NOISEY 150: SO SO GLOS

How to best tell the story of The So So Glos? Their music is 1980s British punk revivalism, and their live shows are kick-you-in-the-face-then-cry-into-your-hands dance fests. You won't find their tunes for sale online, but you can see the guys at venues all over Brooklyn. That’s probably the best way to recount their tale, via location:

Location One: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

This is where Alex and Ryan Levine (yeah, they’re brothers) attended preschool with their little buddy Zach Staggers. Zach’s dad and Alex and Ryan’s mom had an affair, and they both divorced their respective spouses and got married, making all three of these young tykes brothers, sort of. The three dudes were already friends, but when their parents launched divorce proceedings they turned to music for comfort, even though they had no real training.

After suffering through an awkward Ska phase—received with polite delight at community centers and VFW halls—the band transitioned into New York hardcore and took the name Every Other Weekend as a tribute to divorce.

Location Two: Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

This is where the boys became the So So Glos. The name was a tribute to the bo-ho Williamsburg, the “so-so afterglow” attained by young folks who took on attributes of the culture that came before them.

Location Three: Bushwick, Brooklyn.

After a period of transiency and a railroad apartment in Long Island City, the band brought guitarist Matt Elkin into the fold and helped found the Market Hotel, a then-beloved Bushwick venue. The Market Hotel met an untimely end a few years later at the hands of the New York City police department.

Location Four: The East Williamsburg Industrial Park, Brooklyn.

When the original Shea Stadium was demolished in 2009, the boys opened up a new venue with the same name. The band are all avid Mets fans, having started their first, self-titled record in 2006, when the Mets won the National League East title, yet failed to make it to the World Series.