10/18/2006 - 10:31 PM EST Something to keep your brain functioning... the hatchet job. a) he sat across from me. b) he said: "I want to destroy Ginsberg." c) I thought: "This man is crazy." d) he continued: "I will write a critical essay and destroy Ginsberg forever, he has gotten away with his nonsense for too long." e) I thought: This man is very unhappy and envious. f) he went on: "I will bury him." g) I asked: "do you think he is worse than you or me?" h) he countered: "yes, he is, he has a vast and insidious influence, and he's a fucking phoney." i) I told him: "let's talk about something else." j) he asked: "like what?" k) I pleaded: "like ANYTHING else." l) he went on: "I hate that son-of-a-bitch, I am going to do a service to the literary world, I've made up my mind!" m) i asked: "you're going to expose him, eh?" n) he said: "all the way." o) well, he wrote the article. p) and it was published in a critical journal. q) and it was quite long. r) and I read it while taking a shit. s) then I finished it (the shit). t) continued to read while taking a bath. u) got out, dried off, went to bed. v) the best thing to do w) when a minor talent attacks a major talent x) as was the case in this matter y) is take a nap z) and zzzzzzzzz. -Charles Bukowski Goodnight, neighbors. -Billvy. - William 12/13/2005 - 9:54 PM EST Brilliant. We're in Kansas City, MO right now, and we have something special lined up tonight. Tony called a theatre to see if they were having a midnight viewing of King Kong tonight, since it opens tomorrow. they weren't going to have a showing, but after we told the girl that we were The Academy Is, she set up an exclusive showing of King Kong at 10PM tonight for us, and all the employees. Pretty incredible. We're going to give them tickets to the show tomorrow. I'll let you all know what I think of the movie tomorrow. Right now, Tony, my beffy Nick Scimeca, and Sisky are at the Apple store waiting until 10PM. It's rainy outside. Tony is calling a cab. IF YOU'RE FEELING LIKE A GHOST, THEN YOU ALREADY KNOW. - William 11/20/2005 - 4:42 AM EST Get used to Haters. Ignorance is usually served with a side of Jealousy. And vice-versa. I'm just as easily hated as I am loved. I may be Daft, and I am definitely a Prick, but there is no way I'm going to tolerate being called a Daft Prick. Time isn't the only blood I have on my hands. Or is it the other way around... Blood isn't the only time I have on my hands...? I can't remember right now. My love is so full, I feel bad but to boast. or is it... I feel bad but to burst? Boasting and Bursting... Sometimes they are the same thing, aren't they... One thing is certain, and one thing only. Right now, this is all I can find solace in. Monday - December 19th. Back on tour with AAR and Rooney. January. The Academy Is. United Kingdom. International Tour. Ambitious Ones and Smoking Guns. February - March. The Academy Is. X-BOX sponsored National Tour. Truckstops and Statelines. Acceptance, Panic At The Disco and HelloGoodbye. PEOPLE WILL RESENT WHAT THEY DESIRE IF IT'S NOT GIVEN TO THEM. - William 10/28/2005 - 2:34 PM EST Go to theacademyis.com right now and sign up for our messageboard. Become a part of the TAI family. The rewards, my friend, will be equal to those aquired in your wildest dreams... think about it. We begin filming our 2nd video (technically 3rd) tonight in Chicago. "Slow Down" will shock you. I'm certain you won't see this one coming. We're going to surprise you guys. Have you ever seen "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Batman", or "Edward Scissorhands"? Be prepared to be unprepared. - William 10/21/2005 - 11:39 PM EST Taking Back What? Open up your eyes. Right now, let's try and think about something that really matters. Back in the morning. Home in the morning. I can't express how worried I am for my friends in southern Florida. I'm leaving, and they're staying. One of the worst hurricanes of the year is supposed to hit on Monday. My best friends. Johnny Minardi John and Mia Janick Kyle Baker Erick Charles Melissa, Adam, Caleb, Justin, David, Amy, my friends and family at Fueled By Ramen. I love you all, and you're in my thoughts constantly. I hope this thing fucking disappears. Whatever it is you believe in, I ask humbly and whole heartedly that you send out your best wishes, hopes, and prayers to everyone down there in southern Florida, and those already affected in Cancun and Eastern Mexico. Donate. Do what you can for those who need your help now: Hurricane Relief Charities - William 10/13/2005 - 10:48 PM EST I have great intentions, but I underestimate some things... OK. WOW. Well. That didn't go as well as planned!!! First of all, thank you all so much for IMing me, I would have loved to talk to you all... I was talking with a few people as the IM boxes kept popping up, and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we were having... THEN a tidal wave of IM boxes flooded my screen, and so