EXCLUSIVE: Train's Pat Monahan Talks Big Hits, Baseball, and Big Ben

You would think by now, after five albums, four top twenty hits, and a three year hiatus, not much would surprise Train lead singer Pat Monahan. You’d think incorrectly.

“The biggest shock of my life, so far, was that about two months ago, we were nominated for three Teen Choice Awards,” admitted Monahan on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “That was like, ‘c’mon!’ That was really great.”

Personally, I was a little shocked to see Train performing before this year’s MLB Home Run Derby in Anaheim. I didn’t even know they booked live music before such events.

“I was psyched to be there,” the lead singer said. “Major League Baseball has been super great to us, for many, many years,” Monahan continued, before revealing that his allegiance lies with a number of teams, including the Mariners (he lives in Seattle), the Athletics and Giants (the band is rooted in the Bay area), and the Pirates (Pat is from Erie, PA – near Pittsburgh).

Due to that last fact – Monahan also counts himself as a Steelers fan. The singer says he feels a little guilty rooting for Pittsburgh because of how often they win (likening them to the New York Yankees in the process), but doesn’t know what this new season will entail with the off-field troubles of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“I don’t know what that dude’s doing,” he said. “He should go to like speed dating school or something, I dunno.”
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Save Me, San Francisco is in stores now.

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Hey – although Monahan downplays the media’s storyline of Train’s “comeback”, noting that other bands have taken much longer hiatuses to write, travel, and spend time with family - the man knows a thing or two about returning to prominence. Perhaps someone should link “Big Ben” up with him?

Anyways, Monahan and his band are currently linked up with John Mayer on an outdoor amphitheater trek, veering off the path periodically for some headlining dates as well. The front man is having fun on the road with Mayer.

“I think we’re going to write a little bit, and I love to write with dudes like that,” said Monahan, praising Mayer’s writing and guitarist skills. “Maybe there’ll be something on the next Train record or maybe we’ll write something for somebody cool – whatever. Just to get in a room with someone as talented as John is going to be cool for me.”

A pretty big compliment, especially considering Mayer was 21 when Train dropped their debut, self-titled LP in 1998. But the band is quite welcoming to the new breed of artists – Monahan once again complimented the work of Taio Cruz before our interview, and enlisted the help of Pete Wentz to direct the band’s video for “If It’s Love”, the next single from Save Me, San Francisco.

“I think the band has a really good sense of humor, and we’ve never really been able to show that,” said Monahan. “There’s nobody better at that than Pete… he was great at that.”

In addition to the band’s touring commitments, Train will make a second appearance in less than a year on NBC’s “The Today Show” August 6.

EXCLUSIVE: Gabe & Ryland of Cobra Starship Talk Touring; Drinking; B.o.B. Collab

Some in the music business knew of B.o.B and his talents well before he scored a number one record and two top ten hits with his album B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Count Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta as one of those people.

“I was a huge fan of his when ‘I’ll Be In The Sky’ came out, I thought that song was gonna be a monster,” revealed the front man. “To me, he was the new Andre 3000.”

Saporta enjoyed B.o.B’s work so much that he asked the rapper to cameo on “The World Will Never Do” – which is the last track on Hot Mess.

“That is actually one of the songs we’re proudest of on the record,” Saporta said of the collab. “It’s the last song on the album – and that always kind of happens with Cobra records – like, I kind of start listening to our own record from track 6 onward, and the last song is always, usually, my favorite.”
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Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship invited "The RRS" aboard Cobra's tour bus (which Toby Keith also uses, true story) to chat about the band's tour with 3OH!3 and Travie McCoy along with a few select tracks from Hot Mess. In Part 2, Ryland Blackinton also joins in on the fun.

Part 1: Pacing Yourself On Tour, New Tour Bus, B.o.B. Collab

Part 2: Pete Wentz, Ryland Stops By

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Speaking of tracks from Hot Mess, Cobra recently released a video for track 7, “Living In The Sky With Diamonds” – a song that departs from the party-on message in the LP’s first two singles.

“I feel like all the songs we’ve done so far, people that haven’t heard Cobra Starship yet, a lot of them are probably like, ‘Wow these guys are just like, complete douches,’” the lead singer confessed, before I asked him to elaborate. “I guess if you only hear the two songs (“Good Girls Go Bad”, “Hot Mess”) they’re both about like, kinda getting drunk and going crazy and me encouraging girls to be on their worst behavior. But, we have a sensitive side too.”

The music video was shot by a film school student in the UK. English model Peaches Geldof stars in the production, which can be viewed on Cobra’s official website and YouTube.

