Sematic on a Roll

By Broadside Assistant Style Editor Nicole Ocran

Fairfax has been fortunate to have a myriad of bands come from the George Mason University family. Mason alum Mike Katrivanos, music major Bobby Taylor, history major Steve Katrivanos and Joshua Goodine make up the group Sematic.

Brothers Steve and Mike started Sematic in 2004 after seeing a flier for Celebrate Fairfax! Battle of the Bands and have since then developed a strong local fan base.

“My brother [Mike] and I have been playing music for years,” Steve said, “all throughout high school, and when we graduated, he came to back and went to Mason from NC State and when he got back here he had a bunch of songs that he’d been working on, and I knew a couple of my friends, and that’s pretty much it.”

Sematic will be performing at The State Theatre in Falls Church on Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. This performance will be another on their list of shows in the Virginia, D.C. and Maryland area. They have since performed in New York and at local universities such as James Madison University, Radford and Virginia Tech.

Local shows are important to the band, and this was greatly emphasized by drummer, Katrivanos. One of the bands’ main goals is to perform on the main stage at Mason Day.

“I’ve been to Mason Day the last couple of years and the attendance wasn’t that great,” Katrivanos said. “It’s so hard to get in contact with any of those people though. We figure that Mason Day is all about bringing local people and community together. We know a lot of people around here and Fairfax is the area where we draw the most. It only makes sense if you throw us on the main stage you’re gonna get another 200 people out there.

Last time I was [at Mason Day], there [were] only probably about 300 people there total. They [Program Board] seemed to just not be taking us seriously and kind of fighting us. It’s not like we’re an expensive band. I mean, we’re local.”

The band’s music can easily be attributed to ‘90s grunge rock, similar to bands like Chevelle, which is a popular musical style in the area. However, Katrivanos feels the band’s down-to-earth nature sets them apart from the current music scene.

“We’re definitely grassroots. From all the people we meet and all the people we’ve made friends with,” Katrivanos said.

The band draws from a number of inspirations for their sound and songwriting. Musically, bands like Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots are influential, according to Katrivanos, and lyrically, past relationships and personal stories play an important role in vocalist Goodine’s songwriting process.

Currently, the band is working on another demo with Scott Spellbring, who has recorded O.A.R., Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews Band, which Katrivanos described as “really cool and really expensive.”

This will be the band’s second demo since their self-recorded hit, “Dissent.”

Their album is due for release in July.
For more information on the band and their upcoming shows in the area, check out www.myspace.com/sematic.