David Melillo was born on June 12, 1988 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey[citation needed] to David A. Melillo Sr. and Gina A. Melillo. Marissa is also another popular singer/songwriter. Dave grew up in East Hanover, NJ and started his performance experiences in a play in first grade and then again in East Hanover Middle School. He also was a Papermill Playhouse Player for a few years. When he was in 7th grade his family decided to move to Florida. After moving to Celebration, Florida in December 2000, he learned how to play the guitar, the bass guitar and the piano and eventually began writing songs. While attending Celebration High School, he played in church ensembles, as well as amateur rock bands, before fronting the short-lived garage band Trexx as the lead singer/bassist, along with guitarists Clark Spurlock and Tyler Norman and drummer Nick Petriella.
In mid-2004, Melillo began to take classes at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida, where he participated in dual enrollment while he finished up high school . Simultaneously, he formed the Taking Back Sunday-inspired indie rock band Arcana with fellow students. While their submitted two-song demo fell on deaf ears with Drive-Thru Records, the band split in late 2004, a mere four months after their formation. Following the failures of his past bands, Melillo decided to write some solo material, recorded three acoustic songs and uploaded them to his PureVolume profile. He sent a link to Drive-Thru Records owner Richard Reines, who invited Melillo to play a showcase for the label and signed him immediately in December 2004, at the tender age of sixteen.
Come January, Melillo made his debut on the Drive-Thru Records and PureVolume compilation album Bands You Love, Have Heard of, and Should Know (2005) with his song "Wait for It". He began playing acoustic one-man shows, while going to college two days out of the week to obtain his high school diploma. Melillo spent the following summer recording with producer James Wisner, as well as putting his touring band together, which made its stage debut on August 27 at the Backbooth in Orlando, Florida. The band comprised guitarist Spurlock, bassist Matt Mendes (who had previously been in Arcana) and drummer Dave Hernandez (who was soon replaced by Nate Mullins).
Melillo's debut EP, titled Talk Is Cheap, was first released on April 17, 2006 as a free digital download from mtvU. The physical CD release was issued on June 13 through Drive-Thru Records, containing one extra track. Melillo toured with Cute Is What We Aim For playing backup rhythm guitar on the 2007 Warped Tour. He also toured with them as an opening act on Fall Out Boy's Young Wild Things Tour. Melillo is a vegetarian. Cute Is What We Aim For has recently announced that Dave is now a permanent member of the band. In the couple weeks after Cute's demise was announced, Dave posted new solo demos on his DMVault purevolume page.