EXCLUSIVE: Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta Talks Touring, Hot Mess, & Pete Wentz

From the outset, it seems as if Gabe Saporta is having the time of his life, and you really can’t blame him.

The band he fronts, Cobra Starship, just wrapped up a tour with Boys Like Girls, scored a Top 10 hit in “Good Girls Go Bad”, and was even paid a high compliment from the lead singer of a band they idolize; Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo told MTV News he’d most like to tour with Cobra, out of any band, dead or alive. But as exciting as all of the aforementioned is, Saporta seems just as pumped about everything else in his life – whether it’s having a picture of his face tattooed on his boss’s leg, or receiving a Red Bull and vodka from his tour manager after a taxing set.

During our ten minute chat, Saporta chatted openly about Hot Mess, the tour, and Decaydance Records head honcho Pete Wentz. Twice during the interview, he called over to Boys Like Girls, prompting lead singer Martin Johnson to join in our conversation for a second and drummer John Keefe to claim he was too busy with his own interview (truth be told, no one was interviewing him, but a BLG camera crew caught it all on tape). Never did Gabe look or sound tired… despite stepping off the hot, muggy stage of the Crocodile Rock Café in Allentown just prior to sitting down with The Ralphie Radio Show.
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Part 1:

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“Backstage shenanigans, non –stop bro,” proclaimed Saporta, before mockingly stating, “If Ralphie would hang out, but he’s gotta be (back home), his mom’s making lasagna.”

Actually, I had a club appearance. I might have taken a rain check on the lasagna (no offense, Ma) to hang out with these guys. It seems the party-vibe exhibited in Cobra’s latest LP isn’t a far stretch from the musicians themselves. Saporta told me that the band holed up for a few weeks in, of all places, The Poconos, to record the album. While “Hot Mess” has a negative connotation in our society, the lead singer feels that Cobra Starship is shifting the definition with the new LP and title track.
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Part 2:

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“For me, (hot mess) is awesome,” said Saporta. “Kate Moss, that girl’s a hot mess! She’s bangin’, but like, you’ll find YouTube videos of her doing drugs. And she loses her endorsements because she’s a hot mess. That’s rock ‘n roll.”

It seems for now though that the LP will be defined by “Good Girls Go Bad” which features Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester. The record gained more traction on-air and in the club when a remix hit the Internets with a new verse from rapper Flo-Rida.

“I’ll tell ya where it came from, outta nowhere,” admitted Saporta. “Mike Caren, he’s a top dude at Atlantic (Records), really sweet dude. He discovered Flo-Rida. He’s like, ‘Yo man, I can get Flo to do a rhyme on one of your songs. You just gotta promise to do a trade later on.’”
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Part 3:

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Caren explained to Gabe that a trade meant in exchange for Flo-Rida rapping on “Good Girls Go Bad” – Saporta would have to hop on one of the rapper’s tracks.

“I’m like, ‘Lemme think about that? DUH!’” exclaimed Saporta. “Whenever he wants some cool punk rock singing on one of his songs, I’m in there like swimwear.”

The track also yielded the latest in the ongoing ribbing between Gabe and Wentz. Saporta set the record straight on The RRS, stating that the official bet was if “Good Girls Go Bad” went number one on the iTunes chart, the Fall Out Boy bassist would let Saporta pick his next tattoo.

Although for only 30 seconds, the song hit the top of the chart, confirmed by numerous screen captures. Saporta picked his third grade class photo as the tattoo for Wentz.

“Even though Pete Wentz is my friend, he’s also the boss man. And sometimes the record guys… they stop returning your calls if your record doesn’t do well,” explained Saporta. “So I’m thinking, ‘Yo, if I got Pete’s tattoo of my face on his leg man, he’s always gonna have to return my calls.”

Sure he’s never one to look back, but given his present, you have to at least give Saporta props for his foresight – even though it doesn’t look as if Cobra Starship will have a hard time snagging Wentz’s attention in the immediate future.

EXCLUSIVE: Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz To Make Big Announcement Before Year's End

You know when Pete Wentz starts paraphrasing Jay-Z, he means business. Actually, I wasn’t sure what the Fall Out Boy bassist meant when he dropped this during our conversation – but I think we’re all about to find out soon.

“People are gonna be really sick about the next deal I make,” said Wentz, who is also the head of Decaydance Records. “If people felt weird about the last one, people are gonna feel real weird about the next one.”

I asked Wentz to elaborate on his “On To The Next One” reference, and well… he at least continued.

