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Pete Wentz Picks His Lollapalooza Playlist

Posted 8/4/11 4:45 pm EST by in Fall-Out-Boy, Live Music, Lollapalooza


Pete Wentz

They say you can never go back home again. Not unless you're former Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz. Not only is he coming back to his childhood home of Chicago this weekend, but he's gearing up to play the biggest gig so far with his new band, Black Cards, at the city's signature summer blowout, Lollapalooza. The dinnertime slot on Friday's opening day of the three-day fest is a coming-out party of sorts for Wentz, whose former band never made it onto the bill once Lolla set down roots on the Chicago waterfront and was reborn as a destination event in 2005.

We caught up with Wentz as he was making this way through Los Angeles International Airport for his Thursday afternoon flight and chatted about coming home, playing in front of his family and friends and how he feels about the inevitable whispers about a potential on-stage FOB reunion (former singer Patrick Stump is also on the bill, playing the same stage at around the same time on Saturday).

"I'm pretty excited about it because Lollapalooza is kind of a big summer event in Chicago and I've been going the past couple of years and it's hot and fun and [co-founder] Perry [Farrell] has done a really good job of having a wide range of bands," said Wentz. "For me it's really exciting. I've never played it before and to be able to play and hang out with my friends and family and have them see me play is really cool."

While Wentz is psyched for the Lolla audience to hear the electro pop sounds of his new band – who will also play an after party set at his downtown bar, Angels & Kings – he ran down his list of must-see sets. Read More...

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Neon Trees Vs. Patrick Stump, Rise Against Vs. Pete Wentz/Black Cards

Posted 3/14/11 12:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The first round of voting in the 2011 MTV Musical March Madness tournament is underway, with heated competitions already dividing fans of Foo Fighters, Disturbed, Dave Matthews Band and the Damned Things. Continuing in the Midwest bracket, we bring you four more top-shelf competitors trying to fight their way through the tournament. Once again, the voting will close on Sunday night (March 20), with the new match-ups revealed next Monday, March 21. Vote on!

(5) Neon Trees vs. (12) Patrick Stump
Neon Trees have spent the last year building buzz and establishing themselves as players on the rock scene (mostly thanks to the chart-topping single "Animal"). Also, they're from Utah, just like BYU. Meanwhile, Patrick Stump has spent that same year reinventing himself as a solo artist, and he surges into the tournament on the strength of his well-received solo EP Truant Wave. Will the upstarts upend the veteran? Vote and see!

(4) Rise Against vs. (13) Pete Wentz/Black Cards
Political-minded aggro-punk outfit Rise Against snagged an impressively high seed in this year's Musical March Madness tournament thanks to the their excellent new album Endgame (which hits stores on Tuesday, March 15). Former Fall Out Boy bassist Wentz slipped a bit this year, but came on strong late with the establishment of the Black Cards, his new and still somewhat mysterious project. In this battle of modern punks, who will stand tallest?

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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Spotted: Pete Wentz And Joel Madden Help Save The Music

Posted 11/9/10 2:00 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Since Fall Out Boy dissolved last year, bass player and chief songwriter Pete Wentz has been laying relatively low, supporting wife Ashlee Simpson during her endeavors, working on soundtrack songs and developing his new project Black Cards. But he hit the red carpet on Monday (November 8th) for the VH1 Save the Music Gala After Party, which was held at the BLT Bar & Grill at the W Hotel in New York. Wentz traded back slaps with Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, who like Wentz also has a famous significant other (Nicole Richie, with whom he has two children) and a new project (the recently released Good Charlotte album Cardiology, the band's fifth). They were joined by the likes of model Brittany Mason and "The Office" star B.J. Novak.

They weren't the only stars in the public eye, as Cher was spotted in New York on her way to the Glamour Women of the Year event and Bono spoke at the Malaria No More benefit at the IAG Building. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Eminem, the Jonas Brothers, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Shakira!

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Kanye West's 'Runaway' Is 'Ambitious,' Says Pete Wentz: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 10/20/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


"I had the chance to sit in the audience as Kanye West had a showing in Los Angeles of the extended video/movie for 'Runaway,' [and] I don't want to spoil the experience for those who haven't seen it yet, but in my opinion it is the single most ambitious 'music video' of the decade, if you could even put it in the category of a 'music video.'"

-Former Fall Out Boy member and current Black Cards mastermind Pete Wentz, discussing his experience watching Kanye West's new short film "Runaway." Wentz was a guest at the premiere screening that West hosted in Los Angeles on Monday (October 18th) and sent his thoughts to MTV News' James Montgomery.

