In 1995, Jeff Rosenstock began playing with Joe Werfelman together and started The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. By 1996, the two had spent time writing and finding members for their band. At this time they recorded The Arrogant Sons of Bitches Demo Tape on tape but never released it. At this time they also began playing shows in their friends' basements and bedrooms.
Patric Santiago and Chris Valentino joined the band and the Greatest Hits Tape (1996) was made to play the Rockfest, at a local church. They were denied and instead played a show in Jeff Rosenberg's backyard with members of Taking Back Sunday, Bomb the Music Industry!, The Matt Kurz One, and Sevenwiser.
In 1997, Chris Baltrus joined playing bass and Joe Vazquez to play drums after Patric Santiago left the band because of a conflict with other members of the band who break into his house to get amplifiers. His parents were furious and forced him to quit.
In 1998, Joe Vazquez was replaced with Bryan Cohen and ASOB records the Integrity Tape in Joe's garage. Dave Dickerman joined on trombone and Bryan Cohen left the band. They began playing places like Q-Zar, Scotty Dee's Coffee Shop, and an outdoor festival with Post-Emo Indie Rock innovators, Inside. John DeDomenici then stepped in on drums and the band began planning their first album. They payed $1000 for 12 songs.
Mike Costa replaced John DeDomenici on drums. They recorded Built to Fail which was planned to be released by Zach and Breaking the Law Records, however, due to conflicts the band decided to self release it.
In 1999, ASOB started branching out, playing shows with Channel 59, Sprout, Microwave Orphans, Who Cares, WCF, Edna's Goldfish, Catch 22, The Toasters, and Step Lively. Arty's Taxi's member, Eric Bucello who plays the trumpet, and subsequently joined the band. In August, the band recorded "Fuck You" for a Runaway Records compilation with the Jestrebzki Family. They also started work on their new full-length, Pornocracy.
By 2000, the band entered the studio and finished up in June. It featured JT from Sprout. Soon after, Chris Baltrus left the band for college and Joe Bove from Arty's Taxi joined. They played a CD release show with Racecar Breakup.
In 2001 ASOB recorded "Built to Fail Motherfucker" for a compilation and began touring that summer. Many members quit and the remnants of ASOB played a show in upstate New York on a driving range with a new band featuring members of Shabooti. Joe Rosenstock stated to his girlfriend, "If this band ever gets big, I want you to kill me." The band ended up being Coheed and Cambria.
Rosenstock began writing new material and was to open a show for Thursday, but it fell through. A new roster was drawn up that included Tim Ruggeri (Channel 59/WCF/Tall Hannds), Jon Rossman (Everyone Else), and Chris Taylor but this also fell through. Mike, Baltrus, Dave, and a few members of the High School Football Heroes and Premarital Sax play with ASOB.
In 2002, ASOB tried to re-record Built to Fail unsuccessfully. They recorded an Arrogant Sons of Bitches 7'' that was never released. They did a CD release show for All the Little Ones Are Rotting and played a battle of the bands at The Downtown winning fourth place. They landed a deal with Kill Normal Records. They also played a Halloween show and did ska covers of Taking Back Sunday songs.
A year later, in 2003, ASOB re-released their EP with videos, a live set, and much more. They opened for Bowling for Soup and Count the Stars. They toured out to the west coast, and JT from Sprout joined full time. They played outside of the Idaho Warped Tour, and the next day played inside a hip-hop tent electrically. They stayed on Warped Tour and played to 3000 people in New York. Joe Werfelman was kicked out of the band.
Three Cheers for Disappointment was finished being written and they recorded with AJ Quashee, but the recording didn't go well and was scrapped. Sean Qualls was auditioned on guitar. Joe Bove had a panic attack on stage and leaves bass, giving Sean the spot on bass.
Afterward, the band recorded some more and started working on releasing a "Complete Discography". The band later got on Streetlight Manifesto shows that feature Big D and the Kids Table.
The band finally began recording Three Cheers for Disappointment at Moontower Studios in Boston, Massachusettes with Steve Foote. After it was finished, the band booked a tour, ordered merch, talked to record labels, and replaced Sean Qualls with James Lynch on bass. The band took a break in September.
In October, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches played two last shows at Mr. Beery's - one all ages, one 18+. Shortly afterward, Jeff Rosenstock started Bomb the Music Industry!, Sean started Bashi-Bazouk, JT started his solo project, Mike Costa started his solo project and Dave registered to finally go to college.
In 2005, they finish Three Cheers for Disappointment and in 2006, the band plays three shows in the Northeast in support of it.
