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Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that formed in 2003.

They were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen brand before disbanding.

They were originally called "The Academy," but they introduced the word "Is..." in 2004 to avoid court problems with other established bands that were not under the same banner.

Almost Here, Santi, and Fast Times at Barrington High are three of the band's three studio albums, as well as four EPs.

On October 8, 2011, the band announced its break-up.

Lead singer William Beckett announced that the band would reunite in Chicago at Riot Fest 2015.

In addition, the band's founders, Mike Carden, and Adam Siska, as well as Andy Mrotek and Ian Crawford (both of whom were not present in the band) returned to the band's departure from December 2015.

Formation and early years (2003–2004)

William Beckett and Adam T. Siska formed a band together on March 4, 2003 after becoming friends while attending Barrington High School, recruiting Mike Carden (guitar) after his former band, Jodie, broke up and then added AJ LaTrace as a lead guitarist and Michael DelPrincipe (Little Mike) as a drummer. They released The Academy, their self-titled debut EP on LLR Recordings, in Chicago. Remember Maine, Beckett's debut album The Last Place You Look in 2002 and Mike Carden's solo folk album in 2003 were among LLR Recordings' first albums. The EP was shot on tape in Villa Park, Illinois, by producer Brian Zieske. Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy heard it and was amazed. Ramen's Fueled by Ramen obtained the band name right away. The group went on tour with Fall Out Boy, Bayside, Name Taken, and Armor for Sleep in July and August.

The band travelled to Florida in 2004 to record their Fueled by Ramen's debut Almost Here, produced by James Paul Wisner, Who Has Worked With Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate, Further Seems Forever, and Underoath. The band underwent a lineup change after releasing the album and performing a summer tour. Thomas Conrad, a veteran of Chicago's local band 5o4plan, replaced LaTrace as the second guitarist/backing vocalist, and Andy Mrotek, formerly of Last Place Champs, was fired as the drummer. Andy Mrotek and Thomas Conrad are in the liner notes, but the band was recalled after the recording of Almost Here to replace DelPrincipe and LaTrace, respectively. Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate, Midtown, Matchbook Romance, Motion City Soundtrack, and Armor for Sleep were all touring in favor of the album. The album was released on February 8, 2005, and the band embarked on their first headlining tour with Plain White T's, Days Away, and June. Almost Here peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's charts. No. 7 on Top Heatseekers, No. 7 ranked No. 7 on the most popular heatseekers. 16 on Independent Albums, No. 5 is the most popular ones on the site. 185 on The Billboard 200. Panic emerged later this year, while Pete Wentz was finishing up work on Fall Out Boy's second album From Under the Cork Tree and his "latest side project" with John Janick of Fueled by Ramen. By his label Decaydance, he was at the Disco and helped them debut their debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. The Academy of Is... was also signed to Decaydance the year before.

The Academy Is... had announced that Thomas Conrad and the band had split up on October 26, 2006, on their official website. Michael Guy Chislett joined the band to replace Conrad on guitar after the band lost him on guitar.

The band began writing songs for their second album while touring as a main act on the 2006 Warped Tour. After being finished, the band hopped to Los Angeles to record their Butch Walker record. The band had officially ended the recording process and the album, Santi, was released on the Fueled By Ramen label on December 23, 2006. Blender's Top 25 Reasons to Love 2007 was included on this album's list of Top 25 Reasons to Love 2007. On the band's AbsolutePunk website, a sample of "LAX to O'Hare" was unveiled on January 26, 2007. The album reached its high point at No. 1. On the Billboard 200, 32 places were ranked 32.

As the album's first single, the band continued to perform "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands" before releasing it on April 3, 2007. On the 2007 Honda Civic Tour, Fall Out Boy, +44, Cobra Starship, and Paul Wall joined the band, then transitioned to the "Sleeping With Giants" tour with support from The Rocket Summer, Armor for Sleep, and Sherwood. Labelmates Cobra Starship were introduced to the site during the tour for part. In Chicago, the tour came to an end on November 24, 2007.

