
Just yesterday Pete Wentz of our most favored Boys of Fall (see also: Fall Out Boy) debuted not only the alt-rock band’s first introductory single in more than two years, “Young and Menace,” but also announced their new album “M A N I A” dropping this September with a tour kick-off come October to shortly follow.
So as if our little emo hearts weren’t aflutter enough while reaching the tip of excitement’s iceberg in knowing big news was coming after the group launched cryptic per ushe teases via social media and movie screens throughout Chicago last Friday, additional glee fell in the fact Pete did this heroic deed on Los Angeles’ own The Woody Show.
Deeming it his “morning show of choice,” Pete, it turns out, is #ALLIN when it comes to his taste in A.M. entertainment. Housed on LA-based alternative station ALT 98.7, The Woody Show has become a morning staple in drive-time programming to say the least since their (re) debut in April of 2014. As the perfect balance of hilarity, irreverence and relateability like no other, host Woody and his comedic cohorts Ravey, Greg Gory, Menace and Seabas have already forged their way to the #1 spot in “most listened” among all of LA’s morning radio shows.
What few may realize, however, is the perfection behind this pairing, and not to mention how far back some of The Woody Show crew actually go with Pete and the rest of the band!
Original east coasters themselves, Woody and Ravey have been friends and co-workers for decades. In the olden days of the early 2000s while working at a radio station in Chicago, the duo grew familiar with a few up-and-coming bands thanks to a segment they used to do that highlighted local music. The rest is pretty easy to piece together, as it turns out Fall Out Boy in its precious infancy was one of those very groups who you could say have come a fairly long way since then.
But while chatting it up ahead of the single’s big drop, the cast of misfit characters (Pete lovingly included) went into discussing just how far Fall Out Boy really has come, especially in eyes of those who told them they never would.
Pete talked about how big dogs at their record label judged the musical directions in which they started to drift following the huge commercial success of their sophomore album “From Under the Cork Tree.” Upon sampling singles from their next album “Infinity on High” (you know, just another Platinum-selling coaster) they got congratulated for reaching “the end of their radio career.” He went on to explain how “freeing” that moment really was, as the now-emboldened quartet forever chose a path of authenticity with their music instead of pandering to the mainstream, and furthermore—cookie cutter execs.
A sentiment that couldn’t hit closer to home with The Woody Show as well.
So here’s to those who, against perceptive odds, rise to the top through being nothing short of unapologetically themselves. They always say the best revenge is living well, and there’s much to say for proving wrong the empty elites and bogus admin who think you’re too dumb or bizarre to be successful.
While we don’t have to wear as much pink as Elle Woods when Warner told her she wasn’t smart enough for law school or be as painstakingly Millennial as Sophia as portrayed in Netflix’s new series Girl Boss (which also premiered this past week), we probably all have our own Miranda Priestly’s to deal with on the daily who are always ready to make snap judgements and disapprove the height of your choice heel.
Carving your way in this world often requires defying the laws of comfort, so succeed in spite of those who didn’t believe in you or take you seriously, and relish the ones that always will.