As I’m sitting down to interview Macalester College’s newest pop/punk band, Fallout Boy, I’m apprehensive. They have a reputation as a “difficult” band. The whole group is gathered in a cramped Dupre five single, with drummer Mitch Skinner and bassist Mike Cosimini lying together on the bed. Guitarist/singer John Knefel reclines in a chair, and Chris Holoyda, the temperamental lead singer/guitarist, stands, drinking a kiddie cocktail and eating a block of cheese like an apple. I’m sitting in a chair in the corner, leaning my head against a pair of green underwear which Holoyda claims is the band’s mascot.
There’s a lot of tension in the room, with the band members fighting and constantly talking over each other. Skinner has already been kicked out of the band numerous times, and will be kicked out twice more during the course of this interview. While the other band members joke around, disparaging each other’s moms and sisters, Holoyda is all introspection. “I want to make out in the WMCN radio station someday,” he says thoughtfully, “that would be really cool.” Cosimini is known now as “the cursed one,” after he recently did a jump kick and broke an expensive light fixture during rehearsal.
Skinner is the quietest band member, but he can go on about Michael Jackson for hours. He is impatient, sighing and asking when the interview will be over. His goal, according to Holoyda, is to be like the one-armed drummer from Def Leppard. Knefel is the peacekeeper in the band, except when anyone is talking bad about Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi isn’t the only issue that these guys can’t agree on. But no matter what goes on when they’re together, it creates beautiful music.
Fallout Boy has played several shows at Macalester so far, and students all across campus (or maybe just in Dupre) are humming along to songs like “I Wanna Marry Britney Spears,” “Turn It Up,” and “Explode.” How do they do it, you ask? After sifting through an hour of pure interview hilarity, here’s the best I could come up with:
MM: What made you decide on the name Fallout Boy?
JK: One day Chris was like, ‘Hey we should name our band Fallout Boy.’ The next day I was watching the Simpsons and it was the episode where Millhouse becomes Fallout Boy, it was like a sign from God.
MM: What are your favorite albums?
MS: Weezer, the blue album.
JK: Hello Rockview by Less Than Jake.
MS: This is a very close second- Radiohead, OK Computer.
MC: My favorite is Bane’s album.
CH: I’d say Dookie by Green Day, just because that kind of has a sentimental attachment. Then Possibly Pinkerton by Weezer. It’s so hard! And then Love Is Dead by The Mr.T Experience, probably.
MM: What is your songwriting process?
The whole band starts laughing.
JK: My songwriting process usually involves me playing the guitar and having Kjerstin the RA be like, ‘John you need to be quiet,’ and then me being like, ‘Oh.’ And then I write the lyrics.
CH: Sometimes it kind of like all comes to you, like in a moment. More and more I try to write songs that say something, like “I Wanna Marry Britney Spears.” The lyrics have a point. But sometimes it just all comes together.
JK: That’s the individual aspect. Usually the social aspect is like, I’ll come down here and Chris and I will play guitar for a while and figure out something cool.
MS: And then Mike and I are just a little frosting on the cake.
MC: Yeah, we’re the sexy ones.
MM: What songs do you plan on covering in the future?
JK: “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
CH: “The Sign” by Ace of Base.
JK: We might do a fifties medley of songs that all have the same chord progression.
CH: “Oh Donna,” “Earth Angel,” “Blue Moon.” They’re all the same song.
MM: Ok, here goes: Britney or Christina?
ALL (in unison): BRITNEY!
MM: Axl Rose or Jon Bon Jovi?
JK: Bon Jovi.
MC: Axl Rose.
JK: “Livin’ on a fuckin’ Prayer?” Come on. Bon Jovi!
CH: Yeah, Bon Jovi.
MM: Backstreet or N’Sync?
MC: Backstreet!
MS: Oh, this is soo hard.
JK: I’d say N’Sync because they probably get more chicks.
MS: I’d say Backstreet Boys right away if it weren’t for that “It’s Gonna Be Me” song.
CH: I think the important question is, which is hotter? They’re actually not very attractive, N’Sync.
MC: Fallout Boy is more attractive than any boy band.
JK: Backstreet Boys, because the one to go into rehab first is probably the better boy band.
MM: New wave or hair metal?
CH: NEW WAVE!
JK: I love Quiet Riot, but if you put it up against New Wave, I have to probably say New Wave.
CH: Hair metal is soo bad!
JK: I retract, I’m going hair metal. Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot, man! I wanna rock, Chris. Don’t you wanna rock?
MM: Black Michael Jackson or white Michael Jackson?
ALL: Black Michael Jackson!
MS: (suddenly very articulate) However, he and Janet had a good attempt with that song “Scream.” It was a good attempt to try and break into the nineties. His new album is very bad. They have rappers with deep manly voices and Michael Jackson woo-hooing over it, it just doesn’t cut it. It is not eighties, it is definitely not nineties, and it is definitely not now. And he’s far from invincible, he’s a pussy.
MM: What is the best thing about being a band at Macalester?
MS: People are really supportive, even when we suck.
MC: There’s nothing better to do on Saturday nights.
MS: Because there sure as hell isn’t a social scene. At least not for us.
CH: Guys, we shouldn’t spread hate.
JK: People are very supportive, like Andrea, our Hall Director. And all the RA’s.
MM: Any final comments?
CH: Like, music. When you’re feeling down, and when you’re feeling sad, it’s nice to hear your thoughts echoed in a song. That’s what we’re all about.
That is what Fallout Boy is about. It shows in their music, as well as in this interview. As dramatic as the relationships in the band may seem, they are four regular guys who just want to rock. And get chicks. They want to get chicks, rock, and disparage each other’s moms. Hopefully, someday, this will make them famous. Fallout Boy’s next show is Dec. 15 in the basement of Dupre.
Is Fallout Boy the next Quiet Riot? Or possibly even the next Bon Jovi? Are you wondering when their next show is, or do you want Chris’ sister’s phone number? To find out the answers to these questions and more, you can go to their website, www.geocities.com/falloutboytc, or email them at falloutboytc@yahoo.com.
