Artist of the Week: The Academy Is

Here's the deal, I know I didn't have a new artist last week. I was having computer issues, and by the time I fixed them, half the week was already gone. But enough about that, as most people know, I love acoustic songs. Whether it be unplugged, or just an acoustic version of an already popular song. So when one of my favorite bands decides to do an all acoustic tour, I'd be an idiot not to go, no offense Nito. Lucky for me, I'll be able to see this band this upcoming Saturday, but before we get to that, lets get to know them a little better. The band originated from a suburb of Chicago, IL known as Hoffman Estates.
In 2003, William Beckett(Vocals) and Michael Carden(Guitar) decided to start a band, so they added Adam T. Siska(Bass), Adrian LaTrace Jr(Guitar) and Mike DelPrincipe(Drums) to the group. The band then went into the studio and recorded their debut EP The Academy. After hearing a couple of the songs, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy immediately signed them to his label Fueled by Ramen. In 2004 the band started recording their first album under their new label. After they finished the album and went on a tour, the band went through a line up change with Tom Conrad, replacing LaTrace and Andy Mrotek replaced DelPrincipe. Then on February 8 2005, the band released Almost Here. The album would spawn three great singles in "Checkmarks", "The Phrase That Pays" and "Slow Down". In October 0f 2006, the band had announced that they had parted ways with Tom Conrad, and would be replaced by Michael Guy Chislett. Following this, the band started working on their next album and on April 3, 2007 the band released Santi. The album would spawn three more great singles in "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands", "Neighbors" and "Everything We Had." Most recently, the band released their third studio album titled Fast Times at Barrington High.

The album was released in August of this year and would sell over 35,000 copies in the first week alone. Most of that success can be attributed to the album's first single "About a Girl" which is seen by the band as one of their favorite songs ever written. The second single of the album is "Summer Hair=Forever Young" which happens to be one of my favorite songs from the album. After listening to the album over and over again for the last couple of months, I can't wait for the concert. That being said, this week's artist is The Academy is with their video Summer Hair=Forever Young, enjoy.