many were coming in so rapidly that i couldn't click on anyone's box to talk to them! This went on for about a half hour... And my computer crashed. I just learned that my journal entry was posted on Absolutepunk.net, which would now explain the mass hysteria, and to my dismay, the traffic was too much for my computer. So, I deeply apologize for this, and don't worry, this will happen again in the future... Just MUCH more discreet. Again, I'm very sorry, you guys are the best in the world. I will make this up to you... Mike and I are brainstorming right now to make something like this happen in the future... I love you guys. Stay tuned. - William 10 oh clock talk. As most of you know, I am sitting in my hotel room in NYC tonight. I've spent the last hour or so just lying in the bed and looking at the ceiling, reflecting. And I remembered an idea Mike had... Tonight at 10:00PM EST (that's 9PM central!) i will be going online under our new band conversation screenname " TALKTAI" . This is the time, if anyone has any questions, or concerns, or if you just want to talk to someone. I know what it's like to feel like you have no one to talk to, so avoid that tonight. Talk to you guys later if you'd like. - William I don't expect the warmest of welcomes here, and I don't expect a warm, warm welcome wagon. Because the neighbors have complained damn near every night. The neighbors have complained damn near every night. Don't ask questions, I won't know the answers. Right here, in this room, there's a feeling... Something's missing. Take your time, and look around. Keep on breathing, control your breathing. The place is packed, the lighting dim. The feeling's growing, sick and probing. A light is strobing, flashing moments of illumination, making each passing second feel like another frame in a comic flipbook. Try to put yourself into my shoes. Or better yet, try to put yourself into my pants, if you can manage to fit into them. Pete and John Janick paid me late night visits earlier this evening. I am in NYC writing in a hotel room. They came by. I showed them some new songs. John spoke about the future. Pete spoke about hits. I spoke about future hits. I love friendship when it's masked as loyalty. I love my friends, with out which, I'd be, how do you say... eternally doomed? Well said, Eugene. Friday= MTV. Filming our spot on Advanced Warning. Friday= MTV2. Filming 4 songs live for a future airing of Discover and Download. Saturday= you'll need to stand by for this one. - William 8/20/2005 - 4:59 PM EST Last night I rode in the back of a cop car...but not as a criminal this time. So there I was. Sitting in the back of a cop car as it was pulling away from one side of Maplewood Mall, en route to the security offices located on the other side of the premises. I peered out the back window of the vehicle, red and blue lights spiraling above me, and a mob of about 50 or so people from the show were chasing the police escort as if we were The Beatles... What is happening to my life? The performance was stopped during the first 45 seconds of our first song by the security because the soundman (who was stationed right in front of the stage... First time I've seen that) was knocked over by the rushing crowd. I don't think they knew that TAI fans like to dance. Well let me tell you something, they found out pretty fast. By our 3rd song, one of our fans (his name is John Hanson) was crowd surfing, and a police officer came over and jumped on him, cuffing and arresting him. We were only allowed to play one more song, but we played two, and then the police and security rushed us out of the building into the awaiting escort cars... ALL of which, was a bit uneccessary. Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever forget our Maplewood Mall experience, and I'd be willing to bet those that attended will also have a hard time shaking that memory. Thank you all that came to see us. You've once again shown us something beautiful. This is just the beginning. We got a lot of footage from last night... Stay tuned to TAI TV for some Maplewood video updates. -william - William 7/31/2005 - 2:33 AM EST Canadian bacon and pretty french girls. Warped '05 Canadian Invasion has come to an end earlier tonight... It was our first time up there, and it was quite an experience, believe you me... Quebec was very French, and very French... The night before the show we went to some bars in the area to kick off the Canadian tour RIGHT. We bought our own bottles of Champagne from the bar, and watched people dance to bad remixes. T'was hilarious. At Warped after our set I took my chances in the batting cage at the MLB tent. I hadn't swung a bat in years, save that one night in Reno, but I wasn't playing baseball.... Anyway, it was a blast, my Dad would have been proud to know that I haven't lost IT. Montreal was also very French. I'm amazed at how affluent Canadians are, most of the people I met were trilingual, speaking french, english, spanish, etc... FLUENTLY. America needs to step up the foreign language department in our schools... write your congressman. In Toronto we had the best Canadian reaction by FAR. Far less French. Needless to say, we played the best set so far in Toronto on Warped. There were some kids, a group of 5 guys that followed us from BUFFALO, NY all throughout Canada. They were in the first row, singing everyday. It made me smile, and I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Music Lovers. i love it. Some Canadian Highlights... + M A E. 