The Academy Is...
The Academy Is... | |
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Vans Warped Tour in 2008 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active |
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Labels | |
Members |
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Past members |
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Website | theacademyis |
The Academy Is... are an American
History
Formation and early years (2003–2004)
Almost Here (2005–2006)
In 2004 the band headed to Florida to record their Fueled by Ramen debut
Santi (2007)
While touring as a main act on the 2006 Warped Tour, the band began the process of writing songs for their second album. Once finished, the band flew to Los Angeles to record their record with Butch Walker. As of December 23, 2006, the band had officially finished the recording process and the album, entitled Santi, was released April 3, 2007 on the Fueled By Ramen label.[12] The release of this album was listed on Blender's 25 reasons to love 2007.[13] On January 26, 2007 a sample of "LAX to O'Hare" was released on the band's AbsolutePunk profile. The album peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200.[11]
The band went on to release the song "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands" as the album's first single, before releasing the album on April 3, 2007. Fall Out Boy, +44, Cobra Starship, and Paul Wall all joined the band on the 2007 Honda Civic Tour, after which the band moved on to the "Sleeping With Giants" tour with support from The Rocket Summer, Armor for Sleep and Sherwood. Partly through the tour, labelmates Cobra Starship were added to the support. The tour ended on November 24, 2007, in Chicago.
Fast Times at Barrington High (2008)
The band's third studio album,
Lost in Pacific Time EP and breakup (2009–2011)
On William Beckett's Twitter page, it was said The Academy Is... have finished recording their new EP, Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP. It was released on September 22, 2009 on iTunes, and was sold on the AP Fall Ball Tour. A limited number were also sold on their webstore[15] The track "I'm Yours Tonight" was released on the band's Myspace page. Another track, "Days Like Masquerades" was played at an anti-suicide benefit at Barrington High School, in Barrington, Illinois.[16] On September 29, 2009, Pete Wentz announced via Twitter that TAI would replace The All-American Rejects for the St. Louis date of the Blink-182 tour, due to an injury to The All-American Rejects lead singer Tyson Ritter.[17][18]
On May 24, 2011, the band made an announcement on their official website that said that bandmates, Andy Mrotek and Michael Guy Chislett, were leaving the band to pursue their own musical careers. There has reportedly been no hard feelings during this decision. William Beckett also stated that the three remaining members would be entering the studio soon to record their fourth full-length album. On October 8, 2011, the band announced their disbanding on their official Facebook page, stating that they had "decided to go their separate ways" but "though we may not be together, you can look forward to hearing new music from each of us".[19]
Andy Mrotek has been continuing his artistry and his solo project, The Animal Upstairs. Adam Siska has become the touring bassist for Say Anything and Carly Rae Jepsen. Lead singer William Beckett announced he would be releasing his debut solo EP in 2012. On March 13, 2012 he released his first solo single "Compromising Me" and on April 17, 2012 he released his new EP Walk the Talk. Beckett released his sophomore EP, Winds Will Change and his third, What Will Be, on 30 October 2012. Genuine & Counterfeit is the debut solo full-length album by William Beckett. The album is the first full-length released by William since the break-up of his band The Academy Is.... It was released by the NY based independent record label Equal Vision Records on August 20, 2013 and it was produced by Marc McClusky. The Academy Is...'s website (www.theacademyis.com) currently redirects to the band's Facebook page and is occasionally updated by their former label, Fueled By Ramen.
Reunions and Almost Here Tenth Anniversary Tour (2015–present)
On September 12, 2015, The Academy Is... reunited to play their album Almost Here cover-to-cover at Riot Fest Chicago, an annual outdoor music festival. Former lead guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was the only final member who did not join the reunion. Ian Crawford, known for his roles in The Cab, Panic! at the Disco and Never Shout Never filled in for Chislett. In December 2015, the band embarked on a sixteen-date tour throughout the United States, in which they played Almost Here in its entirety and five additional songs from their back catalog. The band had their final show at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California on December 30, 2015.
On May 11, 2022, the band's Facebook page announced they would be playing Riot Fest 2022, alongside the comment "We're back" in reference to the band's future career plans.
On July 8, 2022, former lead guitarist AJ LaTrace announced on Twitter that he and former drummer Michael DelPrincipe would return to the band for a short guest appearance during their set at Riot Fest.
TAITV
TAITV was a video podcast series created by the band. The show, whose initials stand for The Academy Is... TV, was created to allow fans a peek into the offstage life of the band. TAITV episodes are available on
Because of their disbandment, TAITV was discontinued.
