Hoffman Estates band The Academy Is calls it a day

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

In case you haven't heard, Hoffman Estates band The Academy Is isn't a band any longer.

The band recently broke the news on its website and Facebook page.

Before we let the band fade into the sunset, let's remember the better times. Last fall, I had the pleasure to talk to bassist Adam Siska prior to the band's appearance at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park opening for KISS.

Q - How did the whole KISS tour come about?

You know, we're not really sure. We just kind of got the call asking if we would want to be a part of it. I think for any rock band, that's a pretty quick answer.

Just to be on the same bill as KISS is amazing. We get out and hear and see what they do every night, and it's been equally as amazing. We had the chance to meet them, and they've just been incredibly nice people. They've given us words of encouragement.

Q - Would you consider KISS to be one of the band's influences?

Sure, yeah. We're influenced by a lot of artists that you maybe you wouldn't hear in our songs. I'm influenced by Hank Williams, but I wouldn't say that anything we've done sounds like Hank Williams. It's more in the spirit of those artists that we're influenced.

Music was changed by bands like KISS. Not just the music, but the entire package. I've noticed at these shows that going to a KISS concert is like going to an event, almost like a boxing match or the circus. Growing up, I always went to shows that were very stripped down, like Neil Young or Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, stuff like that. I've never seen a concert with so many explosions and stuff. Personally, I think it's really cool.

Q - I'm sure on the tour you've seen people dressed up like KISS. Is anybody dressing up like you guys?

Just us. We're undercover. We're like KISS when they had no makeup on during the '80s. I don't know what one would wear if they would want to dress up like us. I've always considered like going as Morrissey or something for Halloween, but I think people would probably think I was Tom Cruise.

Q - How long is your set?

Our set is 45 minutes. We're billed as direct support. We come out and we don't really talk much. We realize why these people are here, which is to see KISS. We just want to do our best to win them over, and get them ready for the self-proclaimed hottest show on Earth, and it really is the hottest show on Earth.

We've actually had an incredible response from the crowd so far on this tour. It's more than what we expected. KISS has been a band for 35 years and we've been a band for eight years. We've really felt not only respect from the audience, we've gotten really positive feedback. In Boston, we got a standing ovation.

Q - You've been working on your fourth album. Are you guys going to test any of your new songs Friday night?

I don't think so. We're not ready to put anything to bed yet. We're trying out different ideas, how to dress them up, if you will. We are incorporating some new instruments and all sorts of things on the new record, so we don't want to come in and sort of jump the gun.

On the tour, we are just trying to show people what we've done, as opposed to what we are going to do. After the tour is over, we are going to work on the new record, finish everything up, and then we will come back out on tour. We'd probably do something at the Metro in Chicago for the release.

Of course your last album, "Fast Times At Barrington High," earned rave reviews. Was it kind of daunting trying to follow up the album?

Not really. We just felt really free that this was our fourth record. We kind of feel like we can do anything we want. We almost feel like we're making our first record right now. We just feel creatively free right now where we can almost reinvent ourselves.

Good reviews are great, but all that matters to us is that we can write a good record, and hopefully critics and fans will like the record.

What's your favorite Chicago venue to play?

I would say the Metro. There's this magic in that place. There's the significance of all the bands that have played there. There's just something great about playing there. That's where I first started going to see concerts. When I'm up there, I feel like it's home.

Who do you remember seeing at the Metro?

Smashing Pumpkins I saw a few times. There's been so many shows. I saw Beck and Cake together. I still remember Beck coming out with a carton of milk and gulping it and spitting it all over the crowd. I ended up thinking that was cool and I wanted to get a band myself and do weird stuff like that.

Have you been able to replicate that?

I'm not lactose intolerant or anything, but the thought of being on stage and drinking milk doesn't sound that pleasing together. It was pretty wild and exotic just seeing Beck do that.

Andy McKee raises guitar playing to a new art form, coming to Chicago as part of "Guitar Masters" tour

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

When Andy McKee started playing guitar as a youngster, he had no idea he someday would be considered a guitar master.

McKee, www.andymckee.com, will perform with fellow acoustic guitarists Stephen Bennett and Antoine Dufour as part of the "Guitar Masters" tour, which comes to Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, on Oct. 17.

The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $20, available at www.lincolnhallchicago.com.

I had the chance to talk about McKee about the tour and his unique fingerstyle guitar playing, which has made him a YouTube sensation.

Q - When you first started playing guitar, did you ever think you would be on a guitar masters tour?

