If the opportunity doesn't exist, create it. In the case of one Charlotte resident, if you can't join The Beatles after being inspired by their landmark 1963 performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," then you join the next best thing: The Spongetones — hailed as one of the best American bands to perform Brit power-pop music. The Spongetones' Jamie Hoover has been rocking ever since.
"Even before we made a record, I knew we had something really special."– Jamie Hoover, member of The Spongetones
Interview Highlights:
On the name of his band The Spongetones:
The name "Spongetones" was really just kinda — they wanted the goofiest sounding thing that they could have with the name "tones" at the end of it. Everybody was the “something-tones” at the end, but it turned out to fit, didn’t it?
On his first band:
My very first band was called The Surfers and we were a pantomime, so we put on Monkeys records and we just pantomimed to it. We did that at school. We had matching turtleneck sweaters and all that stuff the Monkeys had — plaid pants, wide belts, hip-huggers and all that stuff. We looked good.
On being ‘sort of famous’ in Charlotte:
I was 23, so we were young and pretty and we were delivering it very sincerely. So we had lots of fans. We had lots of girls that wanted to, you know, be our girlfriends. They would drive around my house. I had to make sure my door was shut.
On their first album reviews in Rolling Stone a year after the album dropped:
Even before we made a record, I knew we had something really special. Just because you could see it — it was electric. You could see it in people’s eyes when we played. But yeah, it's certainly good to get the validation from a major magazine like Rolling Stone.
On touring in Japan:
Oddly enough, the people that came to see us were kids. There was never anyone much over 30 in the crowd, and they knew we were old guys. But we knocked it out — it was great. It was just an unbelievable experience, to do that.
One bit of advice he gives to young musicians:
Don’t do what you think somebody else wants to hear. Do what you want to hear and do it as best you can. The things that I’ve done like that have always turned out to be the best things I’ve ever done.
Music featured in this #WFAEAmplifier chat:
The Beatles - “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (Live on The Ed Sullivan Show)
The Spongetones - “She Goes Out with Everybody”
The Spongetones - “You’re the One”
The Spongetones - “Where Were You Last Night”
The Spongetones - “A Part of Me Now”
The Spongetones - “On the Wings of a Nightingale”
Stay Connected:
Click here to subscribe to the Amplifier podcast (and to give the podcast a rating/review in your favorite podcast app).
Click here to discover your next favorite Charlotte musician on our Amplifier Spotify playlist. Like what you hear? Let us know on social media!
Chat with Joni Deutsch and tag WFAE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
