Spongebath Records
Encyclopedia
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 epicenter of Murfreesboro/Nashville's (and the Southeast'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
(for Self's 1999 album Breakfast with Girls
) and with Elektra Records
(for the Katies self-titled 1999 album.) 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.
(who had just dropped out of MTSU), singer/songwriter Seth Timbs (of Fluid Ounces
), 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 to the 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 (on the downtown Square and only a few doors down from Sebastian's, one of the most frequented clubs in Murfreesboro during that time) 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. (One of the few if only bands that reportedly benefited from an unsolicited demo submission to the label was Call Florence Pow, two teenage fans of Mahaffey's. The strength of their demo got them a deal with Spongebath, with Mahaffey producing their first and only album for Spongebath, These Are the Plans.) 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 (manager of the Features), Bingham Barnes (bassist for indie rock darlings Glossary), Andy McLenon (who went on to work at Sire Records
), Andy Kotowicz (who went on to become the Vice President of Sales and Director of Marketing for Sub Pop
), Matt Meeks (eventually co-managing The Features with Daigle), Justin Meyer (who went on to play drums for Fluid Ounces), Michael Eades (who created the company's website and online presence), Neill Dietz (whose brother, Jason, would later play bass for Fluid Ounces), Chris Moon, Chris Crawford, Harrison Rogers, Christian Rocco, Joli Hummel, and several others.
Soaking In The Center of The Universe Vol. 2 - Compilation
Big Notebook for Easy Piano
- Fluid Ounces
In the New Old-Fashioned Way
- Fluid Ounces
Vegetable Kingdom EP - Fluid Ounces
Subliminal Plastic Motives
(co-release with Zoo) - Self
The Half-Baked Serenade
- Self
Breakfast with Girls
(co-release with DreamWorks) - Self
Brunch (EP) - Self
Gizmodgery
- Self
The Features (EP) - The Features
Thursday/Rabbit March (12") - The Features
Violatin/Just Rhymin with Tock (12") - Count Bass D
Art for Sale - Count Bass-D
These Are the Plans - Call Florence Pow
The Katies (co-release with Elektra Records) - The Katies
The C60's - The C60's
The White Hole - Knodel
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
during the mid-nineties. During its heyday, Spongebath was often viewed as the vibrant epicenter of Murfreesboro/Nashville's (and the Southeast'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
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
(for Self's 1999 album Breakfast with Girls
Breakfast with Girls
Breakfast with Girls is the fourth album by alternative pop/rock band Self, released in 1999. The album was highly anticipated, being the first Self album released on a major label since their debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives.-Production:...
) and with Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
(for the Katies self-titled 1999 album.) Bands/artists on Spongebath at one time or another included: Self
Self (band)
Self is an American alternative pop/rock band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and largely the brainchild of writer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Matt Mahaffey....
, Fluid Ounces
Fluid Ounces
Fluid Ounces were a piano-based, power pop band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee that garnered a cult following for their critically acclaimed records, which featured a distinctive blend of hooks, varied musical styles, clever wordplay, and intricate, complex arrangements.-Inception:Seth Timbs had...
, the Katies
The Katies
The Katies were a three-piece, power-pop band from Murfreesboro, TN from approximately 1996-2007.-History:Jason Moore and Gary Welch had previously been in a Murfreesboro band called A Million Worlds...
, The Features
The Features
The Features are an American indie rock band from Tennessee. Though they have had limited success in the United States, they have been very well received in the United Kingdom and have a very loyal following in the Southeastern United States.-Early years:...
, Count Bass D
Count Bass D
Dwight Conroy Farrell , better known by the stage name Count Bass D, is an American rapper, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Nashville, Tennessee...
, 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 MahaffeyMatt Mahaffey
Matt Mahaffey is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his band Self.-Personal:Matt grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and was involved with music from a young age...
(who had just dropped out of MTSU), singer/songwriter Seth Timbs (of Fluid Ounces
Fluid Ounces
Fluid Ounces were a piano-based, power pop band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee that garnered a cult following for their critically acclaimed records, which featured a distinctive blend of hooks, varied musical styles, clever wordplay, and intricate, complex arrangements.-Inception:Seth Timbs had...
