Dom Mariani - Popsided Guitar 1984-2004:

"The first DM3 album was a fairly important step for me personally," say's Dom, talking about One Time Two Times Three Red Light, released in August of '93. "Some of those tunes were written for the second Someloves album in mind – '1 Time 2 Times Devastated' was originally recorded for the Someloves album but, never completed. I wanted to update the melodic style of the Someloves with a tougher guitar sound. DM3 was instrumental in getting back into playing regular live shows, something I'd missed in the Someloves."

Critics and fans alike approved of the DM3 sonic melting pot and the band was able to tour behind the album both nationally, opening for Died Pretty and Jellyfish, and Europe, including a prestigious slot at Denmark's annual summer Roskilde Festival. Thus buoyed, DM3 began work on its sophomore platter, sessions ultimately extending into 1995, with Mitch Easter tapped for mixing and final production honors (Easter also mixed the first album). Following a slight delay, Road To Rome appeared in June of '96.

Dom recalls this period as a creative one during which he was flexing his songwriting muscles: "I remember a very positive vibe. The songs developing over a longer period of time. Road to Rome was recorded over an 18 month period. Sessions were interrupted by 2 to 3 month breaks. In that time new ideas would come and I'd approach a tune differently to the way I had originally intended. 'Something Heavy' is a good example of that. Originally it was to be more acoustic guitar driven, but I then had this idea of using Hammond organ on it. I asked Bob Patient to play something in the vein of 'Til I Die' (The Beach Boys) and it completely changed the feel of the song."

With Road To Rome released simultaneously in Australia and Europe the DM3 seemed to be on the verge of a major breakthrough internationally. Reviewers hailed the album as Dom's strongest-ever effort – not to mention, in an alternaera still teeming with lapsed grunge bands, a long-overdue reclaiming of powerpop's primacy. Following a '96 European tour, however, circumstances forced the combo into an unforeseen hibernation during which time Dom and his old Stems bandmates got back together for a handful of local reunion shows in February of '97. Eventually, though, sessions for the third DM3 album got underway, spreading out over a long period that saw bassist Italiano retiring and the Stems' Julian Matthews coming into the DM3 fold.