HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW
“Life in Dreaming” 10th Anniversary Celebration
It seems like a lifetime ago. And yet, at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday that we packed up our gear and pulled out of 4th Street Studio in Santa Monica, California. We were headed home on what would be the now familiar forty hour drive back to New Jersey. Having just spent 7 weeks with Producer Jim Wirt, we were exhausted, but those days were unforgettable. The sessions were long, spending nearly 16 hours each day working harder than we had ever worked before on our music. But everything was so new and exciting that the time truly seemed to just fly by. And just like that, there we were. The five of us crammed back into our van – equipment, luggage, and all – making our way back across the country. I remember waking up after a short and almost certainly interrupted sleep and putting in the CD that contained our rough mixes from the session. It was then that I finally let myself take it all in. I was finally outside of the studio listening to our songs – not guitar parts or drum fills or any of the other details you obsess over while recording – I was listening to our very first album. We hadn’t yet decided what we were going to call it, but at that moment it didn’t matter. I knew we made something special. Ten years later, I still feel the same way.
To mark the Ten Year Anniversary of the release of our album “Life In Dreaming,” we will be performing the record in its entirety front to back at a few select locations. An album that has meant so much to all of our lives deserves to be properly celebrated, so please join us in doing so!
WILLIAM BECKETT
“Music is all about connection,” expresses solo artist William Beckett. “Performer gives to listener, listener gives back to performer. I respect my fans and their inevitable evolution of taste and experience. The only constants in life are change and the necessity of music. THAT is why I don’t make the same record over and over again. I’m not trying to cater to an audience or lower the bar to some level of “relatability”. I write real songs for real people about real experiences. The connection is the skin, the meat and the core. The whole apple.”
Having toured nearly non-stop for ten years as frontman for The Academy Is…, Beckett has built up an incredibly dedicated and supportive fanbase around the world. Though massively proud of the band’s accomplishments and experiences together, their eventual disbanding as a group in late 2011 allowed for Beckett to begin the next era of his career, as a solo artist. After returning home to his roots and family in Chicago, Beckett began pouring his heart and soul into a trilogy of EPs — Walk The Talk, Winds Will Change, and What Will Be, and the Pioneer Sessions album (a collection of twelve acoustic versions of songs from each of the EPs) — all of which was self-released in 2012.
Beckett is currently recording his debut Equal Vision Records release, a full-length album, in his hometown of Chicago, IL with producer Marc McClusky (Weezer, Ludo). “This new record is nothing less than my greatest musical accomplishment,” Beckett confides earnestly. “And after writing and releasing the three EPs last year, working with Marc McClusky was a no brainer. While we share the same vision for the album, we are also constantly pushing and challenging each other to lift it to next level.”
Beckett announced his signing to Upstate NY-based independent label Equal Vision Records in February 2013. The label’s current roster includes the likes Say Anything, The Dear Hunter, Eisley, and HRVRD; And an equally impressive alumni roster of Coheed & Cambria, Circa Survive, Saves The Day and more. “I’ve been a fan of EVR and its roster since I was listening to The Stryder and Saves the Day in high school,” Beckett shares. “For months I was approached by labels but after the first conversation I knew EVR was a perfect fit; I can make exactly the record I want to make.”
Beckett’s first single released as a solo artist, “Compromising Me” off of Walk The Talk EP, rocketed to the top of the iTunes charts, cracking the top 20 and leading all independently released tracks. In the following months, the official release of each of the three solo EPs followed suit in a similar impressively meteoric rise. Beckett’s solo music embraces his expansive vocal range, pop sensibilities, quirky yet soothingly hypnotic melodies and distinctive narrative lyrical twists; Offering his most diverse stylings and personal material to date.
As a solo artist, and with The Academy Is…, Beckett has toured with the likes of KISS, Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Cobra Starship, Plain White T’s, Mayday Parade and more. Though his early solo tours have focused on an intimate, stripped down – fans can expect future tours to expand greatly over time into a full band, in-your-face experience with Beckett handing off the guitar and taking over the stage with his signature charismatic and mesmerizing stage presence as a frontman.
Following his time at the studio, Beckett will next hit the road on the What Will Be Tour, a month-long US solo headline run followed by a full Summer on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour. 
plus guests…
ALVAREZ KINGS
Alvarez Kings story starts from their humble roots in South Yorkshire. Rising to popularity quickly the band would go on to sell out hometown shows, selling out of their first two releases and culminating in their latest offering No Resolve being named Single of The Year by BBC Radio Sheffield as well as coveting local awards including Best Band and Best EP.
With a foot hold in their native county, ambitions were set further afield in the UK which resulted in festival slots at Isle of Wight and O2 Wireless and sold out shows in many of London’s famous venues including KOKO and The 100 Club to name a few.
Naturally, Alvarez Kings spread their music across the shores with three successful tours of Europe, a three week tour of Canada and industry showcases at SXSW and CMJ which presented the band the opportunity to play a mammoth 40 date tour in the US – the infamous Vans Warped Tour – taking in 26 States and garnering them rave nationwide press reviews and a firm, dedicated fanbase.
Alvarez Kings became reality TV stars when Fuse TV filmed the band’s adventures on Vans Warped Tour for Season 2 of the hit TV show Warped Roadies.
Presently Alvarez Kings, having become fed up with the same generic indie guitar music of their peers and went into the studio to record what will become their next release entitled Fear To Feel; a blend of soaring melody, thought provoking lyrics, coupled with epic dynamic ranges and intricate musicality The new EP takes on forever altering soundscapes ranging from electronica and deep house production through indie hooks and melody, flirting with complex time signatures and a symphonic cacophony of instrumentation and harmony, whilst maintaining its popular vigour at its core.
Penned in for release in the autumn along with a UK support tour with The Boxer Rebellion the future looks ever brighter for brothers Simon and Paul Thompson, Richard Walker and Sean Parkin.
plus…
AS DECEMBER FALLS
