Dom Mariani - Popsided Guitar 1984-2004:

"We found ourselves in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at Mitch's Drive-Inn Studio," says Dom. "It was great to be able to work with someone like Mitch who understands where you're coming from and can take your songs to another level."

Dom adds, "It was an amazing trip -- I'd never been to the States before. Landed in New York at 6 in the evening, went to the hotel and fell asleep only to wake up at 1 in the morning to screaming police sirens – I look out the window and it's like another planet!"

At any rate, that Easter magic factor did the trick. When the single was finally released in September of '88, critical reaction bordered on the ecstatic. Plans were then drawn up for a full-length Someloves record, with basic recording to be done in Perth followed by a return visit to the Easter sanctum. Something Or Other appeared in early 1990 and went on to collect no less than seven West Coast Rock Awards that year including "Best Album" and a nod for Dom as "Most Outstanding Songwriter." Yours truly, writing at the time in The Bob, was barely able to rein in the enthusiasm, stating flatly, "Everything that is vital about classic pop is contained in the Someloves' songs."

"As a song writing partnership," says Dom of the Mariani-Mather summit, "we clicked! We had different songwriting styles that worked well together".

Alas, fate had other plans. Mushroom wanted a second album, but under the provision that the band support it with live dates. While some initial recording did get underway, with Dom based in Perth and having recently started a family and Mather living and working in Sydney, touring wasn't an option. Sensing futility, the pair quietly laid the Someloves to rest.

Dom now found himself in a curious artistic limbo. Contractually bound to Mushroom but uninterested in working for the label, he was barred from making new recordings. He bided his time writing new material and playing occasional live shows around Perth under the name Orange with drummer Martin Moon and Someloves bassist Toni Italiano. Once legal matters were sorted out and Moon replaced by Pascal Bartolone (from the Summer Suns), the trio hit the studio with a vengeance, Dom subsequently rechristening the band DM3 and signing with the Stems' old label Citadel.