“It’s got nothing to do with Fall Out Boy or Island Def Jam,” Wentz admitted. “It’s gonna be different, and it’s gonna make people feel sick, or happy.”

The only timeline Wentz gave to the big announcement is that it will not happen on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but will happen before the end of the year. He said that everyone is a little lost on what’s happening, but that he’s going through with it – whatever it is – anyways.

Interestingly enough, shortly after our conversation, he posted this Twitter update, "I kinda lost my mind for real. Not really looking for it either".

Wentz called in to The Ralphie Radio Show to promote Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits. The FOB compilation hit stores and iTunes on Tuesday, and features two new tracks.

“Ahh man… funny question, yunno?” Wentz responded when I asked why the band released a “best of” album at this particular moment in time. “Fourth quarter. Labels like to put out greatest hits in the fourth quarter, don’t they? And ‘why now?’ because it’s like, the band doesn’t have enough hits to have a greatest hits. And ‘why now?’ because maybe it’s like, you have a contract you want to get out of. We asked ourselves all those questions, and then decided to put it out as something for the fans.”
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Part 1: Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits, "Alpha Dog"

Part 2: Hair Cut, Future Plans, Angels & Kings (Wentz's NYC Bar)

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The timing is also curious given that Fall Out Boy as a band is currently on a hiatus, or as Wentz told MTV News the night before – a “decompressing.” So, while supporters may not have new material in the immediate future, they will have two new songs from the release, including the first single, “Alpha Dog.”

“We felt like (“Alpha Dog”) didn’t fit in,” Wentz reasoned as to why the track didn’t appear on Folie A Deux. The song did pop up on a mixtape the label head released prior to Fall Out Boy’s last LP. “It felt too electronic. At the time it felt futuristic, now it feels it is the right time for it.”

And oh how the times have changed. Wentz is 30, with a child and a wife, and will be living in New York for at least the next 13 weeks. His spouse, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, makes her Broadway debut on November 30 in the musical, “Chicago.” For Wentz, this will translate to more time with his son. Bronx Mowgli Wentz turns 1 on Friday. This will probably also find the entrepreneur with more opportunities to manage and appear at his New York bar, Angels and Kings. The drinking establishment might be to blame for the slow, sometimes rambling responses I received from Wentz throughout our chat.

“I was there, in my head, last night,” Wentz said. “But I don’t think I was there, in reality.”

TMZ'S LESLIE HARRIS: John Mayer's Challenge

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After TMZ posted a mugshot of Fall Out Boy front man Patrick Stump, John Mayer stepped to the plate with a challenge of his own...

Catch Leslie on TMZ TV - Weekdays at 6 on Channel 38 - The CW.

EXCLUSIVE: Hey Monday's Cassadee Pope on "How You Love Me Now" & Splurging on Tour

Working with big name songwriters and producers can have both pros and cons. This came to light in the recent feud between Kelly Clarkson and her record label over releasing the track, “Already Gone” to radio stations. Clarkson felt the song sounded too similar to Beyonce’s “Halo.” OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder wrote and produced both.

Butch Walker is behind many tracks from quite a few big name artists – from Avril Lavigne to Simple Plan, Katy Perry to Pink. Walker’s latest production is the song, “How You Love Me Now.” It’s a single from Hold On Tight, the debut LP of Hey Monday, a pop-rock group fronted by Cassadee Pope. The lead singer insists she wasn’t worried about the final collaboration with Walker sounding too similar to his other pieces of work.

“That’s always a risk,” admitted Pope. “But if you stay true to what your sound is and everything, and if it clicks with that other person, it’s usually just what you want.”

Pope called in to The Ralphie Radio Show on Tuesday to chat about a plethora of topics – including the new single, which Cassadee describes as “prideful.”

“It’s just about getting your heart broken and then that person wanting you back, but they also have someone else on the side,” Pope explained. “And you just kinda tell them that that’s not gonna happen.”
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Hey Monday’s debut LP also spawned the track, “Homecoming” which Pete Wentz featured on his CitizensFOB mix-tape last fall. The pop rockers are signed to Wentz’s Decaydence label. The association with the Fall Out Boy bassist carries many perks – Hey Monday supported Fall Out Boy on the band’s “Believer’s Never Die Tour Part Deux” last spring. Pope and Wentz also cameo together in Degrassi: The Next Generation TV Movie. In case you’re wondering, the lead singer did not meet actor and Young Money emcee Aubrey “Drake” Graham – he does not appear in the film.

Currently Hey Monday is playing a set of acoustic shows at Hot Topic stores across the country. Pope admitted, the idea to shop before or after performing at the malls is tempting.

