The Stems

In 1983 Dom Mariani and Richard Lane established the Stems, a garage/punk rock outfit from Australia. Regular appearances at The Wizbah, The Old Melbourne, and The Shenton Park helped the band cultivate a strong local audience, which led directly to the mid-1985 issuance of their first single, "Make You Mine" b/w "She's A Monster." Additional recordings soon appeared, among them standalone singles, EPs such as Love Will Grow—produced by Radio Birdman's Rob Younger—and albums highlighted by the commercially successful 1987 full-length At First Sight Violets Are Blue. Despite this momentum the group abruptly dissolved at its commercial peak. Mariani and Lane later set aside past tensions, allowing sporadic reunion performances that included two 1997 concerts timed with the appearance of the archival live set Weed Out!: Live at the Old Melbourne.