VMA Scrapbook: Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz

Holed up at the Trump International Hotel in New York City the day of the MTV Video Music Awards, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, 28, got his shaggy do flat-ironed. "I'm the kind of person that changes my hair, like, once a week," he says. And the toes? The ultimate rock-star homage from his tattooed friend Dirty.

Who needs a Sidekick when you've got an even better accessory? Simmy, a Capuchin monkey, got ready to join the Chicago emo-punk rocker on the red carpet. As Wentz says of the VMAs, "It's always a spectacle."

Wentz takes us behind closed doors – literally – with FOB guitarist Joe Trohman as he gets dressed in the band's Victorian-inspired getups.

On the red carpet the band met up with Shakira, who performed her duet "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean. "It's just such a good song, so that would be cool if it won," Wentz said. It did: Shakira took home the award for best choreography.

When not cuddling with Simmy (inset), Wentz and the rest of Fall Out Boy chatted up fans and took pictures. Their dedication paid off: Loyal Fall Out Boy lovers helped them take home the viewer's choice moon man for "Dance, Dance." "We've always considered videos to be a really important part of our band, so I'm really happy," Wentz said. "It's not just a throwaway thing for us."

Actor Jared Leto (left), whose band 30 Seconds to Mars took home an MTV2 award, played the bad boy, while the night's video of the year winner Panic! At the Disco (for "I Write Sins not Tragedies") shared a group moment. "A year ago they were a baby band," said Wentz, who signed Panic! to his Decaydance imprint. "It's like being a proud dad."

Talk about a whale of a time! At the packed after-party (thrown by the band's management) at New York City hot spot Plumm, Wentz made it a rock 'n' roll night in the VIP room with bands New Found Glory, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes and Patent Pending (the whale is their mascot). "We just wanted to have a party that all of our friends could come to," he said.

Around 6 a.m., Wentz headed back to the hotel. But where was his moon man? The statuettes that winners got onstage at the show were props; everyone got their real moon men in the mail.