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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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William Beckett - Vocals Adrian LaTrace Jr. - Guitar Mike DelPrincipe - Guitar Adam T. Siska - Bass Mike Carden - Drums |
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| Interview with Adam May 29th, 2004 |
| E: Adam, your band has established itself more and more on the scene with a growing fanbase and a successful self-titled album. Is the pace at which you've been achieving this success what you'd expected starting out? Adam: During the fall of 2003, Bill--our singer--and I had been attempting to start a rock band. He had been doing his solo project called Remember Maine at the time, and just wanted to try something new. We had tried out a few different bands, but nothing had really stuck with us. So when the Academy started, we basically just wanted to feel it out for a while... we never thought that it would go the places that it has. E: Was there any fear of simply being known as the full-band project of Remember Maine? Something of a reverse-Dashboard Confessional? Adam: Well, originally the idea was to just be a side project to Remember Maine. The entire band agreed to that beforehand, just to avoid conflict. It wasn't until the fan response became so enormous that Bill decided that the Academy was his passion and decided to change his musical focus. However, another Remember Maine EP will most likely be released. E: I've noticed that the band is at different times referred to as either "The Academy Is..." or simply "The Academy." Which is it, and why the lack of consistency? Adam: Our original name was simply "The Academy"... however, towards the middle of last summer, we began to run into legal trouble regarding the name. Turns out there is another band out there called "The Academy" who already had the name trademarked. We decided to release the EP under the name "The Academy," sort of hoping it would fly below radar, and we would avoid a lawsuit. But after signing to Fueled By Ramen, we decided that a name change was urgent in order to avoid trouble down the line. Our official new name is "The Academy Is..." and the reason for the inconsistency is because our website has not been changed, and many people have not gotten used to referring to us under a different name. E: What sort of influences did the various members of the group enter the band with? Adam: As far as musical taste goes, we all come from a very diverse background, and [we] listen to a lot of the same stuff, but also a lot of different stuff. We are all really into bands like the Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind and Stone Temple Pilots. But we also individually have a lot of influence from bands like 311, Guns N' Roses... our singer, Bill, is actually an avid listener of Bjork. We are very musically diverse. I listen to a lot of old reggae, hip hop, even... etc. In order to be a unique band, you need to draw influences from everything, whether it be At The Drive-In, Snoop Dogg or even as far out as Latin music. As far as scene bands go... we love Hey Mercedes. E: Has the thought occured to you yet that your own music could very well be serving as an influence for other band upstarts? Adam: That thought has just recently been coming up to us. I have gotten a few emails from fans saying, "Check out my band on PureVolume, you influenced us so much, etc." It is so amazing to think that we could possibly not only affect kids who listen to our music, but actually spark someone's creativity in creating something of their own. E: Many bands starting out believe that the first sign of a band truly becoming successful is when they are signed to a noteworthy record label. Your band has only so recently been signed to the very reputable label Fueled By Ramen. Having experienced this, would you agree with the concept? Adam: Absolutely. Being part of the Fueled By Ramen family is a dream come true for all of us. It is still unbelievable to me. I have been a fan of the label for years. Some of my favorite bands have worked with Fueled By Ramen, including Jimmy Eat World, the Stereo, and Recover. It has opened a whole new window of opportunity for us. E: How much of a relationship have you been able to form with other bands on your label? Adam: We have been best friends with our labelmates Fall Out Boy for years. They are also from Chicago, and played shows with all of our former bands. We have always felt like family with those guys, and we are very excited for our summer tour with them on part two of the "Believers Never Die" tour. We have also toured and formed a close relationship with Punchline and Less Than Jake in the past year. Both are amazing bands and amazing people. E: How much work has already been put toward the new record? Adam: We have been working seemingly non-stop on the upcoming album. When we first started writing for the album, our key songwriters, Bill and Mike Carden, rented an apartment together so they could focus more on the writing process and avoid distractions. We rehearse as a band every day and have been working on collaborating drums and bass with each other. The new songs are coming out a lot different than the songs on the EP. We have grown a lot as a band and as people, and a change is inevitable. Expect it to be a lot more sing-along, and less busy, musically... but more memorable. And more heartfelt. E: What sort of advice would you give as musicians to those bands just starting out? Adam: The best advice I could give to any up-and-coming band is that you have to spend money in order to make money. After writing our first two songs, we recorded for about 500 dollars and then spent loads of cash burning about 2,000 CD samplers that were passed out. We went to many shows to promote, and we even passed them out at the mall. This helped us create the buzz that led to a very big fanbase in Chicago. We passed out all those samplers for free, because no one is going to buy something from a band they have never heard before, and all the money that we spend was eventually worth it, because it really got us established in the Chicago scene. E: How successful would you say that your latest release has been? Adam: The EP has sold really well in Chicago, and on the tour that we just finished with Less Than Jake, the Early November and Fall Out Boy. Unfortunately the EP has been hard for many fans to find because it isn't in too many stores around the country. However, it can be ordered at LLRrecords.com. E: As you listen to it, are there still things you wish you could go back and do differently? Adam: Absolutely... that is why we are so excited for the new record. On the EP, we feel that there are a lot of cool parts, but everything seems kind of jumbled to us--the parts aren't as defined. But we look at it with a positive attitude and are just excited to do things differently this time around, and work with an amazing producer. E: How will recording the new album be an easier task than recording the EP? Adam: We, for the most part, produced the EP by ourselves. With this record we are working with James Paul Wisner, who has worked with Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional and many other great bands. We also have a much higher budget for recording this album. It will be a great experience. E: Well, that will definitely be something to look forward to. Thanks for taking the time to talk--anything else you want to say? Adam: Look for the full-length album in stores this September, as well as non-stop touring from The Academy Is. |
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