Episode 6
Pete Wentz
Dax brings Pete Wentz into the attic to talk music and how they both handle fame. Pete comes from the popular rock music act Fall Out Boy, and he details how the band worked their way up from small clubs to much larger music venues. Get ready to hear Dax talk about his punk roots and Pete talk about hardcore shows.
What's this all about?
It can be simply put that this episode gravitates towards fame. Both Pete and Dax discuss how most artists (musicians/actors) are introverts by nature, and why that leads to a huge struggle with fame when it happens. Both men have battled addiction and come out realizing that fame is not going to satisfy their lives. A great discussion that is worth listening to. Check out the episode here.
What did they say?
- @4:49 “I would be thrilled for Jack Black to give me a little rhythm.” Pete was in an elevator with Jack Black. Both of them notice one another, but neither of them say a word. Dax and Pete discuss how each of them deal with fame and meeting other famous people.
- @14:41 “Colin Powell is my second cousin.” Pete explains his interesting family tree to Dax.
- @23:22 “It was this Island of Misfit Toys kind of thing.” Pete and Dax talk about not fitting in and how they found friends within the Punk and Hardcore scenes. Bands mentioned are Nation of Ulysses, Shelter and 108.
- @26:06 “My first show was 12, and we went to see The Exploited” Dax talks about some shows he saw as a kid. He mentions S.H.A.R.P’s and the band Sick of it All. Pete talks about shows at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago.
- @30:01 “The first CD I bought in those long boxes was a Slayer Live CD.” Pete remembers the first album that he bought on CD. It was Slayer’s Decade of Aggression.
- @38:54 “It was really an introverts pursuit.” Dax talks about how musicians and actors are typically introverts by nature and how they often are not prepared for fame.
- @43:32 “I can’t re-release Without A Paddle every weekend.” Dax and Pete talk about how some actors and musicians are jealous of one another. Actors can change from an arthouse film to a tent pole movie, while musicians usually have to stay consistent and remain in their lane. On the other hand a musician can write a song and play that song for forty years, all while continually making money from it.
- @53:36 “I had been in a comedy troupe for years and we could not get 50 people to come to our shows.” The comedy troupe consisted of Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Ben Falcone, Tate Taylor, Nat Faxson. This is while Dax is with The Groundlings in L.A.
- @1:07:10 “Had you read Siddhartha when you were a kid?” Dax talks about Siddhartha and how the story relates to fame.
- @1:09:53 “Something is severely broken and I have to confront it and fix it.” Dax hits rock bottom in Hawaii and realizes that he was not going to get satisfaction from fame.
- @1:16:50“There’s nowhere else to go really.” Pete discusses his anxiety and the struggle he had with a benzo addiction.
- @1:21:48 “I just watched….Black Mirror Arkangel” This episode of Black Mirror that they mention is a loose metaphor for helicopter parenting.
- @1:43:09 You’re writing for somebody else’s thing.” Pete explains the process of writing songs for movies. Specifically how Fall Out Boy approached the song “Immortals” for Big Hero 6.
These are the facts...
- @1:50:52 The Fact Check begins
- Documentary on the Oakwood Apartments is called The Hollywood Complex. This is the first mention and will come up again in future episodes.
- Pete’s Bar Angels and Kings opened in NYC in 2007 and closed in 2012. He had a 2nd location in Chicago, a 3rd in Barcelona and a 4th in Hollywood. The Chicago location is the only remaining one opened.
- Dax makes a quick mention of his favorite place to eat in Chicago, Gibsons.
- The 1980 Summer Olympics were hosted in Moscow. Jimmy Carter led a boycott of the Olympics. 65 additional countries boycotted them as well.
- Monica had issues finding the book about Krishnacore that Pete mentions. The book is called Train Wrecks and Transcendence: A Collision of Hardcore and Hare Krishna by 108 Frontman Vic DiCara.
- Wall of Death is described as a true reenactment of war as two sides charge at each other.
- Ted Nugent received guardianship of his wife from Hawaii.
- Titan: The Life of John Rockefeller is 800 pages long. Dax has only listened to the book.
- Cecil B DeMille did not own Griffith Park. Griffith J. Griffith owned Griffith Park according to Monica.
- John D. Rockefeller was worth 1.5% of America’s total economic output when he died. It would require $340 billion to equal that by today’s standard. That is 4 times as much as Bill Gates is worth at $86 billion.
- Monica talks about doing a commercial with Jeff Bezos. Watch it here.
- In 2004 Paramount released 16 movies. In 2013 Paramount released 13, Dax was off.
- Jazz originated in New Orleans not Chicago as Dax stated. Jazz traveled UP the Mississippi by riverboats.
- Country music sells well on CD because of the older demographic that listens to it.
- M. Night Shyamalan may or may not listen to people around him.
- Pete’s album release was January 19, 2018. This podcast was released on February 26, 2018.
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