Biography
Chicago pop punk outfit the Academy Is... emerged in the early 2000s and rapidly secured a place on the touring circuit through three studio albums: Almost Here (2005), Santi (2007), and Fast Times at Barrington High (2008). At the height of their success the members chose to disband in 2011, though they staged a short-lived reunion in 2015 to mark the tenth anniversary of their debut.
Guitarist Mike Carden and vocalist William Beckett, previously active in competing Chicago groups, formed emo-pop act the Academy Is... (initially called “the Academy”) in 2003. Drawing from influences that ranged from U2 to Weezer to Pink Floyd, the pair recruited bassist Adam Siska—Beckett’s high-school classmate—plus a second guitarist and a drummer to cut the 2004 release The Academy EP on local imprint LLR Recordings. Chicago native Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy encountered the EP and brought the band to the attention of his label, which led to a deal with Gainesville’s Fueled by Ramen. Six months after Carden and Beckett began writing their first full-length, the group traveled to Florida to track the album.
In 2004 the lineup stabilized when guitarist/vocalist Tom Conrad and drummer Andy Mrotek joined as permanent members. Extensive road work alongside Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate, Midtown, and Armor for Sleep helped cultivate a national following ahead of the well-received Fueled by Ramen debut Almost Here, which reached stores in February 2005. Continued touring supported the record, and early 2006 brought the six-song acoustic EP From the Carpet; the digital collection included three new tracks—one a cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”—alongside acoustic renditions of material from Almost Here.
After a summer on the Warped Tour, the band parted ways with Conrad in fall 2006 and replaced him with guitarist Michael Guy Chislett before returning to Chicago to compose new songs. The Academy Is... then entered a California studio with producer Butch Walker (All-American Rejects, Hot Hot Heat) to record their second album, Santi, issued in early April 2007. The following year saw the arrival of Fast Times at Barrington High—named after the school attended by Beckett and Siska and nodding to the 1980s film Fast Times at Ridgemont High—which became their highest-charting effort, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard 200. They followed with the 2009 digital release Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP and toured with blink-182 that same month.
After two years of inactivity the members announced their breakup in 2011. Each pursued separate projects until a brief 2015 reunion tour commemorated the anniversary of Almost Here.
Guitarist Mike Carden and vocalist William Beckett, previously active in competing Chicago groups, formed emo-pop act the Academy Is... (initially called “the Academy”) in 2003. Drawing from influences that ranged from U2 to Weezer to Pink Floyd, the pair recruited bassist Adam Siska—Beckett’s high-school classmate—plus a second guitarist and a drummer to cut the 2004 release The Academy EP on local imprint LLR Recordings. Chicago native Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy encountered the EP and brought the band to the attention of his label, which led to a deal with Gainesville’s Fueled by Ramen. Six months after Carden and Beckett began writing their first full-length, the group traveled to Florida to track the album.
In 2004 the lineup stabilized when guitarist/vocalist Tom Conrad and drummer Andy Mrotek joined as permanent members. Extensive road work alongside Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate, Midtown, and Armor for Sleep helped cultivate a national following ahead of the well-received Fueled by Ramen debut Almost Here, which reached stores in February 2005. Continued touring supported the record, and early 2006 brought the six-song acoustic EP From the Carpet; the digital collection included three new tracks—one a cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”—alongside acoustic renditions of material from Almost Here.
After a summer on the Warped Tour, the band parted ways with Conrad in fall 2006 and replaced him with guitarist Michael Guy Chislett before returning to Chicago to compose new songs. The Academy Is... then entered a California studio with producer Butch Walker (All-American Rejects, Hot Hot Heat) to record their second album, Santi, issued in early April 2007. The following year saw the arrival of Fast Times at Barrington High—named after the school attended by Beckett and Siska and nodding to the 1980s film Fast Times at Ridgemont High—which became their highest-charting effort, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard 200. They followed with the 2009 digital release Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP and toured with blink-182 that same month.
After two years of inactivity the members announced their breakup in 2011. Each pursued separate projects until a brief 2015 reunion tour commemorated the anniversary of Almost Here.
Albums
Singles
