Backbeat Byte: Sponge Signs With The End Records With Help From Famed A&R Man Tom Zutaut

The smiles above at the July 2 contract signing at the End Records’ offices belonged to: The End Records’ Devin Toye, Raphael Pinkster and Shawn Quinn; Tom Zutaut; the End Records founder/CEO Andreas Katsambas, Sponge’s Vinnie Dombroski; Popular Music’s Michael Rand; and the End’s Caitlin Reeves, Chris Pacifico, Terrance Gully and Caroline Boursereau. The ink had just dried on a new contract between Brooklyn indie metal label the End Records and the band Sponge. The alternative act, known for such hits as “Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)” and “Plowed,” connected with the End through legendary A&R man Tom Zutaut (Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, ), who heard a new Sponge track on a Detroit radio station and offered to help the band find a label deal. The End founder/CEO Andreas Katsambas says that once Zutaut put him in contact with Sponge, it took less than two weeks to get the deal done. “Come in From the Rain,” from Sponge’s upcoming new album Stop the Bleeding, is being remixed by Tim Palmer to be sent to active rock radio this month. To celebrate the album’s Sept. 17 arrival, Sponge Day will be celebrated in Detroit with a barbecue/concert.