Despite his dreams of hipster rock glory, Ari Abramson's first-ever band, the Tribe, is more white bread than indie-cred. Comprised of four suburban teens from a wealthy Jewish day school, their Mötley Crüe is about as hardcore as SAT prep and scripture studies.But after a one-song gig at a friend's Bar Mitzvah - a ska cover of "Hava Nagila" - the Tribe's popularity erupts overnight. Now, Ari is forced to navigate a minefield of inflated egos, overbearing parents, misplaced romance, and the shallowness of indie-rock elitism. It's a hard lesson in the complex art of playing it cool.
Loaded with sarcasm and delicious pop culture condescension (not to mention the too-cool-for-school cartooning work by David Ostow, the author's brother), So Punk Rock is the "E! Behind the Music" story of an epic Jewish band that never was. If it got any more kosher, it'd be totally traif.
