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Guitarist Mike Carden and vocalist William Beckett came together in 2002 to mark the beginning of indie-emo rockers The Academy Is... (Originally just named the Academy). Fellow Chicagoan Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) introduced the band to his current label and the rest is history.  The Academy Is joins the ‘boys’ who have taken them along for a ride on the big wave called the Honda Civic Tour, and in the wake of their latest release "Santi"..

Musicpix had a chance to sit with Adam Siska (bass) of The Academy Is prior to the Honda Civic Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Tonight however, is the first of three shows in their hometown of Chicago.  Early in the tour, we discovered an incredibly well-spoken and passionate musician who wants to be a part of positive change in this country.  Adam Siska, originally from the Virgin Islands, doesn’t take his freedoms and opportunities lightly.  Read on…

William Beckett	Michael Guy Chislett & Adam T. Siska

Musicpix:  You guys were here for Warped last year right?

Adam:  Yeah, yeah…

Musicpix:   We were here too….what a hot day huh?

Adam:   I grew up in the Virgin Islands but had some friends and family here in Cinci last year and we went out and had a nice day.  There are good people here…

Musicpix:  How do you focus on writing while you’re on the road… you wrote some of your new record on the road?

Adam:   It’s hard.  To be totally honest, we didn’t write the whole new record on the Warped Tour- there were a lot of distractions and there’s a lot of work.  It’s really important to budget your time - to wake up and have a game plan for what you’re going to do, whether it be pick up a guitar, play a video game, get lunch, maybe make a few phone calls - organization is really important to stay focused.  We remember what we’re here to do and that is to play good music.

Musicpix:   The band originated in Chicago…we love Chicago.  There are so many bands that are coming out of Chicago   Do you feel a sense of ‘brotherly love’ or do you feel the competition?

William Beckett -The Academy Is Live Photos

Adam:  It really depends on who it’s with.  For example, Fall Out Boy is from Chicago and we started playing shows together early out.  I was at the first Fall Out Boy show ever…maybe there were 10 kids there.  Our first tours were together and we’ve gotten to watch each other grow…there’s a lot of brotherly love in that.  Chicago is a hot spot for music, especially when we were starting, there was a good local vibe going, that really helped us because there was an audience, there were people coming out to see these local bands.

Musicpix:  How has your relationship with Fall Out Boy evolved?

Adam:  It’s definitely evolved.  We still keep in touch.  We did our record in LA this fall and they were just finishing up out there… so it’s cool to hang out with old friends in different environments.  This is our 4th or 5th tour together and it is still the same but it is the biggest tour and production yet.

Musicpix:  Do you prepare differently for say a tour like this vs. headlining your own show?

Adam:   On a tour like this when we only get thirty minutes, we split it between the old record and the new record- combine the show- you get a lot more creative control when you’re the headliners.  This tour is a great opportunity for us….a lot of these people have never heard of us so we get to see a lot of new faces.

Musicpix:  In which situation, do you feel more pressure?

Adam:  We try to keep the pressure level down in either situation…we look at it as this is our show whether we’re headlining a show and people are there to see us vs. as a warm up band.  I guess I feel more pressure on a tour like this.  I guess what’s important in the end is to focus on what the band does naturally and people who like that, will gravitate toward that.

Musicpix:  What happened from the beginning to how you’ve jelled together today?

Adam:  The road takes its toll.  Coming off two years on the road, it was the first time that we’d been normal with families and real lives.  It’s a humbling thing to come home to Chicago to our roots.  We got off Warped Tour in August –took some time off and vacationed in Australia and then came back and started rehearsing.  We had some ideas but we basically built the record from the ground up during that month or so at home. A lot of scary things were happening but we just tried to stay focused.

Musicpix:  What song from the new album touches you the most?

Adam:   “Sleeping with Giants” it’s the fourth track on our new record and it’s a collective feel in that.  There are a lot of songs on the record that are very emotional.  We only had about a month to write and we just drilled it out.  Butcher, William and I were living together and Mike and Michael were living together and we’d come in every morning and started working.  The last track, “Unexpected Places” is good too.

Musicpix:  Are you guys involved in the video imagery?

Adam:  Yeah with this single “We’ve Got a Big Mess on our Hands,” it was one of the first song we wrote for the record... we felt a vibe behind it, we made it a little bit metaphorical to everybody on our band- especially William - there are two sides to every person.. There is this inner being that just wants to cut loose and in the video, it’s metaphorical to what we’ve been going through in the past year…struggling on the road and with each other- the nature of the human being that there is this angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other…When William comes out of the mirror, he breaks free and he’s getting the rap for all the bad things he’s doing.

Musicpix:  Was it based on true experiences or was it all fantasy?

Adam:  Mostly all fantasy, but everybody can relate to that.  Everybody can be a jerk at times.

Musicpix:  What brings you the greatest joy?

Adam:   I guess what we’re doing right now.  We made this record and we came together as a band, we had some hard times - we pulled it together and found the soul of our music.  Being on tour is the best feeling I could have.  One of the greatest experiences that we’ve had was going to Japan last year- it was just beautiful and we look forward to going back there.  What an experience to go across the world to play music for people who are happy to hear it.  We’re going back this summer to Japan so I am really looking forward to it.

The Academy Is Live Photos

Musicpix:  The band name started out “The Academy” and then you added the IS…so we ask you to fill in the blank-The Academy Is WHAT?

