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 [...]]]>

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!
You can also catch them here if you can’t make the Dub Club stop:
Tue Feb 10: Belly Up Tavern. 143 S. Cedros Ave.Solana Beach, CA:
Wed Feb 11: The Dub Club (@ The Echo): 1822 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
Thurs Feb 12:Saint Rocke. 142 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach, CA,

Win a signed copy of the new album “Hit & Run” from the One Night Band! We will be [...]]]> Well we like to help out as much as we can and here’s a cool little contest for anyone that’s interested. The album’s pretty enjoyable and produced by Brian “Boom Boom” Dixon (of Aggrolites fame of course).

Win a signed copy of the new album “Hit & Run” from the One Night Band!
We will be giving away one signed CD each week for the next three weeks.

We will post a new trivia question each week. One winner will be chosen each week at random from all entries for that week.

This weeks trivia question:
Can you name three bands the producer of Hit & Run has been in?

Email your answers to info@musicaloccupation. com with “Hit & Run” in the subject line. You will receive one entry into our Hit & Run Giveaway Contest and automatically be signed up to receive our newsletter. Winners will be announced at the end of each week.

Brought to you by:
Stomp Records
Dancing Mood Forum
Pressure Drop Soundcast
Music Is Our Occupation

To hear music from the new album “Hit & Run” visit www.myspace.com/theonenightband