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.
Go Ska!
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up and give me a pizza
give me a, give me a steak
yeah, that's what i meant to say, that must be it
I heard a rumor and it's hard to ignore
everybody is saying punk's not cool anymore
So I called all my friends just to make sure
Took all my CDs of Rancid and traded them in for Inspecter 7
Shaved off my Mohawk, I got a bald head
got a tattoo that says "I'm gonna skank till I'm dead".
Nobody likes the punks these days
LET'S GO SKA WE CAN START TODAY!
I wanna be cook in a Rastafarian way
LET'S GO SKA, MAN WE CAN START TODAY!
YEAHHHHHHHHH
Hey what's the matter little bugger?
I wanna learn how to skank!
You wanna learn how to skank?
Yeah
Go ahead, try, pick it up
Ok ... Ow ... God damn it!
Ok, now you gotta get some checkerboard sneakers and suspenders
Pick it up, Pick it up, Pick it up
There ya go ... now you're ska-ing like a pro, Pick it up!
Politics Schmolitics, we can get some food
and we can write songs about being rude
I got a mohawk, a bad attitude, a checkerboard tie and a three-piece suit
I'm glad that I found this sound
And I hope there's cheap tattoo removal when this trend dies down
I wanna be cool the Rastafarian way
LET'S GO SKA! HEP HEP HEP HEY!
The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches's song Go Ska! is a lighthearted satire of punk rock and ska culture, with the singer taking on the persona of someone who is fed up with punk and wants to join the ska scene instead. The lyrics include references to trading in Rancid CDs for Inspector 7, getting a bald head and a tattoo that says "I'm gonna skank till I'm dead," and wearing checkerboard sneakers and suspenders. The chorus emphasizes the idea that punk is no longer cool, and encourages listeners to embrace ska instead.
The song is a commentary on the cyclical nature of music trends and the way that certain genres can become popular and then fall out of favor. It also pokes fun at the idea of cultural appropriation, with the singer adopting the trappings of Rastafarianism in order to be "cool" in the ska scene. Despite its humorous tone, however, the song also celebrates the joy and camaraderie of the ska community, with lines like "Politics Schmolitics, we can get some food and we can write songs about being rude" suggesting that there is more to the scene than just a passing trend.
Line by Line Meaning
pick it up, pick it up
Encouraging the listener to dance in the ska style
pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up and give me a pizza
Asking for pizza while continuing to encourage ska dancing
give me a, give me a steak
Mistakenly correcting the previous line to ask for steak
yeah, that's what i meant to say, that must be it
Admitting the mistake and sarcastically insisting it was intentional
I heard a rumor and it's hard to ignore
Acknowledging rumors about punk not being cool
everybody is saying punk's not cool anymore
Repeating the rumor and implying that ska is now cooler
So I called all my friends just to make sure
Verifying the rumor with others
then I went down to the record store
Deciding to take action based on the rumor
Took all my CDs of Rancid and traded them in for Inspecter 7
Switching from punk rock to ska music
Shaved off my Mohawk, I got a bald head
Getting rid of a punk hairstyle
got a tattoo that says "I'm gonna skank till I'm dead".
Showing commitment to the ska subculture
Nobody likes the punks these days
Expressing the belief that punks are no longer popular
LET'S GO SKA WE CAN START TODAY!
Encouraging others to also embrace ska music
I wanna be cook in a Rastafarian way
Expressing a desire to be a Rastafarian-inspired chef
YEAHHHHHHHHH
Expressing excitement and enthusiasm
Hey what's the matter little bugger?
Addressing a listener in a friendly manner
I wanna learn how to skank!
Expressing interest in learning the ska dance style
You wanna learn how to skank?
Confirming the listener's interest
Yeah
Affirming the interest
Go ahead, try, pick it up
Encouraging the listener to attempt ska dancing
Ok ... Ow ... God damn it!
Reacting to physical pain while attempting ska dancing
Ok, now you gotta get some checkerboard sneakers and suspenders
Giving fashion advice for the ska subculture
Pick it up, Pick it up, Pick it up
Continuing to encourage the listener to dance
There ya go ... now you're ska-ing like a pro, Pick it up!
Complimenting the listener's ska dancing ability
Politics Schmolitics, we can get some food
Rejecting politics in favor of enjoying food together
and we can write songs about being rude
Suggesting a topic for songwriting
I got a mohawk, a bad attitude, a checkerboard tie and a three-piece suit
Describing personal style elements of the ska subculture
I'm glad that I found this sound
Expressing satisfaction with discovering ska music
And I hope there's cheap tattoo removal when this trend dies down
Acknowledging the possibility that ska may become less popular in the future
I wanna be cool the Rastafarian way
Repeating the desire to be a Rastafarian-inspired chef
LET'S GO SKA! HEP HEP HEP HEY!
Ending the song with a rallying cry for the ska subculture
Contributed by Violet V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
damien helmet
1:28 straight spitting bars
Yeezalicious
We’ve come full circle
Robja1982
SKA SKA SKA SKA SKA CHECKERBOARD SNEAKERS!
MrLaserLightShow
SKAAAAAAAAA
johnny nomates
anyone ellse pissing themselves at 1:06?
chrisinajar
Jeff Rosenstock said this was his least favorite song he's written. I think I agree.
Box Now
@StaySkeptic I agree. One of my all-time favorite ska songs.
T H
I mean, yeah. It's a full Weird Al take. But ska was in a really weird place, and Rosenstock was a big name, just calling ska crap because that's what ska was about at the time, leave him alone, literally every ska band was doing it