The Academy Is… is an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003.[citation needed] They are currently signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as «The Academy», but added the «Is…» in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other established bands already under that name.[1] As of 2009[update], the band has released three full albums, Almost Here, Santi, and their newest album, Fast Times at Barrington High.
Band beginnings (2003)
William Beckett (singer) and Adam T. Siska’s (bass) plans for starting a band together came to fruition on March 4, 2003 recruiting Mike Carden (guitar) after his former band, Jodie, which had members of Victory records act June, broke up[2][3] then eventually adding AJ LaTrace as a rhythm guitarist and Michael DelPrincipe (Little Mike) as a drummer. They recorded their self-titled debut EP, The Academy (2004), for the Chicago-based label LLR Recordings. LLR Recordings had previously released Beckett’s solo project Remember Maine’s debut album The Last Place You Look in 2002 and Mike Carden’s solo folk album in 2003. The EP was recorded in Villa Park, IL at The Gallery of Carpet by producer Brian Zieske. Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy heard it and was impressed. The label- Fueled By Ramen- immediately signed the band. There is some speculation among fans that Fueled By Ramen asked The Academy Is… to sound like fellow labelmates.
Almost Here (2005)
Main article: Almost Here (The Academy Is… album)
In 2004 the band headed to Florida to record their Fueled by Ramen debut Almost Here, produced by James Paul Wisner, who has worked with Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate, Further Seems Forever, and Underoath. After recording the album and a doing a summer tour, the band underwent a lineup change. Tom Conrad, formerly of Chicago local band 5o4plan, replaced LaTrace as the second guitarist/backing vocalist and Andy Mrotek, formerly of Last Place Champs, replaced DelPrincipe as the drummer. Andy Mrotek and Thomas Conrad are listed in the liner notes, but were added to the band after the recording of Almost Here to replace DelPrincipe and LaTrace, respectively. They hit the road hard, touring with Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate, Midtown, Matchbook Romance, Motion City Soundtrack and Armor for Sleep. The album was released on February 8, 2005 and the following summer, the band embarked on their first headlining tour alongside Plain White T’s, Days Away and June. On Billboard’s charts Almost Here peaked at #7 on Top Heatseekers, #16 on Top Independent Albums, and #185 on The Billboard 200[4]
On October 26, 2006, The Academy Is… had announced via the blog on their official website that Tom Conrad and the band had parted ways. Although the blog provided no reason, Tom later made a post on his website, Forevernever.net, in which he states that he never «quit the band,» which has led fans to speculation about Tom’s departure. Michael Guy Chislett joined the band to replace Tom on guitar.[5]
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.[6] The release of this album was listed on Blender’s 25 reasons to love 2007.[7] On January 26, 2007 a sample of «LAX to O’Hare» was released on the band’s Absolute Punk profile. The album peaked at #32 on The Billboard 200[4]
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, Cobra Starship was added to the support. The tour ended on November 24, 2007 in Chicago.
Fast Times at Barrington High (2008)
Main article: Fast Times at Barrington High
The band’s third studio album, Fast Times at Barrington High, was released on August 19th, 2008 through Fueled by Ramen. The title refers to the high school William Beckett, Adam Siska, and videographer Jack Edinger attended. The first single, «About a Girl,» was added to the band’s MySpace page on July 15, 2008 and was subsequently made available from various download sites. On August 25, 2008 «About a Girl» was played on The Hills (season 4, episode 2). They also released the songs Summer Hair = Forever Young and His Girl Friday of FTABH on their MySpace page and PureVolume page. The album made it onto Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50 Best Albums of the Year ranked as #46[8]. It peaked at #17 on The Billboard 200[4]
