John Doyle



Projects by John Doyle

Journalism Story

Up and Coming Band ‘New Semantics’ dives into World of Indie Rock

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.” 

Guitarist Rocco Fugate excitedly waits for his cue to join in song alongside his bandmates. Fugate also plays for Real Peak and appreciates the artistic freedom that comes with these collectives.

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.

Jack Buinicki’s concentration on playing bass is fueled by the musical passion he’s had since he was young. Buinicki hopes to continue this work throughout college.

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. 

Maxwell Woehler happily leads the band on vocals, piano and often guitar. He continues to welcome the band into his space week after week.

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. 

 

https://youtu.be/Yde34lPBAec?si=ZVoBFMXP7qpyZSH

Public Relations Story

Apple CEO Tim Cook Announced Newest Device Live This Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Janiya Beason
John Doyle
Justin Hecimovich

This past week, Apple CEO, Tim Cook announced a brand-new device, the Apple watch. It was presented to a live audience during an event held at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino, California.
Apple’s latest creation is the Apple Watch, and after this report, we’re convinced this product will take the world by storm. We know Apple for their endless creativity, and innovation, as well as their consistent ways of upgrading their products. Apple is known for many different devices that have already shaken the culture. Dating back to as early as the Macintosh computer, the iMac and the iMac mini, or even as recent as the iPod, iPod touch, and the iPhone itself. This new Apple watch would just add to the already long list of revolutionary inventions Apple has produced.

Music enthusiast, Zach Elecesser, uses Apple Watch to help tune his guitar. Elecesser’s watch gets daily use as he records, creates and experiments with his musical talent in his Indianapolis home.

Now, to discuss some of the basic things the watch has to offer, starting with the simple aesthetics, the watch already has multiple different designs, as well as different colors for the bands. To get in deeper detail, the bands are made from a strong, durable, and sweat-resistant, high-performance elastic, designed with a soft quality leather for ultimate comfort. There are six different kinds of straps along with a mechanism that makes them extremely easy to change or switch out. To add on, they’re offering Apple watch designs made from gold, silver, and stainless steel. There are also completely different branches to the apple watch itself, we have the “classic” Apple watches, the “sport”, and the “edition” models. The possibilities, much like the options, are endless. It’s all up to you to decide what you’re looking for, and what you feel fits you the best. “Apple watch is the most personal device we’ve ever created, we set out to make the best watch in the world.” CEO of Apple, Tim Cook stated himself during the announcement. If that’s not proof enough of Apple’s dedication to creation, we don’t know what is.
That’s what’s so great about Apple, they understand their audience and they make sure to have a fit for everyone. Which is also why these watches come in different sizes, because Apple understands that one size does not fit all. Made for inclusivity, these watches come in smaller and larger sizes.

Middle-school teacher, Kevin Doyle, uses Apple Watch to plan his week’s schedule. Doyle uses the Apple Watch’s calendar to ensure an orderly schedule in Indianapolis.

As for the features the watch offers, the list is almost never ending. Apple knew they needed to come up with new innovations for a product this small in size, and they did not disappoint. Of course, to own an Apple watch you need to already own an iPhone because they are connected. With this you’d have access to all of the same apps a basic iPhone offers but, on your watch, as well. To list some of the apps as an example, you would have access to the camera app, photos, messages, clock, calendar, and it can even track your health and heart rate. For health or exercise purposes specifically, it can establish goals based on the tracking of your health progress; while helping you create and keep a healthy routine. “… maybe you just want to track what you’re doing during the day, or perhaps you exercise regularly, or even if you’re a very serious athlete, Apple watch helps you live a better day.” CEO of Apple, Tim Cook stated during the event. That’s just a further example of how you can personalize this watch to fit you.
Kevin Lynch, vice president of Apple also spoke at this event and gave a live demonstration of the Apple watch. He used the watch live in front of the audience and showed how it can control music, and volume, it has quick automated responses, and he even showed how this watch has access to maps, and has the ability to guide you places and tell you where to turn using vibrations so you don’t even have to look down and check the watch. It also offers new forms of communication through digital touch. This watch can only be described as a groundbreaking invention with all kinds of fresh and different ways to live your day-to-day life.
Overall, to sum it up, Apple has done it again. There’s a new cutting-edge product that Apple’s team believes will change and impact people’s lives for the better, and we are all very excited to see where the Apple watch will take us in the future. It’s set to be coming soon in early 2015, so be on the lookout for Apple’s newest and most imaginative device yet. “Apple builds great products that enrich people’s lives, and arguably we can take that to a whole new level with Apple watch.”

 Tim Cook introduces the new digital crown navigation feature coming with the Apple Watch. Along with that, the two health applications that are designed specifically for the Apple Watch to track a user’s health in their daily routine. 

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