American musician
William Beckett
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![William Beckett in 2013](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/William_B_-_Warped_2013.JPG/220px-William_B_-_Warped_2013.JPG) William Beckett in 2013
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Born
| (
1985-02-11
)
February 11, 1985
(age 39)
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
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Origin
| Barrington, Illinois
, U.S.
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Genres
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Occupation(s)
| Singer, songwriter, musician
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Instrument(s)
| Vocals, piano, guitar
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Years active
| 2003?present
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Labels
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Member of
|
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Formerly of
| Remember Maine
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Spouse(s)
| Christine Bandy (married 2007?present)
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Musical artist
William Beckett
(born February 11, 1985) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the
Chicago
-based
rock
band
The Academy Is...
, who signed to
Atlantic Records
/
Fueled by Ramen
/
Decaydance Records
. While still in high school in 2003, Beckett and
guitarist
Mike Carden
came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is...
[1]
In addition to founding the band, Beckett and Carden are credited as the primary songwriters.
[2]
A third core member of the band was Adam T. Siska, Beckett's classmate and friend from
Barrington High School
.
[3]
In 2007, Alex Davies from the
BBC
described Beckett as a mix of
Adam Lazzara
and
Prince
, labeling him "utterly captivating".
[4]
The Academy Is... reunited at Riot Fest 2015 in the fall of 2015 in Chicago.
[3]
Although Beckett had said the occasion would serve as a "farewell" show,
[5]
the band later had an additional final tour later in the year.
Music
[
edit
]
Beckett started writing music for his own private pleasure because he did not like the material that was on the radio anymore. He said in an interview that his sister found him playing his songs in the basement and started joining him. She was his first audience and gave him her honest feedback on the material he wrote.
Prior to co-founding The Academy Is... with
Mike Carden
, Beckett performed in an
acoustic
band called Remember Maine,
[6]
releasing the album
The Last Place You Look
on
LLR Recordings
when he was 17 years old.
[7]
Beckett has also sung on a number of notable albums by other bands, such as the track "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year" from
Fall Out Boy
's 2005 album,
From Under the Cork Tree
.
[8]
He sang backing vocals on Fall Out Boy's "
What a Catch, Donnie
". Other songs he has sung on include "There's a Class for This" from
Cute Is What We Aim For
's 2006 album
The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch
,
[9]
"7 Weeks" from
Gym Class Heroes
's album
As Cruel as School Children
, and the
Cobra Starship
song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," which later appeared on the
Snakes on a Plane
soundtrack and on Cobra Starship's album
While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
under the title "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)".
[10]
Beckett performing on the Honda Civic Tour 2007
Beckett also has a songwriting credit on
Hey Monday
's song "
Homecoming
" from their debut album
Hold On Tight
and on
Demi Lovato
's song "For the Love of a Daughter" from her third album
Unbroken
.
[11]
After breaking up The Academy Is..., allegedly to start a solo music career (though other reasons such as internal strife within the band were hinted at
[12]
), he released first EP,
Walk the Talk
on April 17, 2012, with the single "Compromising Me". His second EP was announced on June 18, 2012, entitled
Winds Will Change
(produced by
Matt Grabe
), and was released July 17, 2012, and the main single "Great Night", being released on June 19, 2012. His third EP,
What Will Be
, was released October 30, 2012. In January 2013, William released a compilation of acoustic covers of his own music, titled
The Pioneer Sessions
.
[13]
In February 2013, William was signed to Equal Vision Records.
[14]
Later in 2013, it was announced that William's debut full-length album, titled
Genuine and Counterfeit
, would be released in August.
[15]
The first single off the album, "Benny & Joon", was released June 17, 2013.
[16]
The music video for the same was released July 31.
[17]
William played the Acoustic Basement tent of the 2013 Van's
Warped Tour
, where he played not only "Benny & Joon", but much of his solo discography and a few The Academy Is... songs.
[18]
The eagerly anticipated
Genuine and Counterfeit
was released August 20, 2013,
[13]
though he leaked it to Alternative Press five days prior.
[19]
It was met with a generally good reception from William's fans.
