Vinnie Dombroski

Vinnie Dombroski is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist and main songwriter for the rock band Sponge. He also fronted the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has been a member of several Detroit-based bands throughout his career.

Vinnie Dombroski
Dombroski performing with the Orbitsuns in 2014
Background information
Born	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock grunge post-grunge hard rock alternative country
Occupations	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1984–present
Member of	Sponge The Lucid Crud The Orbitsuns Diamondbuck
Formerly of	Loudhouse Spys4Darwin Warp Drive Maypops Sharecroppers Of Soul

Dombroski is also the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Lucid alongside bassist David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), guitarist Drew Fortier (ex-Bang Tango), and drummer Mike Heller (ex-Fear Factory).^[1]

Early life

Dombroski was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.^[2] His father was a guitarist who taught him how to play guitar. He later learned to play drums. By the time he was 12, he was writing his own songs. He listened to various Motown Records R&B artists. Dombroski’s sister would often bring records in which the family would listen to.^{[3][bare URL]} Dombroski has cited the MC5, the Stooges, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, the Velvet Underground, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, Aerosmith, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Fear, the Psychedelic Furs, and Hank Williams as musical influences.^[4][5][6]

Career

Loudhouse

Dombroski played drums for the band Loudhouse, which would release one full-length album titled For Crying Out Loud in 1991.^[7][8]

Sponge

In 1992, most of the members of Loudhouse would get together and form the band Sponge with Dombroski as the singer rather than the drummer. Dombroski would see his first mainstream success with Sponge's debut album Rotting Pinata, particularly the song "Plowed" which would chart number 9 on the mainstream rock chart in November 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Crud, Spys4Darwin, and the Orbitsuns

In 2000, Dombroski and Sponge guitarist Joey Mazzola recruited bassist Robby Graham along with former Sponge drummer Jimmy Paluzzi to form the side project group Crud.^[9] In 2001, Dombroski was invited by Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney to jam with him in Seattle, along with bandmate Mike Inez on bass and Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo. The supergroup independently recorded and released an EP entitled Microfish under the name Spys4Darwin. They performed at Endfest on August 4, 2001 and continued working together into the following year. Around this time, Dombroski also began performing and recording music with the side project the Orbitsuns. It was also around this time that members of Crud (Dombroski, Mazzola, Paluzzi, and Graham) began performing as Sponge, but only for a handful of local shows. Dombroski and Mazzola then created a new solidified lineup of Sponge consisting of drummer Billy Adams, guitarist Kurt Marschke, and bassist Tim Krukowski.^[10]

The Lucid

Dombroski joined the Lucid as the singer in 2020.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Dombroski is married and has 5 children.^[11] He lives in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.^[12]

Discography

Sponge

• Rotting Pinata (1994)
• Wax Ecstatic (1996)
• New Pop Sunday (1999)
• For All the Drugs in the World (2003)
• The Man (2005)
• Galore Galore (2007)
• Stop the Bleeding (2013)
• The Beer Sessions (2016)
• Lavatorium (2021)
• 1994 (2024)

The Orbitsuns

• The Orbitsuns (2002)
• Dollars and Dice (2006)
• Redneck Disco Revisited (2008)
• First Drink of the Day (2010)
• Give the Orbitsuns What They Want (2012)
• Xs Over Our Eyes (2015)

Crud

• Devil at the Wheel (2005)
• Crud on Monster Island (2010)

Diamondbuck

• South Detroit Honky Tonks and Other UFOs (2018)
• The House of Weird Smells (2021)^[13]

The Lucid

• The Lucid (2021)
• Saddle Up and Ride (2023)^[14]

Lalar V, the Orbitsuns, and Jennifer Westwood

• Lalar V (2016)

The Sons of Perdition

• Long Walk With the Devil (2008)

Spys4Darwin

• Microfish (2001)

Maypops

• Spirits of Agnew (2000)

Sharecroppers of Soul

• Sharecroppers of Soul (1996)

Loudhouse

• For Crying Out Loud (1991)

Warp Drive

• Gimme Gimme (1988)

Plain Vu

Singles

• "An Angel Drank My Whiskey" (2010)
• "The Leaving" (2010)

Guest appearances

• Insane Clown Posse - Yum Yum Bedlam (2021)

Filmography

• The Other Country: Starring Burlap to Cashmere (2012), as Vinnie
• Bunker Heights (2025), as Vin^[15]