me taking the piss out of fame. On the last two Fall Out Boy records we were blasted for singing about fame when I knew that a lot of those lyrics weren’t actually about that. This is me getting the fame out of my system, like, “Okay, fine, I’m actually going to write about it this time.” Then that’s it. No more.
Do you see a Fall Out Boy reunion happening any time in the next ten years?
Of course. The four of us never had a conversation where we were like, “[Forget] you, man! I quit!” That never happened. We’re all still friends, and as far as I know we’re still a band. I would be surprised if we didn’t do something.
I think part of it is that phrase indefinite hiatus. When you hear that the first thought is, “They’re done.”
And it sucks, because what do you call it anymore? Somebody ruined it. Maybe the Police? Have we played together in the past two years? Yeah. Joe and I sat together and played guitar for awhile. Andy and I played some stuff. Pete and I played some stuff. We haven’t all four gotten in the same room and played together, but the band never broke up. I think we needed to go back and recollect ourselves and for some reason it turned into “Why did you guys break up?” Or “Thank god they broke up!”
You had a guest spot on “Law & Order” a few years back. Is there another show you’d like to appear on?
I feel like scripted television, aside from comedies, has kind of fallen off. There’s not a lot of stuff I’m really enthralled with now besides “Treme.” But at the same time, I want to be able to just watch it and enjoy it.
What if they could animate you and put you in “Archer”?
[Laughs] Dude, I would do that in a heartbeat. I'm pretty in love with “Archer” and “Bob’s Burgers.” “Archer” is probably my favorite one. I feel like, kinetically, they’re going to run out of steam at some point...and they never do. There’s always another joke.
What kind of character do you envision for yourself?
I’ve been typecast as a nerd, so I would love to do anything not nerdy. It was cool that on “Robot Chicken” I got to play Roadblock from “G.I. Joe” and Morpheus from “The Matrix.” My impressions are so out of practice though. They’re getting wispier by the day. Somebody needs to hire me for something soon or I’m going to lose all my impressionist cred.
Patrick Stump Personality Test
What's the last album you bought? “It’s some Odd Future instrumentals record. I don’t remember the name of it because they didn’t release it under the name Odd Future, but it’s definitely them.”
Song you've listened to on repeat recently? “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul “I don’t know why. It just happened.”
Song you never want to hear again? “With Arms Wide Open.” “I’m sorry. I know Creed’s the punching bag, but I really don’t want to hear that song ever again.”
Best concert you've seen in the last year? Janelle Monae. “It’s almost the best live show I’ve ever seen.”
New band you don't know personally that deserves to be big? Foster the People “They have this song 'Kids With the Pumped Up Kicks.' It’s killer.”
Favorite movie ever? “Ghostbusters” “I want to say ‘Seventh Seal.’ I want to drop Fellini in there, but it’s really just ‘Ghostbusters.’”
Chicago's best music venue? “I always have a soft spot for Metro.”
(source)
By Andy Downing
Things have been fairly quiet for Patrick Stump since Fall Out Boy went on hiatus in November 2009. But that’s all about to change.
The singer, born and raised in suburban Glenview, recently released a six-song teaser EP of wildly-varied arena-pop sketches dubbed “Truant Wave,” culled from material leftover from recording sessions for his long-in-the-works solo debut. Initially scheduled for a February release, that full-length record, “Soul Punk,” is now expected in June.
In the interim, Stump-still one of the most underrated vocalists in pop music-is hitting the road for a handful of shows, including a pair of intimate homecoming gigs at Schubas. Reached at home in Los Angeles in late February, the 26-year-old discussed the challenges of going solo, how his John Hughes-ian upbringing helped him survive Fall Out Boy’s success and if fans can ever expect to see the band reunited.
What’s the most enthusiastic fan reaction you had to deal with in Fall Out Boy?
I remember we played in Texas once years and years ago and some girl was up in the front row. There were kids pushing from behind and she broke her arm on the edge of the stage. We stopped playing, brought her up the side and called her an ambulance. She refused to leave because she wanted to see the rest of the show. It was a stalemate. “No. We’re not going to play until you go to the hospital.” “I’m not leaving until you play.”
How did you keep yourself grounded throughout that Fall Out Boy roller coaster?
I was still pretty young when the band took off, but for the most part I had enough of the traditional John Hughes, suburban Chicago childhood that it outlasted a lot of the other influences.
Did you have to pause and take some time off to figure out who you wanted to be as a solo artist?
The weird thing is that I didn’t pause. I went right into it then took a step back and said, “Okay, what is this? Who is this?” The first pass at “Soul Punk” was really, really scatterbrained. I mean, that’s kind of where the title comes from in the first place. It’s really easy for a lot of my friends to assume I’m going to put out an R&B record. And it’s really easy for pop culture to assume I’m going to put out a punk record. But I’m really neither. I’m my own me.
Are you going for the one-man-loops-everything, Jon Brion at Largo-type approach at Schubas?
There might be some intimate moments, but I’m not doing my troubadour, Jim Croce on the stool kind of show. I’m bringing a band-in part because I finally saw the Jon Brion show. I’ve known about him for a long time, but I never actually went and saw him. Afterwards it was like, “Yeah, he does this way better than me. I shouldn’t do this.”
What’s the status of “Soul Punk”?
I had intended to release it this month. And it’s ready. It’s been ready. I finished the record and I was getting ready to go to mastering and then I wrote a song that totally changed the whole record for me. When you do that it throws everything else off. An artist has whims and them I guess the rest of the people figure out the logistics [laughs].
Has that been one of the challenges of going solo, not having someone to counter those whims?