'NUFF SAID. I missed those boys. + watching Motion City Soundtrack everyday. + Discovering this new band called "The Fall Out Boys" They're pretty big in Canada. + the fans. the fans. the fans. Tomorrow, ( technically today, but I don't want to be the guy that's technical about that sort of thing. I hate when I'm talking to someone and i say "tomorrow" and it just so happens to be a bit after midnight, then that one JackAss in the group sneers "Well, technically, it IS tomorrow. It's past midnight".... ugh.) we're in DETROIT ROCK CITY. Now, I'm expecting something insane to go down tomorrow, and I promise I will be involved. You'll see. Anyway, I need to get some shut eye. If you're coming to Warped, be ready. - William 7/27/2005 - 1:31 AM EST I'd like to begin this journal entry by giving thanks. To each and every soul that came out to the shows on the headlining tour, whether it was your first time seeing us or your 10th, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. It was a hell of a time, wasn't it? A true list of highlights would be infinite, and probably quite boring and tiring to read; so here's an abridged version of my tour highlights from the headlining tour! ( in no particular order) + Every show but 4 selling out, and those were all within 100 tickets of selling out. - HEAT restrictions. + Our friends in June, Days Away, and Plain White T's. - The police force in Philadelphia, who physically harassed our tour manager Tony Marino. + NYC after party with our publicist Kate. - Broken glass doors at the NYC after party with our publicist Kate. + Boston, MA. - sleepless nights. + TAI fans in general. - fans in certain cities who continually reached up on stage and grabbed my legs and reached for my !JOHNSON! through out the entire set. + Nick Scimeca flying out to hang and take pictures.
www.nicholasscimeca.com/TAI - Mike and Butcher nearly exchanging fists, numerous times. + Mike and Butcher nearly exchanging fists, numerous times. - The headlining tour ending. + Warped Tour beginning. We took a ton of photos on the tour, look out for those soon. Stay tuned for Warped Tour '05 updates on this journal. I've decided not to post this entry anywhere else but here and the FBR site. I'll hit you tomorrow with a thorough Warped Tour Buffalo update. For now, it's time to enjoy a nice restless sleep, complete with mind-altering and equally disturbing dreams. footnote-ESPN was crazy. I watched Linda Cohn for almost a decade on ESPN, and she interviewed me. Yes, I was nervous, and Yes, I love baseball. "Let's get fucked up and die." - William 7/12/2005 - 4:50 AM EST AquaTeenMambaForce Grand Rapids. Day off. I passed out after the show at the Intersection, and I woke up in my bed at the hotel. Wierd. I couldn't really function too well today, so I slept instead. When i could stand with out incesant dizziness, I went to Big Boy with Mike. We discussed politics, relationships, and our plans for a new website. Went back to the hotel, grabbed my recording equipment and a guitar. recorded some song ideas, with Mike and Butcher. Played Texas Holdem with Tony, and some of the Days Away boys (Chris V, Chrisky, Mitch West, and the one and only Matthew Austin.) Chris V won his first tournament. Then i retired to my room, where I began to write this poorly written, fragment sentence-ridden jumble. Good night. Quote of the night: Butcher was sleeping on my bed after i came back in from poker, and he looked like a mummified count dracula... That's when Mike said one of the funniest things i've ever heard. "BUTCHER, WAKE UP, IT'S TIME TO GO TO SLEEP." - William 7/3/2005 - 4:53 PM EST Didn't Rasputin prophesize this? Yes, the sweater is ugly. But so is Lyle Lovett, and Julia Roberts STILL fell in love with him. Alternative Press invited us to play their anniversary festival with some other cool bands yesterday. We were thrilled to be invited to perform, especially among such established bands as Coheed and Cambria and Story of the Year. Some highlights... -One. Days Away played. Great to see those guys again, and again... and again. Much love and respect. -Two. Chad, drunk by 5 PM, and managing to build a dozen friendships in 4 short hours. -Three. I got to listen to the new Paramore record. I don't usually do this, but the record is damn good. If you haven't heard them, go check them out, and pick up their record when it comes out. -Four. Seeing