Formation and early years (2003–2004) William Beckett and Adam Siska decided to start a band together on March 4, 2003, after becoming friends during their time attending
Barrington High School, recruiting
Mike Carden (guitar) after his former band, Jodie, broke up. Next they added AJ LaTrace as a lead guitarist and Michael DelPrincipe (Little Mike) as a drummer. They recorded their self-titled debut EP,
The Academy (2004), for the Chicago-based label LLR Recordings. LLR Recordings had previously released Beckett's solo project Remember Maine's debut album
The Last Place You Look in 2002 and
Mike Carden's solo folk album in 2003. The EP was recorded in Villa Park, IL at The Gallery of Carpet by producer Brian Zieske.
Pete Wentz from
Fall Out Boy heard it and was impressed. The label
Fueled by Ramen immediately signed the band. In July and August, the group went on tour with Fall Out Boy,
Bayside,
Name Taken, and
Armor for Sleep.
Almost Here (2005–2006) In 2004 the band headed to Florida to record their Fueled by Ramen debut
Almost Here, produced by James Paul Wisner, who has worked with
Dashboard Confessional,
Something Corporate,
Further Seems Forever, and
Underoath. After recording the album and doing a summer tour, the band underwent a lineup change. Thomas Conrad, formerly of Chicago local band 5o4plan, replaced LaTrace as the second guitarist/backing vocalist, and
Andy Mrotek, formerly of Last Place Champs, replaced DelPrincipe as the drummer. Andy Mrotek and Thomas Conrad are listed in the liner notes but were added to the band after the recording of Almost Here to replace DelPrincipe and LaTrace, respectively. The band toured extensively in support of the album, touring with
Fall Out Boy,
Something Corporate,
Midtown,
Matchbook Romance,
Motion City Soundtrack and
Armor for Sleep. The album was released on February 8, 2005 and the following summer, the band embarked on their first headlining tour alongside
Plain White T's,
Days Away and
June. On Billboard's charts Almost Here peaked at No. 7 on Top Heatseekers, No. 16 on
Independent Albums, and No. 185 on The Billboard 200. Later on in 2005, 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, he discovered
Panic! at the Disco and helped them release their debut album ''
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'' through his label Decaydance. The Academy Is... was also signed to Decaydance that year.
Santi (2007) While touring as a main act on the 2006
Warped Tour, the band began the process of writing songs for their second album. Once finished, the band flew to
Los Angeles to record their record with
Butch Walker. As of December 23, 2006, the band had officially finished the recording process and the album, entitled
Santi, was released April 3, 2007 on the Fueled By Ramen label. The release of this album was listed on
Blender's 25 reasons to love 2007. On January 26, 2007 a sample of "LAX to O'Hare" was released on the band's
AbsolutePunk profile. The album peaked at No. 32 on the
Billboard 200. It peaked at No. 17 on The Billboard 200. The track "I'm Yours Tonight" was released on the band's Myspace page. Another track, "Days Like Masquerades" was played at an anti-suicide benefit at Barrington High School, in Barrington, Illinois. On September 29, 2009, Pete Wentz announced via Twitter that TAI would replace
The All-American Rejects for the St. Louis date of the
Blink-182 tour, due to an injury to
The All-American Rejects lead singer
Tyson Ritter. On May 24, 2011, the band made an announcement on their official website that said that bandmates, Andy Mrotek and Michael Guy Chislett, were leaving the band to pursue their own musical careers. There has reportedly been no hard feelings during this decision. William Beckett also stated that the three remaining members would be entering the studio soon to record their fourth full-length album. On October 8, 2011, the band announced their disbanding on their official Facebook page, stating that they had "decided to go their separate ways" but "though we may not be together, you can look forward to hearing new music from each of us". During the band's breakup period, Andy Mrotek continued his artistry and his solo project, The Animal Upstairs, while Adam Siska worked as a touring bassist for
Say Anything and
Carly Rae Jepsen. Lead singer William Beckett focused on his solo work, releasing his first solo single "Compromising Me" on March 13, 2012. He went on to release 3 EPs in 2012:
Walk the Talk on April 17,
Winds Will Change on July 17, and
What Will Be on 30 October. Genuine & Counterfeit, William Beckett's debut solo full-length album, was released August 20, 2013. The album was the first full-length released by William since the break-up of The Academy Is.... It was released by the NY based independent record label Equal Vision Records and it was produced by Marc McClusky.
Reunions and Almost There (2015-present) On September 12, 2015, The Academy Is... reunited to play their album
Almost Here cover-to-cover at
Riot Fest. Former lead guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was the only final member who did not join the reunion.
Ian Crawford, known for his roles in
The Cab,
Panic! at the Disco and
Never Shout Never filled in for Chislett. In December 2015, the band embarked on a sixteen-date tour throughout the United States, in which they played
Almost Here in its entirety and five additional songs from their back catalog. The band had their final show at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California on December 30, 2015. On May 11, 2022, the band's Facebook page announced they would be playing at Riot Fest, alongside the comment "we're back" in reference to the band's future career plans. In late 2025, the band embarked on a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album,
Almost Here. During the tour, they announced they would be releasing a new album in 2026, and debuted new songs to concertgoers. On January 14th, 2026, the band announced
Almost There, their first album in 18 years. The album's first single, "2005", released alongside a music video on the same day. On March 27, 2026, the band released their fourth studio album
Almost There. The band is currently on tour. ==TAITV==