Lemon Demon

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 2025,^[update] Lemon Demon has released seven studio albums and five EPs.

Lemon Demon
Lemon Demon performing in 2006
Background information
Also known as	Trapezoid Deporitaz
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock alternative rock synth-pop synth punk new wave geek rock[1]
Years active	2003–present
Labels	MP3.com CDFreedom Needlejuice
Members	Neil Cicierega (see live members)
Website	lemondemon.com

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] Another notable track from View-Monster is Bill Watterson,^[12] about a fan obsessing over comic artist Bill Watterson. ^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17] 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.^[18] 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.^[19] The video was also featured on Polygon's list of the greatest achievements in dumb internet video.^[20]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
Clown Circus	Release date: 5 April 2003 Label: MP3.com, self-released Format: CD, DL
Live From the Haunted Candle Shop[a]	Release date: 23 July 2003 Label: MP3.com, self-released Format: CD, DL
Hip to the Javabean	Release date: 23 March 2004 Label: Self-released Format: CD, DL, streaming
Damn Skippy	Release date: 21 March 2005 Label: Self-released Format: CD, DL
Dinosaurchestra	Release date: 20 July 2006 Label: Self-released, Needlejuice Records Format: CD, DL, cassette, MD, streaming, 12"
View-Monster	Release date: 1 August 2008 Label: Self-released, Needlejuice Records Format: CD, DL, cassette, MD, streaming, 12", 8-track
Spirit Phone	Release date: 29 February 2016 Label: Self-released, Needlejuice Records Format: CD, DL, cassette, MD, streaming, 12", 8-track

Compilation albums

Title	Details
Almanac 2009	Release date: 31 October 2009 Label: Self-released Format: CD

Extended plays

Title	Details
Live (Only Not)[b]	Release date: 28 April 2011 Label: Self-released Format: DL, streaming
I Am Become Christmas	Release date: 21 December 2012 Label: Self-released, Needlejuice Records Format: CD, DL, cassette, MD, streaming, 10", 12"
Nature Tapes	Release date: 24 March 2014 Label: Self-released, Needlejuice Records Format: CD, DL, cassette, MD, streaming, 10", 12"
Something Glowing[c]	Release date: 17 December 2020 Label: Needlejuice Records Format: DL, 7"
Acrobat Unstable Record[d]	Release date: 1 September 2022 Label: Needlejuice Records Format: DL, 7"

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Lemon Demon"	2003	Clown Circus
"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"	2005	Dinosaurchestra
"Stick Stickly"		Non-album singles[A]
"Every Time You Stifle a Sneeze"	2006
"Being Alone on Valentine's Day"
"White Bread Boyfriend"
"Snakes on a Plane"
"Amnesia Was Her Name"	2007	View-Monster
"Knife Fight"
"Everyday French"		Non-album singles[B]
"Super Hey Ya"
"123456 Pokemon"	2008
"While My Keytar Gently Weeps"
"Ben Bernanke"
"Toy Food"	2009
"Eighth Wonder"		Almanac 2009[C]
"Brodyquest"	2010	Nature Tapes
"Goosebumps"	2011
"Really Cool Wig"
"Money Dollar Bills"	2012	Non-album single
"A Mask of my Own Face"		Nature Tapes
"My Trains"	2013
"Jaws"
"Everybody Loves Raymond"
"Two Trucks"
"When He Died"	2014	Spirit Phone[D]
"Kubrick and the Beast"	2015
"One Weird Tip"/"Funkytown"	2023	Non-album single
"Touch-Tone Telephone"[E]		Spirit Phone
"The Oldest Man on MySpace"		Non-album single[F]

1. Despite its title, it is not actually a live album.
2. An EP of studio-recorded versions of previous Lemon Demon songs with the live band.
3. Compilation of songs previously released on View-Monster (2008) on 7-inch vinyl, mainly bonus tracks
4. Compilation of bonus tracks previously released on Dinosaurchestra (2006) on 7-inch vinyl

1. Later included on Dinosaurchestra as bonus tracks.
2. Later included on View-Monster as bonus tracks.
3. A different version of the song was later released on Spirit Phone.
4. "Kubrick and the Beast" was included on Spirit Phone as a bonus track on release.
5. Wax cylinder single.
6. Wax cylinder single, song included on Dinosaurchestra as a bonus track.

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