Back Just In Time To Save Rock and Roll

A two-minute Q&A with Pete Wentz at the two-year anniversary celebration of Angels & Kings in the Hard Rock Hotel

By now, sigh, the teaming of rock stars and models has grown cliché.

Still you couldn’t help noting the beautiful arrival of the Fall Out Boy bass player and his supermodel-girlfriend Meagan Camper to Angels & Kings Chicago last Saturday night.

The couple has flown in to Wentz’s hometown to celebrate the second anniversary of the club, which Wentz co-owns with blogger Perez Hilton and two others, in partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel. Some people call it good genes. That the two also epitomize an angel and a king is a match made in marketer heaven.

Even more admirable: Wentz’s coif, still an awesome clump despite being styled courtesy of “hat hair,” looked every bit as whirlwind as the last two days. In the throes of their latest publicity stunt, the band had denied they were ending a three-year hiatus only to confirm the rumor days later.

Speaking from their website, the band then unveiled a series of dates they’ll perform at smaller venues worldwide to launch the full tour, in support of their new album Save Rock and Roll and Roll. The band’s performance at Riviera nightclub in Chicago on May 16 marks the second stop on the Save Rock and Roll and Roll tour.

To quote an L.L. Cool J song, Don’t call it a comeback.

Said the band, collectively, “This isn’t a reunion because we never broke up.” After wandering off to undertake various pet projects (Wentz’s Black Cards, Patrick Stump’s solo album, etc.), Fall Out Boy is ready to “plug back in and make some music that matters to us.”

In between smooches, usually at Camper’s initiation—(so back off, girls!)—and swigs of drink, Wentz periodically looked toward the fans from VIP to ensure he was an accommodating subject to the hoards seeking photos of him to align the walls of their camera phones.

The closing of “AK47” in New York location sparks not so much as a distant memory because their idol sits before them, just an arms’ length away. For those looking to see even more of Wentz, he has signed on to judge on the second season of reality show “Best Ink” and will sign copies of his book, Gray, at Anderson’s Bookshop on February 19.

24/7 spoke with Wentz on the eve of the band’s performance at Subterranean in Wicker Park, which sold out in a matter of minutes—about the same amount of time we were given to talk to him!

1. On having the Coolest Hair
I wore a hat today. So when I fell asleep on the plane, most of it was already done, so whatever direction it’s already going, I like try to keep it going in that direction. It doesn’t really listen to me—it’s not very well behaved.

2. The Best Advice for combating naysayers

You got to be yourself and do you. We opened Angels & Kings in New York (in 2007), and it was a dive bar, and it wasn’t the same; it was a different vibe, and there weren’t a lot of people who were like, “Oh, that’s cool!” right away.

But we said, Come out and experience it. It’s an exclusive vibe—but you won’t be turned away. Eventually, people came out and had a good time. Then we opened in Chicago, it was almost like the same thing [until it succeeded].

There’s always going to be haters out there who say, “That’s a bad idea: Why are you doing that?” Then when you do it and it’s awesome, they say it’s a cool idea. But they never really had any belief in it. So you’ve just got to believe in yourself.

3. If he could redo Angels & Kings New York
I’d partner with the Hard Rock, definitely. Each city that we’re in [which also includes Barcelona and Hollywood] is its own animal, so you can’t go in and treat it like McDonald’s. What I’d definitely do is spend less time having hangovers the day after.

Cindy Barrymore, Photographer and 24/7 Content Contributor