William Beckett to release Genuine & Counterfeit full-length August 20th
Solo artist William Beckett will release his debut full-length album, Genuine & Counterfeit, on August 20 via Upstate NY-based independent label Equal Vision Records.
Beckett recorded the album earlier this year in his hometown of Chicago, IL with producer Marc McClusky (Weezer, Ludo). The new album 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. Genuine & Counterfeit also features guest vocal appearances from Say Anything’s Max Bemis and Mayday Parade’s Derek Sanders.
“This record is nothing less than my greatest musical accomplishment,” Beckett confidently reveals. “And working with Marc McClusky was a no brainer. While we shared the same vision going in to the album, we were also constantly pushing and challenging each other to lift it to the next level.”
An album preview is now available HERE, which gives an inside look at Beckett’s studio experience. Next week, Beckett will offer an official first listen of a new song on the album, with the release of “Benny & Joon” as a digital single on June 18. Genuine & Counterfeit is available for pre-order now, through Beckett’s Official Online Merch Store. All pre-orders come with an instant download of “Benny & Joon” for fans who want to hear the song early.
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. 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 released in 2012. 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 similarly impressive meteoric rise. Genuine & Counterfeit will be his first ever solo full-length album.
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. Just recently, Beckett wrapped up a full US run with Relient K and Hellogoodbye, as well as Slam Dunk Festival dates in the UK with the likes of Andrew McMahon, All Time Low and Pierce The Veil. Next up, Beckett will perform on the entirety of the 2013 Vans Warped Tour this Summer and will then head overseas on an Australian tour with Anberlin and The Maine in the Fall.
All upcoming William Beckett tour dates can be seen below, along with the tracklisting for Genuine & Counterfeit.
TRACKLISTING
Genuine & Counterfeit
1. Pick Up the Phone (feat. Max Bemis)
2. In My Blood
3. Benny & Joon
4. Hanging On a Honeymoon
5. Turn On the Light
6. By Your Side
7. Caught in the Middle
8. One in the Same
9. Cracks in the Ceiling
10. Time for a Sign (feat. Derek Sanders)
11. A Million People
B-sides:
12. Just You Wait [digital deluxe exclusive]
13. I Can’t Make Me Love You [MerchNOW pre-order bundle and digital deluxe exclusive]
TOUR DATES
w/2013 Vans Warped Tour
Jun 15 Seattle, WA @ White River Ampitheatre
Jun 16 Portland, OR @ Portland Expo Center Parking Lot
Jun 19 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Jun 20 Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairplex
Jun 21 Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairplex
Jun 22 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jun 23 Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
Jun 26 Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
Jun 27 Phoenix, AZ @ Quail Run Park
Jun 28 Las Vegas, NV @ Silverton Casino Parking Lot
Jun 29 Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairpark
Jun 30 Denver, CO @ Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Jul 03 Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
Jul 05 Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Jul 06 Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Jul 07 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Concert Center
Jul 09 Virginia Beach, VA @ Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
Jul 10 Washington, D.C. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Jul 11 Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
Jul 12 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
Jul 13 New York, NY @ Nassau Memorial Coliseum
Jul 14 Hartford, CT @ The Comcast Theatre
Jul 16 Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
Jul 17 Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
Jul 18 Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Jul 19 Detroit, MI @ The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Jul 20 Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Jul 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
Jul 23 Kansas City, KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul 24 St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – St. Louis
Jul 25 Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Jul 26 Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
Jul 27 West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
Jul 28 Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
Jul 29 Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul 30 Cincinatti, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Jul 31 Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
Aug 02 Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
Aug 03 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
Aug 04 Houston, TX @ Reliant Center Parking Lot
Australia
w/Anberlin and The Maine
Sep 04 Brisbane, Australia @ The HiFi (18+)
Sep 05 Gold Coast, Australia @ Coolangatta Hotel (18+)
Sep 06 New Castle, Australia @ Panthers (LIC AA)
Sep 07 Sydney, Australia @ The HiFi (LIC AA)
Sep 08 Melbourne, Australia @ The Palace (18+)
Sep 10 Adelaide, Australia @ The Gov (LIC AA)
Sep 11 Fremantle, Australia @ Metro (18+)
