James was the Spongetones bassist during 1985 and 1986, when Stoeckel left the band for a time. This occurred between the releases of Torn Apart and Where-Ever-Land; . However, James maintained a working relationship with the band thereafter, playing a role in the creation of every Spongetones album from 1987 to 2005, either as a co-writer of original material, or as a session musician (or sometimes both).