To call it a rave would be something of an understatement. "It reminds me of when I was younger and no matter what Michael Jackson had done last, the next thing [he did] not only topped it, but completely raised the bar beyond what anyone else was capable of," Wentz declared. "Now I'm not going to compare the content of M.J. to Kanye as they are two completely different artists. I mean in the sheer scope and size of the project."

Wentz encouraged people to embrace Kanye's film even though it is definitely challenging. "There is a dinner table scene that jumps from [something] from a Noah Baumbach film — where the camera stays on the scene just long enough to make the viewer feel a little bit uncomfortable — to something out of what could be a Jim Henson creation ... within the same scene too," Wentz explained. "The caliber and scale of this project is Kanye West at his best — largely artist and artistically large. If you get the chance, check it out, if only for the experience of something so different."

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Spotted: Kanye West's 'Runaway' Premiere Attracts The Wentz Family

Posted 10/19/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

The upcoming world premiere of Kanye West's new short film "Runaway" (which will air on MTV this Saturday, October 23, at 8 p.m. ET) has the pop world pretty excited, mainly because West is an artist who never fails to deliver. In the lead-up to the broadcast, West will be spending this week hosting premieres in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Monday night's (October 18th) premiere in Los Angeles did even more to build the buzz and attracted a number of stars, including rock's favorite couple Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz. The pair rolled up on the red carpet for "Runaway" before disappearing inside to watch West's hypnotic, hallucinatory vision. Wentz, a longtime admirer of West (both of them are from Chicago), just unveiled his new band Black Cards with a trio of shows and will be headed to the U.K. for another series of performances. Meanwhile, Simpson is spending time with her son before finishing up work on her fourth album (which will apparently have a "folk feel").

They weren't the only stars taking the air, as Selena Gomez dropped into a McDonald's in Paris and a series of celebs showed up for Elton John's AIDS Foundation benefit in New York. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Madonna, Rihanna and the Jonas Brothers!

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Pete Wentz Hopes Black Cards 'Transcends Cultures And Borders': The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 7/19/10 4:00 pm EST by in For The Record, Music


"I think it came off as though it was gonna be a reggae band ... that's not true. It's a mashing together of ideas — the first few pieces we put up were more big-band/jazz/dance, [but] I don't know how to describe it. There are a few songs that have more of a reggae swing to the beat. I think I meant that I'm interested in making global music. I like the idea of art transcending cultures and borders ... [but] who knows whether I can."

-Former Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, explaining the concept of his new band Black Cards. The group is still in the planning stages, though Wentz wants to shoot for the moon. "We have to figure out exactly what is practical. To me, if and when we play shows, I want them to be events," he wrote to MTV News' James Montgomery via e-mail over the weekend. "I think this music lends itself to different imagery and exhibition [more] than anything I've been a part of before."

At the moment, only one other member of Black Cards is known: Long Island singer Bebe Rexha, who Wentz found recording tracks in an adjacent studio to his own and signed her right away. "Really, [the band] wasn't even a thought in my head until it all clicked together. I didn't really even want to talk about Black Cards until we had figured it all out," he wrote. "The truth is we're writing/recording about a song every week or two weeks. Now we're just trying to beat other songs we had."

There is only one known song in the Black Cards' song book, a track tentatively titled "Summer Nights" that "is not necessarily a reggae song" even though it reminds Wentz of Montego Bay.

What do you hope the Black Cards will sound like? Let us know in the comments!

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Spotted: Jaden Smith Assesses The Situation In Beijing

Posted 6/17/10 1:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

In the hit film "The Karate Kid," Jaden Smith plays a kid who learns the secrets of karate from Mr. Han (played by Jackie Chan) in order to defend himself against a group of bullies. The training that Chan's character puts Smith through is intense, and if there was any question that Smith himself whipped his 11-year-old body into shape for the role, he put it to rest during a trip to Beijing for the Chinese premiere of the film. During a Q&A session, Smith lifted his shirt to show off his abs (not unlike the Situation from "Jersey Shore"). The premiere event also featured Smith's parents Will and Jada, as well as Chan and Chinese actress Li Bingbing.

Smith wasn't the only star strutting his stuff, as former Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz flexed his DJ skills for a crowd at the BlackBerry Pearl Block Party and 2010 MTV Movie Awards host Aziz Ansari cracked people up at the TBS Just For Laughs Festival in Chicago. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which contains over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Madonna and Rihanna!

