Fall Out Boy talk Reading 2016 and new project ‘Bloom’

Their latest creative outlet comes after the band released their ‘American Beauty / American Psycho’ record back in 2015, and sees them again pursuing a less traditional avenue. “I just think that we live in such an interesting time for art and we wanted to create something that was experiential for people,” Pete says. “Something we’ve never done before, and maybe something people have never seen before, that they can take part it in and have a moment like ‘I was at Reading 2016 and I was involved in it’. So much of my childhood is wrapped up in Terminator 2 and Guns ’N’ Roses and it all works well together, but we had to curate it all ourselves. Now, we’re in a time where we can curate it for people and they can add to it, add layers to it, remix tracks and it’s such a cool process that I really wish it had existed when I was younger.”

As for the message of the project, it’s about seeing hope when - especially at a time like the present - it feels like there might be none. “I think that I look out at the world sometimes, especially having kids,” Pete offers up, “and all I see is negativity and hate that’s so divisive. It bums me out and I know that people have a hard time - I’ve had a hard time - and one of the things you should know if that you can make it out of the other side and be stronger because of that. That’s why I think it’s important. Sometimes we tell people it gets better, but it’s like, sometimes it gets fucking worse and then it can get better and you can fight your way through it. Sometimes, you have to actively want to do it - it’s not as though you can wake up one day and it’ll be sunny, sometimes you have to want things to change.”

Tags: Fall Out Boy, News, Festivals