Chicago-based pop-punk band The Academy Is . . . was the bright spot on a rainy evening when two band members stopped by Sokol Underground on March 7 to promote their latest album “Fast Times at Barrington High.” Bassist Adam Siska spoke to the Creightonian about the band, their acoustic tour and what it’s like to be living the dream before he and vocalist William Beckett took the stage.

Q. How has the tour been going so far?

A. It’s cool. I like traveling, and I like meeting new people. And getting to play music every day is the best part. This tour has been cool, though, because it’s acoustic. I haven’t really been doing too much because William plays most of the show by himself on the acoustic guitar, but I come out and accompany him on the harmonica and stuff like that – just kind of goof around. It’s fun.

Q. Why did you decide to do an acoustic tour?

A. We’ve just been touring so much that we felt like just to go out and do the same thing would be a little uneventful, and we thought that we could give the other three guys some time off to just enjoy themselves. We just thought that we’d play a little bit smaller rooms, play some different songs with different versions. Plus I think William does and really good job – it’s a really entertaining show. So we just wanted to do this, and then this summer we’re going to go out and tour as a full band again.

Q. For most of your songs, was it an easy transition from electric to acoustic?

A. There are certain ones that I think are just great acoustic songs. They’re written more like campfire folk songs and then brought into a rock band setting. I think when a song can stand on its own two feet when it’s acoustic, those are the best songs. There’s something really honest about it.

Q. Will you be playing your Cyndi Lauper “Time After Time” cover?

A. I don’t think so. We’ve had a lot of requests for it, like people always yell out, ‘Cyndi Lauper!’ It’s funny because we didn’t even know anyone had really heard that. It’s one of those things where we did it somewhere and it ended up on YouTube or something, and you just assume that there’s so many videos on YouTube that nobody’s seen it. But I guess a lot of people have seen that one and liked it, apparently. We should probably do it. We should work on that.

Q. As a band, what do you guys enjoy more: going on tour, writing or recording?

A. Personally, I like going on tour the best because it fits my rambling, gambling personality. I’m a huge fan of Woody Guthrie, the folk singer. I read his book when I was younger and he talks about how he was a hobo, riding a freight train, playing guitar and just seeing the country. I’ve always really envisioned that lifestyle for myself. Grant it, this isn’t a freight train, but we still wake up in a different city, and I think it’s amazing to see the country, especially when you get to play music and hopefully have a positive influence on some of the people at the show.

I love touring, but I love writing and being in the studio, too. It’s definitely nice to be stationed in one place as a band and be creative and stuff like that, but I think touring is just like the reward for all the hard work of your writing.

Q. What’s your writing style like?

A. It kind of varies. There’s no real formula for how we write songs; we just tackle each one individually. It’s a lot of collaborating. We’re a band – we’re definitely not like a solo project with other guys filling in the gaps – it’s definitely a band. Whatever works, works, and I think we know pretty quick when it’s not working.

Q. Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?

A. Yeah, we definitely like to hang out. Usually when the band that plays before us goes on, that’s when we like to get together in the dressing room. We’ll drink a few beers and play our favorite records. I think when we spend time cracking jokes, listening to music, drinking a couple beers, just spending time together is an important thing before we go on. That way when we walk on we feel like we’re walking on as a band, not just five individuals who came to do a job. We’re a team, and it’s nice to warm up together before we go out there.

Q. You’re on Pete Wentz’s label, Decaydance, so have you played the “Fall Out Boy Trail” online game?

A. I saw it, but I haven’t played it. I heard that we’re referenced in it a couple times, which is cool. I think it’s awesome that they have the game.

Q. What was your inspiration for your latest album, “Fast Times At Barrington High”?

A. Making our third record was interesting because a lot of bands don’t even get to that point. Having three records is like you’re starting to have a little career going, and I think we really started to feel that – it was a good feeling. We’ve kind of gotten over that hump. We were making our third record and I think the pressure didn’t feel as great as it did on our second record. It kind of felt like we could do whatever we want. We just wanted to have fun and create good music.

