NC Music History Dot Com

A blog related to the music of North Carolina during the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's.

Name: Michael Slawter

NCMusichistory.com does not intend to deprive artists and labels of revenue; it is instead hoped that the music presented on this site will contribute to interest that will eventually lead to legitimate re-issue of the works of the artists represented, or wider recognition of already available releases. If you have legal rights to any of the songs presented here, and wish to have them removed, I will attempt to dazzle you with the speed and abject humility of my compliance.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Arrogance - Black Death
from the Crescent City Records 7" (
CS-1091/1092) - 1970

Taken from Sam Hicks "How NC Got Its Punk Attitude"

In 1969, Mike Greer went to college at UNC-CH and soon learned that roomate Robert Kirkland and down the hall neighbor Don Dixon had similar musical tastes. With the addition of Kirkland's high school bandmate Jimmy Glascow, they started out as the Dog Breath Blues Band. They played a folk coffeehouse called the Cat's Cradle and a hippie/biker bar known as The Asparagus Farm. The guys in Dog Breath soon learned how to play Sgt. Pepper by heart, as well as an import LP by a band called Black Sabbath that no one else seemed to have heard of. Mike took his new band to Crescent City Studios, where he'd previously been with Capt. Speed, and they recorded a single of their own. The band cut the intense "An Estimation" b/w "Black Death" single (CS-1091/1092) in January 1969 and released it in '70. Don says, "The only reason to cut a single back then was to get it in some jukeboxes or talk some DJ into playing it on an AM station somewhere." They decided it was time to change their name, since "Blues Band" no longer described their sound, and became Arrogance. It was released in 1970, at a time when its impact cannot be overestimated. Since no one had heard of Black Sabbath, much less Sabbath mixed with Sgt. Pepper into a Mountain-esque stew, the first Arrogance 45 was important to many N.C. musicians and tops the list for early influential N.C. vinyl. A somewhat different line-up with an altogether different sound went on to record many albums under the same name.

Band Members:
Don Dixon - Bass, Vocals
Mike Greer - Vocals, Guitar
Robert Kirkland - Guitar, Vocals

Jimmy Glascow - Drums

3 Comments:

Anonymous larry said...

Several members of this blog surface this Friday night at the Cat's Cradle. Kick the Future with Robert Kirkland, Terry Anderson's Olympic Ass Kickin' Team with Jack Cornell. In addition Shalini featuring Mitch Easter is on the bill.

Monday, December 12, 2005  
Blogger Rock n' Roll Hussy said...

Wow! great stuff. Dixon went on to produce an LP for Mike Greer called Between Two Worlds -- if anyone knows how to get a hold of copies they go for a fortune.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005  
Blogger Tom Shaw said...

I loved this band. I remember them at Chapel Hill and they were one of the most overlooked great bands of the day. Henry, what are you up to these days? Tom

Sunday, March 05, 2006  

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