Early work (1997–2002)

Stemage began writing and performing music in high school. He recorded an original album in 1997 named Organized Uproar, using a cassette 8-track in his dorm room. The album was later released for free via his website.^[5] He then joined a band named MiniVoid.^[6][7]

Metroid Metal and solo work (2003–2014)

In 2003, Stemage formed Metroid cover project Metroid Metal, later recruiting other artists such as Danimal Cannon.^[8] While the group were initially simply recording cover songs to release online, Metroid Metal made their live debut at MAGFest 7 in 2009, and became a recurring act at the event. Stemage released several albums with the group over the following years, including Varia Suite (2009), Expansion Pack (2010) and Other Album (2014).^[9] Stemage along with the other musicians from Metroid Metal Live formed the "backbone" of Yes Mayhem, a second band that produced original material beginning in 2010.^[10] During this time, he released five albums as a solo artist, both in the form of cover projects and original material. In 2010, Stemage was hired to perform the soundtrack for the Xbox Live game Alpha Squad. In an interview shortly before the game's release, he described composing for video games as "acting on a blue screen with a director telling you that the Master Control Program is off in the distance, and it's big—except that there's no director, and the MCP is a sketch of a dude with a gun."^[11]

Collaborative projects and Steven Universe (2014–2019)

Stemage joined Viking Guitar in 2014, alongside Travis Morgan, Mega Beardo, and founder Erik Peabody. Viking Guitar originated as a solo act fronted by Peabody, with which Stemage had featured as a guest on several occasions.^[12][13] The new incarnation of the band released their debut studio album Legion later that year while continuing the annual Danse Macabre projects that Stemage had been involved in earlier.^[14] In 2018, the group released their second studio album, Warpath.

Stemage had a brief tenure with LONELYROLLINGSTARS, working on their 2014 album CARNIVORTEX and performing live at MAGFest 12 to support the release.^[15] His departure later in the year was announced by the band in the form of a music video. During the video, Stemage walks out midway through a performance of Royal Rainbow Road to be replaced by new guitarist Mega Beardo.^[16][17]

In addition to the opening theme for the second season of Cartoon Network's Steven Universe, Stemage worked on guitars throughout the remainder of the show.^[18] The first volume of the Steven Universe soundtrack reached #22 on the Billboard 200.^[19] A second volume followed in 2019, peaking at #28 on the Billboard 200, and #12 on the US iTunes chart.^[20][21] Stemage also co-composed Steven Universe: The Movie.^[22]

In 2018, Stemage joined a band called Super Strikers, along with video game composers Keiji Yamagishi and Manami Matsumae. The group performed live for the first time at MAGFest 2018, the recordings of which were used for the second disc of Yamagishi's album The Retro-Active Experience.^[23]

Focus on soundtracks (2019–)

From the late 2010s onwards, Stemage worked on a number of game soundtracks including Card of Darkness (2019), Ikenfell (2020) and Hextech Mayhem (2021), both as a composer and as a session guitarist. When discussing his work on the Bubsy: Paws on Fire! soundtrack, which was released via video game music label Materia Collective, Stemage indicated that it was a challenging but enjoyable project, adding "If you hear a hi-hat playing Morse code during one of the songs, don't say I didn't warn you."^[24]