Monmouth University alumnae, Taylor Memoli and Gabrielle Sangataldo, co-founded The Underground Edit shortly after Memoli’s graduation in May 2025. With a focus on the music scene in Asbury Park, the magazine also covers a range of topics in literature, film, and art through multi-weekly interviews, content reviews, and conversational segments.
Monmouth’s chapter of Women in Music hosted Memoli and Sangataldo in the Lauren K. Woods Theatre inviting students to learn all about The Underground Edit through a presentation. The crowd was lively and enthusiastic while awaiting the presentation
This kind of buzz seems to naturally follow them.
After getting their start locally within The Outlook, both serving as Entertainment Editor’s and Editor’s-in-Chief, the two decided to continue pursuing their passion for music post-graduation.
“We had prior experience with the music industry by working with musicians at Monmouth. This is certainly a musical job; however, I can’t sing and I can’t touch an instrument, but my whole life I’ve been obsessed with music and the history behind it. This is an avenue that I gravitated towards that allows me to be a part of something I love,” Memoli told students.
Sangataldo agreed and said, “I’ve always been involved in music. I did musical theatre in high school, sang, and played the piano and the guitar. But even if you’re someone who isn’t necessarily musically inclined, simply having the opportunity to talk to musicians and get to know their inspirations and grind-mindset can be extremely rewarding.”
The girls recognized the fact that post-grad can come with the pressure of finding a job immediately after. That same pressure is exactly what sparked the idea for an online magazine. “Why are we going to wait for an opportunity to come to us when we can make our own opportunity. That’s basically how this all started,” said Sangataldo.
That spark exploded into an 18-person team with over 150 published articles that have been read by tens of thousands of readers across various platforms.
“We’ve interviewed countless musicians; local, national, and international. We have writers across the country now and even had a writer from London email us with an article she had written. There was also a band from Australia that we talked to,” Sangataldo explained.
There’s plenty that goes on behind the scenes to keep The Underground Edit moving. Memoli explained that they both have full-time jobs and are not getting paid to do this. They seek out artists, coordinate interviews, attend events, and produce original work all while managing a team, solely fueled by a love for the game.
This past year, they attended the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park on press passes and have had partnerships with local organizations. “The most prevalent is River Jam Music which is a non-profit based here in Monmouth County. What they do is provide funding and mentorship to up and coming song writers, helping them write a song, record, and produce it,” said Sangataldo.
The Underground Edit’s relationship with River Jam Music operates a bit differently. Every two months they host a “Songs and Stories” event based in Red Bank where accomplished musicians play some songs and talk about their muses. Memoli and Sangataldo then interview them as a preview for each show.
Through these partnerships and their own independent outreach, Memoli and Sangataldo have had the chance to connect with musicians across a wide variety of genres, backgrounds, and status levels. One thing that makes The Underground Edit stand out is their willingness to look past mainstream artists and concentrate on the “underground” ones who also deserve the spotlight.
“Sometimes we receive DM’s or emails from bands and musicians requesting an interview. A lot of times we seek out people who we genuinely listen to. In terms of our criteria, we’d really cover any genre. We’ve done electronic music and do a lot of indie-rock but we’re open to everything,” said Sangataldo.
Memoli mentioned that she had the opportunity to interview Allie Sandt, an artist that she has long admired.
Sangataldo further clarified what being an underground artist means to them. “Categorically when we say underground we look for people with under two million monthly Spotify listeners, but we’d never turn anyone down if the number was two million and one. It’s different for literature where we look at press coverage, but that’s our basis for music.”
Along the way, Memoli and Sangataldo have learned valuable lessons about the importance of creating opportunities for themselves and others.
“When we first started, I was so nervous to talk to musicians. Now that we’ve been doing it for a while I feel way more comfortable and confident walking into an interview. At the end of the day, they really are just people too,” said Sangataldo.
Memoli, in reflection, said, “I’m just so impressed and proud of how we did it all. We realized how accessible this is, and yes, we love music, but so do so many other people. Since we’ve gained a following I’ve learned that local music is so accessible. We have people in other states that are now following bands from Asbury Park because of what we do.”
The two ended on a note that highlighted the importance of finding your people. After meeting through The Outlook, they started this online magazine and have now connected with hundreds of people that share their same interests. They found an outlet for their passion and have built a community of like-minded creatives, proving that the most rewarding opportunities can be the ones you create yourself.
