The Academy Is...
The Academy Is... is a rock band which formed in 2003 in Chicago, Illinois,… Read Full Bio ↴The Academy Is... is a rock band which formed in 2003 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist William Beckett, rhythm guitarist Mike Carden, lead guitarist Jamie Reed Schefman, bassist Adam T. Siska, and drummer Andy "The Butcher" Mrotek. The band has released three albums - Almost Here (2005), Santi (2007) and Fast Times at Barrington High (2008) - before disbanding in 2011. The band reunited in 2015 and officially reformed in 2022.
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 then eventually adding AJ LaTrace as a lead 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.
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. Thomas 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 Independent Albums, and #185 on The Billboard 200.
On October 26, 2006, The Academy Is... had announced via the blog on their official website that Thomas Conrad and the band had parted ways. Michael Guy Chislett joined the band to replace Conrad on guitar.
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. The release of this album was listed on Blender's 25 reasons to love 2007. On January 26, 2007 a sample of "LAX to O'Hare" was released on the band's AbsolutePunk profile. The album peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200.
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.
The band's third studio album, Fast Times at Barrington High, was released on August 19, 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. The lead model in the official music video for "About a Girl", Brittany Moser, also went to Barrington the same time Adam and William were in high school. 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. It peaked at #17 on The Billboard 200
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 will be sold on the AP Fall Ball Tour. A limited number will also be sold on their webstore The track "I'm Yours Tonight" has already been released, and is 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. William has also been posting or linking lyrics on his blog. The newest song, "Sputter" (featuring Jack's Mannequin singer Andrew McMahon), is streaming on Banana's Music club, linked by both William and Pete Wentz via Twitter on September 21.[citation needed] 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 AAR lead singer Tyson Ritter.
On May 26, the band announced that they will be supporting Kiss on their upcoming summer tour. The band also said that this tour will not affect the release date or direction of their new record.
On the tour with Kiss, they have been playing a cover of Sweet's "Fox on the Run", of which they contributed a recorded version to the soundtrack of the movie When In Rome. It is unclear though, whether the song will appear on the band's upcoming studio album.
On March 23, 2011, William Beckett tweeted that the band is currently making demos for the upcoming album.
On May 24, 2011, The Academy Is... made an announcement on their official website that said that fellow bandmates, Andy Mrotek & 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. This announcement featured a minute-and-a-half snippet of a track called "Chicago". Whether or not Mrotek and Chislett collaborated on the track is unknown.
On May 26, 2011, William Beckett tweeted that they had entered and recorded in the studio.
On October 8, 2011, The Academy Is... announced their disbanding on their official Facebook page, stating that they had "decided to go [their] separate ways."
On September 12, 2015, The Academy Is... reunited to play their album Almost Here in its entirety at Riot Fest Chicago. In December 2015, they embarked on a sixteen-date tour of the United States. Former lead guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was the only final member who did not join the reunion. Ian Crawford, known for his work with The Cab, Panic! at the Disco, and Never Shout Never, filled in for Chislett.
On May 11, 2022, the band announced through their Facebook page that they would be playing Riot Fest 2022 alongside the statement "We're back" in reference to their future plans. Former lead guitarist AJ LaTrace and former drummer Michael DelPrincipe joined the band for a short guest appearance during their set at Riot Fest.
On August 30, 2022, they announced that they would be playing Slam Dunk Festival 2023, which would be their first show in England in 14 years.
On October 11, 2022, they were announced as part of the lineup of When We Were Young Festival 2023.
On January 31, 2023, The Academy Is... were announced as guests on select dates of Fall Out Boy's upcoming tour, So Much For (Tour) Dust.
On April 27th, 2023, the band announced seven more tour dates for the year.
On September 18th, 2023, it was confirmed on the band's Instagram that "The Academy Is... will keep rolling into 2024 and beyond."
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 then eventually adding AJ LaTrace as a lead 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.
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. Thomas 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 Independent Albums, and #185 on The Billboard 200.
On October 26, 2006, The Academy Is... had announced via the blog on their official website that Thomas Conrad and the band had parted ways. Michael Guy Chislett joined the band to replace Conrad on guitar.
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. The release of this album was listed on Blender's 25 reasons to love 2007. On January 26, 2007 a sample of "LAX to O'Hare" was released on the band's AbsolutePunk profile. The album peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200.
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.
