Lemon Demon

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Lemon Demon
Lemon Demon performing in 2006
Lemon Demon performing in 2006
Background information
Also known as
  • Trapezoid
  • Deporitaz
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Years active2003–present
Labels
Members
Websitelemondemon.com

Lemon Demon is a musical project and band created by American comedian and musician Neil Cicierega in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts. Lemon Demon's studio work is performed solely by Cicierega, who is the project's sole official member. Live performances also include a backing band, with previous performances consisting of Alora Lanzillotta, Charles Sergio, Anthony Wry, Dave Kitsberg, and Greg Lanzillotta. As of 2024, Lemon Demon has released seven studio albums and five EPs.

History

Cicierega wearing a Trapezoid name tag over a Lemon Demon shirt in 2006

Neil Cicierega began releasing instrumental music and several remixes of video game music under the moniker Trapezoid in the late 90s and early 2000s, creating 3 albums whilst frequently active on Adventure Game Studio.[2] The artist name was retroactively anagrammed to "Deporitaz" as an existing band called Trapezoid demanded that he change it.[3] On January 21, 2003, Cicierega released Lemon Demon's first song, "Don't Be Like the Sun", later saying "eventually I started experimenting with singing, and once I felt ready to do that full time, I christened myself Lemon Demon and went into it head on".[4] He then released his first four albums: Clown Circus (2003), Live from the Haunted Candle Shop (2003), Hip to the Javabean (2004), and Damn Skippy (2005).[2]

In late 2005, Cicierega and animator Shawn Vulliez released a Flash animated music video for Lemon Demon's "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny".[5] The video amassed over 6.5 million views in 6 months on Newgrounds and topped the "Funny Five" on The Dr. Demento Show for several weeks, becoming the No. 1 Request for 2006.[4][6] The song was later included in Lemon Demon's fifth album Dinosaurchestra (2006).[7] An updated recording of it was released to the Rock Band Network in 2010.[8] Lemon Demon's sixth studio album, View-Monster (2008),[9] features "Modify" as a bonus track, which later became a popular song on TikTok.[10] A remix of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is additionally included as a bonus track on the album.[11]

Cicierega released Spirit Phone as Lemon Demon's seventh studio album on February 29, 2016.[2] The album was the No. 1 best-selling album on Bandcamp for the first week of its release.[12] On July 10, 2018, it was announced that copies of the album on CD, cassette, and vinyl would be sold through Needlejuice Records, who would later physically distribute remastered versions of all of Lemon Demon's studio work dating back to 2005.[7] "Touch-Tone Telephone" later became Lemon Demon's most-streamed song, surpassing "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" in September 2020. This was then surpassed by "Fine" in July 2024, which had garnered over 75 million streams on Spotify at the time.[13]

Cicierega uploaded the song "Funkytown" to his Patreon page in 2017, later contributing it to the 2020 charity compilation album Needlejustice, which benefits the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.[14] It would later be released as an official single alongside "One Weird Tip" on January 21, 2023.[3]

Viral successes

"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"

Main article: The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

On December 22, 2005, Lemon Demon and animator Shawn Vulliez released the Flash music video "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" on Newgrounds. The video features cartoon versions of dozens of real-life celebrities and fictional characters, largely from 1980s and 1990s pop culture, in a large century-long brawl.[15] It gained a cult following among web enthusiasts and became the "user's choice" on December 28, 2005, accumulating 6.5 million views within 6 months.[4] It appeared on several other websites including Albino Blacksheep.[5]

"Brodyquest"

On June 1, 2010, Cicierega released a video and single titled "Brodyquest" on his main YouTube channel, picturing famous actor Adrien Brody going about his daily life in a comedic manner.[16] The video became a viral meme, later receiving placement on the EP Nature Tapes (2014).[3] It would be brought up by Stephen Colbert during his interview with Adrien Brody in a 2016 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[17] The video was also featured on Polygon's list of the greatest achievements in dumb internet video.[18]

Discography

  1. ^ Compilation of songs previously released on View-Monster on 7-inch vinyl, mainly bonus tracks
  2. ^ Compilation of bonus tracks previously released on Dinosaurchestra on 7-inch vinyl

Members

Official members

  • Neil Cicierega – vocals, keyboards, guitar, programming, percussion, songwriting, production (2003–present)

