From the Charlotte Observer, November 2004


When the Sponge Tones played their first Charlotte gig in 1979, the response was incredible. "Audiences hadn't heard that kind of music from a local band before," recalls founding member Rob Thorne, sixty. Two of the band's first original singles were on American Bandstand, and the Sponge Tones received two three-and-a-half- star reviews in Rolling Stone.
Since those days, band members Jamie Hoover, Steve Stoeckel, and Pat Walters have built a solid and enthusiastic following. They've released eight CDs chock-full of original tracks, and fans can expect a ninth on the way from Sony Records. On November 19, they'll celebrate twenty-five years of shaggy hair and yellow submarines with an anniversary concert at Amos' in South End.
"The Spongetones are the epitome of British invasion, guitar-driven, butt-kickin' rock and roll," says drummer Rob Thorne, who is a general contractor by day. "When we get together on stage, the energy is unbelievable."
The anniversary show is also an eagerly anticipated reunion with good friends and past co-rockers Cruis-O-Matic, who haven't performed as a unit since 1989. "We played the same club circuit and the same colleges as Cruis-O-Matic, and the first time we played together the crowd went nuts. We would consistently sell out," Thorne says.
"They really complement our style of music," explains Thorne, adding, "They're a bunch of crazy guys."
Cruis-O-Matic came together in the '70s, modeling themselves after the second wave of mid-'60s rock, featuring one-hit-wonder artists like The Standells, Music Machine, and Balloon Farm. "Our show is full of fast, danceable songs," says guitarist Edward Tanner. "Our presentation is funny and lighthearted, and we've got attitude."
Members of the bands enjoyed each other's company in the old days, pulling off antics that provided off-stage entertainment. "We were really immature together," says Tanner. "We set off firecrackers at Morrison's Cafeteria so we could watch the old men run out of the bathroom," he laughs. Tanner, fifty-three and now an attorney, says the two bands also held bottle rocket shoot-outs on the interstate. "We were big into water balloons, too," he adds, "—the stuff most people abandoned in grade school."