In 2007, they play their last show and officially break up.
In 2012, the Arrogant Sons of Bitches reunite for one last show at the Warsaw in Brooklyn, New York.
Abandon Ship
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Played with all our favorite bands.
Hit it big on the ska/punk scenes.
But we're never gonna be on TRL with Carson Daly.
Made a lot of fans.
Quit my job, dropped out of school, pressed some t-shirts bought a van
for my stupid ska/punk band.
But something tells me that I was so wrong
like everyone said we would anyway.
We sure had a blast, but hey man, that's the past.
I need to support myself some day.
We're gonna say goodbye and let's go down without a fight.
Strived for something more.
Trade in this uncool punk/ska, make it rock with horns.
The kids don't like it, its not Limp Bizkit.
*INSERT SAVES THE DAY JOKES HERE
I missed you too, mom and dad.
Being at home ain't that bad.
I applied at Starbucks yesterday.
Our fans are dumb so never fear.
They'll like something else next year
even if for now it seems that they care.
We're g-g-g-onna say goodbye and let's go down without a fight.
*INSERT NEW FOUND GLORY JOKES HERE
Its alright, I'm okay.
We were famous for a day.
Its been cool, so lets just stop.
It feels good to end on top.
And if it gets big again, we'll just have a reunion.
It'll be cool, but we'll just stop.
There's no shame in ending on top.
The song Abandon Ship by The Arrogant Sons of Bitches is about a punk/ska band that made some CDs, played with their favorite bands, and gained some popularity within the ska/punk scenes, but they knew they were never going to make it big on TRL with Carson Daly. They had a lot of fans and even dropped out of school to focus on their band. However, despite their efforts, they felt like they were not going to make a change and would eventually go down in flames like everyone said they would. The band decided to abandon ship, quit while they were ahead, and move on to something else.
The lyrics suggest that the band members were not fully confident in their success and were aware of the fleeting nature of fame in the music industry. They feared that they might not be able to support themselves in the long run or meet the expectations of their fans. The song reflects the idea that sometimes, it is better to end things on a high note than to continue something that may not work out in the end. The lyrics are a mix of satirical humor and genuine reflection on the music industry and the difficulties of being a musician.
Line by Line Meaning
Made a few CDs.
We released multiple albums.
Played with all our favorite bands.
We performed concerts with all the bands we love.
Hit it big on the ska/punk scenes.
We achieved success in the ska/punk genre.
But we're never gonna be on TRL with Carson Daly.
However, we know we won't make it to TRL with Carson Daly.
Made a lot of fans.
We gained many fans.
Quit my job, dropped out of school, pressed some t-shirts bought a van for my stupid ska/punk band.
I left my job, dropped out of school, made t-shirts, bought a van just for my ska/punk band.
But something tells me that I was so wrong to think we'd make a change and not go down in flames like everyone said we would anyway.
I realized that I was wrong in thinking that we could succeed without facing failure like everyone expected us to.
We sure had a blast, but hey man, that's the past.
While we enjoyed those moments, we cannot dwell on the past.
I need to support myself some day.
Eventually, I have to earn a stable livelihood.
We're gonna say goodbye and let's go down without a fight.
We're opting to end our music career without any arguments or conflicts.
Strived for something more.
We aimed for more in our career.
Trade in this uncool punk/ska, make it rock with horns.
Instead of punk/ska, we want to create rock music with horns.
The kids don't like it, its not Limp Bizkit.
Our new genre isn't appealing to youngsters, as it's not like Limp Bizkit's music.
I missed you too, mom and dad. Being at home ain't that bad.
I missed my parents and realized that being at home isn't bad.
I applied at Starbucks yesterday.
I applied for a job at Starbucks the other day.
Our fans are dumb so never fear. They'll like something else next year even if for now it seems that they care.
We shouldn't worry about our fans, as they will change their preferences sooner or later.
We're g-g-g-onna say goodbye and let's go down without a fight.
We will say goodbye and end our band amid peacefulness.
Its alright, I'm okay. We were famous for a day.
It's okay; I am content. Our fame was momentary.
Its been cool, so lets just stop. It feels good to end on top.
Our music journey has been incredible, and hence we choose to end it now while it's still going strong.
And if it gets big again, we'll just have a reunion. It'll be cool, but we'll just stop.
If our music becomes popular again, we can have a reunion someday, but we'll still choose to end it eventually.
There's no shame in ending on top.
There's nothing wrong with ending our career at its peak.
Contributed by Lily W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@devinbello9345
Let's go down without a fight
@devinbello9345
Also first. And that's pathetic