Arrogance

During the swing years, certain ensembles thrived within limited geographic boundaries yet rarely expanded their reach nationwide. Regional distinctions had softened somewhat by the arrival of rock, yet pockets of the modern era still produced acts that commanded intense local devotion without ever crossing into broader fame. One such outfit, Arrogance, operated from North Carolina’s Piedmont section and never escaped that orbit despite repeated attempts. Formed in autumn 1969 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by freshmen singer-guitarists Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland, the quartet soon recruited keyboardist Marty Stout and drummer Scott Davison. Dixon supplied the name, which reflected both their habit of eclipsing rival performers and their initial hard-rock approach.

By the self-issued 1973 debut Give Us a Break the group had shifted toward folk-rock textures, a direction continued on the independently pressed 1975 follow-up Prolepsis. Rather than relocating to New York or Los Angeles in pursuit of major-label interest, the musicians cultivated a regional audience and financed their own recordings—an uncommon tactic at the time. The approach eventually drew Vanguard Records to Chapel Hill, resulting in a late-1975 contract. Vanguard’s folk-oriented infrastructure proved ill-suited to breaking a rock act, however, and the 1976 album Rumors received scant notice; the following year Fleetwood Mac’s multi-platinum Rumours further overshadowed the title.

After parting with Vanguard the band restored a harder edge by adding lead guitarist Rod Abernethy. Industry wariness lingered, delaying their next deal until 1980, when Curb/Warner issued Suddenly. Post-punk power-pop dominated radio by then, and the album was not prioritized. Although the label offered another release, Arrogance instead shopped elsewhere. Synth-pop’s rise left no takers for their jangly mid-1960s sound. Moonlight Records documented a 1981 live set titled Lively, but further interest failed to materialize. Submitting demos under the temporary moniker 5'11" (the members’ average height) produced no results. In October 1983 the group disbanded.

By then Dixon had already begun producing, co-helming R.E.M.’s debut Murmur. He later worked with Richard Barone, Kim Carnes, the Connells, Marshall Crenshaw, Guadalcanal Diary, Hootie & the Blowfish, In Tua Nua, Marti Jones, Tommy Keene, Let’s Active, James McMurtry, the Reivers, the Smithereens, Chris Stamey, and Matthew Sweet, among others, while occasionally issuing solo material that sometimes incorporated Arrogance-era songs; six of the 5'11" demos appeared on his 1985 debut Most of the Girls Like to Dance But Only Some of the Boys Do. Kirkland attempted a solo career, yet after Kick the Future surfaced only in Europe he left music for cabinet design and sales. Abernethy performed in subsequent groups before concentrating on commercial session work, while Davison entered real estate and Stout became an accountant. Years later, listeners encountering Fastball’s 1998 single “The Way” frequently mistook it for an Arrogance recording.

At Dixon’s urging the original lineup reunited in spring 2000 for two North Carolina concerts: a folk-rock program at Carrboro Arts Center in May and a harder-rocking set at Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of Art in June. In August 2002 Gaff Music finally issued the early-1980s demo recordings as The 5'11" Record.