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 founding members of the hard rock band Loudhouse, later joined by Mazzola at the end of the band's tenure. Sponge's discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums, and several charting singles. They are best known for their 1994 hit "Plowed" and their 1995 hit "Molly ".

History

Formation, ''Rotting Piñata'', and ''Wax Ecstatic'' (1991–1998)

, 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 named themselves Sponge. They began working on new music and performed in bars and clubs; recognized for having a dual-guitar sound reminiscent of the MC5. Their debut album, Rotting Piñata, released in 1994 through Columbia Records, received heavy airplay on radio and MTV, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The two biggest singles from that album were "Plowed" and "Molly ". By the end of 1994, Charlie Grover had replaced Paluzzi on drums. Sponge went on tour with the band Live in 1995 as their opening act, and also performed at the music festivals Edgefest, X-Fest, Sunstroke, and Pukkelpop that year.
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 issues related to substance abuse. 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 ", 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. Columbia was dissatisfied with the sales figures for Wax Ecstatic however, and dropped Sponge from the label once the album left the charts. Undaunted, the band continued making music while in search of a new label.

''New Pop Sunday'' and lineup changes (1999–2002)

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. 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. Charlie Grover also left shortly after and the band would take a brief hiatus. The remaining members 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. Dombroski and Mazzola then created a new solidified lineup of Sponge consisting of drummer Billy Adams, guitarist Kurt Marschke, and bassist Tim Krukowski.

''For All the Drugs in the World'', more lineup changes, and ''The Man'' (2003–2006)

Sponge released their fourth studio album, For All the Drugs in the World, in 2003 through Idol Records. The band toured with Soul Asylum, Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors, The Verve Pipe, and The Presidents of the United States of America that year. Afterwards, Dombroski created a new lineup once again, this time without other founding member Mazzola, replaced by guitarist Andy Patalan, while Marschke was replaced by guitarist Kyle Neely. At this point, Dombroski became the only remaining original member of Sponge. The band released their fifth studio album, The Man, in 2005 through Idol Records. Both Crud and The Orbitsuns also released albums around this time. Sponge also released a promo album in 2005 entitled Hard to Keep My Cool.

''Galore Galore'' and ''Stop the Bleeding'' (2007–2014)

Sponge released their first official live album, Alive in Detroit, in 2007. It was also announced in November 2007 that the band would release their sixth studio album, Galore Galore, through their new label, Bellum Records. It contains songs from the promo Hard to Keep My Cool plus new tracks and was released on December 4, 2007. In 2009, former Sponge producer Tim Patalan replaced Krukowski on bass. The band then released the promo album entitled Destroy the Boy. In 2010, the video game was released, featuring a re-recorded version of "Plowed" as a downloadable song. On February 21, 2012, Sponge opened for Guns N' Roses at The Fillmore Detroit during their tour that year. Sponge's seventh studio album, Stop the Bleeding, was released in 2013 and includes songs from Destroy the Boy plus new tracks. Sponge also performed on the Summerland festival tour that summer.

''The Beer Sessions'' and original lineup reunion (2015–present)

Sponge continued recording new music and performed on the Summerland festival tour again in 2016. The band's eighth studio album, The Beer Sessions, was released on October 8, 2016 through Three One Three Records. In May 2018 at the annual Detroit Music Awards, the original lineup of Vinnie Dombroski, Mike Cross, Tim Cross, Jimmy Paluzzi, and Joey Mazzola reunited for one night only. This was the first time in 24 years that all of the original members performed on stage together.
The current lineup of Sponge toured with the band The Nixons in 2019. Sponge also announced tour dates in North America during the spring and summer of 2020. However, the shows were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim to reschedule them for a later date.

Band members

;Current members
;Former members
;Touring members
;Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Live and compilation albums

Soundtracks and other releases