Sponge (band)

Sponge is an American rock band formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1992 by vocalist Vinnie Dombroski, guitarist Mike Cross, bassist Tim Cross, drummer Jimmy Paluzzi, and guitarist Joey Mazzola. Dombroski and the Cross brothers were previously in the hard rock band Loudhouse, with Mazzola joining just before the end of the band's tenure. Sponge's discography includes ten studio albums, four live albums, one archival album, multiple compilations, and several charting singles including "Plowed", "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)", "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)", and "Have You Seen Mary".

Sponge has undergone several lineup changes throughout the band's history, with founder and frontman Dombroski serving as the band's sole constant member. The band released their tenth studio album, 1994, in 2024.

Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, and Tim Cross were in a hard rock band called Loudhouse, fronted by vocalist Kenny Mugwump. They released one album and had a song appear on the soundtrack to the 1991 film Point Break. The band then recruited Joey Mazzola as a second guitarist. Shortly after, Mugwump decided to pursue a career in acting and directing, so Dombroski switched from drums to vocals and drummer Jimmy Paluzzi was recruited to round out the lineup. The band decided to start fresh and tried out a number of different band names, including Electric Cattle Gods. Prior to their first live show in 1993, the venue's owner informed them that he did not have enough letters to spell out the band's name on the marquee and as such, they renamed themselves Sponge. They began working on new music and performed in bars and clubs around the Detroit area. They were recognized for having a dual-guitar sound reminiscent of the MC5. Their debut album, Rotting Piñata, was released in August 1994 through Work Group. Sponge embarked on their first national tour around the time of Rotting Piñata's release alongside Failure, Inch, and Rust. The tour was noted as being a "Pre-Palooza Party" for the 1994 incarnation of Lollapalooza. Sponge made their television debut on October 18 as they appeared on The Jon Stewart Show. The songs "Neenah Menasha" and "Plowed" were released as the first and second singles respectively off of Rotting Piñata, with "Plowed" entering the Mainstream Rock chart on November 19. By January 1995, Charlie Grover replaced Paluzzi on drums.

Sponge toured with Live, Love Spit Love, and Soundgarden in 1995, and also performed at the music festivals Edgefest, Rock am Ring (Germany), X-Fest, Sunstroke (Ireland), and Pukkelpop (Belgium) that year. "Plowed", along with the third single that was released, "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)", received heavy airplay on radio and MTV, and the album was certified gold by the RIAA on July 14, 1995. The fourth single, "Rainin'", was released in October 1995 and had moderate success on the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts. Ultimately, Rotting Piñata entered the Billboard 200 chart in February 1995, peaked at No. 58 in May, and stayed on the chart for 40 weeks overall.

Throughout 1995 and 1996, the band also performed on several late-night talk shows, including The Jon Stewart Show (for a second time), The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien (with Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo as a guest vocalist). On June 28, 1996, Sponge, along with Alice in Chains, opened for Kiss at Tiger Stadium in Detroit on their reunion tour. It was previously announced that Stone Temple Pilots would open the show, but had to cancel their performance due to vocalist Scott Weiland's substance abuse issues. The show was reported as having an attendance of almost 40,000 people. Sponge's second album, Wax Ecstatic, was released shortly after in 1996 and the first single, "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)", received significant airplay on radio and MTV. Sponge also performed on the Lollapalooza festival tour that summer. The second single, "Have You Seen Mary", also received significant airplay and was included in the 1997 film Chasing Amy. Around this time, Sponge's manager Susan Silver retired from the music business to focus on her family.

On July 6, 1997, Dombroski was arrested for allegedly violating a state obscenity law during a R.O.A.R. Tour performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The charges were later dismissed. Columbia was dissatisfied with the sales figures for Wax Ecstatic and dropped Sponge from the label once the album left the charts, despite the fact that Sponge had a third album nearly finished. Undaunted, the band continued making music while in search of a new label.

Sponge signed a new deal with Beyond Records and released their third album, New Pop Sunday, in 1999. The album was a departure from the grittier sound of their first two albums, featuring songs that were more pop rock in nature. The band also performed again at Edgefest and X-Fest that year. There wasn't much tour support from Beyond and the new album attracted little commercial attention; however, "Live Here Without You" was nominated for the Outstanding National Single award by the Detroit Music Awards Foundation in 2000. Around this time, the Cross brothers had gotten tired of touring and left Sponge. Grover also left shortly after, and ultimately, the band went on a brief hiatus. The remaining members (Mazzola and Dombroski) recruited Robby Graham on bass along with Paluzzi on drums to form the side project group Crud.

In 2001, Dombroski was invited by Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney to jam with him in Seattle, along with bandmate Mike Inez on bass and Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo. The supergroup independently recorded and released an EP entitled Microfish under the name Spys4Darwin. They performed at Endfest on August 4, 2001 and continued working together into the following year. Around this time, Dombroski also began performing and recording music with the side project group The Orbitsuns. It was also around this time that members of Crud (Dombroski, Mazzola, Paluzzi, and Graham) began performing as Sponge, but only for a handful of local shows. Dombroski and Mazzola then created a new solidified lineup of Sponge consisting of drummer Billy Adams, guitarist Kurt Marschke, and bassist Tim Krukowski.