The Academy Is… was a pop-punk band hailing from Chicago. The band was formed by frontman William Beckett, lead guitarist Mike Carden, bassist Adam “Sisky” Siska, rhythm guitarist AJ LaTrace, and drummer Michael DelPrincipe under the name The Academy in 2003. The band later added the “Is…” to their name after the release of their then self-titled EP to avoid legal disputes. Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy discovered the EP, and immediately got the record label Fueled By Ramen to sign them.

2005’s Almost Here saw the band go through a lineup change, which involved dropping LaTrace and DelPrincipe and replacing them respectively with Tom Conrad and Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek, and a heavy touring schedule, most notably the Truckstops and Statelines Tour with Las Vegas band Panic! At The Disco. In 2006, rhythm guitarist Tom Conrad parted ways with the band and was replaced by Michael Guy Chislett. The band also signed to Wentz’s Fueled By Ramen imprint Decaydance Records that year, and released their acoustic EP From The Carpet.

While playing Warped Tour 2006, the band started writing for their sophomore effort Santi, which was released in 2007. The band also embarked on the 2007 Honda Civic Tour in support of the album, alongside the likes Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, and +44.

Their third and final album Fast Times At Barrington High saw the band lean towards a more pop-rock style, and is their most commercially successful album to date. 2008 also saw the release of the “Winter Passing” single, which was written on the Bill and Trav’s Bogus Tour Journey, a tour co-headlined with We The Kings.

2009 saw the last release of the band with the Lost In Pacific Time EP, which saw yet another stylistic change that now most resembles frontman William Beckett’s solo music. Despite an apparent fourth album being in the works, the band announced their dissolution on October 9, 2011.

In 2015, the band announced that they were reuniting (save from Chislett, who was replaced by Ian Crawford) for a 10th anniversary tour of their debut Almost Here. The tour lasted for sixteen dates. As of now, the band has not released any formal breakup nor official reunion.

“The Academy Was! The Academy Was!”