The Music Elitist

Fall Out Boy fans were probably really excited to see the announcement about new tour dates pop up on their Google readers and Facebook profiles today…until they saw the list of supporting acts that is. It seems that Metro Station and Hey Monday are not quite as popular with the FOB crowd as one would think. Check out the responses to the tour announcement on Absolutepunk.

I was under the impression Pete Wentz was a busy guy between being in Fall Out Boy, owning a record label, clothing company and a few nightclubs. But apparently he spends enough time on the internet to catch wind of the negative reactions. He responded in his blog.

the response to the tour announcement has been positive for the most part. but i would like to say to those who are hating… this is fall out boy paying it forward. the first time alot of people heard about fob was from when allister, punchline, blink182, or less than jake took us on tour. i am sure alot of their fans had a similiar reaction to the new band. but honestly all of those bands had our backs and i think it gave us the chance to try and win over some new fans. in this case i have seen these bands live or had conversations with all of them. they are hungry. they are positive kids and who knows one or all of them will end up in the same spot in a couple of years. i really appreciate the chance to take them out- play to some of their fans and let them play to some of ours. the thing i have always appreciated about fall out boy fans is how you guys have been to bands we have brought on tour from gym class heroes to having keith from ETID sing “walk” with us. we appreciate that tolerance.

Ok, there’s a problem with Pete’s line of reasoning. Fall Out Boy worked and toured their asses off to be able to get to the point where they could open for bands like blink-182 and Less Than Jake. Now, I can’t speak for Metro Station because I don’t know much about how they got started or how long they have been around. This is mainly because I don’t give a damn, their music is awful. However, I grew up about 45 min south of West Palm Beach and have been in the Florida music scene for quite some time. I had NEVER heard Hey Monday’s name uttered by ANYONE until the day I read that they got signed to Decaydance. They’re another band in a long line (Forever the Sickest Kids, We the Kings…etc) that has recently been catapulted to pop-punk/emo stardom without any work being done on their end to build a fan base. This may not irritate anyone else quite the same way it does me. But when you’ve been in bands most of your life, busting your ass and making no money, surviving on turkey sandwiches and ramen noodles, it irks you just a little bit to see bands like this get somewhere. Especially when they are nothing more than a Paramore ripoff.