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Slash's Label Leads The List Of Silly Vanity Imprint Names

Posted 4/14/10 11:10 am EST by in Music


After years of toiling in some wildly successful rock bands (most notably Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver), Slash has finally made his way into the center of the spotlight with his first true solo album. It just debuted in third place on the Billboard album chart, moving over 60,000 copies in its first week on the strength of the behatted guitarist's non-stop promotion and the single "By the Sword" (a team-up with Wolfmother frontman Andrew Stockdale.

Slash is actually a tremendous collection of hard rock songs that center around the axe man's signature chunky, swirling riffs. His backing band features all of the original members of Guns N' Roses (Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler — only Axl Rose is absent). In Santana style, each track has a guest vocalist, some of which work really well (Stockdale, Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl) while others stumble a bit (Fergie, Myles Kennedy). On balance, it's an excellent album, and it feels good to have that classic Slash sound back.

But there is one thing that stands out about the record: It has been released on Slash's own imprint. The label's title? Dik Hayd Records. Like the top entry on yesterday's list of ridiculous band names, "Dik Hayd" combines a juvenile joke and bad grammar for a truly silly stew. In fact, it immediately rockets to the top of the list of silliest vanity label names. It sits about the rest of these.

Elementree Records
Founded by Korn in 1997, Elementree Record (another wacky for no reason spelling choice) provided a home for the likes of Orgy, Deadsy and Videodrone. When Jonathan Davis' crew exited Epic Records (also the home of Elementree), the label folded up, but it lives on in the minds of fans of horrorcore rapper Marz.

Decaydance Records
What is with rock stars and wacky puns? Pete Wetz's imprint may provide the world with music by Panic! at the Disco, the Academy Is... and Cobra Starship, but it's hard to pronounce and is guilty of violating the Funky Spelling Rule (which I just invented yesterday).
Read More...

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Pete Wentz Vs. Patrick Stump, Nickelback Vs. The Hold Steady

Posted 3/22/10 6:20 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The Midwest bracket is just about complete, with only two more pairings left today. On Tuesday (March 23), we'll present the last bracket (the very tough South, featuring heavy hitters like Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Paramore and John Mayer). Once round one is complete, we'll let you know who came out winners, and we'll move on with 32 bands standing. But right now, check out these four groups in a Midwest tilt.

(8) Pete Wentz vs. (9) Patrick Stump
Each of the two main members of Fall Out Boy have gotten their post-FOB careers off to a strong start. Stump made his live debut to an adoring crowd at SXSW, while Wentz dropped a great tune on the Almost Alice album. They're essentially even, but who holds the slight edge?

(1) Nickelback vs. (16) The Hold Steady
Nickelback are a perennial powerhouse who are constantly moving units, filling arenas and inspiring fist pumping all over the world. They're always around, even if it seems like they're not — just like Georgetown. It seems like an uphill battle for Brooklyn's the Hold Steady, whose brand of hyper-literate bar rock has picked up a small but fervent following. As hoops fans know, Georgetown was upended in a big upset, but can the Hold Steady repeat such a feat?

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Cast ... 20 Years From Now

Posted 3/15/10 3:25 pm EST by in Television


We couldn't help but watch "The Celebrity Apprentice" on Sunday night (March 14) and think of all the celebrities that would be perfect fits for the show 20 years from now. Watching Rod Blagojevich try and convince burger patrons he's innocent while Cyndi Lauper busted out a rendition of "True Colors" across town while also shilling greasy diner food for hungry people made us wonder who might be the right people to fill their shoes down the line. So here is at least part of the cast of the 2030 season of "Celebrity Apprentice." Please keep in mind the show will still be hosted by Donald Trump (or perhaps a cyborg version of Trump).

We'll start easy. Since This season is so heavy on former professional wrestling talent (including Bill Goldberg, Maria Kanellis and Lauper), you would have to recruit John Cena. The iconic multi-time WWE champ will still have heads to smack, but this time they'll be in the boardroom and not the squared circle. (In fact, Cena was rumored to be a part of the cast a few years ago, so he could be an "Apprentice" veteran by the time 2030 rolls around.)

Since she'll probably take her place in most all aspects of life, Lady Gaga will be taking on the Cyndi Lauper role. Not only do both these women have "Stephanie" as a part of their names, but they are both different versions of the same wacky pop star. We hope to one day hear Gaga belt out "Telephone" while selling fried food for charity.

Every season there's the sassy lady who is willing to connive her to the top. It's been Joan Rivers, now it's Sharon Osbourne and one day it will be Heidi Montag. She's savvy, married to someone who makes questionable life decisions (Spencer does wear magical crystals) and would probably cut someone who got in her way.

The current season has Bret Michaels, but the 2030 show will star Pete Wentz. Read More...

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