), 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
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of 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
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, 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 to the scene as "little Seattle." In reality, the Murfreesboro music scene was much more in line with progressive college-towns like Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
and Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
--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
Subliminal Plastic Motives
Subliminal Plastic Motives is the debut album from alternative pop/rock band Self, and is perhaps their most well-known release.The album was recorded entirely by Matt and his brother, Mike. The album found some modest success with MTV and flagship radio stations like KROQ-FM...
while getting spins for "So Low" and "Cannon" on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
Because of Spongebath's prime location (on the downtown Square and only a few doors down from Sebastian's, one of the most frequented clubs in Murfreesboro during that time) 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. (One of the few if only bands that reportedly benefited from an unsolicited demo submission to the label was Call Florence Pow, two teenage fans of Mahaffey's. The strength of their demo got them a deal with Spongebath, with Mahaffey producing their first and only album for Spongebath, These Are the Plans.) 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 (manager of the Features), Bingham Barnes (bassist for indie rock darlings Glossary), Andy McLenon (who went on to work at Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
), Andy Kotowicz (who went on to become the Vice President of Sales and Director of Marketing for Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
), Matt Meeks (eventually co-managing The Features with Daigle), Justin Meyer (who went on to play drums for Fluid Ounces), Michael Eades (who created the company's website and online presence), Neill Dietz (whose brother, Jason, would later play bass for Fluid Ounces), Chris Moon, Chris Crawford, Harrison Rogers, Christian Rocco, Joli Hummel, and several others.
Known Spongebath Releases
Soaking In The Center of The Universe Vol. 1 - CompilationSoaking In The Center of The Universe Vol. 2 - Compilation
Big Notebook for Easy Piano
Big Notebook for Easy Piano
Big Notebook for Easy Piano was the debut release by Murfreesboro, Tennessee band Fluid Ounces. It was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee with producer Ross Rice...
- Fluid Ounces
In the New Old-Fashioned Way
In the New Old-Fashioned Way
In the New Old-Fashioned Way was the highly-anticipated second album from Spongebath Records artists Fluid Ounces. The album was recorded in a marathon two week session with producer Richard Dortch in Jackson, Mississippi. All tracks were recorded live, with minimal overdubs...
- Fluid Ounces
Vegetable Kingdom EP - Fluid Ounces
Subliminal Plastic Motives
Subliminal Plastic Motives
Subliminal Plastic Motives is the debut album from alternative pop/rock band Self, and is perhaps their most well-known release.The album was recorded entirely by Matt and his brother, Mike. The album found some modest success with MTV and flagship radio stations like KROQ-FM...
(co-release with Zoo) - Self
The Half-Baked Serenade
The Half-Baked Serenade
The Half-Baked Serenade is the second album by alternative pop/rock band Self.Initially designed only as an EP and released only though a mail-order catalog, it's become very rare and is considered the "Holy Grail" among Self releases...
- Self
Breakfast with Girls
Breakfast with Girls
Breakfast with Girls is the fourth album by alternative pop/rock band Self, released in 1999. The album was highly anticipated, being the first Self album released on a major label since their debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives.-Production:...
(co-release with DreamWorks) - Self
Brunch (EP) - Self
Gizmodgery
Gizmodgery
Gizmodgery is the fifth album by alternative pop/rock band Self, released in 2000 by Spongebath Records. The LP was recorded entirely with children's toy instruments....
- Self
The Features (EP) - The Features
Thursday/Rabbit March (12") - The Features
Violatin/Just Rhymin with Tock (12") - Count Bass D
Art for Sale - Count Bass-D
These Are the Plans - Call Florence Pow
The Katies (co-release with Elektra Records) - The Katies
The C60's - The C60's
The White Hole - Knodel
External Links
- U Magazine Spongebath article
- Nashville Scene Article from 1999
- MTSU Sidelines Self article
- Another 1999 Nashville Scene Article
- Article on Murfreesboro and the Katies
- Spongebath Records history/fan site
- "The Little Label That Could" - Article about the label from July, 2011
- A message board thread discussing the history and demise of Spongebath Records