Yes, absolutely. Learning to discern when you have a bad idea is a really strange thing. It’s kind of trial by fire. At times I really need to keep my inner Kubrick in check. You can totally pour over an album way too long and pour over the individual details way too much. I remember one quote from Kubrick where he said his one biggest regret was that he didn’t make more movies.
Just don’t die and leave Steven Spielberg to finish “Soul Punk,” like Kubrick with “Eyes Wide Shut.”
[Laughs] I think that’s going to happen. I think I’m going to die and Spielberg is going to finish my album.
You recorded every instrument on “Soul Punk.” Why was it so important to you to approach things in that manner?
Well, because it’s really easy to fake these things now, isn’t it? Fall Out Boy made enough of a splash that I’m sure people think I have a lot of money. It probably wouldn’t be too far-fetched for me to hire a bunch of really big songwriters and producers and made a big, Auto-Tuned hit record. So I said to myself, “I want to make sure that I know that I did everything myself.” It wasn’t something where I paid someone to do that. I was actually pouring over every detail.
Was getting back into lyric-writing a challenge for you after all those years in Fall Out Boy where Pete Wentz handled that end of things?
It’s definitely weird. Years ago I used to write for the band. I even had a three-ring binder where I kept all the lyrics. Then one day we were in an accident heading out to shoot a video for [a track off of “Take This to Your Grave”] and the binder got crunched in the van. We would have needed the Jaws of Life to get this book out. So I stopped writing.
Once you started writing again, did it take you some time to find that voice?
Absolutely. When I stopped I was 19. You get older and your tastes and feelings change. I found I used to be a lot wordier. It’s almost like I had all these records that nobody heard and nobody will ever hear where I was a completely different writer. I know in my head how I evolved to get to where I am now, but no one will ever get to see that.
The lost years.
Yeah, right. That book is somewhere in some junkyard. We can fill in the gaps there. It’s going to be found like Metropolis 100 years from now.
Was there a particular song where the writing started to click for you?
Yeah, but not anything that’s on “Truant Wave” or “Soul Punk” or that will ever see release. As a writer, if you figure out how to tell a good-enough joke, then you write a comedy. You have these little epiphany moments. And that’s all it was. I had a couple little songs that just kind of came out in a strong enough way where it was like, “Well, I don’t know about this song, but I think I can write again.”
When I listen to “Truant Wave” songs like “Porcelain” and “Big Hype,” I get the sense you have some conflicted views on fame.
It's interesting that you noticed a connection because I didn’t really think about the parallels between “Porcelain” and “Big Hype” in that way. Big hype, big letdown. In life, there are so many of those experiences that are supposed to be your “Wonder Years” moments or whatever and they come and you’re like, “That’s it?” It’s almost a little bit of me taking the piss out of fame. On the last two Fall Out Boy records we were blasted for singing about fame when I knew that a lot of those lyrics weren’t actually about that. This is me getting the fame out of my system, like, “Okay, fine, I’m actually going to write about it this time.” Then that’s it. No more.
Do you see a Fall Out Boy reunion happening any time in the next ten years?
Of course. The four of us never had a conversation where we were like, “[Forget] you, man! I quit!” That never happened. We’re all still friends, and as far as I know we’re still a band. I would be surprised if we didn’t do something.
I think part of it is that phrase indefinite hiatus. When you hear that the first thought is, “They’re done.”
And it sucks, because what do you call it anymore? Somebody ruined it. Maybe the Police? Have we played together in the past two years? Yeah. Joe and I sat together and played guitar for awhile. Andy and I played some stuff. Pete and I played some stuff. We haven’t all four gotten in the same room and played together, but the band never broke up. I think we needed to go back and recollect ourselves and for some reason it turned into “Why did you guys break up?” Or “Thank god they broke up!”
You had a guest spot on “Law & Order” a few years back. Is there another show you’d like to appear on?
I feel like scripted television, aside from comedies, has kind of fallen off. There’s not a lot of stuff I’m really enthralled with now besides “Treme.” But at the same time, I want to be able to just watch it and enjoy it.
What if they could animate you and put you in “Archer”?
[Laughs] Dude, I would do that in a heartbeat. I'm pretty in love with “Archer” and “Bob’s Burgers.” “Archer” is probably my favorite one. I feel like, kinetically, they’re going to run out of steam at some point...and they never do. There’s always another joke.
What kind of character do you envision for yourself?
I’ve been typecast as a nerd, so I would love to do anything not nerdy. It was cool that on “Robot Chicken” I got to play Roadblock from “G.I. Joe” and Morpheus from “The Matrix.” My impressions are so out of practice though. They’re getting wispier by the day. Somebody needs to hire me for something soon or I’m going to lose all my impressionist cred.
Patrick Stump Personality Test
What's the last album you bought? “It’s some Odd Future instrumentals record. I don’t remember the name of it because they didn’t release it under the name Odd Future, but it’s definitely them.”
Song you've listened to on repeat recently? “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul “I don’t know why. It just happened.”
Song you never want to hear again? “With Arms Wide Open.” “I’m sorry. I know Creed’s the punching bag, but I really don’t want to hear that song ever again.”
Best concert you've seen in the last year? Janelle Monae. “It’s almost the best live show I’ve ever seen.”
New band you don't know personally that deserves to be big? Foster the People “They have this song 'Kids With the Pumped Up Kicks.' It’s killer.”
Favorite movie ever? “Ghostbusters” “I want to say ‘Seventh Seal.’ I want to drop Fellini in there, but it’s really just ‘Ghostbusters.’”
Chicago's best music venue? “I always have a soft spot for Metro.”
(source)