SPONGE ****

Sponge is a post-grunge band from Detroit, Michigan formed in 1991 by Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Tim Cross (all formerly of the hard rock band Loudhouse) and Joey Mazzola. Sponge was signed to Sony Records in 1994 but have since switched to other labels.

 

 

History

The band recruited Jimmy Paluzzi on drums to round out the lineup. Their debut album, Rotting Piñata, released in 1994, was a major hit, received heavy play on radio and MTV, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The two biggest singles from that album were "Plowed" and "Molly" but by the end of 1994 Charlie Grover replaced drummer Paluzzi. Their follow-up album was called Wax Ecstatic; the track "Have You Seen Mary" was included in the Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy.

On June 28, 1996, Sponge was the opening act on the first night of the Kiss reunion tour. The band had been tapped a few weeks earlier to replace the Stone Temple Pilots, who had to bow out of the opening spot due to Scott Weiland's drug problems. The show was one of the last concerts held at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

New Pop Sunday, on Beyond Records, was a departure from the grittier sound of the first two albums, featuring songs that were unmistakably pop rock in nature. The band's popularity waned sharply during this period. The only single, "Live Here Without You", was nominated for the Outstanding National Single award by the Detroit Music Awards in 2000.

In 2001, Dombroski joined the Seattle side project Spys4Darwin, which recorded one EP and worked together into the following year. During that time, the Cross brothers and Charlie Grover left Sponge, and the remaining members (Mazzola and Dombroski) recruited drummer Billy Adams, guitarist Kurt Marschke and bassist Tim Krukowski. Sponge continued their career with For All the Drugs in the World on Idol Records in 2003.

The band stayed with their current record label. Vinnie Dombroski created a new lineup once again, this time without the other founding member Joey Mazzola. Dombroski became the only remaining original member of Sponge; although, Adams and Krukowski from the previous album stayed. The Man was released through traditional channels on Idol Records.

It was announced in November 2007 that the band would release a new album, titled Galore Galore, on their newly signed label Bellum Records. In addition, the lineup from The Man would be the same for the new album. This is the second time that the lineup stayed the same, the first time being between Wax Ecstatic and New Pop Sunday. The album was finally released on December 4, 2007 (the release date varied depending on the outlets that supplied the album). In 2009, former Sponge producer Tim Patalan replaced Krukowski on bass.