Dom Mariani

Dom Mariani is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter.

The power pop band's repertoire was mostly original material predominately written by Mariani in the style of "1960s pop/R&B/garage bands", with a few cover versions included.

Mariani has been a member of several bands since the early 1980s, including The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Datura4 and instrumental side project The Majestic Kelp.

The Stems is the best-known and most successful of Mariani's projects.

Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the power pop group as "one of the best live bands on the Australian scene".

The Stems formed in late 1983 with Dom Mariani on guitar and vocals, Gary Chambers on drums, Richard Lane on keyboards, guitar and vocals, and John Shuttleworth on bass guitar.

In August of that year he curated a double-CD compilation album, Popsided Guitar: Anthology 1984–2004, which included material from several of his bands.

In March 1984 they played their debut gig supporting The Saints and The Triffids in Perth.

The Stems built up a substantial local following.

In June 1984 Shuttleworth was replaced by Julian Matthews on bass guitar.

In early 1985 the group travelled to Sydney, home of their label Citadel Records, and promoted their first single, "Make You Mine" (May).

The track, written by Mariani, reached the top of the independent charts and sold 5000 copies in Australia.

"Make You Mine" was the second highest selling independent single in Australia for the year.

In December 1985 David Shaw replaced Chambers on drums.

During this period they recorded their second single, "Tears Me in Two", and an extended play, Love Will Grow (February 1986), both produced by Rob Younger and Alan Thorne.

The EP reached No. 72 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described The Stems' early work as "classic slices of exuberant, simplistic garage-fuzz pop".

The group spent most of 1986 touring Australia.

They signed with Mushroom Records' subsidiary label White Records and started recording their debut studio album, At First Sight, Violets Are Blue, with Thorne producing.

However, the sessions were disrupted and Mariani took on production duties with Guy Gray.

The album was released in May 1987 and became the third-highest selling independent album in Australia for that year.

The Stems embarked on another national tour, with appearances on national TV.

Mariani wrote the track and its follow up singles, "For Always" (May 1987) and "Sad Girl" (September).

"Sad Girl" was premiered in a performance on TV pop show Countdown on 12 July 1987 – the show's second-last episode, which was co-hosted by Kylie Minogue and Mike Hammond.

On 31 August 1987 The Stems played what turned out to be their last gig.

In October of that year, a proposed six-week European tour was cancelled and the group disbanded.

McFarlane wrote; "by that time they had developed into one of the best live bands on the Australian scene".

The lead single, "At First Sight" (February), appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Young Einstein in December 1988.

The Stems line-up of Mariani, Lane, Matthews and Shaw played a reunion gig in Fremantle in late February 1997.

Adam Connors for The Australian recalled that; "since the disbandment their simple yet unassailable songsmithery endeared them to a huge European music public and propelled them on to play the final Countdown".

At the reunion he noted Shaw's drumming was "fluid and driving", Mathews played "his bass like he was oiling a bat", while Mariani and Lane showcased their "fuzzed-out appliances and Beach Boys bah bah bahs".

In 2002 Off the Hip Records issued The Great Stems Hoax – A Tribute to The Stems, which had 19 cover versions of Stems songs performed by various artists.

The Age's Patrick Donovan noted the album "highlighted the band's continuing influence" as the contributors were from Australia, Europe and the U.S.A.

In March 2003 The Stems the line-up of Mariani, Chambers, Lane and Matthews reformed for a national tour.

In 2005 Mariani was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Awards Hall of Fame.

In 2007 United States writer John M. Borack rated Mariani as "one of the top five pop titans of the past couple of decades".

Mariani grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Mariani is the son of Italian migrants from Abruzzo,

In October 2009 Mariani told The Age's Michael Dwyer, "we were on the charts, getting airplay, very popular. But within the band there was a bit of burnout ... you have these moments where you can't stop thinking negatively and I kept picturing myself pushing a van in the snow. I thought, 'I don't want to be doing that. I'm getting out of here'".

The Huffington Post's Holly Cara Price described the group as "one of the most tuneful and tasty garage rock bands of the era. Avid fans of pop, R&B and 60's garage punk, their predilection translated to great punchy songs".