The Stems are a garage punk band founded by Dom Mariani in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. The group is heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. They broke up in August 1987 and reformed in 2003, releasing a new album in 2007. Although the group disbanded in October 2009, as of 2013 The Stems are an ongoing live concern.
History
1983: Formation
The Stems formed in late 1983 when vocalist/guitarist Dom Mariani, formerly in The Go-Starts, was introduced to Richard Lane. Lane had seen Mariani in the final few gigs of The Go-Starts and had asked him for guitar lessons which developed into the decision was made to form The Stems. A friend, Gary Chambers, was recruited to join on drums, and bass guitarist John Shuttleworth was poached from the Pink Armadillos. and the band played triumphant shows on their return to Perth.
1986–1987: At First Sight, Violets Are Blue and break-up
The Stems, with new drummer David Shaw, spent most of 1986 touring to promote their EP. This included national tours supporting Flamin' Groovies and the Hoodoo Gurus. They also sought a major label deal. Mushroom Records signed the band, and The Stems booked into Platinum Studios with producer Alan Thorne at the end of 1986. The recording process didn't go smoothly, and stretched from the planned one month to three, with a new producer brought in to complete the record. At First Sight, Violets Are Blue was released in 1987, their first recording for Mushroom's White Label subsidiary. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Australian alternative charts and 34 on the mainstream charts.</blockquote>
The Stems performed their last live show in their original incarnation on 31 August 1987, but the breakup was not officially announced until November that year. By that time The Stems had released a total of five singles, one EP, and one studio album.
2003–2009: Reformation, Heads Up and second break-up
In March 2003, The Stems reunited for a national tour of the local and international music scene. Following the re-release of their album At First Sight, Violets Are Blue and the release of the Mushroom Soup: The Citadel Years in 2003, The Stems found themselves playing to packed houses across the country, touring Europe, playing the prestigious "Little Stevens Underground Garage Festival" in August 2005, and then at the "Come Together Festival" at Sydney's Luna Park with the cream of Australia's newest bands in September 2005.
2006 saw the release of another anthology titled Terminal Cool in the United States by the garage rock and punk label Get Hip Records. The new anthology includes three previously unreleased tracks including the track, "Think Cool" from their early live sets. Two of the band's tracks were included in the recent Rhino Nuggets Box set Children of Nuggets which compiles and documents the Paisley Underground and garage rock of the 1980s.
thumb|right|2007 Tour Poster
In 2007 The Stems undertook a national tour alongside Hoodoo Gurus and Radio Birdman and released their second album, Heads Up on Shock Records. The album contained ten original garage rock tracks. It was recorded in Perth early in 2007 at the analogue and vintage recording compound Kingdom Studios and later mixed at Ultrasuede in Cincinnati by producer John Curley (White Stripes, Afghan Wigs, Greenhornes and Ronnie Spector). The Stems then toured nationally to promote the new album and played their first shows outside Australia, including European dates and a U.S. visit that included the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
In July 2009 The Stems announced that they would be disbanding later that year, with an eight-date national farewell tour in October.
Richard Lane opened the music school Penny Lane's Musical Workshop in Fremantle in 2009. He played in the Chevelles, the Rosebuds, and the On and Ons. He also launched the independent label Idaho Records. He did not participate in later Stems activities and died in 2020. The following year the City of Fremantle gave a previously unnamed laneway, where Lane had operated Penny Lane's for two years, the title Richard Lane.
2013–present: Second reformation
In April 2013 The Stems performed at Dig It Up! festival shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The line-up was Mariani, Matthews, Shaw and new guitarist Ashley Naylor in place of Richard Lane. The same line-up played gigs on the east coast in March 2014, including supports for the reunited Sunnyboys in Brisbane and Sydney. Guitarist Davey Lane (The Pictures, no relation to Richard) was also in the band's line-up for some time. On 31 May 2014, The Stems was one the headline acts at Perth's annual 'State of the Art' festival at the Perth Cultural Centre.
Members
- Dom Mariani – vocals, guitar (1983–1987, 2003–2009, 2013-present)
- Richard Lane – vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica (1983–1987, 2003–2009) (died May 2020)
- Gary Chambers – drums (1983–1986)
- Julian Matthews – bass guitar, vocals (1984–1987, 2003–2009, 2013-present)
- David Shaw – drums, percussion, vocals (1986–1987, 2003–2009, 2013-present)
- John Shuttleworth – bass guitar (1984)
- Ashley Naylor; guitar, vocals (2013–present)
- Davey Lane; guitar, vocals, keys, harmonica (2017–present)
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Details
! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%"| AUS<br />
|-
! scope="row" | At First Sight, Violets Are Blue
|
- Released: August 1987
- Label: White Label/Mushroom (L38735)
| 34
|-
! scope="row" | Heads Up
|
- Released: 6 October 2007
- Label: Shock (ST-707)
| —
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! Title
! Album details
|-
! scope="row" | Weed Out!
|
- Released: 1997
- Label: House of Wax (HOWR8)
- Note: Limited to 1,000 copies. Recorded in 1986
|-
! scope="row" | Official Live Recording
|
- Released: August 2024
- Label: Cheersquad Records
- Note: Limited. Recorded in November2017
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! Title
! Album details
|-
! scope="row" | The Great Rosebud Hoax
|
- Released: 1987
- Label: Citadel (CITLP512)
|-
! scope="row" | Buds
|
- Released: 1991
- Label: Citadel (CITCD512)
|-
! scope="row" | Mushroom Soup: The Citadel Years
|
- Released: March 2003
- Label: Citadel (CITCD555)
|-
! scope="row" | Terminal Cool (Anthology 1983–1986)
|
- Released: June 2006
- Label: Get Hip (GH-1130CD)
|-
! scope="row" | Evergreen Scene – The Stems Anthology 1983–87
|
- Released: 2007
- Label: Target Earth (TE-020CD)
|}
Extended plays
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | EP details
! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%"| AUS<br />