DOM MARIANI

Domenic Desio "Dom" Mariani was born in 1958 and grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia. Mariani is the son of Italian migrants from Abruzzo, his father, Giovanni Mariani (born 29 March 1927 in Fresagrandinaria) was a farm and factory hand who arrived in Fremantle in September 1951; his grandfather Domenico Mariani (24 August 1901 – 9 March 1971) arrived in 1955. His mother, Giovanna Mariani (born 1 June 1937 in Scerni), arrived in May 1957. Mariani has a brother Lorenzo (known as Laurie) and a sister Maria. He received his first guitar at age nine. He took lessons with Wally Harland at the Fremantle Guitar Studio in his early teens. Mariani's earliest bands during his high school years were The Nit Wits and Impact. .

Harland also ran a cabaret, where Mariani performed with "a couple of the other guys ... We linked up with Robbie Scorer and we were playing everything from 'Pride Of Erran' to 'Good Golly Miss Molly'". Impact performed instrumental cover versions of Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beatles and Bee Gees material. In November 2003 Mariani remembered "CCR's 'Down on the Corner' at my very first gig. I knew it note for note but then when I went to play it, nerves kicked in... And I didn't play 'Down on the Corner' that's for sure!!" His other early influences were The Raspberries, Badfinger and Big Star. After high school, Mariani attended college.

In 1981 Mariani formed The Go-Starts with Ray Bacich on drums, Guido Berini on guitar and vocals, and Velo Zupanovich on bass guitar. During 1982 Greg Hitchcock replaced Berini on guitar while Robbie Scorer took over from Bacich on drums. Mariani recalled "I wrote instrumentals back then like 'Guitar Radiation', 'Cementhead' and 'Boobalooba Beach'" "Boobalooba Beach" was co-written by Mariani with Hitchcock and Zupanovich. As well as its original material the group covered "Pipeline" and "Walk Don't Run". Mariani recounted "we recorded a few live cassettes and did some studio recordings at the early days of Planet and Revolver". Late in 1983 The Go-Starts broke up. Hitchcock went on to play in The Bamboos (1986–87), The Neptunes (1987–89), The Kryptonics (1987–88), You Am I (1996–97) and the Monarchs. Zupanovich played in Orange and Scorer went on to the cabaret 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. 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. 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 1983 Shuttleworth was replaced with 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. 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 #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".

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. During his time in The Stems, Dom Mariani undertook a number of side-projects. One of these, The Stonefish, was an instrumental surf rock group formed in February 1986, which reunited him with Hitchcock (now on guitar and dobro) and Zupanovich, alongside his Stems' cohort Dave Shaw. In March the following year they issued a four-track 12" EP, 'From 20,000 Fathoms', on Citadel Records. The EP included material written and performed by Mariani's earlier instrumental group, The Go-Starts. However, The Stonefish had disbanded by the time the record was released.

Early in 1986 Dom Mariani formed another alternative rock/power pop band, The Someloves, with Darryl Mather of Lime Spiders on guitar. The Stems' former drummer Gary Chambers soon joined and together with Christian Houllemare (ex-Happy Hate Me Nots) on bass guitar and vocals , The Someloves recorded their debut single, "It's My Time", which was released in June. Late in 1987 he resumed The Someloves with Mather and in September 1988 they issued a second single, "Know You Now". By 1989 the pair were joined by Zupanovich, Martin Moon (ex-Marigolds) on drums and Tony Italiano on bass guitar.

In May 1990 The Someloves issued their debut album, 'Something or Other', which was produced by Mariani and Mather with Mitch Easter and John Villani. The album appeared on the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and provided a single, "Melt" (April 1990), and an EP, 'Sunshine's Glove' (August). McFarlane felt 'Something or Other' was "full of shimmering power pop melodies and glittering guitar sounds". The album and the band won West Australian Music Industry Awards that year. Various personal issues and problems with the idea of touring led to the group disbanding by the end of the year.

In mid-1986 Mariani briefly joined The Summer Suns, which played a blend of 1960s folk rock and 1970s power pop with an emphasis on melody. The band was formed by Kim Williams (ex-Louie Louie, Holy Rollers) on lead vocals, guitar and bass guitar, and had a variable line-up that included Mariani, Chambers and Zapunovich as well as other Perth musicians. In October they issued a debut single, "Rachel Anne", on Williams's own label, Easter Records. Mariani left for other commitments but returned in 1989 for a new line-up of The Summer Suns with Williams now joined by Moon and Steve Kind on bass guitar. They issued a second single, "All Away", in September before Mariani moved on again.

