JANINE MESSINEO-BANNON- Lead Vocals
Born in Brooklyn, New York, vocalist Janine Messineo-Bannon started playing guitar in her early teens. At the age of thirteen, she switched to the bass guitar after first hearing Iron Maiden. “As soon as I heard Steve Harris, I just fell in LOVE with the bass.” At around the same time, Janine had started singing as well as playing bass. Through the 80s and 90s, she played in several hard rock and heavy metal bands in the New York area. In 2007, she joined The Wrong Side of 40, a popular party rock band, as a bassist and vocalist. She remained with them for about seven years. In 2017, Janine joined another New York band called Dirty Martini and later played bass for Heartless until 2018. In 2021, she relocated to New Bern, North Carolina and quickly connected with Due East, one of the biggest bands in the eastern NC area. Unfortunately, the band broke up in November of 2022. Not long after, Janine reached out to her cousin and fellow bassist Sean, and suggested they start working together… and the rest is history. Janine brings a very dynamic, energetic voice & attitude to the band.
PATRICK HEMENWAY- Guitars, vocals
Shawn Patrick Hemenway was born August 24th 1987 & started playing guitar at 15 years old. The guitar has opened a lot of doors and conversations for him. As a young boy, he enjoyed loud “classic rock” thanks to the great musical taste of his parent’s generation such as Van Halen, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Eagles, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd just to name a few! The first albums from Patrick’s generation that made music “my life”, helped fuel this obsession or made him pay attention to modern music at all, would be the Red-Hot Chili Peppers album Californication and Salivas Every Six Seconds. Guitar lessons would be a gift that his grandmother paid for to get him out of the house during his brother’s speech lessons. Patrick’s guitar mentor, Tim Rowe, would help shape his musical taste for the next decade. As soon as he listened to a demo of Tim’s band “Sky Witch”, that was it. He had been stung by the Metal Bug! Going to “Sky Witch” practices and being a roadie for the band, gave Patrick an insight on what it was really like to be in a band before ever officially joining one. Once he had found the band Metallica, that would be THE band that flipped the switch for him. At that point in his life, all Patrick wanted to do was play guitar in a band after graduating high school. “Somedays I would skip work, work on songs & lyrics and jump around in my bedroom to Metallica videos”. In high school he would meet and jam with a lot of people with plenty of projects that never made it out the garage. At the age of 23, he would become one of the founding members of an original band called Bare Noble (Steve’s son was the drummer of the band)! He cut his teeth into this band as a singer/songwriter and a lead guitar player, learning along the way what it really takes to get 5 people on the same page. Bare Noble won 2 battle of the bands contests, played festivals, recorded a demo at the Wave Factor Studio as well as an EP at the Red Room Recording Studio. and countless shows all across ENC. They even got some airplay from one of the local rock radio stations “home grown” segment . “I am proud to have landed a home here with Roos In The Attic and be a part of the awesome talent the other members bring”.
SEAN O’DONNELL- Bass guitar, vocals
Born in Astoria, New York, Sean was exposed to many different styles of music from an early age, since his mother’s vinyl collection included Motown, surf music and the British Invasion groups. As a kid growing up in the 70s, he began listening to heavier music such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Who. It was at that time that he began to show an interest in actually playing a musical instrument. In the 80s, Sean bought his first drum set. Although he enjoyed playing the drums, he became more interested in the sound of the bass guitar. “The big moment for me was when I first heard The Who “Live at Leeds”. Once I heard John Entwistle’s gritty tone and killer attack, I knew that I wanted to play the bass”. In 1985, Sean bought his first bass guitar, which he still has to this very day. From the start, he realized that he could easily figure out the songs – just by listening. One thing that helped him improve learning bass was breaking his leg in 1987. “Seriously, I was stuck in the house with little else to do, other than practice. There were many days when I would put in 12 hours a day of non-stop practice”. In 1998, Sean sold his drumkit and used the proceeds to buy his first “big” bass amp. Over the next few years, he floated from one band to another, learning whatever styles he could along the way. In 1991, Sean joined Citizen Pain, a thrash metal band out of Jersey, who were evolving into a more groove-oriented hardcore outfit. The band grew in popularity as they played notable NJ venues. By the end of 1992, Sean began to feel “confined” by the music. It wasn’t that he didn’t dig the music, he did, but he was also listening to other styles and he wanted to do more. He decided to leave the band so in 1993, Sean bounced around from one band to another, while expanding his styles, which ranged from garage rock, to heavy metal to funk. Because of his diversity, he often found himself involved in as many as four projects at any given time, whether it was a last minute studio session or a surprise live show. From 1998 to 2016, Sean played in New Jersey bands like The Guttersnipes, Savant, Fever Vein and Whiskey Time Machine before he “retired”. In 2021, Sean moved to New Bern, NC to start a new life. He didn’t immediately look for any musical projects, but when he got the itch to play again, he posted a profile online. That was when Harold Hart, the original front man of Roos In The Attic contacted him. Sean will tell you “the rest is history”.
