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Pep-Rock: Where did the name ‘The Academy Is…’ come from?
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| William (lead singer): Well, we were originally called The Academy but we had some legal trouble because there was one artist in the UK called The Academy back in the ‘70s so we had to change it. We wanted the change to be subtle so we just added the ‘is’. It was very subtle and very simple. |
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| Pep-Rock: Tell us the story of how Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy discovered you – did you know him at the time? |
| William: Yeah, I mean we’ve been friends with Pete for like 5 years or so, you could say that he discovered us or you could say that we discovered Fall Out Boy at the same time, we’ve supported each other since we’ve started, it’s pretty much that simple. We love touring with them, it’s just like touring with your friends. |
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| Pep-Rock: You’ve also toured with Something Corporate, what was that like? |
| William: It was great, we learnt a lot from that band. That was our best tour at that point, we learnt so much from Andrew and how good the band were live made us realise the importance of our live shows and how to work together as a unit. |
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| Pep-Rock: In the song ‘Black Mamba’ you seem to be angry with the music scene, with lyrics such as “oh mister magazine never wrote one single thing for you and your so-called music scene, it don’t mean shit to me”, what’s fuelled this anger? |
| William: We basically wanted to write a song that captured our intentions. We wanted to show that we were writing our songs for ourselves and for our fans. Our songs are for individuals not for some magazine. We don’t write for some façade of a review, that’s the last thing on our minds. |
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| Pep-Rock: Myspace is a site that has considerably helped elevate you as a band, what do you think of this sudden myspace culture though that has evolved? |
| William: Myspace is one of the reasons we’re playing the UK this week, the web’s been such a great tool, not only myspace but sites such as purevolume. I mean, our album hasn’t even been released over here yet but we’re selling out shows. Unfortunately it’s a medium for bands who aren’t that good to have sites as well, but it’s such an incredible way to help bands. |
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| Pep-Rock: How would you describe yourselves as different to bands such as Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco? |
| William: All of us aren’t prescribing to any preconceived notion like other bands seem to do. Everyone does their own thing which is one of the best things about our band and Panic! as well. We’re not writing to a formula or particular influence, it’s all varied and we try to brand our own sound. |
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| Pep-Rock: Does it scare you how big Fall Out Boy have become in such a short amount of time? |
| William: Yeah totally, it’s pretty crazy, especially seeing as we’ve grown up with those guys. |
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| Pep-Rock: If you could tour with any one band who would it be and why? |
| William: For me, the band who opened my eyes and ears was Led Zeppelin. They really turned me onto music. Also, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins. |
| Adam (bass): Or maybe Ricky Martin. |
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| Pep-Rock: Which song are you most proud of from the album? |
| William: I think we’re all equally proud of all the songs to be honest. We write a song with the intention of it being the best song so we don’t really have a favourite. I mean there are songs we prefer to play live. |
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Pep-Rock: Which song’s been received the best by the fans? |
| Adam: I think Black Mamba’s a pretty good live song |
| William: And Slow Down’s been received well too. |
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| Pep-Rock: What’s the main difference between American and British fans? |
| Mike (guitar): They definitely appreciate us more here. The trouble with America is they’re all trying to be hipsters there. Not to say our American fans aren’t amazing but it’s very scene over there. |
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| Pep-Rock: How did you decide on the artwork for the album? |
| William: Our friend designed it for us. Mike and I were talking about the vibe of the record and we decided we wanted something hopeful, summery and bright and a contrast to that, so we chose to have the sun rising on the front cover and then the sun setting on the inside cover. |
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| Pep-Rock: Which bands around at the moment would you recommend for people to listen to? |
| William: There’s a band called Spoon who are awesome and no one’s really heard of them. Also, the usual bands like Queens of the Stone Age. |
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| Pep-Rock: If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be? |
| William: Oh John Lennon, yeah I would have liked to have met John Lennon or Jim Morrison. Or the bass player in Keane. |
| Mike: Yeah or James Blunt. God. |
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| Pep-Rock: If you could cover any band’s song what would it be? |
| Mike: Busted. All their stuff. |
| William: We just recorded an acoustic EP for itunes and we covered John Lennon’s Working Class Hero, it’s like a punk rock rendition. |
| Adam: I’d like to cover that song ‘Down Under’ by Men At Work. |
William: We’ve covered Fall Out Boy’s ‘Dance, Dance’ before. |
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| Pep-Rock: Any closing words? |
| William: Check out our website, www.theacademyis.com cos we have like our own little TV show on there. |
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| To find out more about The Academy Is - Click Here |
