STEMM

T

he band that would become STEMM formed in 1998 by Joe Cafarella (lead vocals/guitar), brothers Louie (vocals) and Jimi Penque (drums), Russ Martin (bass) and Alex Scouten (guitar). Scouten left in 1999 to be briefly replaced by Fred Blackwell; Rich Spalla would replace Blackwell soon after, however. Their debut self-released recordings, Further Efforts EP (1999) and the full-length Dead to Me (2001), then followed.

In 2002, STEMM signed a licensing deal with the UFC for their music to be incorporated into UFC television and live events. Songs (to date) used by the UFC include, Out of Context, Holding On, Fallen and Face the Pain (which was used for the theme song and is featured on the UFC 2009 Undisputed soundtrack). The band also signed a licensing deal to feature their music on Canadian television station The Fight Network.

It was after Jimi Penque left for musical differences, with Louie following shortly later for family reasons, that the band membership came into flux. In 2003 Cafarella and Spalla reset the line-up to feature Danny Nelligan (drums), Stephen Crowl (bass) and TJ Frost (vocals; ex-5 Years Gone). The change would pre-empt a sonic modification as well, seeing the band drift more into a standard metal direction from the former 'Rapcore'.

The band first performed before a wide audience with Sevendust and at a 'Metal Blade Records' showcase show. They would follow this up with tours seeing them performing on stage with such other notable acts as Hatebreed, Chimaira, Staind, Godsmack, Soulfly, Trivium, Arch Enemy and Black Label Society. The most famous of these shows would be their performance at the last full show of Pantera and Damageplan guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell (Pantera/Damageplan) in Buffalo, NY, the night before he was murdered on stage at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio.