Q&A: Pete Wentz

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While some teens and tweens want to be grown-ups, some wish grown-ups would stop trying to be teens and tweens. It's for this latter group that Activision Blizzard is presenting "Band Hero," a "Guitar Hero"-style music game made for people too young to drink but too old to drink juice boxes.

While "Band" looks and plays just like "Guitar Hero"—and even uses the same guitar-, drum-, and mic-shaped controllers—where it goes young is in its setlist, which includes tunes by All-American Rejects (“Dirty Little Secret”), Taylor Swift (“Love Story”) and Fall Out Boy, whose song “Sugar, We're Going Down” is available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, and “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” is playable on the DS version.

We spoke to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz—who's also co-starring in the TV commercial with Swift, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, and Blink-182's Travis Barker—about the game, the commercial and his Tom Cruise impression.


"Band Hero" is a music game aimed at a teen and tween audience. But given that rock bands don't usually want to appeal to teenagers and, uh, tweenagers, why did you decide to let them include two of your songs in the game?
Well, to be honest with you, our demographic probably goes from 13 to 24, so teenagers are a large part of our demographic. But one of the things that's coolest about it, for me, is that one day my kid will be able to play my songs in the game. It's weird, but as I became a dad, I found myself wanting to do things like this.

Who decided which of your songs would appear in the games?
They came to us and requested those songs, and we then decided whether to do it or not.

Did you have a chance to play the game before you signed on, or were you familiar enough with the "Guitar Hero" games that you didn't need to?
I didn't really need to because I'd played "Guitar Hero" before, though they explained that there would be more pop songs, contemporary pop songs, and that it would be a game that you'd play more with your family. For example, there's songs that your dad will like on it, like Cheap Trick, but there's also songs that the kid in the family will like, such as Taylor Swift or whatever.

While your band has a song in "Band Hero," you're not a playable character in the game….
Yeah, and I'm just putting this out there to Activision right now: I would love to be an avatar in the game. "Band Hero 2"? Put me in coach, I'm ready to play.

Having a song in a video game is one thing, but being in a TV commercial for a video game is quite another. Was there any concerns on your part about “selling out”?
Nah, not really. I spent so much of my life thinking, “What are other people thinking about me?” But then I realized what a waste of time that was. Also, for me, I got to do it with cool guys, Travis and Rivers—Taylor Swift filmed her part the next day—and I got to rock out in my underwear, which I probably won't get to do the rest of my life.

Speaking of the commercial, it begins with a parody of "Risky Business." Given that the movie came out when you were four, how hard did you have to practice sliding across the floor in your underwear? Or had you been doing it your whole life?
It's definitely a movie I grew up on, but it's not something I did in my bedroom a bunch. I have done it on stage sometimes, like when it's been raining. Though it usually ends up wrong and I end up falling. But doing that slide—and doing it to the timing, and sliding just the right distance, and not having anything fall out, and still trying to look cool—was not the easiest thing to do. I have to give anyone who's done it before a lot of credit.

Of you, Travis, and Rivers, were any of you particularly good, or particularly bad, at the sliding thing?
I had the longest slide to do, so I was always worried about mine. Sometimes they would Lysol the floor too much, and I'd slide off the screen. But Travis had the hardest slide to do because he had to slide with the drum kit and then put it down and start playing, and leave enough room for Taylor to be in the shot.

So what video games are you into?
I have an interesting video game past. In the way distant past, I was in love with Nintendo. I loved "Super Mario Bros." and "Contra" and "Mike Tyson's Punch-out!" But then I wasn't into it for a while until we did the Nintendo Fusion Tour and they gave us Nintendo Wiis. And we didn't know what they were at the time, but it got me back into video games. I mostly play sports games, WiiFit and "Guitar Hero."