The Man Behind the Music: Jeff Rosenstock

He does the music for Craig of the Creek, but just who is he? Why, he is none other than ska-punk legend Jeff Rosenstock! With a career in music spanning 25 years, 22 albums, and who knows how many singles and guest appearances, Rosenstock brings the creek to life with his music! Join me after the page break to take a look at his long and wild musical career.



Where do we begin with Jeff Rosenstock? The man has been making music almost non-stop since the mid-nineties. The best thing I could do is do the best I can to summarize his lengthy career as a musical icon.

Jeff Rosenstock playing with The Arrogant Sons of Bitches.

Rosenstock's first band, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, formed in Long Island, New York in 1995. Three years later, the band recorded their first album, 'Built To Fail', and toured with other New England-area ska bands, such as Edna's Goldfish, Catch 22, and The Toasters. The band, known for their high-energy and wild performances, would be inactive for a few years as the band attended college. In 2003, the band would follow Warped Tour around, playing outside of the venues, until they were eventually invited to play on the tour itself.

The band would have a few more releases until 2004, when they released their last album 'Three Cheers for Disappointment'. The band split ways after the album, with members joining various bands such as Jay Tea, Hello Nurse, Let Me Crazy, and The Rocky Sullivans. As for Rosenstock, he went on to form a new band called Bomb the Music Industry! The Arrogant Songs of Bitches have reunited several times in recent years, mostly for one-off shows.

Bomb the Music Industry!'s final album, 'Vacation'.

With Bomb the Music Industry!, Rosenstock embraced the DIY ethic with their music and merch. This included releasing all their music for free on Quote Unquote Records page (including my favorite Rosenstock-related album 'Vacation'), offering fans a stencils and paint to make their own shirts, and even inviting fans on stage to play if they happened to bring their own instrument to the show. During the ten years of Bomb the Music Industry!, the band had gone from a massive mount of members, including Rick Johnson of Mustard Plug and Laura Stevenson, and have shared the stage with The Planet Smashers, Mustard Plug, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Cheap Girls.

The cover of Jeff Rosenstock's latest solo album, 'POST-'.

After the breakup of Bomb the Music Industry!, Rosenstock began working on a solo career. He released several singles, including 'Summer Seven Club', which collected all of the singles that he released over the course of summer 2013. In 2015, he released his first solo album, 'We Cool?', followed by 'Worry.' the next year which was written after all of the bands gear was stolen. Most recently, Rosenstock has released 'POST-', which many have hailed as his best solo album yet. Rosenstock's albums can be downloaded for free on the Quote Unquote Records website.

Rosenstock has also worked with many other bands. He has worked on another solo project called Kudrow, featuring Mike Campbell of Latterman and Dave Garwacke of If You Make It. He has also contributed to the Pegauses-XL and several of their releases. Rosenstock is also half of the duo Antarctigo Vespucci with Chris Farren of the band Fake Problems. He has assisted with recording and touring with the new incarnation of The Bruce Lee Band. Finally, he has also worked as a producer as well, working with acts such as The Smith Street Band, Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room, Binary Heart, Laura Stevenson, and Mikey Erg.

 But, of course, we can't forget one of the best things that Jeff Rosenstock has given us, the opening and ending of a really fun show with good kids: