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With the release of their latest record entitled "A Guide To Better Living", New York City's own SOS is doing much to carve out their own niche in the world of music. Intertwining numerous elements of diverse styles and generations of music into a cohesive, profoundly impacting sonic declaration, SOS is going for a vibe that transcends generalization and stereotypical classification. The group is the brainchild and pride and joy of guitarist Mike SOS, a name that should not be unfamiliar to many of our readers. As a well-respected journalist who contributes to more than two handfuls of rock publications, the songwriter's knowledge of a vide variety of sounds and techniques shines through on "A Guide To Better Living." From the foreboding, brooding tone of "Middle Ground" to the buzzing creativity of "Scenic Route", a track earmarked by an upbeat theme that breaks down into otherworldly sequences. "The Wedding Guy" is a track that owes much to good old fashioned Hollywood rock and even though SOS certainly throw down in suitable fashion, their music remains unobtrusive enough to ensure massive appeal. His wisdom and experience are plain to see upon hearing the wild array of directions he draws from as an artist. Even more importantly, he has a well-trained ear to put those varied, stylistic inspirations into a context that makes a lot of sense. There's no shortage of critics pandering for artists who offer substance, variety and creativity. This New York outfit offers each of those much-needed attributes in plentiful quantities and whether you're a fan of underground music or just like rock music in general, you'd do well to take notice.
The Gauntlet: It has been a couple of years since people last heard SOS. What has changed in this period of time? How are things different for you this time around?
Mike SOS: Different for us? The musical landscape in general is always shifting. I think that I have been finding solace in older, heavier music. I've been listening to Sabbath, constantly. Not that I never have, but I'm shedding the mainstream and trying to delve a little deeper into stuff. Finding bands that I dig and go back and see what they were into. Bands like Mastodon, bands like Nirvana. Listening to him not because he was the guy that shot his head off, but because he was a good songwriter. Delve into that. Delve into the early NWOBHM that spawned an amazing wealth of bands, Metallica and stuff like that. To dig a littler deeper and see what's up with bands like that. Also, I'm focused on having an ear for good songwriting and a range for good stuff. To try to expose ourselves to different types of stuff. We're older now. I'm thirty, Adam, he's twenty-nine. We're not kids anymore. The bullshit detector is on full blast and when we write crap, to try and admit it to ourselves.
The Gauntlet: From your background as a journalist, I personally expected that your sound would be a bit more hardcore.
Mike SOS: Yeah, see that's the thing, a lot of people think that, and I'm not opposed to that. I'm pretty big on hardcore. Stuff like that has always been a mainstay. My brother used to run an …underground metal club in New York and everybody came through the door, Hatebreed, Sworn Enemy. So they came out, those are bands that I'm really familiar with, but it's not us. We're kind of like a hybrid of all that. I was into Scorpions and Dokken when I was 10 years old. I was never one of those kids hanging out in the East Village with a Mohawk and chains hanging off them, that was never me. I was more like the detached observer, checking stuff out, stuff like that. There are elements of that in our music, but that's not us, per se.
The Gauntlet: Really, I hear a lot of the Seattle sound in your music…
Mike SOS: Adam and I, when we first joined together, we were really big on that. We first formed in '94, '95, so that was always a big influence for us. Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden. I think we envelop that spirit as well. When Soundgarden came out with their kind of pseudo-metal, that's how we latched onto that.
The Gauntlet: But you do combine that sound with much heavier stuff and it comes off well. Everything makes sense. Obviously, you're open to a wide range of sounds…
Mike SOS: That's one of the greatest gifts that I have, to write stuff, because I get exposed to so much stuff. It's not necessarily plagiarism, but I think that I can capture someone's ideas into the SOS format and make things exciting or make music that's different. It's recognizable, but you still know it is us. That's the thing with us to. We can write a Neil Young ballad. We can write a Motorhead song. We can do some kind of grandiose Coheed and Cambria thing, or Zeppelin, because that's what we're into. That's what we're into right now. I get so much stuff, between the promos and the stuff I buy. Recently, this band Coliseum – very dirty, kind of hardcore, kind of metal crossover. Sabbath. I can always put any Sabbath stuff in, the Ozzy stuff anyway. It puts me in a different place. I've got a suitcase full of CDs that I've gotta go through. Occasionally, I get surprised. A band I reviewed last night called Send More Paramedics, from the UK, they've got a really good Misfits, Slayer, S.O.D. vibe going on. They do it really well. There's just a plethora of stuff. In terms of mainstream, I think My Chemical Romance is brilliant with what they are doing to revive real, emotional rock 'n' roll that's quasi-corporate. But let's face it, they're doing the right thing. I saw them at the Warped tour this year and they blew me away performance-wise and the control that they had over the crowd was awesome. It was like Metallica levels; it was like, levels of U2. It's that zombified, blind following that you don't see often. The thing with them is that they are smart and they're creative. They cross over well – they talk to the punk kids, they talk to the Goth girls, they talk to the rock guys. They have a good spectrum of voice, you know?
The Gauntlet: As of late, you've been looking for a new drummer. Is this going to affect the band in terms of playing live?
Mike SOS: Part of the problem is that we are living here in New York. At the age that Adam and I are at, it's kind of difficult to get someone in and get them acclimated with the program. We're trying people out though. It's the same old thing, its like people just don't get it, they don't catch up or they're just not into it. "People say we're too heavy, they say we're too light. You guys are good but you're not for me". It's very frustrating.
The Gauntlet: Is the intent here to make a really big push to get the new stuff out there in front of people and get this new record in their hands? Is that the focus right now?
Mike SOS: I'd like to sell some; realistically I know that a lot of people don't take gambles on unheard of albums. I'm really working hard. We put out a thousand promos. We're gonna be doing another radio campaign in the next six months, hopefully to coincide with new live dates. I want to do this. This is not just a hobby. I'm working hard at it, it's something I'm good at. It's something that I know that I can do. The question is making all these things happen and trying to get three or four other guys to realize that and it's difficult. At the age I'm at, I'm thirty. Guys like me, they have mortgages and children and working and stuff. I've put a lot of personal relationships and professional advances aside.
The Gauntlet: Is there any chance that the band will be popping up for some dates with your studio drummer?
Mike SOS: It's kind of cost prohibitive for me at this point. Were we're at, we're really struggling here to make ends meet. So to do something on that kind of level, we'd need some kind of backing, or some kind of assistance. Right now, I don't think we're really in a position to do that. I've incurred a lot of debt, between the band and between other artistic endeavors and really have to take care of that before I consider grabbing and going in the van. Of course I'd love to, that's a dream – but its kind of old. I really want to get a lot of songs down and get a cohesive line-up in and do shows around here. I think where you guys are situated; it's a little difficult. But I could definitely swing a Boston or a Jersey or Connecticut, that's an hour away. Every year, we do the New York City Marathon, we play at the marathon, we play out on the sidewalk. The runners, the whole marathon actually runs right past. That's why we have a problem finding new members and have to rely on the old members, because we have a back catalogue. We're on stage, we're on there for four hours. We do that every year. It's pretty intense, you know? But it's the best gig in the world.
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