Here Are Some Videos from 2016 for You to Watch While I Get Some Stuff Done

Kill Some Time This Morning with These Clips from 2016

I don't know. Just figured I'd give you something to do while I work on writing up a few things. Here are some videos that our friends put out in 2016.

YJY, "Amelia"



Roy Orbitron, "Swimmer's Ear"




Lowlight, "Bones"



American Trappist, "No Bibles"



American Trappist - No Bibles from Brian L. Tice Jr. on Vimeo.

dollys, "friendly"



Semiotics, "Cheers Me Proper"



Fortune Yeller, "White Flag (Halloween Edition)"



Paper Streets, "Freddy's Dead"



and hell...

YJY, "Past My Prime"

New Video from New Bruns... ...I Mean, Philly's Semiotics

"Sorry, Bruh"

Semiotics took some time during their recent weekenders with ManDancing and steve. to compile a series of clips from the road. The band put these together into the video for For How track, "Sorry, Bruh." In a sentiment similar to one expressed by great Canadian philosopher, Avril Lavigne, singer Nick Rapon tries to convince the object of his affections that "I'm better than your boyfriend!"

Having relocated from New Brunswick to Philadelphia, Semiotics have a couple of upcoming shows scheduled around their new home along with a planned incursion back across the Delware and into NJ. Following those performances, Semiotics head back into the studio with Brett Romes (I Am The Avalanche) to record six new songs as part of their planned follow-up to For How.

Right below this sentence, you'll find the video for "Sorry, Bruh" and Semiotics' announced dates.




Semiotics Upcoming Shows:

September 9th Philadelphia PA @ Tralfamadore w/ Dear Friend, Halogens, Weatherhead

September 19th Flemington @ Flemington DIY w/ Unwelcome Guests, Sick Shit, The Soft Maybes, Joy Cleaner

September 20th Philadelphia, PA @ The Pharmacy w/ Unwelcome Guests, On The Water

Semiotics Kick Off a Pair of August Weekenders wtih ManDancing and steve. Today, August 11th

DIY4LYF

Semiotics, former residents and proprietors of the much-loved Naner Manor (neé Banana Stand) in New Brunswick, set out on the first of two August weekenders today. This week the band will be playing shows with ManDancing. Next week, they travel with steve. The tour will take the bands from the Mid-Atlantic to New England.

Deeply committed to a DIY ethic, Semiotics booked the upcoming tour themselves. Now based in Philly, they also plan to continue booking and hosting shows at their new digs.

Check out some of the sounds from each of the bands below. Refer to that big, beautiful poster up top for all of the dates, and try to stop in at a show if these bands are coming to your area.

Semiotics Are on a Weekender and Have a New Video

"Cheers Me Proper"

I list 'em every week, but I don't go to a lot of basement shows because... ...well... ...old. The guys in Semiotics, though, are deep within the New Brunswick basement scene as both a band and proprietors of Naner Manor (neé The Banana Stand). The scene is a paragon of community. Usually.

Playing, booking, and running shows all come with their share of headaches; and Semiotics send up several of those -- crowds paying more attention to their phones than the bands, people not being able to come up with the suggested donations but somehow finding enough money for a 36 pack of PBR, sound people getting amorous behind the board -- in the video for "Cheers Me Proper." The video calls out some of the less than communal behaviors that occur at every show and also serves as a farewell from Naner Manor as the guys will depart for Philly in June. They promise more shows in their new home.

The video release coincides with a little weekender Semiotics are doing with their friends in Brackish that will bring them to Suburbia in Brooklyn tomorrow and back home to New Brunswick's J House on Sunday.

Check out the video for "Cheers Me Proper" along with all of Semiotics' upcoming shows below, and maybe take a good, hard look at yourself before going to your next show.



4.15 | Death Castle | Ronkonkoma, NY*

4.16 | Suburbia | Brooklyn, NY*

4.17 | The J House| New Brunswick, NJ*

4.24 | Warehouse | Phillipsburg, NJ

4.27 | The Bitter End | New York, NY

*with Brackish

Semiotics Share New Video

"M. Connolly"

Back in March, I shared with you the live performance video of Semiotics' "M. Connolly." That was part of the band's Live at the Banana Stand EP.