Adam:  Is this censored?  We always have this line that William always says on stage…The Academy Is a Fucking Animal and I guess that’s what it is- it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s kind of the point.  The energy behind the band at a live show is very aggressive and we rock.  To say that we’re a fucking animal is the best description.

Musicpix:  How about your background.  When did you start playing?

Adam:   I started playing when I was about 8 I think…my family is very musical.  My father was a guitar player.  I really started playing when I was 11 or 12 years old.  I met William and we started playing together.  I grew up on a lot of reggae- ten years of my life, I strictly listened to reggae.  Then I got into the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana and it really took me over.  And then I got really into the Clash which was really suprising because I had never been around them growing up but they are one of my favorite bands of all time and they were a big turning point for me.  They’re a really diverse band.

Musicpix: If you could have a dream job with a dream band?

Adam:  I’d play bass with Bob Marley…. Family Man is probably my favorite bass player of all time... or The Clash- I’d love to fill their shoes anytime.  But there’s something really important about being in your own band and working hard.  The Smashing Pumkins getting back together, some people ask me if they asked me to play with them and I said, ‘of course not- they’ve already done their thing and I want to do mine with this band!

Musicpix:  Okay, if you were stranded on a desert island, what three albums would you have to have?

Adam:   Bob Marley, “Rastaman Vibration”….probably “Siamese Dream”- The Smashing Pumpkins, “London Calling”- The Clash, and maybe “Harvest” by Neil Young- probably that too.

Musicpix: You guys are early into your career..you mentioned some classic bands.  When you think about those classic bands - does it give you added appreciation for them?

Adam: Of course, it’s funny we’ve been touring for a couple of years straight and I’m not complaining.  These guys have been hard at work for decades.  It’s all relative.  It really takes a special person to tour- it takes a lot of sacrifice.  It takes a non-selfish person- it’s kind of a paradox because in some ways you’re selfish because you just want to go out and play music.  But in other senses, you’re a very generous person to go out and play music and spread positive vibes to the world and bring happiness.  I think it’s a noble thing to be doing with your life to play music.  Especially in the day in age that we live in now and the way the world is…politics is not as much as a focal point as it should be right now considering what's happening.  We want to keep our fans happy and we’re really pleased about what Fall Out Boy has set up the “Invisible Children”- the hardships of African kids- a lot of the kids here are young and we’re trying to make the world a better place.

Musicpix:  Do you think that your generation of artists need to become more politically and socially active?

Adam:  Not to sound like jaded person at all, but music has become so divided by genre…if your band is a rock band and you come out with a political statement; you’re viewed as liberal across the board.  I am patriotic about America and that’s why I want things to be better in this country.  I grew up in the Virgin Islands and it’s very different there.   I am blessed enough to play music in America. I think there’s a big mix up when bands come out politically and say we need ‘CHANGE’…or are very political…Young bands aren’t really stepping out like they should be.  There’s a lot of focus.  We need to focus on global warming, it comes off as this band is too liberal and republicans don’t listen to what they say.  It feels like that the young bands don’t reach out the way they should be because we can make a difference because of the age of our audience.  As I said, I’m really happy that Pete has been stepping it up with- there’s a lot to keeping people educated and knowledgeable.  Bono of U2 has kept people active, Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and all these actors doing a lot…it feel like things are pretty segregated right now.  Maybe it’s by electing Obama and letting the world appreciate that…not to get political, but I think America needs a new President right now whether you’re a Democrat or Republican-that’s what we need.

Musicpix: What’s your perfect world?

Adam:  Well it’s not this…I think the perfect world is trying to get everybody on the same page for a perfect world…to try to move forward and the last eight years, it feels like we digressed.  I just want to look forward- I want to keep positive.  Given the power the United States, we should make something of that.  I think we can do better.  We do try to keep politics out of our music because our fan base is very split.  In the big picture, we just want people aware of the true issues… no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, global warming is a scary thing and we encourage all of our fans to get behind it because it’s going to sneak up on us.  We talk to some people at shows who still don’t believe that it’s real.

We’re really excited about this tour and we’re happy that Pete has this campaign about Africa and it makes me really excited to be a part of it!.

The Band
William Beckett: Vocals
Adam Siska: Bass
Michael Guy Chislett: Guitar
Andy "the butcher" Mrotek: Drums
Mike Carden: Guitar

Discography
Almost Here-2005
Santi-2007

The Tour
6/09/07  Chicago, IL
6/10/07  Chicago, IL
6/11/07  Chicago, IL
6/12/07  Noblesville, IN (Rescheduled from 6/08)
6/13/07  Charlotte, NC
6/14/07  Atlanta, GA
6/15/07  Tampa, FL
6/16/07  West Palm Beach, FL
6/18/07  Houston, TX
6/19/07  Dallas, TX
6/20/07  San Antonio, TX
6/22/07  Phoenix, AZ
6/23/07  LA, CA
6/24/07  Las Vegas, NV
6/25/07  Salt Lake City, UT
6/27/07  Tacoma, WA
6/28/07  Vancouver, BC
6/29/07  Portland, OR
6/30/07  Concord, CA
7/01/07  San Diego, CA
7/02/07  Anaheim, CA

By
Gwyn Tyme
w/Steve Mitchell