No. When I started out, I was just like anyone else, I guess. I was trying to learn some of my favorite songs and figure out how to play guitar.

When I was 19, I started to compose my own music. It's been crazy how it has taken off on the Internet and everything.

I'm sure that is a big part as to why I'm on the tour.

Q - Speaking of that, back in 2006, the live version of your song "Drifting" garnered more than 40 million hits on YouTube. That's just a mind boggling number.

Yeah, it is. It's still hard to believe at times. We just had this idea to put some videos on YouTube.

We didn't have any idea it would take off the way it did. Instrumental acoustic guitar, you know, has never been a real popular thing.

Q - Were people interested in your technique? What do you think it was?

Yeah, I'm sure that was the first appeal. I was playing the guitar in an unusual way on "Drifting."

I would like to think the music kept people interested as well.

Q - Why do you like fingerstyle guitar playing? To me, it really brings out a real percussive sound.

Well, I was definitely inspired by some of the more modern acoustic guitar musicians like Michael Hedges and Preston Reed and Don Ross.

What really draws me to the guitar is that there are a lot of creative possibilities with that instrument.

You can pluck the strings or you can tap them against the fretboard. With the left hand, you can tap notes, and pluck other notes with your right hand.

There's just all these sort of different textures and things. So I like to experiment with all of that, and it keeps it interesting.

Q - I guess things are pretty busy for you with the birth of your son. Is it hard to balance music and family life?

My son was born back in April. We're still kind of figuring it out, I guess you could say.

This "Guitar Masters" tour is going to be for a few weeks, so it's going to be tough, for sure. I really love having this time at home right now and being with my wife and son and getting to bond with him.

But you've got to make a living, of course. You've got to put the bread on the table and everything.

Q - Speaking of making a living, the music industry is ever changing. You've railed against people who download your music illegally.

There were a couple times where maybe I went a little too far in how I worded things, but I'm trying to just appeal to people that this is how we make a living.

It's just strange to me that people think that 99 cents is too much for a song. I just try to bring an awareness that guys like me in the acoustic guitar genre, we're definitely not making millions of dollars.

Q - But it does seem like you use the Internet to your advantage. Has it helped bring you closer to your fans?

Oh, absolutely. Putting the videos on YouTube helped people discover the music.

I try to stay in touch with people on my Facebook page. There's really where I am quite active. The Internet has been really beneficial for guys like me.

Our genre just isn't particularly popular. 

Q - Guitarist Eric Johnson has been a big influence on you. Have you met him?

Yeah, actually I met him last year on the "Guitar Masters" tour. It was great to finally meet him, and not only that, to get to play with him and collaborate with him. It was sort of the ultimate musical experience really for me, to meet the guy that made me want to play guitar when I was 12 years old.

Q - What did he say about your stuff? Did he like it?

He was very kind, actually. He had some very nice words, and it was just really cool to get some sort of praise from a musical hero.

We've stayed in touch since then, and we're hoping that maybe sometime down the road we can collaborate on an album together.

Q- On your last album, "Joyland," you have a lot of original songs on there, but you also cover the song "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." What made you want to do that song and how did you approach the song?

I'm 32 now, and I kind of grew up listening to '80s pop music. I try to get all the melodic ideas, and try and cover some of the other bases, the harmony and some of the percussion.

When I start playing, people can recognize what it it. But it is a bit tricky When it comes together, it's really fun to play one of your favorite '80s songs.

Q - Are you working on any new songs?

Yeah, I've got sort of a collection of ideas, but I don't have any songs done yet. 

I honestly have been too busy with my son, I guess. I hope to have a new album out next year.

Q - What do you like about being part of the "Guitar Masters" tour?

Well, it's fun to collaborate with other guitar players. It's fun to come up with ideas to add to other people's songs, and likewise, to see what other guitar players can add to my tunes.

Q - Have people come up to you and said that you've inspired them?

Yeah, and that's really the biggest compliment for me. That really means a lot to me.

Former Weezer bassist found dead in Chicago hotel room

Just prior to Weezer taking the stage today at Riot Fest in Chicago, police said former bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead in a Chicago hotel room. Read more:

• Ex-Weezer bassist found dead in Chicago (ctv.ca)
• Former Weezer Bassist Mikey Welsh Dead At Age 40 (spinner.com)
• Weezer bassist dead at 40 (cnn.com)

Fastball's Miles Zuniga releases new solo album, will be in Chicago with Matthew Sweet

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

Those who are used to seeing Miles Zuniga alongside his longtime band Fastball will see a different side of him when he performs Oct. 13 and 14 with Matthew Sweet at The Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake St., Chicago, www.bottomlounge.com.

