The Academy Is... Interview

Adam Siska was interviewed by Emilee at the Warped Tour on 7/8/06 in San Francisco.

BD: Bandictionary
AS: Adam Siska

BD: If your house was on fire, what is one thing you would save?
AS: I guess one thing I would save is my pets. I feel like that's something really close to me that I'd like to... Well, I guess I'd tell my brother to make sure the pets are taken care of so then I could grab something else. I'd probably grab my record collection or family photos. I feel like there's a lot of important things in my house that I've probably overlooked, so it's a hard question to answer. I guess photos would be the one thing I'd try to grab.

BD: If you weren't in the band, what do you think you would be doing?
AS: I think I'd just be playing music, probably with some of the same guys that I'm playing with now, if the band had never started. I'd always been playing music with William before this. We'd hopefully be playing music together in some shape or form. If not, I grew up in the Virgin Islands and I was planning on moving back there before the band started, just surfing and enjoying life which is something very exciting to do, but I'm very happy I'm in the band.

BD: Why'd you pick the name The Academy Is...?
AS: This is kind of a boring answer, but there's not really any meaning behind it, for the most part. We were thinking of names, and William, our singer, came into practice one day and he said, "The Academy." And we were like, alright, it's an alright name, it's pretty neutral, so we started going by that. We started playing shows in Chicago and when we were putting our album out, it turned out that there was another band called The Academy and they wanted some money for us to use that name. And at that point, we really didn't have too much money, so we decided to change the name to something pretty similar that kind of had leeway into the album name which is "Almost Here" and it was "The Academy Is... Almost Here," as a whole. I've grown to love the name. It's kind of a love hate relationship I have with it. It's a little bizarre and weird, but at the same time, I think it catches the eye and is something different than everything out there.

BD: Did you ever think that you would end up on the Warped Tour?
AS: You know, it's funny, because I grew up going to Warped Tour and I always imagined myself doing something like this. It's a really cool thing to be doing. It's hard work and hot days, but you've got to take a step aside and really appreciate the fact that you really get to do this and you really get to see the country in this type of setting. I think it's really interesting and I always really hoped to do this. I don't know if I definitely imagined myself doing this, or really thought I would be, but now that I'm here, it's really exciting and happy.

BD: Of all the types of publicity, which one do you think is the most effective?
AS: I'd say that either TV or radio are the most effective. I mean, I think TV can be pretty effective. There's a wide audience that can watch the television. Stuff like MTV and Fuse, is great publicity, too, because it gives people a chance to really look at the band and really assess or take in everything the band's trying to put across as far as everything goes in their videos and their songs as a whole. Whereas, on the radio, you can't really see the video portion of it. And magazines, I think a lot of people get lost in it, I mean there's so much going on in a magazine. I think I'd have to say TV is at least my favorite form of media.

BD: If you could see one band in concert, whether they're dead or alive, who would it be?
AS: I'd love to see The Beatles perform. My mom saw The Beatles when they came to America. I'd love to go back in time and see something like that. Or Led Zeppelin, I'd love to see a band like that, or Pink Floyd. I've never seen Pink Floyd with their original lineup, or The Who with their lineup. There's a lot of great bands that I'd love to see. Nirvana is another band I would have always loved to see. There's a lot of bands that could go into that. I guess one band that I'd want to see live is Led Zeppelin.

BD: What do you think makes your band unique? What separates it from all the other bands?
AS: The thing that makes us unique as a band is just our characteristics as people and individuals. I feel that we're five very different people from each other and that can really translate into our live show. I feel like our record is one thing, but I feel like our live show is what really captures our band as what it is. I feel like we really put our hearts and souls into it. I think what separates us from other bands is that we really like to have a good time and we write songs that really are 100% what we believe in.

BD: What was the music scene like where you were growing up?
AS: Growing up, the music scene was really cool. There were a lot of VFW halls and small clubs where you could go see bands. Like, I grew up seeing the Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago and I grew up seeing bands like Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, and a lot of cool local bands. And then a different wave of bands started, like Knockout. Fall Out Boy started playing bowling alleys in the suburbs and all types of (other) bands started. It was like a family for a long time where it was really small, like only 100 to 150 people at shows. You really got to know everyone and really learned a lot through the music and as people and as the bands grew, I think they really changed a lot. There's a lot more people involved now, but back then, growing up for me, it was like a family. I met a lot of interesting, cool people that are still a part of my life.

BD: What advice do you have for bands that are just starting out?
AS: My advice is to, taken from our standpoint, don't release anything that you're not really confident with. A lot of bands I've seen record demos every few months and start putting them out. I think one thing that was really fortunate for us was that we recorded two songs and we gave them away for free, which I think was the best thing we've ever done, as far as getting buzz. Just putting two songs on a decent recording that we're proud of, or at least were proud of at the time, and started handing them out at local shows and really started building it from the ground up. I feel like the most important thing is to get a loyal fan base, whether its only like 50 to 100 dedicated fans that will come every time and really believe in your band, I think that's the most important thing for a lot of people.

BD: What are your plans after the Warped Tour?
AS: After Warped Tour, we're going to take a little bit of time off and start pre-production for the album, finishing the songs. And then we're going to go and record a new album and put it out and start touring all over again.

BD: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
AS: I know I'll still be playing music as long as I'm physically able to, and I'd love to still be playing music with some of the guys I'm playing with now. I'd love to play in this band for ten years. If not, then I'd love to still be playing music somewhere in my life. That means a lot to me, whether that be spending time with people I love, or with my family, or with close friends that I've met through doing this, I'd love to have that part of my life still. Ten years feels like a long time away at this point. I'll be almost 30 at that point, I'm still a young guy, I feel like I'll still have a lot of life ahead of me, I want to do a lot of different things with my life, yet still play music and still stay true to that.

BD: Is there any sort of message you try to get across with your music or in your shows?
AS: Our message that we try to get across to fans is just like, anyone is capable of doing something great with their lives, whether that be as part of a family, or as a friend, or as a musician. If you give yourself to what you love and what you do and the people you love I feel like you can make great things happen in your lifetime and leave your mark on people and just be the best person you can be. I really feel like, especially in the last few months, we've really grown into that as a band. We've really (been) bonding with each other more, becoming good friends again, which, being a band on tour with each other for a long time, you can lose touch with that. I'm really happy that we can remain close friends and I feel like that is part of our message, just learn to love the people around you whether there's dysfunction or anything like that, just appreciate the great people in your life and the great things you have and the opportunities you have. I think that's the most important thing.

BD: One last question: have you heard any good music-related jokes?
AS: Music related jokes... NOFX has been telling a lot of jokes on stage on this tour, making fun of some of the other bands, and at first, I was a little bit disappointed in that. I thought it was kind of wrong to make stabs at other bands, it's disrespectful, but at the same time, they're doing it in the aspect of being comedians and I think that's a very great thing to do onstage. It may be hurtful to some of the other bands, but I'm not going to repeat any of the jokes, but if you get a chance, maybe bring your tape recorder over to NOFX's set and there's some funny things they say on stage about everything. I think it's funny because everything they say is true and can't be argued because it's 100% true for the most part and I think that's what's funny about it. But, I love music, so it's really hard for me. I poke fun at a lot of different things but when it really comes down to it, I love music and I think anyone who's out there expressing themselves deserves not to be mocked. You're putting yourself on a platform to be mocked and to be criticized, but more power to everyone who's playing music and doing that with their lives. ★

To learn more about The Academy Is..., go to theacademyis.com.

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