familiar faces in Cleveland, I'm sorry we couldn't play longer. -Five. Having a conversation with someone who actually prioritizes music and message over fashion and image. Thank you for listening to what I write, not just how I look or what I wear. Ha. My style is to trends as Black Mamba is to music critics. Think about it. -Six. Watching Vanilla Sky on the van ride back. Cameron Crowe is brilliant. Overall, it was a 'buen' experience. Thank you, those of you who came out for us, you made the day for us. Tomorrow we'll be in Milwaukee at Summerfest. I'll try to get to a computer to tell the tale that will be Summerfest '05, Fourth of July. It's also Butcher's birthday. I'll have to give his friend Nigel a call, ask him gift advice. As those coastal city hipsters say, "Ciao!" I hate that, by the way. - William 7/1/2005 - 3:31 AM EST Location: Chicago, night one. Time: 2:20 AM To each and every person that was at the Bottom Lounge tonight (Thursday), thank you for showing me the best night of my life on a stage. Let's do it again tomorrow. Words are supposed to be my 'bag' baby, but right now I'm at a loss. This tour is/will be unbelievable. ps. click here (the link is this
http://community.livejournal.com/theacademyis/241830.html) - William 6/27/2005 - 3:20 AM EST So i've been home for about a week and a half from tour, on a bit of a short break before the headlining tour, and I've had a few strange realizations... One. Seeing our video on Fuse TV is a trip. I'm not quite sure how to react to it. I'm estatic, believe me, but it's still a bit surreal. Two. Playing 2 songs live on national radio (millions of listeners) on Mancow's Morning Madhouse is ALSO a trip. See above. Three. Time at home does NOT equal time for rest and relaxation. Between seeing my girlfriend, my family and old friends alone, i've but no time to just sit back, take a deep breath, and chill out. I'm not complaining, trust me. But my Mom insists I look exhausted all the time. And I insist I'm just stressed... She isn't wrong. Other than that, tomorrow we start working on our set for the headlining tour. Words could come close, but not completely describe how damned EXCITED i am for the tour. I won't give away too much, but i'll let you in a couple HUSH HUSH secrets... If you've ever seen us before, thank you, but you MUST come out to this tour. We are going to be putting on the best shows we've ever played. That, I can promise. I'll tell you a little more in a couple days. But for now, GET EXCITED. The Mamba is coming. I've been writing... Swirls. "Hello there, dear, hello. Are you there, it's hard to hear... The room is packed with people, stacking conversations and tossing vibes and stares. It's getting late and security is tossing drunks and stacking chairs. I spent another 10 minutes to talk perspective with the bartender, and another 10 in legal tender. Our mutual exchange of tips for trips. Now my pockets aren't empty, but I'm out of cash. I've got no green paper, but a dozen napkins with a dozen numbers that I'll never call. Half the time the women who stay after these things don't care what band you're in. Just as long as you are, and you're leaving in the morning, fumbling through your pockets, trying to figure out which napkin was hers. But that isn't me. Not my aim. My alignment is way off anyway. Well you don't know my name, just my face, and just in case you're wondering, I won't remember this bar in the morning. And just in case you're wondering, I'm leaving in the morning. On nights like these, I feel like I'm an extra on the set of "Singles". And I'm spinning... Quick, get me off of my feet and onto a seat at the bar. I'd like to spend another 10 minutes talking perspective with the bartender. Our mutual exchange of tips for trips. But I'm all out of legal tender." - Bill 6/20/2005 - 2:57 AM EST Here is a rundown of our weekend in the OC. So we ended up getting into Orange County around midnight, hungry, tired, and bound for the beautiful beachside Hilton Hotel. At the baggage claim we waited for our bags; Butcher's cymbals, Mike's guitar and pedals, and a luggage bag filled with some Academy Is shirts. We had all of our things, except the luggage bag with our shirts, so we waited. and waited. And the bag never came. Sadness, dispair, and confusion swept over us, one at a time, like a cold breeze slowly chilling us to the bone. Moments passed, and magically, so did our concern for the missing bag. At that moment, my new concern was finding a Taco Bell. A Del Taco. A fucking 7-11. Anything. I was so hungry I could have eaten the asshole out of a dead rhino. Tony ended up working something out with the airport, and they were going to ship the bag directly to Huntington Beach on Saturday morning. Perfect. We rented a real sweet minivan from Hertz, and headed to to the Hilton, searching the roadside for a late night drive thru window. We happened across a Taco Bell, and checked into the hotel. The moment