Bill & Trav's Bogus Journey Tour
On October 1, 2008, the band embarked on their fall co-headlining tour with good friends We the Kings, named "Bill & Trav's Bogus Journey Tour".[22] The name refers to the 1991 movie Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Carolina Liar and fellow Decaydance band, Hey Monday also performed on the tour. On November 6, 2008 at House Of Blues in Chicago, Illinois, William Beckett debuted a new song called "Winter Passing" that the band had written only days before. Beckett has said the song is about winter time in the Midwest. He has since incorporated the song into other show sets. The track was released on December 2, 2008 on iTunes.[23]
Band members
Current members
- William Beckett — lead vocals, piano, additional guitar (2003–2011, 2015, 2022–present)
- Adam T. "Sisky Business" Siska — bass (2003–2011, 2015, 2022–present)
- Mike Carden — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003–2011, 2015, 2022–present)
- Andy "The Butcher" Mrotek — drums, percussion, backing vocals (2004–2011, 2015, 2022–present)
Touring members
- Ian Crawford – lead guitar, backing vocals (2015, 2022–present)
- Jamie Reed Schefman – guitar, backing vocals (2011, 2022–present)
Past members
- Michael DelPrincipe — drums, percussion (2003–2004, 2022)
- AJ LaTrace – lead guitar, backing vocals (2003–2004, 2022)
- Thomas Conrad – lead guitar, backing vocals (2004–2006)
- Michael Guy Chislett — lead guitar, backing vocals (2006–2011)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
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US [24] |
AUS [25] |
UK [26] | ||
Almost Here |
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185 | — | 199 |
Santi |
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32 | — | 94 |
Fast Times at Barrington High |
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17 | 30 | — |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
EPs
- The Academy (2004, later rereleased as The Academy Is...)
- From the Carpet (2006)
- Warped Tour Bootleg Series (2006) (only in Rhapsody)
- Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP (2009)
Singles
Almost Here
- "Checkmarks" (2005), No. 115 UK[26]
- "Slow Down" (2006)
- "The Phrase That Pays" (2006)
Santi
- "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands" (2007)
- "Neighbors" (2007)
- "Everything We Had" (2007)
- "Sleeping with Giants (Lifetime)" (2007)
- "Same Blood" (2007)
Fast Times at Barrington High
- "
- "Summer Hair = Forever Young" (2008)
- "His Girl Friday" (2009)
- "The Test" (2009)
Winter Passing
- "Winter Passing" (2008)
Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP
- "I'm Yours Tonight" (2009)
- "Sputter" (2009)
Original compilation appearances
- MySpace Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins (2007), contributed "Mayonaise"[28]
- Sound of Superman (2006), contributed "Superman"[29]
- When in Rome (Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2010), contributed "Fox on the Run"
References
- ^ Apar, Corey. "Biography: The Academy Is..." AllMusic. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Siska, Adam T. (10 March 2008). "Ask Sisky pt. 2 responses". Buzznet. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012.
- ^ "Indie Rock Band 'The Academy Is'" (video). ABC News. 2 May 2007.
- ^ "The Academy Is..." Facebook.com.
- ^ "RIOT FEST CHICAGO !!! Hello old... - The Academy Is..." Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
- ^ "The Academy Is... back together, at 9:30 Club". The Diamondback. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
- user-generated source]
- ^ "Archived copy". pulp.chargerbulletin.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Euphonia Online". Interview - The Academy Is...
- ^ "Armor For Sleep - "My Town" video online now!". Equal Vision Records. July 1, 2004. Archived from the original on July 22, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Billboard Artist Chart History". Archived from the original on December 12, 2015.
- ^ "Billboard: The Academy Is... Discography". Billboard.com.
- ^ Errico, Mike (January 2007). "25 Reasons to Love '07". Blender Magazine Online. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-02-09.
- ^ Fricke, David; Will Hermes; Christian Hoard; Melissa Maerz; Jody Rosen (2008-12-25). "Fast Times at Barrington High at No.46 in Rollingstone.com's Best albums list of 2008". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ "Lost in Pacific Time EP!". The Academy Is...'s MySpace Blog. 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
- ^ Beckett, William (10 September 2009). "Piebald – American hearts". The William Beckett.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Beckett, William (29 September 2009). "Incredible". The William Beckett. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ^ Wentz, Pete (29 September 2009). "U get it tonight st. Louis". Twitter. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.theacademyis.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Wound is Beginning to Smell a Little Like Almonds". Cobra Starship' MySpace blog. 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
- ^ Siska, Adam T. (5 December 2009). "TAITV is not dead". Twitter.
- ^ "Fueled By Ramen - News". January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009.
- ^ Beckett, William (2 December 2008). "From my lungs to yours, from your mouth to mine". The William Beckett.
- ^ "The Academy Is... Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ "Discography The Academy Is..." australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ a b "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: A – Azzido Da Bass". zobbel.de. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ Pop 100 Billboard.com
- ^ "Deftones, 30 Seconds To Mars added to Pumpkins tribute". Alternative Press. May 2, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ "The Academy Is..., Paramore, TREOS on Superman soundtrack". Alternative Press. March 28, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2016.