Vid Pick: June Divided – I Didn’t Mind

Philly pop-rock foursome June Divided are ready for war … Body Wars, that is.

Body Wars is the title of the band’s just released album, the lead single off of which is the incredibly catchy “I Didn’t Mind.”

Consisting of Melissa Menago (vocals, keys, guitar), Chris Kissel (guitar), Keith Gill (drums), and Lenny Sasso (bass), June Divided recently completed a U.S. tour that saw them hit numerous cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and South.

Wanting to know more about the band, I caught up with Menago to ask her about their music, the interesting situations they’ve found themselves in while on the road, and where they were when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.

Tell everyone a little bit about your new album, Body Wars. The title is intriguing.
 
The hook of the title track is pretty self-explanatory – “Why can’t the head and heart just get along now?”

It’s about being at war with oneself, inner conflict, and how to survive it. 
 
You recently released a video for the single “I Didn’t Mind.” What makes this a perfect song to introduce listeners to the album?
 
It was a fun song to write, it's a fun song to play live, so we made a fun video for it. It’s upbeat and hooky, but we snuck some theory in there for music nerds, too. That’s our band in a nutshell.
 
How personal are the lyrics to you? And if they’re extremely personal, does the person the song is about know it’s about them?
 
My lyrics are always extremely personal. People closest to me respect my privacy and don’t really ever ask, and I appreciate that. I’ve never been too concerned about it (though). I’d rather be honest in a song, and get my feelings out, instead of worrying who will assume what. For me, honesty is the whole point of writing music in the first place.

 
You just finished up a tour. Every band has at least a few interesting stories from the road – getting pulled over, engine troubles, accidentally leaving a member at a gas station – when I say “insane tour story” what’s the first story of yours that comes to mind?
 
We’ve done literally all of the things you mentioned. {laughs}

One time we pulled over so Lenny could pee, and to mess with him Keith began to pull the van away. It was all fun and games until an officer pulled up behind us to yell at us for messing around on the side of a road. We're usually pretty safe and responsible, though.
 
You hail from Philly, a city well known for music. What’s one thing you absolutely love about your city’s music scene, and what’s one thing you’d absolutely love to change about your city’s music scene?
 
It’s so awesome how supportive the artists are of each other here. That’s really something special.

Honestly, the only thing I wish would change are the liquor laws. PA has strict liquor laws, which makes it hard for the venues here to do all-ages shows. A lot of rooms are 21+, and it just makes everything even more difficult on bands, fans, and venues alike.
 
Staying in Philly, the Eagles won the Super Bowl this past season; were any of you in the streets and/or climbing street signs during the celebration?
 
If any of us did climb a street sign, it may have been Keith.

The entire city went absolutely insane.

We were all over the city. Chris was in center city, Lenny was somewhere, and I was on Two Street in South Philly and the Mummers were out in full force. It was wild.
 
Since you didn’t climb a street sign, what would be something you’d be so happy about that you would climb a street sign in celebration?
 
If the Eagles do it again!

For more June Divided check out at junedivided.com, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.