As far as inspiration, since the record is titled based on the high school we went to, I think the songs kind of reflect a youthful imagery. I think a lot of people say, ‘Oh, so the record’s about high school – cool!’ I wouldn’t really say it’s really about that. I’d say that high school is more just like a landscape for the things that we’re talking about.

I think that a lot of the themes that occur during those formative high school years kind of stay with you forever. In junior high you’re just completely confused, kind of going through all these changes or whatever, and in high school you become a free-thinking adult. When we reached that point, that’s when we started to see that the life that you’re told you’re supposed to have – graduate, get a job, go to school – that’s when we started to realize we didn’t fit in with that. I know I certainly didn’t. I knew that whether it is music or whether I’d just run away and backpack around the world, I had to get out of that.

The inspiration on the record was definitely similar. Sometimes when you’re writing, you can kind of create a block when you start to feel like everything is against you and you have to find everything yourself and say, ‘You’re above that.’ You have to strive to be whoever it is you think you should be. I think that we experienced that personal growth on this record, and that was the biggest inspiration: personal growth. Going into the record, it was kind of like a caterpillar in a cocoon. It’s kind of cliché, but we bloomed.

Q. When did you start playing bass?

A. I started playing bass in 2000, nine years ago. I started playing bass because I knew I wanted to play in a band, and a lot of my friends played guitar, and drums were second most popular, but no one in town played bass. So by getting a bass, it made me the best bass player in town, which wasn’t saying much – I was really bad. As I started playing more and growing as a player, I think I really found something unique and fitting for my personality. That’s how the love affair began with me and the old Fender. I like the bass. I’m glad that it’s so unpopular.

Q. When you started playing in bands, did you ever think you’d be going on tour – with this cool bus and everything?

A. It was like a distant dream. I started touring when I was 15, so I definitely didn’t think I would have started that soon. I thought it’d be one of those things I’d work at forever and then finally one day it’d work out. But somehow all the planets were aligned, or whatever, and destiny decided that we would get a shot at doing it for real. I have so many friends that started out at the same time as me – that were probably way more talented than I am – but it just didn’t work out. Every day I’m grateful for it.

Q. What’s your favorite color?

A. Purple.

Q. Why purple?

A. It’s got a certain mood about it – it’s purple. I like blue; I like green, but purple’s just the one that I see and I feel something nice.

Q. What do you like about playing in Omaha?

A. I like playing here because I think it’s somewhere where people are really attached to music. We’re from the Midwest, and I think we feel a connection with people from this region of the country. There’s something about coming and playing in Omaha where people just have this raw excitement, which I like a lot.

Q. If you could go on tour with any band, who would you want to go on tour with?

A. I’d love to play bass for Bob Dylan. He’s my favorite songwriter of all time. I’d love to go play with him. As for us [The Academy Is…], we like to tour with anyone, really. I’d love to tour with Jimmy Eat World. I’ve always liked them a lot. I’d love to tour with the Foo Fighters. If there’s a good band that wants to tour with us, I’d love to do it. Bob Dylan’s definitely my personal choice. I’d feel very satisfied if I got to share the stage with a man like him.

Q. Favorite day of the week?

A. It’s kind of in that Tuesday through Thursday period. Not Monday. Not Sunday. Saturday’s cool. Friday’s cool. But that Tuesday through Thursday range is the comfortable part of the week. I’ll say Wednesday.

Q. What’s the best thing about playing music?

My piano teacher sucked the life out of everything I liked about music. Like, it’s not a mathematical equation. It comes from here [points to heart]. It’s a perfect blend of thought and feeling, not some formula. None of that, ‘Keep your back straight,’ ‘Keep your fingers arched’ – just play it. It doesn’t matter how you play it just as long as you play it.