Internationally acclaimed West Australian boogie masters DATURA4, who are fronted by Dom Mariani of legendary Oz garage rockers The Stems, are set to tour the east coast of Australia for the first time in 6 years on the success of their fifth album, Neanderthal Jam. With plans to tour Europe in the latter part of 2023, the April East Coast tour will be their first time back since 2017 and will comprise four shows across New South Wales and Victoria including an appearance at the prestigious Gum Ball Festival in the Hunter Valley and a Sydney show with returning platinum-selling Canadian Classic Rockers The Sheepdogs.
To celebrate the announcement, DATURA4 have a dropped a new single from Neanderthal Jam, the thumping ‘Digging My Own Grave’.
Datura4 | East Coast Tour
Friday 21st April | Great Club Sydney (w/ The Sheepdogs)
Saturday 22nd April | Gumball Festival
Sunday 23rd April | Barwon Club Geelong
Monday 24th April | Cherry Melbourne (special guests – The Gas Babies)
also playing Sat 15th April, Lyric’s Underground Perth (special guests Rinehearts
DATURA4 finds Dom Mariani rediscovering the heavy and progressive blues sounds he loved as a teenager – bands like Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After and the Groundhogs, Aus bands like Carson, Masters Apprentices, Chain, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Perth locals Bakery. Dom has even added an authentic ‘70s blues-rocker to his band – keyboard player Bob Patient is a one-time member of heavy prog rockers Fatty Lumpkin, a later day member of Matt Taylor’s Chain and more recently a sideman of Perth’s internationally revered slide guitarist Dave Hole.
Having already released 4 acclaimed albums on California’s Alive/Natural Records – Demon Blues (2015), Hairy Mountain (2016), Blessed is the Boogie (2019) and West Coast Highway Cosmic (2020) – DATURA4 jammed out and recorded the eleven new tracks of psychedelicised blues and full-tilt heavy rock that comprise Neanderthal Jam at their favourite south-west farmhouse studio during the early months of 2021. Released in August 2022, the album has already received widespread acclaim. The album was featured in Classic Rock (UK), Rolling Stone (France), Rhythms Magazine (Aust), Blow Up (Italy), Fireworks Magazine and Shindig Magazine (UK) just to name a few.
The first single taken from the album ‘Open the Line’ was proclaimed by Stevie Van Zandt as “the coolest song in the world” and received solid airplay on Sirius XM radio network via his radio program Little Steven’s Underground Garage. The song was also chosen by Classic Rock magazine as their pick of the week and described as “a reverent and joyful ode to arena-rock excess, tight and tuneful yet giddily indulgent.” Alive/Natural Sound also released a limited edition with two bonus tracks, and a Splatter vinyl version complete with psychedelic artwork. The new album continues to do well, building upon their existing strong international fanbase.