Childhood friends Ralph Cuseglio (vocals) and Jon Gonnelli (guitar) yearned to play rock music and at the helm of grunge, the two formed Rye Coalition. David Leto joined in to play drums and brought along his childhood mate, Justin Morey, to play bass. A dynamic within the group was tight, while Herb Wiley was added to make it a sure fit. The members of Rye Coalition were barely 20 when they issued their five-song demo, The Dancing Man, in 1994. A few shows in and around their native New York sparked a fervent desire, but they were a working-class band who came from well-educated households. Cuseglio and Gonnelli attended college in New Jersey, whereas Wiley left the group in 1996 to do t...
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