Fall Out Boy was formed in early 2001 by friends Joe Trohman and Pete Wentz, who had played in various hardcore punk bands in the Chicago area. Inspired by bands they listened to growing up, such as Green Day, Descendents, and The Smiths, the pair decided to start their own band. Trohman met high schooler Patrick Stump in a Borders Bookstore. Trohman introduced himself to Stump when he overheard him talking about the band Neurosis, in which they shared a mutual interest. Stump auditioned as a drummer, but his impressive vocal range led to his placement as the lead vocalist. Two other Chicago musicians were recruited to play drums and guitar. The following year, the band debuted with a self-released demo and followed it up with the May 28, 2002 release of Split EP, which featured Project Rocket, on Uprising Records. The group released a mini-LP, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend, on Uprising Records, in 2003. In mid-2003, the band signed with Island Records which is a part of the mainstream label Island Def Jam Music Group, along with Def Jam Records. This was after it picked up the option for its next album. In the meantime of recording its mainstream debut, the band released the acoustic EP My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue on Fueled by Ramen, May 18, 2004. It debuted at #153 on the Billboard 200, the band's first such entry on the chart. The two-disc set included more acoustic performances and a fan photo gallery. Patrick Stump began producing his debut solo album in January 2010. The album features no guest musicians as Stump plays all of the instruments himself. He considers the album a "big, convoluted way to get me to play drums again, because I really just miss playing drums." The album is expected to be released mid-2010. Pete Wentz continues his family life with his wife, Ashlee Simpson, and son, Bronx. He also continues work on his clothing label, film production company and two bars in Chicago and Barcelona. More recently, Wentz acts as spokesperson of UNICEF's Tap Project, a fundraising project that helps bring clean drinking water to people worldwide. Wentz has also expressed his interest in working on new music projects, though he hopes to move outside the limitations of the common 4/4 time signature of pop music. Commenting on this, Wentz stated, "I have ideas that extend beyond [a 4/4 time signature] and I guess I scratched a lottery ticket enough that, because of my band, people let me do these (other) ideas, and some of them are good, some of them are not so good." While widely considered to be a pop punk band,Fall Out Boy has been described as emo and cites emo group The Get Up Kids as an influence. When interviewed for a retrospective article in Alternative Press at the time The Get Up Kids disbanded in 2005, Pete Wentz stated that "Fall Out Boy would not be a band if it were not for The Get Up Kids." Early in the band's career, when Jared Logan was producing their debut album, he asked bassist Pete Wentz what sound the band desired for recording. Wentz responded by "handing over the first two New Found Glory records". On May 3, 2005, Fall Out Boy released their major label debut, From Under the Cork Tree, which debuted on the Billboard 200 at #9, selling over 68,000 copies in its first week. The album achieved double platinum status and has sold over 2.5 million albums in the US alone. Earlier that year, the band’s stability was threatened when Wentz overdosed on the sedative Ativan in a failed suicide attempt. The track “7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)” from their album From Under the Cork Tree is based upon Wentz’s attempted suicide. Their first single, “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down”, peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Pop 100 and #3 on the Modern Rock Charts. The video reached #1 on MTV’s TRL, where it was retired on August 26, 2005. The video also won the MTV2 Award at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, prompting a huge new interest and surge in sales. The band was also nominated for “Best New Artist” at the 2006 Grammy Awards. The second single off the album, “Dance, Dance”, became their second Top 10 Single when it peaked at #9 on the Hot 100. It also reached #6 on the Pop 100 and became the bands top charted hit when it reached #2 on the Modern Rock Charts. The video for the song premiered on TRL on October 11, 2005; it soon reached #1 and was later retired on January 17, 2006. The third single off the album, “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’”, was much less popular than both prior singles but still managed to peak at #65 on the Hot 100 and hit #1 twice on TRL, retiring on June 6, 2006. Fall Out Boy star in 2008 comedy film, ‘Sex Drive’. They make a cameo within the film, playing “PlayFame < Infamy” from their album Infinity on High. They also play an acoustic performance of “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy”. This is due to the friendship executive producer Seth Green has with the band. The song PlayI Don’t Care from their latest album was featured in the end credits. During the credits there is a clip of Ezekiel and Fall Out Boy arguing over the fact that the Amish fixed Fall Out Boy’s tour bus and all that they got in return was “a five song set” alluding to some form of compensation, which serves as a running gag. On November 17, 2009, “Believers Never Die - Greatest Hits” was released, featuring two new songs titled Alpha Dog and From Now On We Are Enemies. Along with the news of the release of the CD we also got some not so great news, Fall out boy in currently on a break. “We’re just taking a break and decompressing. We’re not putting terms on when we’re coming back. We’re going to come back when everybody’s excited about it and it’s fun.” says Pete Wentz to J14 Magazine.