By Elise Sensabaugh, John Doyle and Laila Baluk

BLOOMINGTON, IN (April 3, 2025)

In the basement of a Bloomington home, surrounded by cords, amps and holiday lights, four IU students found something rare: a collective harmony of creative expression. 

It is not just musical harmony, but one formed when four like-minded students came together at the perfect moment. After meeting in a jazz ensemble and house party, New Semantics was born into what they described as a “DIY Indie Band,” formed from a real connection and the need to create an exciting outlet for its members and fans. New Semantics is a refreshing return to authenticity in a musical generation that feels artificial and overproduced. Their sound is pieced together with spontaneous beats and organic flow, fueled by their wish to be unique, unlike other bands. Their music moves and breathes as they try to create music that means something. “I knew a few good guys who wanted to get together,” says Rocco Fugate, the band’s frontman and guitarist. “All the songs come to life here when we all get together, that’s the magic.” 

This band creation came from making something out of nothing, overcoming challenges, and using each person’s skill set to become one. Their first show, held in a makeshift venue in their own rehearsal space and band member’s home, drew a much larger crowd than expected. They had an excellent turnout, and the crowd had a great time overall. Jack Buinicki, a New Semantics base player, said he felt “it went splendid” while smiling ear to ear. Buinicki met Fugate in an all-campus jazz combo at Indiana University and then decided to play alongside him during winter break.  Despite being full-time IU students with hectic schedules, they continue to find time to make the band succeed. Buinicki admits scheduling is challenging, but said “[they] have gotten good at communicating to schedule things, and [they] are pretty on top of those things.” Buinicki’s passion for music started when he was 11 years old while he played viola in his school’s orchestra. He didn’t pick up the base until his senior year of high school and missed the passion of playing with a collective. Now, he and the rest of the New Semantics have found their place, not just in followers or fame but as part of something greater.

New Semantics gets a thrill from creating unique pieces as a team, which makes this band stand out the most as a listener. The band’s name came from a heated conversation about language and meaning between two members. Fugate originally pitched Turpentine Cheese Wheel and Connor’s Secret Girlfriend as their band name. These options served more as inside jokes among the group and didn’t welcome their audience as much as they wanted them to. His friends were on board, but eventually, someone threw out  “Semantics” and it stuck. Because “Semantics” was taken on Spotify, the group decided to throw “New” in front of it, which fields their band’s goal of creating a revived meaning to their style- music, words, and how they connect as a collective. 

Redefining meaning is built into everything this band continues to work towards. Their sound consists of a blend of a Modest Mouse style, a rock band, and classic indie rock. Buinicki admitted that “it’s a little bit of country, too.” They aren’t easily categorized, but that is a part of the point they are making. They’re carving out a space in the music world for something different that doesn’t fit into just one category. 

The collaborative energy they hold is what makes their performances matter. Their debut was only a few weeks ago, and as they continue to build their sound, they will face challenges in navigating and combining everyone’s unique skills and ideas. New Semantics had an unexpectedly exciting first performance and experienced an electric connection between the other two bands, Daytripper and Real Peak. It faded away the struggles of student life and became an essential moment in continuing to build their band. They were able to hold their first gig when they asked around other local bands and found the best place to launch their passion. Fugate has experience playing for another band, and the New Semantic’s lead guitarist Maxwell Woehler offered their practice space and made it happen. 

New Semantics has two more performances on the calendar- April 11th and 25th- as they begin planning their next move for the summer. This band is the kind of brand that is ever-evolving each day. They’re imperfect and unsure but use this to curate the perfect sound and team. New Semantics is redefining it in the world of music that often feels only focused in one direction, making their music worth listening to. They are unknowingly creating a message for artists that it’s freeing to create something imperfect, something entirely new.