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Dreamt up at a dinner party on a tree-lined Boston street in 1999, the William Academy emerged as the brainchild of Ebin Sandler and Kevin Haus. The two bonded over their love for 90s indie rock and 80s synth pop and decided that very evening over homemade curry to take a shot at combining these two sounds. Before ever penning a tune, the two settled on the name William, a tribute to a favorite Smiths song, “William, It Was Really Nothing,” later adding "academy" to the end of the name.
Haus began composing and recording tracks in his Alston apartment with a synthesizer, his electric guitar, and some rudimentary drum software, while Sandler culled lyrics from his 4-track solo project called the Smart Set. Haus and Sandler were a regular presence at local indie dance nights and began to make a name for themselves before ever playing a gig. By the end of their first summer as a band, the William Academy hit Renaissance Studios in Boston for their first recording session. The finished product was a two track demo (“Medicine” b/w “Circumstances”), which showcased Haus’ synth lines and Marr-esque guitars, over which Sandler spit bittersweet break-up lyrics.
With their demo in hand, the William Academy hit thelive circuit, playing the Middle... Read More ... East, TT the Bear’s, O’Brien’s, and Providence’s Green Room. After favorable write ups in the local press, the band packed up a U-Haul and set up shop in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in 2001, arriving in New York just days before the tragic events of September 11.
In the wake of the Twin Towers attack, which the band witnessed from their Brooklyn rooftop, Haus constructed a professional-grade studio in the West Indian enclave. Here, the band would write and record their EP “Five Fight Songs,” adding Haus’ future wife, Taryn, as a live synth player in addition to Justin Matsubara on bass. The William Academy became a fixture in New York’s emerging indie club scene of the early 2000s. The band played almost every significant venue and club night, including Don Hill’s (Tiswas), CBGBs, Sine, Pianos, Lit, the Knitting Factory, Luna Lounge, and Galapagos, sharing the stage with indie rock juggernauts like Stellastar, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Stars.
Erstwhile rhythm guitarist for the band Nicholas Moceri released the band’s debut five-song EP in 2003 on Ground Control/Sign Language Records, after which CMJ selected the band to play its annual Music Marathon, at the time the annual pinnacle of the independent music scene. With positive reviews of their first record and airplay on college stations across the country, the future looked bright for the William Academy. When RCA records came calling in 2004, the band hoped a recording contract was right around the cornter.
Unfortunately, the William Academy’s momentum waned as 2004 came to a close and an icy unplanned hiatus set in for the next two years. In 2007, Haus and Sandler reconvened in in Red Hook and the band began recording a series of unreleased tracks.
Currently, Sandler works as a writer in Israel, recording music under the name Strictly Causuals, while Haus can be found directing films and music video in the New York area.
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