The band's third studio album, Fast Times at Barrington High, was released on August 19, 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. The lead model in the official music video for "About a Girl", Brittany Moser, also went to Barrington the same time Adam and William were in high school. 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. It peaked at #17 on The Billboard 200
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 will be sold on the AP Fall Ball Tour. A limited number will also be sold on their webstore The track "I'm Yours Tonight" has already been released, and is 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. William has also been posting or linking lyrics on his blog. The newest song, "Sputter" (featuring Jack's Mannequin singer Andrew McMahon), is streaming on Banana's Music club, linked by both William and Pete Wentz via Twitter on September 21.[citation needed] 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 AAR lead singer Tyson Ritter.
On May 26, the band announced that they will be supporting Kiss on their upcoming summer tour. The band also said that this tour will not affect the release date or direction of their new record.
On the tour with Kiss, they have been playing a cover of Sweet's "Fox on the Run", of which they contributed a recorded version to the soundtrack of the movie When In Rome. It is unclear though, whether the song will appear on the band's upcoming studio album.
On March 23, 2011, William Beckett tweeted that the band is currently making demos for the upcoming album.
On May 24, 2011, The Academy Is... made an announcement on their official website that said that fellow bandmates, Andy Mrotek & 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. This announcement featured a minute-and-a-half snippet of a track called "Chicago". Whether or not Mrotek and Chislett collaborated on the track is unknown.
On May 26, 2011, William Beckett tweeted that they had entered and recorded in the studio.
On October 8, 2011, The Academy Is... announced their disbanding on their official Facebook page, stating that they had "decided to go [their] separate ways."
On September 12, 2015, The Academy Is... reunited to play their album Almost Here in its entirety at Riot Fest Chicago. In December 2015, they embarked on a sixteen-date tour of the United States. Former lead guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was the only final member who did not join the reunion. Ian Crawford, known for his work with The Cab, Panic! at the Disco, and Never Shout Never, filled in for Chislett.
On May 11, 2022, the band announced through their Facebook page that they would be playing Riot Fest 2022 alongside the statement "We're back" in reference to their future plans. Former lead guitarist AJ LaTrace and former drummer Michael DelPrincipe joined the band for a short guest appearance during their set at Riot Fest.
On August 30, 2022, they announced that they would be playing Slam Dunk Festival 2023, which would be their first show in England in 14 years.
On October 11, 2022, they were announced as part of the lineup of When We Were Young Festival 2023.
On January 31, 2023, The Academy Is... were announced as guests on select dates of Fall Out Boy's upcoming tour, So Much For (Tour) Dust.
On April 27th, 2023, the band announced seven more tour dates for the year.
On September 18th, 2023, it was confirmed on the band's Instagram that "The Academy Is... will keep rolling into 2024 and beyond."
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The Academy Is... Lyrics
-Almost Here So listen up. I worked in daylight feeding fashion to house…
02. Slow Down Close the door and take the stairs. Up or down? Ups…
03-Slow Down Close the door and take the stairs. Up or down?…
03-We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
05-Black Mamba We've got one chance to break out And we need…
05-Everything We Had You were the only face I'd ever known. I was the…
06-Skeptics and True Believers Don't be so scared, we will not lead you on…
09-Down and Out Out of the box, out of the kitchen. Out of the…
1 Somewhere hiding underneath Kicking off covers while you sl…
10 Beware! Cougar! When I met you, you were on your back We still…
10-Almost Here So listen up. I worked in daylight feeding fashion to house…
10-You Might Have Noticed If you're under the impression I'm alright. I guess you nev…
11 Paper Chase Please stand by, we've come so far These years, we survived…
11-Unexpected Places Don't try and tell me you've been looking at me.…
33: Sleeping With Giants I've noticed, people, they all have motives. Different, yet…
40 Steps Soft light, total silence So tired to take the table near…
6 Bulls In Brooklyn Some people have it and other people don't You been making…
A Phrase That Plays My eyes can't believe what they have seen. In the corner…
About a Girl One song about a girl I can't breathe when I'm around…
About Girl One song about a girl I can't breathe when I'm around…
Absolution Case is closed You're back into focus The jury's out You'…
After The Last Midtown Show It's a drunken midnight on the streets Brightly dusted with…
Almost Here So listen up (so listen up) I worked in daylight feeding…
Attention Attention, attention May I have all your eyes and ears To…
Attention Attention Attention! Attention! May I have all your eyes and ears…
