Stars inside Arenas: The Stardust Project
The Stardust Project is something that captivated all of us starting on the first leg of Fall Out Boy’s Tourdust and continuing onto 2ourdust. Dual Muse Magazine had the privilege of speaking with Atty and Ben - two of four phenomenal folks spearheading the whole thing. Read more about it all below, only on Dual Muse Magazine!
Photos courtesy of the Stardust Project + Atty Marie
Stars Inside Arenas - The Stardust Project
Interviewed by Caitlin Tuel
appx. 5-10 Minute Read
DMM: Can you introduce yourself to the readers as this is a transcription?
Atty: Hi! I’m Atty! I came in a little bit later to the project but I very quickly became an Admin and was a date leader for both legs of the tour, and I went to the Baltimore date… and Virginia Beach!
Ben: I’m Lord Cheeseus or Ben, I helped start the Stardust Project - I’ve been here since 2023… Yeah! I’ve been here, ran both tours, and that’s me!
DMM: What are your positions on the project?
A: We are both admin (sic), and Cheese/Ben is one of our project managers and co-founders!
B: I do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, stuff that really doesn’t get shown to the media. I make sure things run smoothly, make sure members are doing well, and am largely tasking myself with keeping the server up to running/up to date
A: There are about four admins who are actively running in total!
B: We also have an amazing mod team who are incredibly helpful. Haylee, Dorian, Emmy, and Cecil.
DMM: What inspired you to start this Fall Out Boy fan project?
B: In 2023, there were about six of us in a reddit Fall Out Boy server, we kinda had decided that with the upcoming release of So Much For Stardust, with the recent release of Love From the Other Side, we were so excited. We came up with the project with a lot of inspiration from the Mania project - Fall Out Boy’s 2018 record. We just decided to go ahead and make our own! The six of us started our own! We survived! We made it through. A lot of fucking drama.
A: It’s so amazing that we lasted through both legs. We made it through both, lots of different countries, and we’re doing it in China -
B: -China’s this week!
A: Bangkok, Manila, Singapore - Asia, UK, Europe -
B: We did not actually do Australia - we didn’t have many folks reach out to us and we didn’t reach out to a lot of people - especially with the two festivals just happening. We did do the entire UK Run, we reached out to the UK. Admins for that due to us being U.S.-based. lolly and Tails had run that and Karma - they did a great job running and managing everything despite mishaps at the start. For the time that it took I really think we did a decent job
A: Yeah!
DMM: How do you plan and organize events or activities for other Fall Out Boy fans from concept to practice?
B: from concept: putting our name out there, reaching out to fan accounts on twitter - fall out boy daily - they had given us a shoutout and gained us lots of followers -
A: Tour updates, other accounts like that
DMM: So how does this end up in practice? Managing, Distributing, etc, etc.
A: a lot of it falls on to the date leaders - SketchyYetii designed the eight ball herself, just said “Hey! I’m gonna do this thing!”
B: We largely are organizing, we get about 95% of the approval from the venue -
A: some of the venues had to be digital, and some even handed them out with us!
B: Grand Rapids MI! Second leg
A: They had a hand out table for it, they were handing them out with us, and putting us on their socials!
B: Kind of a historic moment for us - we just felt like we -
Both: We made it.
A: Baltimore was huge, right during Fake Out - I was on the floor for that show. There were 14k people and I just looked around and sobbed, I think that baltimore had one of the best turnouts, we had so many people from and on our team on that.
B: For me, I did this with Somerset, MA. It was so special to me - it was the only show that had gotten a rain delay, and the fact that despite a shortened set we STILL got Fake Out and 70% of the crowd having their shells even though we were sent back to our cars. There’s only so many times you get pink in the sky and see how far you've come, so heartwarming. And fucking awesome. Not to be cheesy, but it’s a good feeling. It’s hard to articulate. I don’t think some people understand what this means to us.
A: And it’s really a labor of love, and Fake Out is an intense song to begin with. I'm so glad they kept it for both legs. And what’s interesting about it all is for the first handful shows of the tour, the lighting for Fake Out had been blue.
DMM: Really? Honestly, I don’t think I had noticed the lighting being blue.
B: Yes! I don’t think we were really paying attention. Way too happy that the band was not only back but that they had played “Gay Is Not A Synonym For Shitty” that first night. How do you both say that anyway? Anyway. The lighting did end up pink!
DMM: What are you going to do for future shows in the US?
A: We’re also going to TRY to do When We Were Young. We’re not sure what to expect from that.
B: Especially since it’s albums in full and the band still hasn’t clued anyone in on what they’re planning. I don’t think they will.
A: Andy even said it could be all eight balls!
DMM: Oops, all eight balls!
DMM: What challenges have you faced while leading this project, and how have you overcome them?
B: We’re somehow running a clown fiesta that somehow turned into a fucking circus. Our first challenge was a lot of drama with another server, bringing a lot of negativity to ours. This would lead an admin to step down due to slander and falsehoods, which led to my mediation. Not a good time for anyone. I wish I had handled it differently, I felt young and irresponsible but still fully responsible as I’m tied to the server. I even stepped down for a bit from it.
A: There’s a few of us who have stepped back at times when we needed breaks, like, when you’re running a server, a project -
B:1,200 or something?
DMM: 1,200 people?
