Faris Albayya (Drums/Vocals)
Hailing from the Mitten state, this beatsmith adds heart, horsepower, and harmony from the back of the house. With over a decade behind the kit, he has an ear for good timing and good times. His daily soundtrack is likely to include everything from second-liners to double-kick heavies, including artists Stanton Moore (Galactic, etc), Will Calhoun (Living Colour) and John Bonham (Zep), among many others. Faris has driven the sticks for numerous projects, several of which with good friend and SGL bassist, Matt Mahoney.
Kevin Greenstein (Piano/Keyboards/Vocals)
Kevin has been playing piano for virtually all of his sentient life (since he was four years old). He began his studies with Mrs. Nash (a Miami native with shocking white hair), and then studied classical piano with Justine Broadhurst for approximately 10 years. Kevin was the accompanist for the jazz choir in high school, then played a combination of piano bar, jazz, rock, and Broadway in college at Binghamton University. He played every Thursday and Saturday night at a bar called Melody’s, and earned money in the summer playing in bars in New York City and Long Island. After graduating from Binghamton, Kevin moved to New York City, where he continued to play professionally both in the city (at Anthony Bourdain’s One Fifth and at O’Flaherty’s on Restaurant Row) and out on the Hamptons. Kevin released an electronic/house track with Future Music in 2002, Today, Kevin lives near Boston with his wife and two daughters. He runs Inside Hockey and Band Letter and he teaches three courses each semester at Suffolk University.
Scott Levine (Guitar/Vocals)
Scott began playing music when his parents bought him a marching band play set at the age of 2. When he was 5 he went to a friend’s house where he discovered his friends’ fathers drum set. From that point on, Scott dreamed of becoming a drummer. When the startup costs and potential annoyance factor proved too much for his parents, Scott was forced to give up his dream, and set his sights on being a singer. After piano and clarinet lessons at the insistence of his parents proved effective at teaching Scott musical theory and creating a “discipline problem,” Scott finally got the chance to sing in a band. His formerly angelic voice then changed, once again dashing his hopes of superstardom. Not to be outdone before he turned 13, he decided that he could play the guitar, and play the guitar he did. Under the tutelage of Chris McDermott, Scott learned the in and outs of many genres of music during marathon four-hour lessons. Scott soon proved adept at jazz, country, bluegrass, metal, rock and reggae playing, and played in several bands in high school. In college, finding nobody sufficiently interesting to play with, he learned to produce and record music. The music recorded during this period is best listened to in a dark room late at night. Trust me. Shortly after college in a bizarre incident involving a Rottweiler and a very shady girl, Scott finally acquired a drum set and played drums briefly in the Scubaworms, until their bassist quit. Unable to find a bassist, but able to find a drummer, Scott switched to bass, weeping as he sold his drum set, but kind of psyched about the power of playing bass in a funk band. He played bass in that band (now called The Tryptones) for 2 years. Meanwhile he also took up with the Velvet Stylus playing guitar in an r&b/hip hop fashion, and produced records for Michael Van London, and Comanchero. For the past few years he has played guitar and produced recordings for the alt-reggae indie psych-pop outfit Waves Crashing on Face, as well as guitar with Semi Good Looking. He also plays drums during practice when Faris isn’t around.
Matt B. Mahoney (Bass Guitar/Vocals)
Matt has been playing music for nearly 30 years. At the age of 6, his mother thrust a classical guitar into his hands, thus opening the doors to a lifelong love for music. Matt diligently trained for 9 years under the tutelage of Charles Suavanen. However, it was not until college, when Matt developed an interest in playing the electric bass. Armed with this new instrument and sound, he began playing in various bands around the San Francisco area (Wyld Type Hybrid, Poet Tree Project). In 2004, Matt made the transcontinental move to the greater Boston area, where he picked up the upright bass and began learning the fundamentals of jazz. On the East coast, he has played in a variety of local groups, including Custom Deluxe, Carbin, Bluebird, Electric Blue, the Harvey Finstein Quartet, the Brett Walberg Revolving Trio, and Semi Good Lookin’. Matt has been involved with over 30 recording projects as both a musician and a sound engineer.
Justin Slawson (Lead Vocalist)
Justin grew up in a family of musicians, amidst professional pianists and world-class singers, including crooning legend Mel Torme (his great uncle). At the age of 5, Justin began his musical training with both piano and drum lessons, which he continued for the better part of a decade. It wasn’t until high school, however, that Justin discovered his voice, and enlisted himself in vocal training under the direction of Mary Szeles. Once in college, Justin began singing in every musical group he could find time for, and joined both an accapella group (the Haverford College S-chords) and a chamber group (the Chamber Singers of Haverford College). He also continued private vocal training with Philadelphia legend Michael Riley. Following college, Justin spent a summer touring with a NJ/NY-based piano rock group (4am) before moving to Massachusetts. Once here, Justin spent two years as the frontman of Boston’s premier 90’s grunge cover group (Angry Flannel) before joining Semi-Good Lookin’ in the Fall of 2010. Despite years of vocal training, Justin still can’t stand the sound of his voice in recordings (or on the phone for that matter). He is also a doctor (but not that kind…).
Matt Walton (Guitar/Vocals)
Matt hails from Sheffield in Merry Olde England, known for its diverse musical talent such as Joe Cocker, The Human League, Def Leppard, ABC, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys [and Michael Palin, at a stretch]. After hearing Iron Maiden’s “The Phantom of the Opera” at the tender age of 12, Matt realized music existed that was considerably more awesome than the Duran Duran and A-Ha that his sister had monopolized on the family stereo. The only thing that stood between him and being a rock god was the lack of a guitar. And talent, of course, but that was to be faked over the following decades after receiving his first electric guitar as a birthday present. From the age of 14, Matt played guitar in various Sheffield bands of wildly varying listenability – The Satanic Weevils, BeanFeast, Dr Sex (utterly ironic), Son Of A Cat, #6 Automatic Defasher and Highrise. Shortly after the turn of the century, Matt realized that America needed him quite badly so he packed up his family and trusty Les Paul, and came to the States to spread the gospels of Cricket, Rugby and The Proper Use of Cutlery. His most recent band outing was around Boston with the hard-rocking outfit, Dirty Mouth.