Fast Times at Barrington High, the band's third studio album, was released on August 19, 2008 via Fueled by Ramen. The name refers to William Beckett's high school, Adam Siska, and videographer Jack Edinger. On July 15, 2008, the band's "About a Girl" was the first single to be released on the band's MySpace page, and it was later made available from various download sites. Brittany Moser, the lead model in the official music video for "About a Girl," went to Barrington at the same time as Adam and William were in high school. On August 25, 2008, "About a Girl" was on The Hills (season 4, episode 2). The album made it into Rolling Stone Magazine's Best Albums of the Year ranked No. 1 on its list. 46. It topped at No. 1 in the country's highest rank. The Billboard 200 has 17 people on it.

It was announced on William Beckett's Twitter page that The Academy Is... have finished recording their latest album, Lost in Pacific Time: The AP/EP. It was published on iTunes on September 22, 2009, and it was sold on the AP Fall Ball Tour. On the band's Myspace page, only a limited number were sold. In Barrington, Illinois, "Days Like Masquerades" was a hit at an anti-suicide benefit. "Sputter" (featuring Jack's Mannequin singer Andrew McMahon) streamed on Banana's Music club, and William and Pete Wentz joined by both William and Pete Wentz on Twitter on September 21. Pete Wentz of TAI announced on Twitter on September 29, 2009, that the Blink-182 Tour would exclude The All-American Rejects from the St. Louis date of the Blink-182 tour due to an injury to All-American Rejects lead singer Tyson Ritter.

Andy Mrotek and Michael Guy Chislett, the band's original website, announced on May 24, 2011 that the bandmates, Andy Mrotek and Michael Guy Chislett, were leaving the band to pursue their own musical careers. According to reports, there were no bad feelings involved in this decision. William Beckett also revealed that the three remaining members of the band will be recording their fourth full length album soon. The band's official Facebook page announced their disbanding on October 8, 2011, implying that they had "decided to go their separate ways"; however, "we won't be together," the band said on their official Facebook page, but "you can expect to hear new music from each of us."

Andy Mrotek has been working on his illustration and his solo project, The Animal Upstairs. Adam Siska has been named as the touring bassist for Say Anything and Carly Rae Jepsen. William Beckett, the lead singer, has confirmed that his debut solo album would be released in 2012. He released his first solo single "Compromise Me" on March 13, 2012, and his latest EP Walk the Talk appeared on April 17, 2012. On September 30, Beckett's sophomore EP, Winds Will Change, and his third, What Will Be, were released. Genuine & Counterfeit is William Beckett's first full-length album. The album is William's first full-length release since his band The Academy Is. On August 20, 2013, the New York based independent record label Equal Vision Records was released, and Marc McClusky produced it. The Academy Is... website (www.theacademyis.com) now links to the band's Facebook page and is occasionally updated by their old name, Fueled By Ramen.

The Academy Is... reunited on September 12, 2015, to perform Almost Here from cover to cover at Riot Fest Chicago, a national outdoor music festival. Michael Guy Chislett, the former lead guitarist, was the only one who did not attend the reunion. Ian Crawford, who is best known for his role in The Cab, Panic! Never Shout at the Disco and Never Shout Never Shoutchill was the case. Chislett was not the only one who was flooded. The band embarked on a sixteen-date tour around the United States in which they performed Almost Here in its entirety and five additional songs from their back catalog. On December 30, 2015, the band appeared at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California.

The band's Facebook page revealed on May 11, 2022, that they would be playing Riot Fest 2022, as well as the phrase "We're back" in reference to the band's future career choices.

Former lead guitarist AJ LaTrace revealed on Twitter on July 8, 2022, that he and former drummer Michael DelPrincipe would return to the band for a brief guest appearance at Riot Fest.

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