Spongebath Records was an independent record label based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee during the mid-nineties. During its heyday, Spongebath was often viewed as the vibrant center of Murfreesboro/Nashville's music scene with a robust artist roster of critically acclaimed bands, singers, and songwriters. From 1997-1999, Spongebath attracted national press and media attention for garnering co-label deals with DreamWorks Records and with Elektra Records Bands/artists on Spongebath at one time or another included: Self, Fluid Ounces, the Katies, The Features, Count Bass D, Fleshpaint, The C60's, The New System, The Roaries, Gumption, Call Florence Pow, Ruby Amanfu, and Knodel.
History
The label began as the brainchild of three people: Self frontman Matt Mahaffey, singer/songwriter Seth Timbs, and Mahaffey's manager Rick Williams. Timbs, in fact, was the one who came up with the name "Spongebath." In the mid-to-late '90s, there was a resurgence of interest in the Middle Tennessee rock scene, when Spongebath Records began to turn heads for signing promising, talented local bands like Self, Fluid Ounces, and The Features. Their office was located at 101 N. Maple in downtown Murfreesboro, and they were impossible to miss--the walls were painted in bright purple, yellow, and red colors, allowing it to stand out amidst a sleepy, rather drab and comfortably geriatric courthouse/downtown square. The label even got the attention of Billboard, which ran a cover story in August 1997 chronicling Murfreesboro's rise as "an emerging music mecca," while other writers half-jokingly began to refer tothe scene as "little Seattle." In reality, the Murfreesboro music scene was much more in line with progressive college-towns like Athens, Georgia and Austin, Texas--towns that had a rich history of championing indie rock and quality bands. Regionally, at least, the Spongebath brand itself became fairly synonymous with top quality music, ranging from the melodic indie pop of the Features, the Katies' radio-friendly brand of hard rock, or the genre-blurring hip-hop of Count Bass-D. All the Spongebath releases--largely recorded on minimal, scattershot budgets--tended to receive wonderful critical acclaim. Even the packaging for Spongebath releases was different: Brian Bottcher's artwork for albums like Self's Breakfast with Girls, Fluid Ounces' In the New Old-Fashioned Way, or Count Bass-D's Art for Sale all had an unmistakable, distinct, and sophisticated visual flair. Self was the most successful of the label's artists, the band having modest success and developing a cult following with Subliminal Plastic Motives while getting spins for "So Low" and "Cannon" on MTV. Because of Spongebath's prime location and casual, fun atmosphere, one would often find various labelmates/band members at the Spongebath offices answering phones, sending mail, making posters, folding t-shirts, or just hanging out. Spongebath encouraged fans of the label and of the bands to come by the office, and many did, either begging Williams to listen to their demo tape or simply asking how or where they could meet the label's most visible star, Matt Mahaffey. Other bands were rumored to have lived, jammed and recorded in the Spongebath basement. Spongebath succeeded as a breeding ground that fed hip new bands to major labels--however, it was unable to sustain itself, and was essentially finished by 2001. At one point or another, Spongebath employees included: Rory Daigle, Bingham Barnes, Andy McLenon, Andy Kotowicz, Matt Meeks, Justin Meyer, Michael Eades, Neill Dietz, Chris Moon, Chris Crawford, Harrison Rogers, Christian Rocco, Joli Hummel, and several others.