“I kinda splurged the first few days, but I’m being good now,” said Pope. “I kinda had an episode in Forever 21. I bought a lot of shirts and, I think I bought a skirt too. I packed light for this tour because I knew I’d be shopping.”

This fall, Hey Monday will tour to support We The Kings and All Time Low.

EXCLUSIVE: Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta On Angels & Kings, New CD, Pete Wentz's Birthday

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Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta is glad he called The Ralphie Radio Show. Thankfully for the lead singer, I reminded him that Pete Wentz's birthday was the next day. Sure Gabe may not know what to get Pete, but Saporta did chat about Cobra's new CD and the bar he, Pete, and a few others own in NYC: Angels & Kings.

Check out Gabe talking about Leighton Meester and Cobra's new single, "Good Girls Go Bad" here.
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I suppose you could excuse Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta if he did forget Pete Wentz’s birthday… his band is touring the globe and gearing up for the release of a new LP in August.

But, thankfully for Gabe (and possibly a gift-receiving Pete), I reminded the lead singer of June 5’s significance when he called up The Ralphie Radio Show.

“Aw man, thank you for reminding me, you just saved my life!” Saporta acknowledged as an answer to a question about what he’d get Wentz for his 30th life anniversary. “I’m always glad to know when it’s Pete’s birthday because it always reminds me that I’m a little younger than him.”

Cobra Starship’s 29 year-old lead singer discussed Cobra’s new single with Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester – the story behind Hot Mess – and the pending legal issues with a New York City bar co-owned by Wentz, himself, and members of the Gym Class Heroes.

“(Laughing) It was just something we were using to describe all of our favorite kind of girls,” Saporta admitted of Hot Mess, which drops August 11. “Then we’re like, ‘Why don’t we just call the album that?’”

The story behind Cobra’s new LP title doesn’t seem the least far-fetched. Saporta takes pride in the band’s reputation for its fun-first, music-second approach.

“You can’t insult me because, that’s the whole point of our band is yunno, we like to knock each other all the time.”

Matter of fact, the insults can even yield positive results. Saporta notes that one of the songs on the new CD, “Pete Wentz is the Only Reason We’re Famous” stemmed from a live on-line fan chat.

It also makes sense that the front man neither felt insulted nor shied away from questions regarding the bar he part-owns with Wentz, Angels and Kings. The drinking establishment recently experienced a run-in with New York State Liquor Authority. Officials cited the spot for serving minors. Saporta noted that the bar is now open, and that New York in general is offering quite the amount of tickets these days.

“They’re just cracking down left and right, even on crazy stuff – on like parking tickets and garbage fines,” said Saporta. “It’s hard to run a business like that, we’re not there to run it.”

Instead, Saporta and company are making music, playing shows, and filming videos. The band just wrapped up the shoot for “Good Girls Go Bad” – a track produced and written by Kevin Rudolf and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. Cobra’s front man noted that both Gossip Girl actresses-turned-singers – Meester and Taylor Momsen, were possibilities for the song.

“They both talked to our management,” revealed Saporta. “I’m like, ‘Yo, they came in here? Why didn’t you tell me about it? I wanna meet them, I love Gossip Girl!’”

DAILY DOWNLOAD: Fall Out Boy f. Lil Wayne - America's Suitehearts

04.29.09 : Fall Out Boy f. Lil' Wayne - America's Suitehearts (Remix)

FOB's Pete Wentz actually tipped me off as to the existance of this remix. A quick Google search yielded the MP3. Certainly a healthy debate could occur as to if this trumps the original off of Folie A Deux, but any collab between the princes of pop-emo and Weezy F. Baby deserves atleast one radio spin, right?

EXCLUSIVE: FALL OUT BOY'S PETE WENTZ!

His dad still pays his cell phone bill, TMZ isn't as bad as his tweets make it out to be, plus much more.

Part 1: The Big announcement, Returning to Chicago

Part 2: "America's Suitehearts" Remix w/ Blink 182's Mark Hoppus, Being a Husband/Father, TMZ

RALPHIE REPORT: The Cab/Demi Lovato; Obama

The following will appear Wednesday in The Weekender.
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Surely it was uncomfortable enough in the back of that Posten Taxi, even before I asked the question about his alleged girlfriend…

Don’t get the wrong idea, nothing shady going on. Just another genius (read: cliché) idea conjured up by the 97 BHT staff (shout out Adam!): Let’s interview Alex DeLeon and Ian Crawford of The Cab… in a cab.

