Pete Wentz, Little Fish in Big Live Earth Pond

Fall Out Boy played Live Earth on Saturday in preparation for a trip to Uganda this month, which they hope will raise awareness for children who’ve been forced out of their homes, or into taking up arms, in their nation’s bloody civil war. Front man Pete Wentz, who slept on the streets in Southern California in early May as part of a humanitarian protest, says that the band will be filming their next video, “Me and You,� in conjunction with the nonprofit Invisible Children in Africa. Jada Yuan caught him for a hot minute after he came offstage.

Why’d you keep telling the crowd things like, “We’ll try to get out of your way real fast�?
Oh, because it’s more about Bon Jovi and the Police and Kanye.

And you were feeling small-time?
I don’t know. I hate it when bands get onstage and don’t know their place in the show. It’s like, maybe one day we’ll be up there, but not now. We get up there, and we’re just excited to see the show. I was like, we’ll get up and do it and get off.

Do you wish you were playing in another city, like London?
I actually love playing in New Jersey more than anything. My hair will usually act like it’s Rod Stewart, but I’m Bon Jovi through and through, dude. I wear skinny pants, but I’m Jovi.

Did you meet him?
I’ve never even met him before. I met Richie yesterday. He did a solo during sound check yesterday. It was me and five other people. It was awesome.

What’s it like backstage? Is everyone berating each other to recycle?
No, we can’t see each other. John Mayer came over. We couldn’t even get to his area. What I noticed was, it’s a built-in excuse not to give star treatment. If the conditions are crappy, you can just be like, “We can’t blast Freon in here. We’re being environmentally friendly.� Plus, there’s so much hustle and bustle backstage you can’t even see anything. You’re like, “There’s someone from the Police!� And suddenly Sting’s walking by you.

Is Ashlee [Simpson] on your ass about environmentalism?
My mom would be the No. 1 environmentalist. But Ashlee definitely cares. I’ll be like, “I’m just going to throw this out the window,� and she’ll be like, “No!�
—Jada Yuan