Live members

  • Alora Lanzillotta – bass guitar, vocals (2004–2012)
  • Charles "Chooch" Sergio – guitar (2006–2012)
  • Anthony Wry – drums (2007–2008), guitar, vocals (2012)
  • Dave Kitsberg – guitar, vocals (2008–2012, 2016)
  • Greg Lanzillotta – drums (2009–2012)

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:100 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2003 till:03/07/2024 # it is best not to use auto-updating timelines as it can cause problems when the graphic updates on a daily basis TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2003 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:2003

Colors = 

id:Vocals         value:red          legend:Vocals
id:Guitar         value:green        legend:Guitar
id:Bass           value:blue         legend:Bass
id:Keyboards      value:purple       legend:Keyboards
id:drums          value:orange       legend:Drums
id:Studio         value:black        legend:Studio_album
id:EP             value:gray(0.5)    legend:EP

LineData = 

layer:back
 color:Studio
  at:04/05/2003
  at:07/23/2003
  at:03/23/2004
  at:03/21/2005
  at:07/20/2006
  at:08/01/2008
  at:02/29/2016
 color:EP
  at:04/28/2011
  at:12/21/2012
  at:03/24/2014
  at:09/04/2020
  at:01/01/2022

BarData = 

bar:Neil     text:"Neil Cicierega"
bar:Alora    text:"Alora Lanzillotta"
bar:Charles  text:"Charles Sergio"
bar:Anthony  text:"Anthony Wry"
bar:Dave     text:"Dave Kitsberg"
bar:Greg     text:"Greg Lanzillotta"

PlotData= 

 width:11
 bar:Neil      from:01/01/2003  till:03/07/2024  color:vocals
 bar:Neil      from:01/01/2003  till:03/07/2024  color:guitar width:7
 bar:Neil      from:01/01/2003  till:03/07/2024  color:keyboards width:3
 bar:Alora     from:01/01/2004  till:11/02/2012  color:bass
 bar:Alora     from:01/01/2004  till:11/02/2012  color:vocals width:3
 bar:Charles   from:06/17/2006  till:11/04/2011  color:guitar
 bar:Anthony   from:04/21/2007  till:10/31/2008  color:drums
 bar:Anthony   from:08/02/2012  till:11/02/2012  color:guitar
 bar:Anthony   from:08/02/2012  till:11/02/2012  color:vocals width:3
 bar:Dave      from:03/22/2008  till:11/02/2012  color:guitar
 bar:Dave      from:02/15/2016  till:03/15/2016  color:guitar
 bar:Dave      from:03/22/2008  till:11/02/2012  color:vocals width:3
 bar:Greg      from:10/31/2009  till:11/02/2012  color:drums

</timeline>

References

  1. ^ "Lemon Demon". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  2. ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Neil Cicierega, Internet Person – XOXO Festival (2016)" (YouTube video). XOXO Festival. November 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  3. ^ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Becker, Sarah (April 16, 2024). "Timeline of Lemon Demon's 'Nature Tapes'". AudioPhix. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  4. ^ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sweeney, Emily (June 22, 2006). "He's a hit with Internet set". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 26, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  5. ^ 5.0 5.1 Rini, Carol (April 11, 2006). ""Good guys, bad guys and explosions..."". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Hansen, Barret (July 2, 2006). ""The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" (the show's #1 song of 2006 thus far)". Dr. Demento. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  7. ^ 7.0 7.1 Cohen, Max (February 16, 2022). "Lemon Demon: The Man, The Meme, The Legend". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "Lemon Demon on Rock Band Network". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  9. ^ The Collegian (March 7, 2016). ""Spirit Phone" shows Lemon Demon's growth". The Collegian. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Gray, Laura (October 31, 2022). "Roblox music codes for TikTok songs (November 2022)". Gamepur. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  11. ^ The Beatles. Pedia Press. p. 1334.
  12. ^ "Bandcamp". March 6, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Lemon Demon | Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  14. ^ "Needlejustice | Various Artists". Bandcamp. Needlejuice Records. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Rempel, Shauna (August 26, 2006). "Copy, paste, animate". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  16. ^ Holliday, Laura (June 26, 2023). "YouTube's Comments Are an Internet Treasure We Must Protect". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  17. ^ Colbert, Stephen (February 25, 2016). Adrien Brody Appreciates "Brodyquest," Among Other Fine Art (YouTube video). The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  18. ^ Broderick, Ryan; Davis, Sarah; Kesvani, Hussein (June 1, 2021). "The Greatest Achievements In Dumb Internet Video". Polygon. Retrieved October 7, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lemon Demon.
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