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Being a jaded old man often leads to the harboring of unfounded, preconceived notions. For instance, take my interview with Fall Out Boy. During the near two-hour drive from San Francisco to San Jose (where the group was performing), a plethora of potential interview scenarios raced through my head--most ending in disaster. Unwarranted pretentiousness, adolescent antics, unfashionable trucker hats, fraternal humor, and just plain stupidity are just a sample of what I expected from Fall Out Boy. Fortunately, I was proven very wrong--very wrong indeed.

What I discovered was that Patrick Stump, Andrew Hurley, and Joseph Trohman are humble, intelligent, enthusiastic, well-spoken, and sincere young men. Of course, I immediately felt like a huge jerk for assuming they would be vacuous mall punksters appropriating my teenaged co-opting of second-generation punk-rock ethos. Rest assured that this merry band of melodic, heavy-riff pop-players is not a carbon copy of their contemporaries, nor are they a product of producers hell-bent on making a buck off popular trends. No, Fall Out Boy is just an honest band with humble origins whose members are as surprised as anyone at their new-found success. Of course, to say that Fall Out Boy's success has been immediate would also be a lie.

Since the late '90s each member of Fall Out Boy has dedicated himself to the pursuit of excellence in hardcore rock. Banding together around the turn of the century, these young men have traversed this great United States in a crapped-out van with one goal in mind: to play music together and to entertain their audiences the way they themselves would want to be thrilled at a concert. Consider it the musical Golden Rule. And it appears the groups unwavering servitude to their simple manifesto has paid off.

Fall Out Boy's major-label debut, From Under the Cork Tree, has lived on the Billboard top 200 for 48 weeks and as of last week was riding high at the 22nd position. This success can be attributed to the group's use of the Web. Long before record-label executives began salivating over Fall Out Boy, the group had amassed a phenomenal fan base from massive download sales, e-mail lists, and word of mouth. In fact, it is safe to say that from 2003 until just recently, Fall Out Boy was the biggest mass secret among teens, pop-punk junkies, and critics.

Well, the secret has transformed into popular knowledge, and now legions of people are converting to Fall Out Boy's infectious music. Will all this success transform each member of Fall Out Boy into the jerks I expected to meet? If Patrick, Andrew, Joseph, and Peter continue making music for the reasons stated during our interview, it is entirely possible they will not become this generation's Guns 'N' Roses. In fact, I wager that Fall Out Boy will continue exciting their fans, and themselves, long after the media hype has crashed.

Congratulations Fall Out Boy...your charm has worked its magic on yet another reviewer.

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