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Her dream was to write and sell her own
songs, or hang out behind a soundboard in
a studio. She never considered being on the
front lines of entertainment.
But something started clicking.
So they began rehearsing the new songs
with a few friends. When their drummer friend
went on tour that December with another
band, they put an ad on Craigslist.
Gill reached out to them. He was the
only person to whom Kissel and Menago
responded - on New Year's Day, 2010.
A few days later, they all met. And it wasn't
scary. That's essentially when the pop rock
sensation June Divided was born.

I
've played music my whole life," says
Menago, who grew up in Delaware. l
seriously started studying music and
classical piano around 11, started writing
songs around 12 and picked up the guitar
when l was 13."
She points her thumb across the table
toward her bandmates and says, l would
have killed to have these guys to write with.
When l was younger, the girls weren't really
into music the same way l was."
The guys - Kissel, Gill and bassist
Rich Mancinelli - let out a collective, half-
patronizing, half-sincere, Awww."
Menago shoots them a murderous glare with
such affection that the condemnation behind
it holds no weight.
Despite the harmless teasing, each
bandmate, at their core, is thankful to have
each other. lt is this specifc quartet that made
June Divided's energetic sound so signature.
They've been compared to Jimmy Eat World's
instrumentals with the vocal powerhouse of
Paramore. Their lyrics are relatable enough
that band members have been approached
by thirteen year olds - who Menago says she
could talk to forever - and fans older than their
parents.
Gill, who was born in Dublin, was immersed
in traditional lrish music by his parents. His frst
instrument was the lrish fute. He continued
playing music as he grew up in the Northeast,
attending Father Judge High School.
Their early performances always had a
foundation of Gill's friends and family.
The rest of us aren't from around here
originally," explains Menago. We came here
because of Drexel. So having the support
of Keith's friends and family is what really
helped."
Kissel began focusing on music after his
sports dreams ended.
l had been playing guitar for a few years,
when l tore my ACL playing freshmen football,"
says Kissel, who hails from Harrison City, a
three-stop light town near Pittsburgh. Then,
K
eith Gill vividly remembers the day
he met two of his future fellow
bandmates. He was half-fearing for
his life.
l called my friend who is a cop and was like,
'l am meeting these guys about their band.
You have to come with me. l don't want to end
up dead,'" he recalls with a chuckle.
ln all fairness, it is a reasonable worry when
you opt to meet anyone on Craigslist.
Gill, 23, a skilled drummer from Northeast
Philly, was sick of only playing with musicians
interested in hardcore. ln an attempt to fnd
a band whose music he'd actually listen to,
Gill sent out a hopeful message into the vast
reaches of the lnternet in April 2009.
Then he waited.

A
few months later, Chris Kissel and
Melissa Menago were presented
with the all-too-familiar Now what?"
scenario after graduating from Drexel
University. Though they had earned degrees in
the music industry program from a prestigious
university, the pair of musicians were at a loss
for what was supposed to happen next.
When you go through the job hunt it just
gets boring and discouraging," says Menago,
24, the band's front-woman vocalist/guitarist
extraordinaire. Chris and l started writing
together that summer just for fun."
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l tried to come back for basketball season and
tore my ACL, MCL and cartilage. l basically
didn't have anything inside my knee left. That
forced me to sit on the couch for a while. That
was when l really started playing guitar."
l also got into music due to a sports injury,"
begins Mancinelli, 24, from South Jersey. l
got cut from the basketball team freshman
year and ended up with a lot of free time."
That's not an injury Rich!" Kissel teasingly
interrupts. You got cut. There's kind of a
difference!"
For his part, Mancinelli jokingly insists he's
not really in the band. The former vocalist/
keyboardist/ guitarist of Taking Sides and
a Drexel classmate, Mancinelli became the
bassist in September 2010 after the original
bassist, Dane Kline, left to pursue his PhD.
Mancinelli picked up Kline's complicated
bass groove in time for the band to begin
recording their frst EP.
They worked with yet another Drexel
colleague, Alec Henninger, 24, a producer
at Soundmine Studios in the Poconos. After
months of practicing, playing, mixing and
mastering, their six-song EP, ;OL 6[OLY :PKL
VM@V\, dropped in February 2011.
A
nd that's when the whirlwind began.
They landed a spot playing their
single, Bullet," live on Radio 104.5.
That song wound up getting airtime on
WXPN. Suddenly, the Philly band was Texas-
bound on a road trip to play the South by
Southwest music festival.
While driving through the desolate Southern
states, the group grew bored and silent.
Then, manager Lenny Sasso, another Drexel
classmate, received a phone call. The van
erupted with Sasso's screaming. All of the
sudden, everyone's phones started ringing
in unison. Everyone was calling to tell them
that June Divided was getting airtime on 93.3
WMMR during Jaxon's Local Shots" show.
Gill hurriedly launched his WMMR app on
his iPhone so they all could fully enjoy the
moment.
We pulled over and were so excited,
hugging each other," Kissel recalls. lt was
pretty surreal."
The hungry band tapped into more Drexel
connections - Dylan Steinberg, Bruce
Pinchbeck and Dante Molino - to help conceive
and direct their frst music video, for "Bullet."
Menago and Kissel had helped Steinberg and
Pinchbeck when they were flm students by
composing scores for their shorts.
Mancinelli wrinkles his nose as the
conversation turns to the video. He had to
wear eye-liner.
Menago ruefully adds how nervous she was
to be on camera.
You mean 'Miss Natural' over here?" Gill
exclaims. Please, they were convinced you
took acting classes."
She ends the complimentary tte--tte
with, Well, they did use our eyes the most
throughout the video."
Gill leans toward Menago and the two meet
for an enthusiastic high-fve.
T
he band's focus now is pushing the
EP so that people can appreciate their
talents. lt's all-consuming work - they
are scheduled to perform numerous concerts
in the coming months.
No matter where we are or what we do,
it always comes back to the band," Kissel
boasts.
lt is amazing," Gill adds. We've only really
been together, working seriously at this for
less then a year."
ln that time, they've forged a bond, taken
advantage of connections and established
themselves on the local music scene. ln May,
they were nominated for Mtv's freshman of
the week, and that garnered them national
attention.
Their journey is far from over. Their next
goal is to get back into the studio to record
their frst full length album, one that promises
to refect the professional attitude and mind-
blowing sound they've created.
INTERWEBBED:
(L to Rj Keith Gill, Melissa
Menago, Rich Mancinelli
and Chris Kissel.
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