where are your boys tonight? in my book, let me tell you about it...
I wrote the book I always wanted to read. It’s called WHERE ARE YOUR BOYS TONIGHT? and it’s out June 6 on Dey Street Books. It’s the product of over two years years of interviews, editing, research, and writing, and I can’t wait for you all to read it.
I started this first Substack today so I can keep you all in the loop with everything book-related over the next six months, and beyond. I’ll be dropping hints, previews, hidden messages, all that good stuff. Maybe a peek at a chapter. Maybe a peek at the interview list. I don’t know, man, I’m just really excited.
The book is up for pre-order and I’d be forever grateful if you grab your copy at whatever bookseller you prefer. I know it’s six months out, but pre-sales are really important for first-time authors.
Which brings me to one story for today.
I started work on this book in April 2020, immediately after getting laid off from Billboard, where I’d worked as a writer since 2013. Sunday morning, April 12, 2020, I found out through a Daily Beast report that Billboard was laying off a bunch of staff; lunchtime Tuesday, I learned that included me; Wednesday afternoon, I got an unexpected email.
I’d interviewed Pete Wentz a bunch of times at Billboard, but we’d never talked over Gmail. I kinda thought someone was fucking with me. I don’t know what kind of person would play that kind of joke on someone, but this was April 2020, man. If I was opening a care package of paper towels from my mom, I didn’t know if I should be wearing rubber gloves or wiping the whole thing down with Lysol.
So I texted Gabe Saporta, as one does, to see if this was indeed the real Pete Wentz reaching out to say that’s a bummer, that he enjoyed my writing, and to stay positive for the future. It was Pete. I said thanks, and asked him if he’d be down to chat for the book I now had plenty of time to write.
So here we are, well over 150 interviews later. If you’ve ever cared about Fall Out Boy, MCR, Paramore, or Panic! at the Disco, there’s a lot in these 400+ pages for you. Same goes for bands like Jimmy Eat World, Lifetime, the Get Up Kids, Bayside, Underoath, the Hush Sound, Circa Survive, Say Anything, Something Corporate… I bet there’s a story in here you haven’t heard before. And MySpace, and Y2K era scene fashion, and Skate and Surf 2003, and the Wayne Firehouse, and the Long Island Zoo, and MTV’s Band in a Bubble, and fuck, I might have even mentioned Friendster a few times.
And since so much of this was going on next door to New York City while Meet Me in the Bathroom raged, there are definitely more Strokes, Interpol, and Misshapes stories than you expect.
Talk soon.
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