that we walked into the Hotel lobby, and the man at the desk laid eyes on us, he promised us that if there were any noise complaints we'd be 'evicted' immediately. talk about profiling, eh? I ended up putzing around on the internet for a bit, while Tom and Tony went to the hotel bar. Apparently, there was a 50ish year old multi-millionaire at the bar with his lush of a wife, and he bought the boys a bunch of drinks. I believed it, Tom came back sloshed. Then to bed, we went. Saturday was upon us, and it was a perfect day in the OC. 75 degrees, sunny. Amazing. We got the beach on time, and met with the people from Elle Girl Magazine. Very cool people over there. We also met Striker and some of the KROQ peeps as well. Also very cool. The show started about an hour late, some sound issues, but it ended up sounding good. This band from LA called The Like opened the show. 3 girls. They were pretty good, and their singer looked like a combination of Michelle Pfieffer and a girl named Trista that i know. Crazy. We played and had alot of fun, it was pretty wild playing on the beach, facing the ocean, a bunch of beautiful half naked people, the ocean breeze in our faces... The highlight of the show was the sick tanlines i got. I was wearing a blazer and a white button up shirt, so I got tanlines in a V on my chest, and about 4 inches of both of my wrists. Sexy, it is. After the show we hung out with John, BJ, and Parker for JamisonParker, who live in the area. Tom and I went with them to this open bar with free drinks at this mall type place. Strange setting, and everyone there thought they were too cool for their own good. Hollywood hills and suburban thrills... They weren't fooling me... Then we went to this other bar, in which an 80s cover band called Powersurge was playing. Unbelievable. After that we ended up at the guy from Homegrown's house somehow. Crazy. very cool guy. that was pretty much it for the night. And today. On the plane i was seating next to a man that I ended up having an amazing conversation with... for 4 hours. He had 16 year old twin daughters, and I let them all listen to our music. It was refreshing to have such a good conversation with someone older than 30. We landed, got to our homes, and i crashed out for a couple hours. I spent the night hanging with my Dad, watching the Goonies. And that's that. Tomorrow i am thinking about going to see The Audition at the Bottom Lounge. We'll see. goodnight. - Bill 6/17/2005 - 4:34 AM EST Well, as quickly as the Mae tour started, it has ended. It'd be hard to place the words to describe how painfully short the tour felt. Personally, i felt it was the best tour for us so far. Let me count the ways... 1. For the first time, I felt the strongest presence of OUR FANS on tour. It's the best feeling. 2. Going into the tour knowing none of the bands personally, and the FIRST NIGHT partying at the bar with everyone. 3. Jacob, Dave and Mark (Mae) for trying to keep up (and succeeding once or twice) with the constant party that is Chad and I. 4. being able to enjoy Days Away perform every night. 5. I like listing things numerically... it's great, isn't it? I really enjoyed taking some time for myself on this tour. I shut off my phone, and ignored my computer. But now I'm plugged in again, and I missed writing in here. I've been writing a lot lately. Songs, stories, poems, prose... I'm in what the french call a "groove'. At least i think it was the french... Now it's time for the William Beckett Award Ceremony for the Mae tour. Ready? Best Crowd Reaction: -Greensboro, NC -Salt Lake City, UT -Los Angeles, CA -Portland, OR -Oklahoma City, OK Most Fucked Up On a Single Night: -Yours truly. Ask anyone about LA after the show. yikes. Runner Up: Tom Conrad on his birthday. Puking and passing out on the grass outside, all before he even blew out the candles. Best Fight: -Butcher and Tom in Austin, TX. Verbal confrontation. winner- Butcher. Least Social: -Adam T. Siska. On the phone for more hours than he slept... total. Most Social: -Nigel. everybody, everyday, hung out with Nigel. Best Party: -Oklahoma City (always on the top of this list) -LA (i don't remember ANYTHING) -Austin (multiple threats to kick us all out of the hotel) -Nashville, TN (security actually chased some of the boys around the hotel) Overall, this was one of my favorite tours. But there is MUCHHHH to look forward to. We're back in LA this weekend. We're playing Huntington Beach for Elle Girl Magazine's Beach Bash Extravaganza. Should be a good time. I'll let you know how that goes. It's 4:30 in the AM, birds are singing outside my window, and i have to board a plane with my band in 15 hours. I'll let you know how the weekend goes in LA... 