Both shows start at 8 p.m. and tickets are $30, available at www.ticketweb.com.

Zuniga, www.mileszuniga.com, is touring in support of his first solo album, "These Ghosts Have Bones." I had the chance to Zuniga about the album and Fastball's latest activities.

Q - Matthew Sweet also just released a new album, so I guess the both of you will be performing new songs at The Bottom Lounge.

This is his tour, and he was gracious enough to let me come along.

Q - It seems like you and Matthew Sweet share some musical interests. Melody plays a big part in Fastball's music, and melody is obviously key in Matthew Sweet's music. Do you think it's just natural to be touring with him?

We toured with him years and years ago, back when Fastball was promoting "Make Your Mama Proud." So there's that.

We both love pop music. We love classic rock 'n' roll music from the '60s and '70s.

Q - And of course Fastball just played in August in Skokie. How did that show go?

Oh, that was fun. That was a lot of fun. It was outside with the Smoking Popes. It was good.

Yeah, that's a good Chicago band there.

Q - I see you raised money through Kickstarter in order to make "These Ghosts Have Bones." You actually raised more than your goal. Was that surprising?

Well, what was surprising was how fast I was able to raise it. You don't get any money if you don't hit your goal, which is kind of daunting.

My goal was $20,000. You set how much time limit you want. You can go up to three months, but they recommend a month. So I went with their recommendation.

And I raised $20,000 in like six days, so it was pretty mind boggling. But it's a definitely viable and actually very enticing alternative to trying to get some sort of record deal or whatever.

And I don't really think people buy records any more. They just don't. There are too many other avenues now to get music.

I think listening to music has completely changed from what it was. It's changed to fit the way we do everything else.

Q - Musically, what kind of goals did you have for the album?

Well, I wanted it to have sort of a homemade feel, kind of like Paul McCartney's record "RAM," or different records. I wanted it to be intimate.

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I didn't want it to sound too polished. I just wanted the sound to match the emotional content of the songs.

I was playing most of the stuff myself, but I did get John Chipman, who plays in the band The Resentments. I play in this other band, The Resentments.

Bruce Hughes is in The Resentments and played on the last Fastball record, "Little White Lies." I enlisted those two guys as my rhythm section on most of the songs on "These Ghosts Have Bones."

They definitely are really strong musicians, and have their own unique sound. So that was helpful. I wanted to try some stuff I normally wouldn't get to try.

Q - Do the think the album is partially a reflection of you trying out the songs at your Sunday night residency at Saxon Pub?

Yeah. What it was, I was going through this big breakup, and I was writing all these songs, and I would take them down to Saxon's and play them and see how the audience responded.

Through that process, I came up with the songs that would be on the record. Bruce and John were playing on those songs on most of those Sundays.

Q - Are you pleased with how the album turned out?

I was very pleased. With every record, I try to do the best that I can. As long as I feel like I did that, it's fine.

I feel like I'm constantly learning, constantly absorbing new things. It's like a journal through my life. I just accept whatever is coming out at the time, because that is what's real.

Q - I think my favorite Fastball album is "The Harsh Light of Day," just because of the sheer variety on it.It seems like you are throwing a lot out there, which is good, because I don't like one note albums.

That was a confusing record, for sure. A lot of people really like it and love it.

But for me, I felt pretty lost while we were making it. There was a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves to follow up this hit record ("All the Pain Money Can Buy.")

We thought we were going to get dropped. We thought, yeah, us and our friends are going to hear this album. No one else is going to hear this album.

That was kind of the backdrop for "All the Pain Money Can Buy." And then it was a huge record. And everybody goes, "Go do that again."

Q - Was it a thrill working with Billy Preston on "The Harsh Light of Day?"

Yeah, it was a real thrill. I've gotten to do some amazing things in my life.

I got to sing "Sunny Afternoon" with Ray Davies, things like that, where you would never in a million years think you would get to do that. But there you are.

Q - Fastball's last album, "Little White Lies," came out in 2009. Anything new on the horizon?

We're going to go do I think a 7-inch record. We've got a couple of songs and we're going to go in and do that, but both Tony and I are pretty busy with our respective records.

We'll see. Right now, I'm just taking it one month at a time.