A: 1,400! And when it’s something of this size and when everyone is so passionate about a band, a topic, anything - people are going to have strong opinions! I think we’ve done a good job handling things, like, “This is how it’s going to be”, but we can still have open dialogue and folks are still open to that. It’s something I love about our community. Especially about the Baltimore chat - we’ve created this family, this amazing group of people who are either in the area or just went to the show and now have a found family, and I think there’s a lot of amazing friendships that were developed because of this server that people never thought they’d find.
B; A lot of important friendships, and people I never thought I’d meet. I now know people I can reconnect with, and I’m used to going to shows alone. And I feel sort of like the “face” of the project-
A: -I’ll agree to that!
B: I talk in there the most, I love the community, I love the roles we have - the jokes/banter, everything we have! We even have a “has beef with cheese” role that's very playful!
A; I know coverage has been hard - I know I printed 1,000 pieces of paper and I sent them out, and I have about 500-600 sheets that we plan to pay forward to WWWY, or ALL Your Friends - we’re trying not to print any more than we already have
B: I know I’ve got about two sandwich baggies - if you’re wondering how you do this? It’s us. It’s largely college kids using the disposable income they have -
A: -Or older folks who are lucky enough to have expendable income, like some people went to 10+ and participated in every single night - we couldn’t have done this any better and we have the best team I could’ve asked for.
B: Mhhhhm.
DMM: What has been the most rewarding aspect of leading this project?
B: Tough one!
A: Goes back to the moment I turned around and I thought “I helped organize this” Or knowing it went to the UK!
B: knowing that I helped start this whole thing. A lot of it was sure seeing it turn pink, but the messages of ‘ you guys did it’ - that was a lot for me. You don’t get a lot of times knowing you made a lot of people happy, and all this wonderful feedback. There were a couple times where pete commented on our projected. That hit close to home, cried a little -
A: - Cried a lot
B: MN was special, it was the first time that most of us were able to get into the group photo but I wish the total group was able to find us, and I was bummed out it didn’t happen. I didn’t feel like I fell in with a community my whole life, but this is the first time I’ve felt like a part of a big community, and it feels so rewarding, I feel… happy. It was wonderful.
DMM: How do you engage with Fall Out Boy fans both online and offline?
Both: Largely through the discord!
B: It’s my only way personally, I don’t use social media so I don’t run that sector
A: But yes, absolutely!
DMM: Have you collaborated with the band or their management in any way?
B: No, not necessarily? We’ve been noticed. Not yet.
A: They know of us! AND they enjoy us!
B: That’s about all!
DMM: What impact do you hope to have on the Fall Out Boy fan community through your project?
B: Love and kindnes - you can do something kind and impactful as a community - we can always all come together and change the lights, if you will. It’s great. Everyone’s got a shell they kept
A: or an 8-ball!
DMM: I mean, I know I have both!
DMM: How do you incorporate fan creativity and expression into your project, is that largely in the papers that come out/get printed?
A: Yeah! And like I said, that was all volunteer work - and personally, I know I was like “Oh my G-d, I have to be the one to date lead, they haven't played this city since 2003 - this is so important to me” Like listen, I was SIX in 2003 - barely a thought, but it’s so important to me to do it.
DMM: Can you share any future plans or upcoming events for your fan project? I know you've mentioned some, so a recap, if you will?
B: When We Were Young festival, All Your Friends in Canada - we’re trying to get a better turnout for Canada this time.
A: And the Asia tour - we’re in China!
B: they ended up cutting out fifteen thousand shells in THREE DAYS.
Dual Muse: Shoutout to the Chinese team! That’s insane!
What advice would you give to someone starting their own fan project or community?
A: Don’t overthink it.
B: And take things step by step.
A: Make your cutouts simple and accessible for people! It’s why we did a circle the second leg.
DMM: Absolutely! I’m arthritic, and I know my wrist was doomed by the time Fake Out was over for leg one.
A: That’s what I’m saying! Accessibility is critical and we really are glad we did both for 2ourdust.
B: Absolutely.
DMM: What resources or support do you rely on to keep your project running smoothly?
A: Our volunteers and amazing members!
DMM: What do you think sets your fan project apart from others in the Fall Out Boy fandom?
A: We made it successfully through two different tours, and we’ve made it to different countries.
B: I can’t say that I know others have, we’ve made it this far - I know others have started in different countries.
DMM: I know I was excited to see you folks back!
DMM: How has being a part of this fan project enriched your own life as a fan?
B: I’ve learned a lot about running a group of people - being a project manager - it’s definitely something that I think will help the engineering degree later on. I learned to communicate better.
A: I’m really proud of you. But, it made me gain a deeper love for the community. As someone who works full-time, I was awarded an outlet to just be silly, and goofy, and put all my love and appreciation for the band into this project. Between meeting incredible people and getting to enjoy my favorite band, I got to be part of something that showed them so much love… visibly.
DMM: What message would you like to convey to fellow Fall Out Boy fans who may be interested in joining your project?
Both: We’re a great community!
A: I don’t mean to brag. We’re preeeetty cool.
DMM: That’s all I’ve got for y’all! Thank you for your time. Is there anything you’d like to say as we’re signing off?
A: Thank you for interviewing us!
B: Seriously! Thank you! This is an honor - I never thought I’d be interviewed for a silly project I helped start.
DMM: Thank you guys!
A: And you can find us at @FOBSMFSPROJECT on all socials/social medias
B: Except Facebook! No plans there.
Thank you all for reading! You can find the accompanying 2ourdust review here, and find the Stardust Project on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok. Find more of us on the homepage.