So Alex, Ian, and I piled in to the backseat of the yellow taxi waiting outside T.G.I. Friday’s, where we just ate lunch with a lucky 97 BHT listener and two members of The Academy Is… . We chatted about the band’s relationship with label-head and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz (Alex says they go back and forth over text messaging, with light-hearted jabs like “asshole”), and the shows planned for this spring (We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids among the tour-mates). 

Then, with a bit of guilt looming (and I NEVER feel guilty about this kind of stuff), I asked the singer of “Bounce” about his personal relationship with Disney star Demi Lovato. On-line forums and Wikipedia pages were filled with rumors about the couple – from dating to not dating, joint statements, and more.

“Me and Demi are really, really close. I mean, we’re great…” DeLeon said before catching himself, presumably trying not to out themselves but also not tell a straight-up lie on camera (the segment can be viewed at 97bht.com).

“We like to hang out, we’re really, really close,” he reiterated. “I actually just got off the phone with her.”

I quickly asked him to send our regards to Lovato, as well as to rag on her a bit… she almost missed her show this summer with the Jonas Brothers at Montage Mountain due to not catching a flight.

BARACK-BERRY TO STAY IN OVAL OFFICE?

While the country is swept up in the inauguration of our 44th President and first black Commander-In Chief, Barack Obama, the new leader of the free world, attempts to keep a freedom of his own: the use of his BlackBerry.

CNBC quoted Mr. Obama as saying the Secret Service would have to “pry (the BlackBerry) out of his hands.” The financial network estimates that a figure of $10-15 million could be placed on our new president’s endorsement of the device.

Both sides of the argument seem to hold some validity: Obama contends that a president should not have to rely solely on others to receive information and contact others on the outside. However, The Secret Service worries about security breaches, especially with the e-mails the President could be sending and receiving.

The President is aware of such issues, noting that he realizes anything in these e-mails could end up in a newspaper, and would compose the messages with this in mind.

And if you’re wondering, CNBC also reports that President Obama enjoys Planters Trail Mix, Honest Tea, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Nike training clothes, and Asics running shoes. He may be attempting to cut government spending, but don’t call the man “cheap.”
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

EXCLUSIVE: fall out boy!

It's official - Patrick Stump & Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy broke the Guinness World Record for Most Radio Interviews Completed by a Pair in 24 Hours. Ralphie & 97 BHT contributed to the record-breaking cause, with interview #60!

Part 1: The Guinness Record, Folie A Deux, Mutual Friends

Part 2: Amerca's Suitehearts, Election Day Plans

Folie A Deux hits stores on December 16th!

DAILY DOWNLOAD: the cab!

Check back every weeknight to listen to Ralphie's "Daily Download" - the one song you should have on your iTunes playlist!

10.30.08 : The Cab - Bounce


Ralphie Speaks w/ Alex & Ian from The Cab!

helping fall out boy break a guinness record...

just when you think the week cannot escalate anymore...

from the entertainment news on the front of 97bht.com...

"The members of Fall Out Boy are trying to break a Guinness World Record. "People" magazine reports the band's frontman Patrick Stump and bassist Pete Wentz aim to conduct the most amount of radio interviews in the space of 24 hours. The current record stands at 57 stations in one day. The pair will attempt the challenge this Friday, October 31st, beginning at 3 a.m. Pacific time at Premiere Studios in Los Angeles. The group also looks forward to the release of their new album "Folie A Deux," due in stores December 16th."

yes, pete and/or patrick will be phoning in this friday... stay tuned for details...

fall out "boy" for pete & ashlee...

had to go there with the title, sorry. apparently everything in their registry is blue...

article is here.

snoop's advice to ashwentzday.

from pete's new show: fnmtv. this turns from funny to uncomfortable in no time...

i almost x'd out when snoop asks ashlee if she plans on breast feeding.

happy birthday pete wentz...

one half of the first couple of emo turns 29 today (a day before i turn 23!)

pete celebrated with his bromantic friend john mayer the other day, taking in a private tatooing session in mayer's home. can't make this stuff up.

pete wentz - emo fashion trend setter?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

pete & ashlee - first photo.

whose hair is straighter, and how are you putting your dog, (no matter how beloved hemmingway is) in to this photo?

can't say that i'm surprised though. click here for more from people.

the pete & ashlee love story...

"The first time we really hung out she flashed me," Wentz recalled.

"I lifted my dress over my head," Simpson joked.

- from us weekly.

...so much for that wholesome simpson image.

here comes the emo bride...

apparently pete & ashlee will be tying the know a little sooner than expected... like next weekend sooner...

hollyscoop also reports that ashlee is "100% pregnant."