Win Tickets: Mighty Diamonds Make LA Dub Club Stop

From Tom Chasteen:
Vocal trio the Mighty Diamonds are one of the most internationally popular reggae groups to emerge from the '70s roots era. More accessible than many other roots outfits, the Diamonds boast soulful, gorgeously pure harmonies and tight, catchy songwriting, much of it from within the group itself. They are devout Rastafarians, but balance their spiritual and political messages with sweet romantic material, which gives them a more universal appeal than militant groups like Culture or Black Uhuru.

Regardless of whether they are singing love songs or protest anthems, the Mighty Diamonds bring a startling emotional commitment to their best material, and their debut album, "Right Time", still stands as one of roots reggae's all-time classics.

The Mighty Diamonds were formed in 1969 in the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, also home to Bob Marley. From day one onward, their lineup consisted of founder and harmony singer Pat "Lloyd" Ferguson (aka Judge Diamond, the Judge), lead singer Donald Shaw (aka Tabby Diamond, the Prophet), and harmony singer Fitzroy Simpson (aka Bunny Diamond, the Jester).

In 1973, they caught on at Byron Lee's Dynamic Sounds studio and notched their first hit with "Shame and Pride." From there, the group moved on to Joseph "JoJo" Hoo Kim's Channel One imprint in 1975.



They scored two quick hits with "Country Living" and "Hey Girl," and then had their biggest success yet with "Right Time." Signed to a major-label deal with Virgin, the Mighty Diamonds issued their first album, also titled "Right Time", in 1976. It was an instant classic, tackling a multitude of social and spiritual issues with powerful yet graceful music, and spawned further hits in "I Need a Roof," "Have Mercy," and "Africa."

In the early '80s, the group started working with producer Gussie Clarke, reworking old Studio One rhythm tracks into new songs on their 1981 albumChanges. One of those new songs, "Pass the Kouchie" (or sometimes "Kutchie"), was a major hit in Jamaica, and in 1982 it was covered by the band Musical Youth for the U.S. and U.K. smash "Pass the Dutchie" (substituting a type of cooking pot for the original's marijuana slang). Since then they have continued to record and tour, always putting on a great show.



Wednesday February 11
The Dub Club presents:
The Mighty Diamonds
www.mightydiamonds.com
backed by Yellow Wall Dub Squad

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

at the Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd. in Echo Park
$10 Advance tickets available from www.ticketweb.com
$15 at the door/ 9pm/ 21+
www.myspace.com/dubclubla

Want to win tickets to this event? All you have to do is make sure you are friends with the Dub Club via their myspace page (link above). Put them in your top friends and repost the flyer above.

Email me here: jason@lawlessrecords.com when that's all done and you can win one of 3 pairs of tickets! I'll notify the winners of the tickets early Wednesday morning via email and the winners will be on the guestlist at the club that night. Easy enough right? Well get to it!

See you there!