Pete Wentz

Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979 in Wilmette, Illinois) is the bassist, back up vocalist, and primary lyricist for the Chicago-based band Fall Out Boy.

Biography

Wentz grew up in the Chicago suburb of Willmette, Illinois, where he still lives with his parents. He attended North Shore Country Day School. After graduating from high school in 1997 (where he was an all-state soccer player), he attended DePaul University where he studied Political Science, dropping out one semester shy of graduation to focus on music.

An avid bassist, Wentz was primarily involved in the Chicago hardcore punk scene and was in several bands in the late 1990s, including xfirstbornx, Arma Angelus (With frontman Tim McIlrath from Rise Against), 7 Angels of the Apocalypse / Culture of Violence, Extinction, Forever Ended Today, Yellow Road Priest, and Project Rocket. In 2001, he cofounded the alternative rock band Fall Out Boy with Joe Trohman, Patrick Stump, and Andy Hurley. He was a vegan "for a number of years," along with fellow band member Andy Hurley.

Enterprises

Wentz has written a book entitled The Boy With the Thorn In His Side, which is a story based on nightmares he had as a child. The title was taken from a track off of the Smiths' critically-acclaimed record The Queen is Dead. He has another book titled "Rainy Day Kids", which was scheduled to be released February 14, 2006, but has been postponed. In addition, Wentz is currently writing another book, alternating chapters with William Beckett of The Academy Is....

Wentz has a company called Clandestine Industries, which distributes books and, more notably, clothing, among other things. Additionally, he owns his own imprint of Fueled By Ramen, Decaydance Records, which has signed several bands, including: Panic! At The Disco, October Fall, Gym Class Heroes, The Hush Sound, Cobra Starship, and Lifetime. He also has a film production company called Bartskull Films, which has released the DVD Release the Bats which star Pete, fellow Fall Out Boy bandmates, and a few of his personal friends.

Selected events

In February 2005, in what appeared to be a suicide attempt, Wentz took an overdose of the anxiety medication Ativan, and as a result, spent a week in the hospital. Commenting on the event to Rolling Stone, he said "I was isolating myself further and further, and the more I isolated myself, the more isolated I'd feel. I wasn't sleeping. I just wanted my head to shut off, like, I just wanted to completely stop thinking about anything at all."

In March of 2006, nude photos of Pete Wentz were posted and spread quickly across the Internet. Wentz posted a response on Fall Out Boy's website and blog asserting that the pictures were stolen from his T-Mobile Sidekick, and that after "feeling badly about this for about 24 hours, I am now ready to get back to laughing."

External links

• Peter Wentz on The Internet Movie Database
• Official Fall Out Boy Website
• Clandestine Industries
• Fueled By Ramen
• Bartskull Films
• Decaydance Records
• Friends Or Enemies