Pete Wentz Reveals How He Was Inspired By Twenty One Pilots

26 January 2018, 11:22

Pete Wentz, Twenty One Pilots
Pete Wentz, Twenty One Pilots. Picture: Island/Fueled By Ramen

By James Wilson-Taylor

The FOB bassist wrote a new column praising all his current faves, from TØP to Lorde, and discussing how rock music has changed since his band began.

Pete Wentz has praised Twenty One Pilots, Lorde and Lil Yachty among other artists in a new guest column for Variety.

Fall Out Boy's latest album MANIA was released earlier this month and the bassist has clearly allowed his wide-ranging musical tastes to inform that record's multi-genre sound:

"Today, you can’t necessarily think, “Rock music has to be this and it can’t be that.” We’re challenging the notion of what rock music can be. Listening to a playlist might mean going from a Beatles song into Twenty One Pilots into Lil Yachty. Kids are going to arenas to see Imagine Dragons and to hear those big songs. But they’re also checking out Bleachers and Jack Antonoff; he’s one of the biggest pop producers — one who clearly approaches songs as a kid in his bedroom listening to punk rock."

Pete goes on to praise TØP specifically and cites their refusal to be pigeon-holed as one of the reasons FOB invited them on tour:

"No matter the sonic landscape that we live in, a rock song has to stand out. Twenty One Pilots did. We took them on tour [in 2013] and I saw how they tapped into something by taking different genres and incorporating rap. It’s melodic. It’s interesting. And it’s clearly a recipe for success because it can also get played on the radio."

You can read Pete's full column here.

Fall Out Boy are set to return to the UK in March for a full arena tour. Twenty One Pilots, meanwhile, are in the studio hard at work on their upcoming fifth studio album.