Santi

Infobox Album |
Name = Santi
Type = Studio Album
Artist = The Academy Is...

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Released = April 2, 2007 (UK) April 3, 2007 (US) May 22, 2007 (NZ)
Recorded = October 31, 2006 in Los Angeles, California
Genre = Indie rock, emo
Length = 39:26
Label = Fueled by Ramen Decaydance Atlantic Records
Producer = Butch Walker
Reviews =
* AbsolutePunk.net (84%) [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=226936 link]
* Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0zfoxz95ldfe link]
* "Blender" Rating|3|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4483 link]
* "Kerrang!" Rating|2|5
* "Rock Sound" rating-10|9
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/13885817/review/14010930/santi link]
* "Spin" Rating|2|5 [http://www.spin.com/reviews/2007/03/0704_theacademyis link]
* Twisted Ear Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.twistedear.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1433&Itemid=31 link]
Last album = "From the Carpet" (2006)
This album = "Santi" (2007)
Next album = "Fast Times at Barrington High" (2008)

"Santi" is the second album by The Academy Is..., released on April 2 and 3, 2007 by Fueled by Ramen.

The album's working title was "Chop Chop". The first preview of the album was provided by Johnny Minardi of Snakes and Suits fame on January 26, 2007 when he gave the song, "LAX to O'Hare", to Absolutepunk.net for streaming on their site. [http://www.absolutepunk.net/theacademyis] The first single from the album was "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands". [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=208686] The song was premiered on Q101 in Chicago at around 7:00 PM on February 5, 2007. The song is now streaming from the band's PureVolume page and is available on iTunes in the U.S.

The second single from the album is "Neighbors", the video of which is available for viewing on YouTube.

The cover design was released via the Fueled by Ramen text messaging service on February 5.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2007 MTV2.com began streaming the album [http://www.mtv2.com/#leak/the_academy_is] , resulting in the album becoming available to download on various piracy sites.

In its first week of sales in the U.S., the album sold 33,000 copies, debuting at number 32 on the "Billboard" 200. [Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003569925 "'NOW 24' Trumps McBride, Duff, Timbaland At No. 1"] , Billboard.com, April 11, 2007] and #94 on the UK Albums Chart.

William Beckett has explained the origin of "Santi" and how it came to be the album title in the Australian music magazine "Blunt" in the following story:

"Adam and I went to the same high school, and there was this dude named Josh Santiago who we went to school with. I was doing a solo project at the time, and I was listening to different music than most people - stuff like The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World - and people there just didn't get me or what I was like. So this one guy in particular, Josh Santiago, gave me a hell of a time, like busted my chops and called me negative names like "fag" and stuff. Anyway, he had a Dave Matthews cover band called Santi, because his name was Santiago and he's just that kind of guy. So we started saying Santi as everything that wasn't him - everything that was positive, just because he was such a negative dude and such a terrible person. So we started saying santi as something funny or cool, kinda like "cheers" or we say it as a greeting, like, 'Whats up, Santi?' So it's a word we've been using for a long time and when it came time to name the record we listened to it and went like, 'Santi!' - it always had to be the name."

Track listing

# "Same Blood" – 3:14
# "LAX to O'Hare" – 3:36
# "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands" – 3:26
# "Sleeping with Giants (Lifetime)" – 3:36
# "Everything We Had" – 3:38
# "Bulls in Brooklyn" – 3:27
# "Neighbors" – 3:10
# "Seed" – 4:17
# "Chop Chop" – 3:26
# "You Might Have Noticed" – 3:22
# "Unexpected Places" – 4:15

Best Buy bonus tracks:

12. "Ghost" – 3:51
13. "Everything We Had" (One Take Acoustic Mix) – 4:11

iTunes bonus tracks:

12. "Toasted Skin" – 3:55
13. "40 Steps" – 4:29

*The iTunes bonus tracks have since been removed from the store.

Neighbors

"Neighbors" is the second single off this album. The song has a running time of three minutes and ten seconds. A music video was also made for this song, showing the band at a concert, and in various other scenarios. There are cameos from different bands participating in the Honda Civic Tour, such as Mark Hoppus of +44, Andy Hurley, Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman from Fall Out Boy and Gabe Saporta of Midtown and Cobra Starship. It also includes Dirty who is known for being wild, crazy, and just "hanging out" with the members of Fall Out Boy. The song has been featured on "". The song contains back vocals from Max Izzo, who previously did additional vocals on Fall Out Boy's "Honorable Mention", though much like on the Fall Out Boy album, he remains uncredited.

Trivia

*On the video for "Slow Down", the buttock of Andy "The Butcher" Mrotek, the drummer, is partially revealed, revealing a tattoo which says the word "Santi" on it. However later, Mrotek got the "Santi" tattoo covered up with another. Adam T. Siska also got "Santi" tattooed on his buttock in episode 14 of TAI TV, during 2007.

*In the song "Naked Peekaboo" done with members of Gym Class Heroes, a voice in the background of the song whispers "Santi" in some parts.

*"Everything We Had" is featured on the "P.S. I Love You" soundtrack.

*In the song "Chop Chop", The Butcher (Andy Mroteck, drummer) whispers "santi" during the drum solo at the end.

References