On September 5, 2013, the
Punk Goes...
album series by
Fearless Records
released their
Punk Goes Christmas
album, which featured William Beckett's cover of "
Do You Hear What I Hear?
"
William Beckett is on Downwrite, a website that allows artists to connect with their fans, and for fans to buy personalized music from the artist.
In 2014, William featured on "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" on
Set It Off
's album
Duality
.
Side projects
[
edit
]
William Beckett makes a cameo in
Fall Out Boy
's music video for the song "
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"
" as the lead vampire and in "
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
" video as the same vampire. He also appears in the music video for "
Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)
" by
Cobra Starship
, following his vocal appearance in the song.
According to
Us Magazine
, he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's
Pete Wentz
,
[20]
who had originally recommended the band to label
Fueled by Ramen
.
[21]
On April 16, 2009, Beckett posted the first chapter of the book he hopes to have published, entitled
The Folding
.
[22]
Beckett announced via his blog on July 12, 2010 (the post has now been deleted and replaced with an update post)
[23]
that he would be starring in a short film based on
Edgar Allan Poe
's
The Fall of the House of Usher
.
Beckett wrote the theme song for
John Scalzi
's novel,
Lock In
, released on August 28, 2014.
Personal life
[
edit
]
In a November 2009 interview with
Alternative Press
, Beckett confirmed that he has a child.
[24]
He has been married to Christine Bandy since May 2007.
[25]
Beckett performed a DJ set at Emo Nite Day, a festival hosted by Emo Nite, in Los Angeles in December 2017.
[26]
Solo discography
[
edit
]
Guest appearances
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"News"
. Rolling Stone. Archived from
the original
on March 28, 2007
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
The Academy Is...
at
AllMusic
- ^
a
b
"Suburban band The Academy Is... re-forms to play Riot Fest"
.
Chicago Daily Herald
. September 9, 2015
. Retrieved
7 February
2016
.
- ^
"Manchester ? Entertainment ? The Academy Is… at Academy 2"
. BBC
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
"TAI announce Riot Fest Chicago 2015"
. Facebook.com
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"Rock band delivers unique and daring album ? Sports ? The Rocket ? Slippery Rock University"
.
Archive.is
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-07-17
. Retrieved
2020-03-30
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
March 3, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
From Under the Cork Tree
at
AllMusic
- ^
The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch
at
AllMusic
- ^
While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
at
AllMusic
- ^
"Homecoming ? Hey Monday : Listen, Appearances, Song Review"
. AllMusic. 2008-10-07
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
Fisher, Natalie (2013-12-23).
"Singer William Beckett talks solo career, how he's as geeky as you"
. Hypable.com
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
a
b
"The William Beckett"
. Thewilliambeckettblog.com
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"William Beckett signs to Equal Vision Records, recording debut full length album ? News ? Alternative Press"
. Altpress.com. 2013-02-28
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"William Beckett Announces New Album 'Genuine & Counterfeit'
"
. Alter The Press!
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"William Beckett streams 'Benny & Joon' from upcoming album ? News ? Alternative Press"
. Altpress.com. 2013-06-17
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"William Beckett premieres "Benny and Joon" music video ? News ? Alternative Press"
. Altpress.com. 2013-07-31
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"The 17 Best Things We Saw At Warped Tour ? Features ? Alternative Press"
. Altpress.com. 2013-07-19
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"Album Premiere: William Beckett, 'Genuine and Counterfeit' ? Features ? Alternative Press"
. Altpress.com. 2013-08-15
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"Celebrity News and Celebrity Gossip from Us Weekly"
. UsMagazine.com
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
[2]
Archived
January 11, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"The William Beckett ? THE FOLDING"
. Thewilliambeckettblog.com. 2009-04-16
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
"The William Beckett ? "The Fall of the House of Usher" Update"
. Thewilliambeckettblog.com. 2010-07-14
. Retrieved
2012-07-15
.
- ^
"The academy is…".
Alternative Press
(256). November 2009.
- ^
Bandy, Christine.
"Married"
.
Instagram
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-12-24
. Retrieved
1 January
2017
.
- ^
"Emo Nite is Throwing the Emo-est Party Ever"
.
Los Angeles
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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EPs
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Singles
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