Automatic Eyes Staring at the mirror through your hair You can't see everyt…
Beware When I met you, you were on your back We still…
Beware! Cougar! When I met you, you were on your back We still…
Black Mamba We've got one chance to break out And we need it…
black mamba live We've got one chance to break out And we need…
Bulls In Brooklyn Some people have it and other people don't You been making…
Check Marks So there you are, and here I stand, As far as…
Checkmarks So there you are, and here I stand, As far as…
Chop Chop I've got myself to blame for this I've tried to compensate…
ChopChop I've got myself to blame for this I've tried to compensate…
Classifieds My life reads like the classifieds Pages of what's for sale,…
Coppertone Do you think you?re up for this? Are you ready to…
Creep (Cover of Stone Temple P Forward yesterday Makes me wanna stay What they said was r…
Crowded Room Excuse me, yeah I'm talking to you Look in the mirror,…
Days Like Masquerades I said, Hey you, this is me. The idealist inside that…
Dear Interceptor Get out of the city if it hurts You're too blind Move…
Down & Out ft. Sheldon Miller Out of the box, out of the kitchen. Out of the…
Down And Out Out of the box, out of the kitchen Out of the…
Down And Out ] Out of the box, out of the kitchen. Out of the…
Every Burden Has a Version She'd rather repair her face With the lights turned off, th…
Everything You were the only face I'd ever known. I was the…
Fox on The Run She walked through the corn leading down to the river Her…
Ghost Hey, stop on a dime Take both your hands Reach them above,…
His Girl Friday If you knew, what you do When no one's in the…
Hollywood Hills Close the door and take the stairs Up or down Ups and…
I'm Yours Tonight Forever alone until I found you Now you're always there Vo…
In Our Defense Forced to the wall The crosshairs shift from this tied-down…
In the Rearview So I got your message And its been a long time Since…
Is Rumored Nights I walked you home most days To beat the traffic after…
Judas Kiss Take these words in. Take them like you did the foreign…
LAX 2 OHare It was a plane ride from LAX to O'Hare, And what…
Lifetime I've noticed, people, they all have motives. Different, yet…
Mayonaise Fool enough to almost be it Cool enough to not quite…
Mayonnaise [Originally by Smashing Pumpkins] Fool enough to almost b…
Memento Mori Narrative fear, a fever is dancing in stride Metronome memo…
MTVU Live Leak: We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
Neighbors I took a step back as the room was filling…
New York She said "You can't stay a saint that long in…
One More Weekend Somewhere hiding underneath Kicking off covers while you sle…
One_More_Weekend Somewhere hiding underneath Kicking off covers while you sl…
Paper Chase Please stand by, we've come so far These years, we survived…
Phase That Pays My eyes can't believe what they have seen In the corner…
Phrase That Pays My eyes can't believe what they have seen. In the corner…
Pour Yourself a drink Pour yourself a drink girl Then make one for me We haven't…
Rumored Nights I walked you home most days To beat the traffic after…
Same Blood Like a cold day in August I was not prepared for…
Season Wake up Think fast Three weeks have passed We are changing N…
Seed Subjects are thrown around the room Looking for the ones…
Seed /Album Version You were the only face I'd ever known. I was the…
Skeptics & True Believers Don't be so scared We will not lead you on like…
Skeptics and Believers Don't be so scared, we will not lead you on…
Skeptics And True Believers Don't be so scared We will not lead you on like…
Skeptics and True... Don't be so scared, we will not lead you on…
Sleeping With Giants I've noticed, people, they all have motives. Different, yet …
Slow Down Close the door and take the stairs Up or down, ups…
Slow Down demo Close the door and take the stairs. Up or down?…
Sodium Don't call, don't write, don't speak my name Though we've t…
Sputter Wake up try on your new disguise Would they recognise you…
Summer Hair We're crashing cars we used to share With summer girls Wit…
Summer Hair = Forever Young We're crashing cars we used to share With summer girls With …
Superman I am (I am) I am Superman And I know what's happening …
The Academy Is -We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
The Author The search has begun This is page one Men meet your maker …
The Fever Lies are lies in everybody's eyes And I don't believe you …
The Phrase That Pays My eyes can't believe what they have seen In the corner…
The Phrase That Pays (Nashvill My eyes can't believe what they have seen. In the corner…
The Test Look like a lush. Talk like a tease The way you…
Toasted Skin So the season's changed your face Toasted skin turned darke…
Tokyo Bay I'm not impressed, the slightest bit By anything that you s…
Unexpected Place Don't try and tell me you've been looking at me.…
We've a big mess on our hands tonight I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands Live I've got that lefty curse Where everything I do is…
Winter Passing It's winter again, a white-washed and frozen sky... I came …
Working Class Hero As soon as you're born they make you feel small By…
You Might Have Noticed If you're under the impression I'm alright. I guess you neve…
You Might Have Noticed /Album Version If you're under the impression I'm alright. I guess you nev…