The New Division

The New Division began as a college dorm room project for songwriter John Kunkel back in 2005. After moving from Uruguay (where he resided for 18 years) to Southern California. Kunkel began experimenting with synthesizers after being heavily influenced by the sounds of Joy Division, New Order, and Depeche Mode. Originally, the name “New Division” was meant as an artist working title for songs that would never be released. Within a few months Kunkel developed a series of songs that attracted other fellow college students at California Baptist University. By the end of 2007, the one man New Division project had transformed into a four piece. Michael Janz (aka “Janzie” by friends) was the first member to be added after Kunkel discovered the two shared common interests in musical tastes. Shortly thereafter both began playing mini-shows in their college dorm which eventually attracted a number of students, including Brock Woolsey who would later be recruited for an on campus battle of the bands to play guitar. After successfully achieving first place, The New Division started gaining attention in their local city of Riverside, CA. They were asked to play at several local venues, including the well adored “Back to the Grind” coffee house. During one of their many shows at this location the band met Mark Michalski, who at the time was a dedicated fan of the group. Kunkel, seeing the need for an additional keyboardist recruited Michalski who later played an integral part in shaping the band’s sound.