Sandy Cheeks

***This article is about the musician. For the associated band, see Sandy Cheeks (band).***

## Sandy Cheeks

Cheeks performing in 2002 during The Sandy Cheeks Show Tour.

### Born

September 27th, 1971 Houston, Texas, U.S.

### Parents

Matthew Rodger Cheeks Sr. (father; died 2005)Jasmine Cheeks (mother)

### Relatives

Matthew Rodger Cheeks Jr. (brother)Layne Staley (cousin-in-law; died 2002)

William Cheeks, P.H.D. (grandfather)

Evelyn Brown (cousin)

### Genres

Alternative rock, grunge, punk rock, pop punk

### Occupations

Musician, singer, songwriter, author, actress, voice actress, record producer

### Years active

1983-2017 (musician)1989-2001; 2003-2005; 2008-2012 (actress)

2000-2005; 2007-2016 (director)

### Associated acts

The InfectionLone Wolves

Sandy Cheeks

### Children

Kendra Cheeks-SquarePants (b. 1997)SpongeBob SquarePants III (b. 2001)

***Sandy Cheeks***(September 27th, 1971 - July 15th, 2017) was an American musician, bassist, singer, songwriter, musician, author, director, actress, voice actress, record producer who was best known as the bassist for the rock band The Infection, the lead original vocalist of The Secret-But-Not-So-Secret Band, founder of Lone Wolves, and the lead vocalist of her solo group Sandy Cheeks.

She is considered by many to be one of the most influential grunge bassists/vocalists of all time, and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time having sold over 75 million records worldwide, and is considered one of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement.

Sandy struggled with clinical depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia for most of her life, largely due to the deaths of her cousin-in-law and her father. She was a highly prolific actor during her acting career, having appeared in over 180 films and has provided her voice for several animated films, documentaries, television series, and video games. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, along with Infection bandmates SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star and Yolandi Visser.

## Early life

Sandy Cheeks was born in a poor area of Houston, Texas. She'd shown interest in music from the age of four, where she'd put rubber bands up to her ear and play them like a guitar, listening to the tones and other noises that came out.
Sandy was also a religious person when she was in her teenage years, graduating at Texas Christian University with a bachelors in Biblical and Education Studies in 1994.

## Lone Wolves/Wince (1983-1992)

When Sandy was twelve, she formed a band with friends from school called "Lone Wolves" and by the age of fourteen, consisting of Evelyn Brown, Victoria Jackson and Roxy Petrucci. SpongeBob SquarePants would also join Sandy's band as well.

In April 1986, shortly after the announcement that Lone Wolves was taking a break due to creative differences, Sandy was approached by SquarePants after a solo show, asking if she wanted to start a band called "Wince." Sandy heard the demos and immediately signed up as the bassist of the band. She was the primary force behind the 1991 self-titled Wince album.

After Wince dissolved in 1992, Sandy mainly focused on her biblical studies, and during this time she would also study more about music history as well as getting some acting lessons. In early-August, she and SquarePants would both get married in Texas.

## The Infection (1992-2017)

During the fall of 1992, SquarePants and Cheeks sent multiple demos to several record companies (Geffen, Reprise, Maverick, etc). While they didn't get anything in return, they called up Patrick Star to see if they can reform "Wince" as "The Infection" and agreed. During this time, SquarePants got in contact with fellow skateboarder/musician Victoria Jackson to be their back-up guitarist.

In order to get some attention from major record labels, the group worked on a 10-track demo and was offered several recording sessions in a San Diego-based studio recommended by Reprise.

After on-again recording sessions, The Infection was offered a contract by Maverick in Spring 1993 to record their first EP that would become Mockingbird. Afterwards, they quickly became one of the most successful bands from the San Diego area and gained new popularity since the Wince days.

## Death

*Main article: Deaths of Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob SquarePants.*

## Legacy and influence

After Sandy's death, many bands, including the remaining members of Soundgarden, Failure, Foo Fighters, Spacehog, and others have made statements regarding this, Failure even going as far as going on a tribute tour with The Infection opening for them.

4 years later, on February 4th, 2021, It was reported that Sandy Cheeks would get her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Reprise's headquarters at Warner Boulevard in Burbank renamed to Sandy Cheeks Blvd.

A documentary film was released on July 17th, 2020 on HBO.

## Discography

#### Lone Wolves

* *1984 - Wrath of Batman - lead vocals, lead guitar*
* *1985 - The Wonder Years - lead vocals, lead guitar*
* *1987 - Lone Wolves - lead vocals, lead guitar*
* *1994 - BBC Sessions (live album)*
* *1994 - Doomsday (EP)*
* *1995 - Greatest Hits (compilation album)*
* *2002 - Coma-bitch (studio album)*
* *2014 - God Save The Lone Wolves* (studio album)
* *2016 - The Red Album* (studio album)
* *2017 - Erase My Pain* (studio album)

#### Wince

* *1989 - An Old Friend - bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Laugh"*
* *1991 - Self-Titled - bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Dear One"*

### The Infection

* *1994 - Mockingbird* - bass guitar, backing vocals
* *1994 - Shadows Descending - bass guitar, backing vocals*
* *1995 - A Number of My Lifes - bass guitar, backing vocals*
* *1997 - Traffic Jam - bass guitar, backing vocals, drums, precession*
* *2000 - Disparate Realms - bass guitar, backing vocals*
* *2002 - The Infection - bass guitar, backing vocals*
* *2005 - The Anime Album - bass guitar, vocals*
* *2010 - Grunge at the Dancefloor - bass guitar, vocals*
* *2015 - Greatest Hits - bass guitar, backing vocals, drums, precession on "We Need An Replacement"*
* *2017 - Piece Of The Action - bass guitar, backing vocals*

#### Elliott Smith

* *1998 - XO - bass guitar, backing vocals*
* *2000 - Figure 8 - bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals*
* *2004 - From a Basement on the Hill -  bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals*

## Side projects

#### The Secret-But-Not-So-Secret Band

* *1997 - Revolution - lead guitar, vocals*
* *1999 - Skynet - lead guitar, vocals*
* *2001 - Don't Be Scared - lead guitar, vocals*
* *2005 - My Skin - lead guitar, vocals*
* *2006 - Creation Of The Angel - lead guitar, vocals*

## Solo discography

* *1993 - Princess Violet (under the moniker of the same name) [leaked in December 2022]*
* *1998 - The Sandy Cheeks LP*
* *2000 - If It Was Your Last Moment*
* *2001 - The Sandy Cheeks Show*
* *2004 - Neptune's Last Surviving Days*
* *2007 - Aftermath*
* *2009 - Sins Of The Father*
* *2011 - The Sandy Cheeks LP II*
* *2014 - Bloodshed*
* *2021 - The Wolfpack* (posthumous release)

## Filmography and awards

*Main article: List of Sandy Cheeks performances*

*See also: List of awards and nominations received by Sandy Cheeks*