James Gough, Mike Meston, Paul Dopper and Marcel Zimmet formed Green Stone Garden when they all called Darwin home. And it seems that while you can take at least three of the boys out of Darwin… you can’t take Darwin out of the boys.
By Liz Trevaskis
Marcel Zimmet spoke to Off The Leash ahead of the band’s sweaty build up reunion at The Rails this November.
Can you tell us the Green Stone Garden story? When did you get together?
A long time ago, in the very early part of this decade, James and Mike arrived separately in Darwin town. Both originally from Hobart and with some hometown connections, they started jamming and performing.
I met Mike through a common friend, but took many months to take up an invite to jam. When I finally did, things clicked musically, quickly, and built further when I met Paul at an Off The Leash community engagement meeting at the Railway Club (true story) convincing him to learn bass (as a long time guitarist) and jump on board. The rest is…
Where did your name come from?
Mike had a dream about… you guessed it… a green stone garden. He started the group with that name and it was such an apt name for a Darwin band, conjuring images of those very green, mossy, stone gardens in many Top End backyards.
We were going for a warm, earthy sound initially, so the name fit, even when we morphed into a more indie sound.
You’re now geographically separated – where did everyone go?
James stayed in Darwin and the rest of us dispersed to the East Coast and Tasmania, following the tides of family and day job changes. None of us left to escape the humidity and heat though, quite the contrary!
How have you managed to stay connected as a band whilst being spread out around the country?
Over our formative years in Darwin as GSG, we became close friends. We have caught up intermittently ever since, and sneak in a jam whenever possible, so the musical connections have somehow endured across time and distance.
How are you feeling about getting back to Darwin this November?
Will your sweat glands be ready?We are truly excited to be returning to our home ground for a show, especially the Railway Club. Like most Darwin bands, we know that the Railway and Brown’s Mart are where most of the musical magic occurs – warm nights, great bands and engaging audiences. For us now Southerners, our sweat glands will have a shock.
