(Originally published on Examiner.com on July 26, 2012)
June Divided has a lot of things going for them right now. Since forming in 2010, the band released an EP, The Other Side of You, and has been touring non-stop. Their music has been getting a lot of support, including becoming a finalist in the 2011 Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands. Not bad for a band that never planned on being a band.
The band released their debut full length, Backbone, on July 10, 2012, and is currently playing the 2012 Vans Warped Tour on the Ernie Ball stage.
I had the chance to chat with band members Melissa Menago (vocals, guitar), Chris Kissel (guitar), Keith Gill (drums), and Lenny Sasso (bass) during the Nassau Coliseum stop of the Vans Warped Tour to talk about the band, influences, Backbone, the attention their music has been getting them, and playing Warped Tour for the first time.
How did you guys form the band?
Melissa: Chris and I met in college while we were studying music, and it actually started out as a college project that we took it a little further when we graduated. We jokingly kind of were looking for a drummer and we found one on Craigslist.
Chris: Yeah. And Lenny kind of fell into our laps from a friend of ours.
Melissa: It started out as something that we were just doing for fun but…
Keith: We weren’t really planning on doing this.
Melissa: Yeah, but it’s been going well so we’ve just kind of ran with it.
Who are some of your influences?
Melissa: Jimmy Eat World
Chris: Thrice
Lenny: Senses Fail, a little bit.
Keith: I say it every time, Yellowcard.
So, are you excited to be on tour with Yellowcard?
Keith: Yes, this is awesome. We haven’t seen them yet though.
Lenny: We haven’t actually gotten to see them yet, but we were walking by the Bandhappy tent yesterday…
Yeah, they were on early today…
Keith: Yeah, I didn’t get a chance to see them yet, but we still have 11 days, so… I’ll catch them…
Senses Fail is also on the tour…
Lenny: Yeah
Chris: This is also our first day so it’s kind of like… we’ll see everyone eventually.
Melissa: We’re kind of dears in the headlights right now
Lenny: I really want to track down Buddy though and just have a one-on-one with him. I feel like he’s the kind of guy that would blow your mind. Like, you want to pick his brain. He’s got a lot to say.
This is your first time on Warped Tour?
Melissa: We played one date last year. We played our home town for Battle of the Bands. That’s actually how we ended up on the tour, we were one of the finalists.
You guys just released an album, Backbone, last week…
Melissa: Yes!
Chris: Pretty close to that
Melissa: It feels like forever ago but I’m pretty sure it was just last week.
Could you tell me a little about the album?
Melissa: It’s called Backbone.
Chris: It’s awesome
Melissa: It was self-funded and fan-funded. We’re not signed. We did that for a reason. We recorded it in February, we spent three weeks in the studio, I don’t think I stepped outside the studio in three weeks. Anyone else got anything to add about Backbone?
Keith: It was different from the EP because the EP we weren’t really trying as much.
Melissa: The EP was like a fun little project that we did
Keith: And then once people started catching on to it and started liking it, it was like, you know, let’s start putting out something that we’ll actually try to do. You know what I mean?
Melissa: This is the most clear representation of the band. We’ll always love the EP, but this is definitely who the band is right now.
What do you think of the response your music has been getting over the past few years?
Lenny: It’s been getting a great response. A lot of people have been very perceptive.
Melissa: I think that’s why we’re here right now.
Lenny: Yeah, that’s definitely why we’re here. I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback on the new record. Everybody really loves the songs.
What are you guys most looking forward to during Warped Tour this year? You said it’s your first day…
Melissa: I guess talking to fans. I like seeing, like, diehard music fans. Yesterday we were in Camden… this is our first real set, we played acoustic yesterday… we saw kids just trekking out in the rain.
Chris: It’s cool. We have headphones attached with our CD so you can listen to it and go around and talk to people. Like, that first moment when they put on the headphones and their face kinda lights up and they’re like “oh yeah, you’re right, that doesn’t suck.” We’re okay. That kind of look is pretty cool.
Melissa: Yeah. It’s hard. People are skeptical when we’re not one of the headliners. I got to give a hand to people who actually put the headphones on and listen.
Lenny: I’m definitely looking forward to sharing experiences with the other bands that are on this tour too. Like I said before, I would love to just meet Buddy from Senses Fail and just to like, talk about stuff like this. Like, what it’s like being on the road, because being able to surround yourself with more experienced bands kind of helps us out. We’ve only been doing this a year and a half. They’ve been straight doing this for years.
Keith: I don’t as much look at it as just specifically getting new fans and playing in front of people, but as much of a learning experience to help us grow…
Chris: …and building friends…
::agreement::
Melissa: That’s a good one…
Chris: … That’s a big thing. You know, talking with other bands. Like, we played an acoustic set yesterday and a few guys were there that never heard of us before, and me and Lenny saw them today and they were like “that was awesome yesterday,” and were hanging out today, came up to us. So that’s kind of cool…
Melissa: We could probably write a novel of all the things we’re looking forward to on Warped Tour
Chris: A lot. Especially like, going to Warped Tour as I was younger for years and now we’re actually playing it.
Do you have any plans for after Warped Tour yet?
Melissa: We’re just gonna be… probably a lot of touring
Lenny: Non-stop touring
Melissa: We’re just trying to promote the album as much as we can. Maybe a music video… definitely a music video.
Backbone is available now. June Divided will be on the Vans Warped Tour through August 1st. To find out more about the band, check out their Facebook page.
Click here to read my review of the 2012 Vans Warped Tour.
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