'Ciao'. PS. Batman Begins = phenominal. - Bill 5/9/2005 - 6:42 PM EST I've found a renewed love for playing shows in Chicago after this weekend. Thank you to everyone who came out and rocked with us in Rockford, Chicago at the Riv, or Aurora at Hollister. I've never been so touched and grateful for and by your unending support and love. I'm forever grateful for you all, and all i have to say is, get ready for a long career for TheAcademyIs. We'll see you through the next 15 years... Much love. The Rumour Mill: -Before saturday i heard a rumour that a band called The Hush Sound was amazing. After saturday, i learned that this rumour was absolutely true. -I heard a rumour that Pete and I have a collaborative project we're working on together. All that i can say right now, to borrow a quote from my good friend Mike Carden, "when you least expect it, expect it." I'll give you a hint as to what it is we're doing later. For now, i need sleep. Hollister was unreal, hot, and very very sweaty. I need some rest. My throat is a bit sore. Goodnight bros and bettys. - Bill 5/4/2005 - 2:23 PM EST Today has been....long and hard. But on a much lighter note, here's this. Adam and I are browsing the net, and he came across an old picture of me during the recording of the EP. We laughed about the good old times, and this was the amazing dialogue... Will- "HAHAHA, yeah man, that was back during the EP days..." Adam- "Yeah, those were some good times.... buuuut they're over." That's all. - Bill 4/20/2005 - 5:26 PM EST So, if you couldn't tell from the title, this entry is hitting you directly from the Mac store in some mall in beautiful Hotlantus. We're here chilling with the Silverstein boys, checking mail and buying useless things. i bought a car adapted phone charger from Cingular moments ago from a very unfriendly man. Then i ordered a Gyro wrap from a woman that didn't speak english. Then i bought 2 movies that i have heard rave reviews about from a very friendly woman at FYE. Our record wasn't there, so i was upset. But she said that they were just sold out, so i got happy again... Only to find myself upset once again, because they weren't sent enough cds. Anyway, back to the movies. The first is Closer, starring Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman. The second is Adam Sandler's new film, Spanglish. Pure, unadulterated excellence. I can't wait to view the both of them. THEN, most recently, as I was typing, only moments ago, I felt the deepest chill of uneasiness. You know that feeling you get when you sense someone is behind you? So i slowly turned around, and standing behind me to my right was a Mac employee, about 5 feet 3 inches high, with a black mac cap on, (but with a straight bill, you know, the way hats come when you buy them...) he had large circular glasses, palest white skin, standing a bit hunched over with his hands behind his back, STARING DIRECTLY AT ME. So i turned back around, pretending not to notice. But i glanced over again and he was STILL burning a hole into my back. He didnt say one Frickin word to me. not even one word, let alone a fricken one. So I tried to ignore him, and now i can't find where he went... He must have vanished, that sick little bastard. So it's time to jet. Adios. See you in Nashville. - Bill 1/19/2005 - 7:03 AM EST A hotel in Iowa. 3 hours from Minneapolis. It's 6am. WOW. Is this considered early, or late? Anyway, the SoCo tour has been amazing so far, to say the least. It's been amazing meeting those dudes, and seeing our good brothers in Hidden In Plain View. Spectacular. So I'm in my bed, and i hear the sound of my new perfect enemy... my new vaporizer/humidifier. 2 days ago, after the Chicago House of Blues show, I plugged in my throat's answer to dry air and gave it a whirl. Little did I know that the steam from this thing likes to get HOT. So i reached for my phone passed the vaporizer, and my arm was right above the hole that the steam spews from, and my arm immediately felt like i'd bit bitten by a rattlesnake. have you ever been bitten by a rattlesnake? Yeah, i know, it's bad. So now I have what looks like a 2nd degree burn on my right arm, and i think that this vaporizer might actually work for SHIT, for i'm still waking up with a dry throat. So the search goes on for an ailment to this dry winter air that plagues my chest and throat. Besides that, everything is amazing. One year anniversary today. wish i could have... eh, i shouldn't wish for things to be different. So i won't. We're playing a Knights show, which is effin amazing. I can't wait for that. the record will be out for about a month by then... I hope people dig it as much as we do. That is all. until my next burn - Bill 12/11/2004 - 11:53 PM EST In order to understand what's going on in my life right now, I'd need hours to write. i dont have hours to offer. But. Here is the quick breakdown. 1. we had an amazing time with Midtown, Matchbook Romance and Hidden In Plain View. We made great friends with all the bands, and i already miss them. Lucky for Gabe and the boys we'll be seeing them soon... not to mention HIPV being on the Something Corporate tour with us as well... Making friends is muhthafuckin tizight. 