Today, the New Brunswick band have released the full band, electric and official video for the version of the track that will appear on their upcoming For How EP. That set is due on October 31st. The EP's title holds special meaning for guitarist and vocalist Nick Rapon whose father, Howard, passed away in March following a long battle with brain tumors.

For How consists of six songs recorded in Hopatcong, New Jersey's Barber Shop studios with Brett Romnes of I Am The Avalanche. Check out the Visual Barz-shot clip for the raucous waltz that is "M. Connolly" below, and be sure to watch for For How on Halloween.

Notes from the Road: American Lions' Pat Moran

American Lions in Virginia Beach. Photo: American Lions Facebook

Tour Blog

New Brunswick's American Lions recently left for a tour with their friends in Semiotics. The tour will take the two New Jersey bands from New York to Virginia to Georgia to Kentucky with stops in between as they circle back to their New Brunswick home base.

American Lions drummer Pat Moran asked if I'd be willing to share some of his thoughts as he sweats his way down the coast with his buddies, and I was more than happy to oblige. Here's his first dispatch from the road, and it looks like Pat has found his first week pretty inspiring.

American Lions and Semiotics should be in Somerset, KY today. Have a great show, guys; and keep spreading that New Jersey good will.

American Lions / Semiotics on Tour, Part 1

by Pat Moran

Driving down the coast in 103-degree weather with The Sidekicks' Awkward Breeds in the tape deck. It’s enough inspiration for me to start jotting down some of the goings-on of the past week we’ve had. I’m Pat. I play drums in a band called American Lions and we are currently on a 2-week tour with our fellow New Brunswick friends, Semiotics.

Between van-battery problems in Virginia Wal-Marts, booking a last minute show with a day's notice, and just generally being the smelliest and sweatiest I’ve ever been in my entire life, the first week has been nothing but interesting. The best part has been meeting all of these creative and artistic people along the way. You can’t help but want to throw some of them in the back of the van and take them back to our little New Jersey scene where they would thrive.

If I could have people take away any sort of thought from reading this, it’d be to appreciate the musicians and talent around you in New Jersey. I feel like we sometimes forget to give everyone enough credit for what they’re doing. Whether you’ve been involved in music for a month or for 7 years, you are still a part of something bigger than yourself, and you deserve credit, at the very least, for having the guts to give it a try.

New Brunswick's Semiotics Announced a Tour w/ American Lions and Are Playing The Saint on Monday

Semiotics at New Brunswick's Court Tavern in January

Supporting For How

A few months back, we premiered a video from New Brunswick's Semiotics. It was an acoustic version of their song "M. Connolly" performed at their home base(ment), The Banana Stand. Since then, the band have been busy. They headed into Barber Shop Studios with Brett Romnes of I Am The Avalanche to produce their forthcoming EP For How. That one is due out early next month.

Today, the band announced that they'd be hitting the road this spring / summer in support of the new record. Joining them will be their New Brunswick compatriots in American Lions who will be out in support of their own upcoming 3-song EP, recorded out in California with Sam Pura at Panda Studios.

The tour makes a stop in Asbury Park at The Saint on June 13 before heading through the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast with a little poke into the Midwest. Check out all of the tour dates below.

You can catch Semiotics a couple of weeks before they head out when they come to The Saint on Memorial Day for a show that also features Goodbye Tiger, Control, Howlish, Press, and Jess Elliot. That's an early one with a 4:30pm kickoff.

Semiotics / Monterey / Brighter The Moon / Hurricane Season at The Brighton Bar, TONIGHT, March 11th

Go watch Monterey sing along with Semiotics tonight at Long Branch's Brighton Bar.

Wish I Were Here

I usually go to a few local shows per week. Since I'm traveling (in Spain!) this week, I thought I'd let you know which shows I'd be at if I were home. A previews instead of reviews kind of thing.

The first of these takes place tonight, Wednesday, March 11th, at Brighton Bar. New Brunswick's Semiotics and Hurricane Season join their Asbury via New Brunswick buddies, Monterey, and Richmond, Virginia's Brighter The Moon for a show that promises a whole bunch of pop-infused rock to get you over the hump.

