Ramatam

Ramatam was a 1970s rock band featuring Mike Pinera on guitar and vocals, April Lawton on lead guitar, and, for a short time, Mitch Mitchell on drums.

Tom Dowd produced their self-titled debut album in 1972. Pinera was known for his work with Blues Image ("Ride Captain Ride") and later Iron Butterfly. Mitchell joined the band while away from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The group also included some former members of Janis Joplin's Big Brother and The Holding Company.

Mitchell's departure came before the band released its second and final album, In April Came the Dawning of the Red Suns (1973). Pinera and Mitchell had departed from the band at that point, leaving the band's focus entirely on Lawton. The band fractured under the pressure of life on the road and broke up in 1974.

Ramatam was notable for having April Lawton, a female lead guitarist. At the time of the first album's release, female rock musicians who actively played and participated in the band were relatively rare, particularly female musicians who played aggressive lead guitar, as Lawton did. She was favorably compared to Jeff Beck by Guitar Player Magazine.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

• Ramatam (Atlantic Records, 1972) U.S. #182
• In April Came the Dawning of the Red Suns (Atlantic, 1973)

External links

• Ramatam audio at www.aprillawton.com