STEVE O’NEAL – Drums, vocals
Steve began playing the drums & singing at the age of five after hearing The Beatles first American LP release “Meet The Beatles”. His Aunt Susie was in a record club at the time & received their first American LP released on Capitol. She told her nephew that he would probably like this band. Boy, was she ever right! After hearing the first cut “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, Steve was hooked, just like so many others! He loved the band, especially the drums and their great melodies & harmonies. Because of this, he learned to play the drums & sing at the same time (which has turned out to be a plus). He was truly inspired! Although he has had a wide variety of influences during his career (Van Halen, Yes, Rush, Zeppelin, Boston, Queensryche, Dream Theatre, The Police, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Sammy Hagar, Eric Johnson, etc.), it was The Beatles that turned him on to rock ‘n roll. After playing in local Carolina bands since the age of thirteen, Steve moved to New England in 1982 to pursue his career in cities such as Boston, Hartford, & New York City. While in the northeast, he played drums & sang for Dirty Blonde, Problem Child & Juvy Hall and when not spending time in a recording studio recording originals, opened for national acts. Those bands were fairly successful but when the music scene (& market) began to change, Steve decided to pack up his wife & kids in 1995 and move back home to North Carolina. He would eventually meet Harold Hart in 1997 and began playing drums & singing for Bombay Circus until the band’s demise in 2005. In 2010, Steve & Harold got back together to start another band and formed Category 5, which eventually led to the current band, Roos In The Attic. Over time & after several lineup changes within the band, Steve & Harold parted ways. After a couple of months, Steve and Sean decided to continue on with Roos In The Attic & eventually joined forces with Janine and Patrick. Steve brings tons of stage & recording experience to the band (he owns & operates his own studio – The Wave Factor Recording Studio).
Steve began playing the drums & singing at the age of five after hearing The Beatles first American LP release “Meet The Beatles”. His Aunt Susie was in a record club at the time & received their first American LP released on Capitol. She told her nephew that he would probably like this band. Boy, was she ever right! After hearing the first cut “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, Steve was hooked, just like so many others! He loved the band, especially the drums and their great melodies & harmonies. Because of this, he learned to play the drums & sing at the same time (which has turned out to be a plus). He was truly inspired! Although he has had a wide variety of influences during his career (Van Halen, Yes, Rush, Zeppelin, Boston, Queensryche, Dream Theatre, The Police, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Sammy Hagar, Eric Johnson, etc.), it was The Beatles that turned him on to rock ‘n roll. After playing in local Carolina bands since the age of thirteen, Steve moved to New England in 1982 to pursue his career in cities such as Boston, Hartford, & New York City. While in the northeast, he played drums & sang for Dirty Blonde, Problem Child & Juvy Hall and when not spending time in a recording studio recording originals, opened for national acts. Those bands were fairly successful but when the music scene (& market) began to change, Steve decided to pack up his wife & kids in 1995 and move back home to North Carolina. He would eventually meet Harold Hart in 1997 and began playing drums & singing for Bombay Circus until the band’s demise in 2005. In 2010, Steve & Harold got back together to start another band and formed Category 5, which eventually led to the current band, Roos In The Attic. Over time & after several lineup changes within the band, Steve & Harold parted ways. After a couple of months, Steve and Sean decided to continue on with Roos In The Attic & eventually joined forces with Janine and Patrick. Steve brings tons of stage & recording experience to the band (he owns & operates his own studio – The Wave Factor Recording Studio).