By Jason Fierstein
Arizona Daily Wildcat
In light of the post-grunge movement, the members of Sponge see themselves as part of a never-ending cycle of music that will ultimately turn pop through mediums like modern rock radio stations and MTV. Last Saturday, during their in-store appearance at Zia Records to promote last week's concert at UA, lead vocalists Vinnie and Mike Cross of Detroit's Sponge spoke of the band's role in modern rock, their wedge between Generation X and the Baby Boomers, and the ideas behind their debut album, "Rotting Pinata."
Mutato: Where does most of the material in the songwriting come from?
Vinnie: The clichÇ rock topics have been covered again and again. So much of it is a pursuit of pussy or about men going out and scoring a woman. The theme is living fast and dying young. We've decided to steer away from those things in our music. We're not very young. I'm 32 and may be experienced a little more, so I draw from a little more, as opposed to the teenage hang-ups. Now, I'm a hung-up adult.
M: How does the role of MTV act as a force in your music and who's listening to you?
Mike: I think it helps, just like touring helps and the radio helps.
Vinnie: At my particular age, I'm non-generational. I'm too old for Generation X and too young for the whole hippie thing. I'm not a yuppie and have nothing in common with the whole Melrose Place thing. I think basically because of my economic situation, I'm not affluent, so I'm kinda stuck in this void generation, so I can't participate as a spokesperson for a particular generation. I really speak for no generation.
M: Did you guys all grow up in Detroit?
Mike: Vinnie, myself and Tim played in a band prior to this. There's quite a history to Sponge.
M : And is the music influenced by your upbringings in Detroit?
Vinnie: Yeah, our outlooks. That town just goes on and on, despite the beatings it takes. The riot in 1967, the white plight to the suburbs, cross-district bussing, the way the downtown area is Ÿ Detroit has just dwindled economically. The place is still there. My family and I have been there all my life, so it definitely influences what we have to say.
M: It seems like you have a lot to say, but there's a definite negative shadow over "Rotting Pinata." Ideas?
Vinnie: Without a doubt, I'm not trying to be. I think we may be in a position to reflect views or attitudes of the city. We've been in bands for years and I could have quit years ago. When you're 19 years old or even younger, it's cute that you're in a band. Ahh, everybody loves Silverchair. They're cute young guys and sound like Pearl Jam and look like Kurt Cobain. You get to be 25 or 29 and you get to be a dysfunctional citizen, a loser. That's the essence of being able to take off in a band. It always interests me when I see young bands making it.
M: And the long-awaited question: Where do you see "alternative" music coming from and going into the future. Or rather, what is the evolution of "alternative" to you guys?
Vinnie: I think it's simple . You had your bands from Seattle doing their thing today. I think that back then, it would have been pop music to me. But, radio had caught up with Seattle. Now, you had all these modern rock, alternative radio stations happening in the last five years and now that music has slowly turned into pop music and has been greatly broadcasted.
M: So radio has been the medium and not the explosion of MTV?
Vinnie: I think we have to hand this one to radio because MTV has been where it's at. But, because of the brand new radio format, all these AOR stations are dropping the old formats and turning to modern rock. So, alternative music has turned into pop music.
M: So you're saying that the evolution was inevitable?
Vinnie: The evolution was unavoidable. It'll happen again, in cycles. We'll see it as a new undercurrent of new groups coming out that may not be pop but may turn that way after 10 years or so. But, I think we perpetuate the cycle inadvertently. I think that since we have seen a wave of bands like Hootie and the Blowfish or Dave Matthews or any bands that have been very Top 40, the cycle will continue to turn.