2. we are currently having an amazing time on motion city soundtrack, tsunami bomb and limbeck... we're in a hotel room in Philly watching mad tv. not funny. tomorrow we're in Jersey. 3. our new website launches THIS TUESDAY! It's hot, i promise. shiftcore.com. that's my top 3. more soon. check the site when it launches, we'll have DAILY updated journals by all members... oh and i'll update this journal a lot more often as well. you'll see. - Bill 10/29/2004 - 2:33 AM EST I see. We've been home for a few days, and i don't know what to do with myself. i've tried to relax. i've tried to watch movies. i've tried to enjoy time 'off '. here are some of the things i've managed to do. - hung with my dad. - went to the mall and bought some things... new jeans, shoes... - elton john- greatest hits - garden state soundtrack - cursive's domestica. - saw my mom and my little sisters. - got contacts. - made a boring list that you don't want to read. Practiced today. Haven't seen The Butcher in a couple days... it was great to see him. I miss tour. give me a bench in the van and a stage. We got Fueled By Ramen samplers. Ask for one. They are hot shit. I saw a lunar eclipse. so did the boston redsox. it's late and Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets is on. oh snap. Cabin Fever is starting on HBO. Carden and Borgman say this movie is wacked out. let me check it out. [grabs ice cream and watches opening credits.] since i am plagued by insomnia and boredom, it would be wrong to spread this terrible disease to such an innocent, beautiful person like yourself, so i'm out. good evening. ps. this movie is already efffffffffed. - Bill 10/20/2004 - 6:41 PM EST Alright. I've finally found my way back to a computer to tell everyone what's been going on. For the record, Sidekick 1 is bad. Moving on... The first notable event of the tours took place in Sugarloaf County, PA. We got in a pretty bad van accident on oct. 4th. Borgman tried to kill us. Murder Suicide. We ended up taking a rental van with all of our equipment jammed in the back to New York for the first show with Lucky Boys, Plain White T's and The Matches. We were all scattered around in the back, sitting on top of guitar heads and drum cases. Pretty nice, actually. After that, Tom and I got really sick. We were ill and recovering for pretty much the whole Lucky Boys tour, but we still loved it. After the LBC tour we had a few days off, and we spent them up in NYC. T'was quite lovely. We took our first promo photos, and they turned out incredible... look for those soon. all i have to say is, rooftops, Beatles, Billy Idol, and Pool Hall Junkies (JFM). We had a killer time at the CMJ Party, it was totally bunk. Adam 'sweet sixteen' Siska couldnt get into the party, but Bob the Enforcer broke some heads and made it happen. Tom got a Crush. I got a hangover. Overall, New York was muhtha fuckin' tizight... Now we're in the middle of the Armor tour. Detroit, MI. FUCK. i don't want this tour to end. We love everyone on the tour and we're having a helluva time. Snake the Cross the Crown will be huge. New Armor for Sleep is insane. Number One Fan are going to save the world. I am name dropping. The Butcher says "ay Dog, ay!" Mike Carden is writing amazing new songs, and Adam T Siska has disappeared. Tom is sitting next to me. i just looked over at him, to see what he was doing so i could write about it, and we was staring at me already. fucking creep. and he said "i don't know what to tell you, dude." ummm... on that note. We'll be home on saturday at bottom lounge. heck yes. and we'll be mixing the record Oct. 30 in FL. I will visit John and JFM at FBR. i will smile at them. After that we start the Midtown tour. and as for you, you'll hear from me soon. lates. - Bill 7/11/2004 - 3:32 PM EST HEY! YOU. Wow. A lot has happened since my last post... We finished tracking the record, we played an amazing homecoming show, and we've been on 4 days of the Believers Never Die tour. Holy shit, it's been great. The first day we were late to load in. Not good. But rocked the hell out of the place, and met bayside and armor. Great dudes, I'll be talking about them more later. Day 2. st. Louis. Probably the craziest and most bizarre night I've been a part of since me, carden, jfm, and other accomplices tried to rob mcdonalds...(don't ask). So first of all, we roll up at least 4 hours early, perhaps in an attempt to make up for our tardiness the night before... Anyway, 1. we go to get an oil change, and we're in the MEAN streets of st louis. I mean Mean, man. So I'm watching the trailor, and adam, adrian, and company are at a KFC next door. To make a loooooong story long, adam got hustled in a card game against a st. Louis bum. Granted this was after he offered us a huge bag of weed, which was quite obviously mixed with kitchen spices or some shit. So adam lost 20 bucks to a hustler. Damn. Adam's always pulling half-witted acts of naivety, so I guess we were used to this sort of thing. 