The Stems
The Stems were one of the finest 1960s-inspired garage bands
Australia produced in the 80's, during a time when paisley-clad,
mop-topped psychedelic revival bands were prevalent down under.
Hailing from Perth in Western Australia, they captured the sound
and the spirit of 1965 perfectly.
Leader Dom Mariani's earliest influences included The
Beatles,
The Raspberries, Badfinger and Big
Star. He formed his first band
(The Go Starts) in 1981 and The Stems in 1984.
The band took its
cue from classic 1960s pop/R&B bands like The Rolling
Stones,
The Kinks, The Byrds, The Standells and
The Easybeats, but rather
than perform as a covers band they played a solid repertoire of
original material (penned by Mariani and Lane). The Stems made
their live debut in March 1984, supporting The Saints and
The Triffids.
Shuttleworth left the band in June and was replaced by Julian
Matthews, and the band began promoting their own themed gigs with
titles like 'Monster Mash', 'Reverberation' and 'Psychedelic
Showdown'. In May '85, their debut single was issued by Sydney
independent label, Citadel. The single - Make You Mine -
was followed in September by Tears Me In Two.
Both singles were classic slices of exuberant garage-fuzz pop
that invited comparisons with everyone from The Monkees to
The Yardbirds. Both releases hit the top of the independent charts,
selling 5,000 copies each (which was a lot for an independent
release in Australia, trust me!).
Ex-Radio Birdman frontman Rob Younger produced their next
release - a four track, 12-inch EP entitled Love Will Grow
(Rosebuds Volume One) which also hit Number 1 on the Aussie
independent chart. Shortly after the EP was released, Gary
Chambers left the band and was replaced by David Huck Shaw.
The Stems spent most of 1986 touring nationwide (including
support slots to The Hoodoo Gurus and overseas visitors,
The Flamin' Groovies). At the end of the year the band signed a new
deal with Mushroom Records' White subsidiary label.
At First Sight . . . Violets Are Blue (June 1987)
produced three more independent Number 1 singles - At First
Sight (Feb 1987), For Always (May 1987) and Sad
Girl (Sept 1987). At First Sight was also included
on the soundtrack of Australian-made feature film, Young
Einstein.
Despite positive sales and encouraging reviews for the album,
The Stems called it a day in August 1987. Mariani then joined
Sydney musician Daryl Mather (ex-The Lime
Spiders) to form The
Someloves - a brilliant power pop band who released the classic
single Know You Now in September 1988.
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