We're familiar around here with Semiotics, whose live video for "M. Connolly" premiered here last week, and Monterey, who I interviewed a while back. This would have been my first chance to catch weekly listings regulars Hurricane Season and out of towners Brighter The Moon, so I'm a little bummed. You can head over there, though, and let me know how the whole thing goes down.

Doors for the 18 and over show are at 7:30 and $7 gets you inside.

Video Premeire: Semiotics, "M. Connolly"

Live at The Banana Stand

Semiotics are kind of at the center of the new New Brunswick DIY basement scene. As proprietors? residents? of The Banana Stand, they support local and touring bands by holding shows in their basement on a regular basis. They're also out there playing almost every weekend, and it's possible to catch them doing everything from full band sets to stripped down acoustic sets when there's no power and the toilets at the venue aren't working. They also really like hats.

They'll soon be putting out a live EP recorded at their home base called, appropriately, Live at The Banana Stand. Today Semiotics premiere a video for one of the tracks. "M. Connolly" features guitarists Nick Rapon and Seth Bliss in their basement delivering their brand of emotional and literate pop punk accompanied only by their acoustic guitars.

Watch the video below, and go give Semiotics' Facebook page a like to stay up to date on shows and releases.

You've got two chances to catch Semiotics this weekend. First, at GameChanger World in Howell this Friday when they support Candy Hearts and, again, on Saturday at The Bomb Shelter in New Brunswick with The Moms and Basement Beers.

Next Friday, The Banana Stand hosts a bunch of our favorites with a show featuring dollys, Dentist, Prehistoric Forest, Perennial Reel and The Duskwhales.

A Whole Bunch of Bands (Semiotics, ROMP, Dollys, Monterey, Deal Casino) Played The Court Tavern, 1/30/15 (PHOTOS)

Deal Casino closed out a friend-filled night at New Brunswick's Court Tavern

Support Local Music

"I'm impressed."

That was ROMP vocalist / keyboardist Madison Klarer's mom to me just after her daughter's band had finished their set and the last chants of "ROMP IS TIGHT!!" had died away. It's great to have supportive parents. Last night -- like a lot of nights I've experienced over the last couple of years -- showed that it's great to have a support system in general.

You could feel the network of support that each of the bands on last night's bill had built among each other. When bands weren't on stage, their members were front and center, pumping fists and singing along.

Semiotics, whose Banana Stand basement venue has given many bands a welcoming place to play, started things off. After interacting with them via social media for so long, it was nice to finally catch one of their sets. Monterey guitarist Matt DeBenedetti was right up front singing along with the band's wordy pop punk.

ROMP were next and commented a couple of times on how rare it was for them to be playing a "real venue" rather than a basement. The Court Tavern's sound system had them (and everyone else) sounding pretty good; and, while there was a little more room to move around, the vibe was pretty close to the basement where I'd seen them last weekend. Madison's mom was incredulous -- and impressed -- when I told her that things at Paradise Lost may have been a notch higher on the crazy scale.

Guitarist Lucas Dalakian shares a house and a side project with some of the members of Monterey; and, once again, the singalong section up front was heavy with members of other bands.

Dollys were back from kind of a mini hiatus, this time as a trio. Some of my favorite bands are trios, and Dollys' sound didn't suffer by being down a guitar. Guitarist Jeff Lane mentioned that The Court Tavern feels like home for the band.

When Monterey took the stage, Matt DeBenedetti commented, "You know it's been a good night when you don't have a voice for your own set." He and the rest of the band managed, though, getting reciprocal treatment from everyone they'd been supporting throughout the evening.

Finally, Deal Casino started their closing set just after 12. The Asbury Park band have just as many fans in New Brunswick it seems. I'm more amazed every time I see this band whip the crowd into a frenzy. Lead singer Joe P, as he introduced "Hurricane," said, "This song is about those times when a bunch of people stay to watch you at 1AM at The Court Tavern, because sometimes that's all you have."

I see it here in Asbury Park all the time, and last night I saw it in New Brunswick. Bands, friends, family out there for each other, supporting each other in what they're doing and having a genuinely fantastic time. Not just a great time at a good show, but a great time sharing the experience with their support system.

Here are some photo highlights. You can view, grab, whatever the rest in the Flickr galleries.