2. Later on, a bum asked us for money. He said he just got out of jail, and he needs a dollar twenty for a 40 ounce. At least he's honest. He called me 'dirty'. 3. Doors open while we're sound checking, and I get scared and we get off stage. 20 minutes later the place is PACKED and there is still a line down the block. They had to turn away a lot of kids, which was shitty, I apologize to anyone who couldn't get in. Anyway, it was JAMpacked and hot as fuck. 4. We rocked our set. A few kids knew the words. I smiled a lot and sang with them. 5. Here's where it gets kinda fucked up. After 3 sets, falloutboy is about to go on. Oh yeah, falloutboy is fucking huge. Its amazing. Anyway, its hot as hell, I've been outside most of the night, but it's insane inside. Towards the end of the fob set, pete goes crazy and smashes his bass, runs outside coughing, runs behind the vans and passes out. I'm like SHIT. So I go see if he's cool. He seriously passed the hell out. So I ask if he's okay, and he asks me to go get him some fob cheerleading shorts. At this point I don't know if he actually requested what I thought he did, but either way I thought it was brilliant. So I rushed in to get shorts from jordan, acting super concerned as I went... People were like, what's going on? So I came out and gave him the shorts, and I don't remember what happened really, being pretty dilerious at that point, but next thing I knew I was on stage saying pete quit falloutboy... It was rediculous. Then they came back out and all was well, pete got naked and boys and girls flipped out. 6. Show ends. I was staying with falloutboy that night to do some shit on pete's laptop. I'm not at liberty to say, but shit was crazy, and no one got to sleep until 5 am, and we all had 3 hours of sleep. the rest of the shows have been incredible as well, not as dramatic, but still crazy fun. We just crossed over into texas, and we'll be here for 4 days. Stay tuned for chapter 3-The Texas Chronicles. Ps. The new armor for sleep demos are wicked good. New fall out boy will make you wet yo'self. Your bedroom behavior was never more than checkmarks on bedposts. - Bill 6/16/2004 - 11:31 AM EST This morning I woke up in a Florida motel room. This will be our home for the next 3 weeks. Yesterday was the first day at the studio with Wisner. We finished scratch tracks and discussed our vision of the record and bounced ideas off of James. This record is going to have people floored. I hope people love these songs as much as we do... So yesterday before we got started, we were over at Wisner's talking and getting ready, and James got a mail delivery. He opened the box in front of us, and inside was a gold record plaque for Dashboard Confessional- Places you have come to fear the most. A gold record. Hot damn. I guess he had been waiting for it for a while since the record went gold a while back... But thr plaque came on our first day in the studio... Do you believe in signs? Haha. Drums begin today. I'm going to shower, and head to the studio... Peaaaace Ouuuut. In my cd player: Kanye West- the college dropout Muse- absolution The mars volta- de-loused... Get up kids- on a wire Further seems forever- how to start a fire - Bill 5/26/2004 - 9:50 PM EST Well well well... FBR was gracious enough to give me a journal. Watch out, ya'll. Where do i start... It seems like there is alot of mystery surrounding The Academy Is... and what we're all about... I'm here to change that. So today is Wednesday. We leave for Florida in 2 and a half weeks to start recording our full length. We'll be working with James Paul Wisner, which i'm super stoked about. He produced all 3 Further Seems Forever records (*including the new and yet unreleased), Dashboard Confessional -Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, Underoath, Gatsbys American Dream- Ribbons and Sugar...to name a few. So we'll be In Florida from June 15th till July 5th, then leaving on the 6th to start our tour with FallOutBoy/ArmorForSleep/Bayside on the 7th... We busy. But anyway, i want to talk about the new record for a while... Since we finished the EP about 6 months ago, Mike Carden, (from here on known to you as 'Carden') and I moved into an apartment together to start work on the full length. The first song we wrote was 'Season' , which is about our new outlook on our music, and our new focus. (go listen to the demo version of the song 'Season' at
www.purevolume.com/TheAcademyIs ) I'm so proud of our new songs, and i hope everyone else likes the new record as much as I do. We're covering alot of bases on this record, so if you like cds that sound the same the entire way through, we aren't that band. I'll be updating on here as often as possible, and i'll be posting pictures and other fun stuff. If anyone has any questions, comments, or anything they want to have answered and posted in my next entry, email me @
bille@theacademyrock.com. word. - Bill