In late 1992 Dom Mariani formed DM3 with Toni Italiano on bass and Pascal Bartolone (ex-The Summer Suns) on drums. Initially, Ian Campbell was an auxiliary member on lead guitar. In May they issued their first single, "Foolish", and followed in September with they eponymous debut album, 'One Times, Two Times, Three Red Light', on Citadel Records. The album was produced by the band's members. In 1993 Mariani was inducted into the WAMIA ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll of Renown’. In mid-1994 DM3 undertook a European tour in support of these releases, one of their appearances was on 1 July in Denmark at the Roskilde Festival. That performance was recorded and released in May 2013 as Live (Roskilde Festival 1994). In June 1996 DM3's second album, 'Road to Rome', appeared. It was produced by the band with Mich Easter.

US writer, John M. Borack, rated the album at #11 in his list of The 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums, as it demonstrated "a sublime concoction of equal parts '90s pop power and '60s melodicism" with tracks full of "meaty, beaty, big and ballsy guitar riffs living in a state of sheer bliss with non-cliched lyrics". An EP, '5 Greasy Pieces', was released that same year, while a compilation of b-sides and out takes, 'Garage Sale', was issued the following year. US label Bomp! Records also issued a compilation, 'Dig It the Most', in support of the band's 1997 tour. That year Italiano left and was replaced by ex-The Stems, bass guitarist, Matthews. DM3's third album, 'Rippled Soul', appeared in September 1998. In 1999 Jeff Baker joined on guitar but the group disbanded later that year. Price declared that DM3 could "arguably be called the best power pop band ever to come out of Australia".

In 2002 Dom Mariani replaced Danny McDonald in power pop group, The Stoneage Hearts. The group began with McDonald on lead vocals and guitar , Mickster Baty on drums (ex-Finkers, Crusaders, Pyramidiacs), and Ian Wettenhall on bass guitar and vocals (ex-The Philisteins, Seminal Rats, Hands of Time, Freeloaders). They had released a debut album, 'Turn On', and McDonald left to pursue a solo career. With Mariani aboard, the new line-up recorded their next album, 'Guilty as Sin' (2004), for Off the Hip Records. It was also released in the US on the Bomp! Records subsidiary, Alive Records, on green vinyl LP and CD. Mariani left soon after.

Dom Mariani & the Majestic Kelp were formed as an instrumental group in 2003. Mariani reunited with former Go-Starts drummer Robbie Scorer, and new associates Killian Albrecht on guitar and Stu Loasby on bass guitar. Price described their sound as "cool surf guitar/postmodern lounge instrumental". They released their debut album, 'Underwater Casino' in July. In 2005 Mariani was inducted into the WAMIA Hall of Fame. In August that year he curated a 2× CD compilation album, 'Popsided Guitar: Anthology 1984–2004', which featured material from The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, The Stoneage Hearts and The Majestic Kelp.

In 2007 Mariani formed The DomNicks with Nick Sheppard (ex-The Cortinas, The Clash), together with bass guitarist, Howard Shawcross (ex-The Elks) and drummer Marz Frisina (ex-The Chevelles). They played a mix of Mariani and Sheppard originals with a spread of 1960s and 1970s garage rock and soul material. Also that year Borack rated Mariani as "one of the top five pop titans of the past couple of decades". In September 2008 Mariani appeared on celebrity music trivia TV show, RocKwiz, including performing a duet, "Sinister Purpose", with Abbe May. In 2009 The DomNicks released an EP, 'Hey Rock 'n' Roller', which was produced by Wayne Connolly (The Vines, You Am I). The DomNicks toured supporting Hoodoo Gurus and in September 2010 they performed in Sydney and Melbourne at the Joe Strummer tribute concerts, 'Revolution Rock'.

In 2008 Mariani decided it was time to get back to the music that fired him up as a youngster and form the heavy boogie blues combo Datura. Datura consisted of Greg Hitchcock on guitar and vocals, Stu Loasby on bass and Warren Hall on drums. Musically indebted to '70's hard rock, Datura often performed improvised sets with a loose rock'n'roll feel. 

In 2011 Mariani reactivated DM3. They toured extensively overseas as well as dates throughout Australia. On 21 September 2012 The DomNicks issued their debut album, 'Super Real', which Mess+Noise described as "power-pop with soul" and "comprises predominantly Sheppard's originals, punctuated with a couple of Mariani's tracks and the odd cover". The Barman finds the two leaders are "great foils; Mariani with his classic '60s pop stylings and Sheppard with his gritty blues and old style rocker-cum-roller touches. Toss in a shared love for soul, probably a dash of competitive tension, and you have a recipe for a classic". The following month the group played at the 30th anniversary of Citadel Records; also at the celebration were Penny Ikinger (ex-Sacred Cowboys) and Deniz Tek (ex-Radio Birdman) both on guitars. In March 2013 The DomNicks appeared at the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival. In June 2013 DM3 toured Italy, France and Spain, including a performance at 6th Annual Andoaingo Rock Festival. In August 2013 the Majestic Kelp released their third album, 'Turn Up the Sun'. The album received positive reviews prompting the April 2014 release of 'Turn Up The Sun' on vinyl through Head Records.

References

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Mariani