William Beckett (singer): Difference between revisions
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==Side projects== |
==Side projects== |
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William Beckett makes a cameo in [[Fall Out Boy]]'s |
William Beckett makes a cameo in [[Fall Out Boy]]'s popular 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. |
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According to [[Us Magazine]], he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's [[Pete Wentz]],<ref>Us Magazine. [http://www.usmagazine.com/node/12732 Pete Wentz]. usmagazine.com. Retrieved 21/02/08.</ref> who had originally recommended the band to label [[Fueled by Ramen]].<ref>Warner Music Canada. [http://www.warnermusic.ca/theacademyis The Academy Is] warnermusic.ca Retrieved 21/02/08.</ref> |
According to [[Us Magazine]], he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's [[Pete Wentz]],<ref>Us Magazine. [http://www.usmagazine.com/node/12732 Pete Wentz]. usmagazine.com. Retrieved 21/02/08.</ref> who had originally recommended the band to label [[Fueled by Ramen]].<ref>Warner Music Canada. [http://www.warnermusic.ca/theacademyis The Academy Is] warnermusic.ca Retrieved 21/02/08.</ref> |
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Revision as of 03:04, 15 July 2009
William Beckett |
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William Eugene Beckett, Jr. (born February 11, 1985) is the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... (TAI), who are currently signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance Records. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is....[2] In addition to founding the band, Beckett and Carden are credited as the primary songwriters.[3]
In 2007, the BBC described Beckett as a mix of Adam Lazzara and Prince, labeling him "utterly captivating".[4]
Music
Beckett started writing songs for his own private pleasure because he didn't like the material that was on the radio anymore. He said in 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. [5] Prior to forming The Academy Is, Beckett performed in acoustic a band called Remember Maine, with Nick Scimeca[6], releasing the album The Last Place You Look when he was 17 years old.[7]
Beckett has contributed vocals to a number of notable albums by other bands. He has contributed vocals on the track "Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year" from Fall Out Boy's 2005 album, From Under the Cork Tree[8]. He also sang in the background of "What A Catch, Donnie" off Fall Out Boy's most recent album, Folie à Deux. Other songs he has contributed vocals to 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] and "7 Weeks" from Gym Class Heroes's album As Cruel as School Children also in 2006. Also that year he lent his vocals to the Cobra Starship song Snakes On A Plane (Bring It) and appeared in the subsequent music video which is shown during the credits of the popular movie Snakes On A Plane the song was released on the soundtrack of the film[10] and later on Cobra Starship's album While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets under the title Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)[11] sans the movie lines.
Beckett also has a songwriting credit on Hey Monday's song "Homecoming" off of their debut album Hold On Tight.[12] On April 16, 2009, Beckett posted the first chapter of the book he hopes to have published, entitled The Folding.[13]
Side projects
William Beckett makes a cameo in Fall Out Boy's popular 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.
According to Us Magazine, he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz,[14] who had originally recommended the band to label Fueled by Ramen.[15]
On July 15th, 2008, Beckett started his own blog on which he posted the lyrics to songs on the latest The Academy Is... album Fast Times at Barrington High as well as basic updates. He also posted a song called "Winter Passing". It also includes a themed weekly updates called Saturday Night Music Club, where William posts a particular song that he enjoys and its review.
Reviews
Personally, Beckett has received much praise for his exceptional vocals as The Academy Is... frontman. On the official iTunes review of The Academy Is...'s debut, Almost Here, the critic stated, "William Beckett carries the latter's melody with his velvety, bording on histrionic, vocals ..." Also on the review of their sophomore album, Santi, the critic stated this while describing the first track (Same Blood), "... owing much of its earnest charm (as with most of the crew's songs) to the winsome vocals of William Beckett."
Guest appearances
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "What a Catch, Donnie" | Fall Out Boy | Folie à Deux |
| "Hold On (Remix)" | Good Charlotte | Greatest Remixes | |
| 2006 | "7 Weeks" | Gym Class Heroes | As Cruel as School Children |
| "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)" | Cobra Starship | While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets | |
| "There's a Class for This" | Cute is What We Aim For | The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch | |
| 2005 | "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year" | Fall Out Boy | From Under the Cork Tree |
References
- ^ http://thewilliambeckettblog.com/post/78071103/
- ^ Eliscu, Jenny. (April 5 2007) Rolling Stones 10 artists to watch Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ The Academy Is... at AllMusic
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2007/03/23/210307_the_academy_is_feature.shtml
- ^ http://theshakedownmag.com/ The Shakedown Webzine retrieved September 2008
- ^ Geist, Phil. (March 18 2005) Rock band delivers unique and daring album The Online Rocket. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ O'Keefe, Steve. Remember Maine-The Last Place You Look decoymusic.com Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ From Under the Cork Tree at AllMusic.
- ^ The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch at AllMusic
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/soundtrack Snakes On A Plane soundtrack on IMDB
- ^ While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets at AllMusic
- ^ Allmusic [1]
- ^ http://thewilliambeckettblog.com/post/96924901/the-folding
- ^ Us Magazine. Pete Wentz. usmagazine.com. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ Warner Music Canada. The Academy Is warnermusic.ca Retrieved 21/02/08.
Further reading
- Beckett web interview, They Will Rock You
- Beckett web interview, Saint RocknRoll
- Beckett web interview, Spin Magazine