Black Diamond Heavies hail from Nashville, Tennessee but currently live as “vagrants/citizens of the world.” The music is urgent,raw,and full of ass-shaking soul. The live show has been described as both “Pentecostal” and “Demon-Possessed”. Most of the material is original, although covers are sometimes thrown in as tribute to gods, generals, heroes, and vampires such as John Lee Hooker, T-Model Ford, Muddy Waters, Nina Simone, and Tom Waits. The Heavies continuously gain momentum on their quest to unleash the punk-ass blues on the world. The Heavies tour internationally and constantly and have shared the stage with many notable acts including Son Volt, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Immortal Lee County Killers, Thee Shams, Jimbo Mathus, Kenny Brown, and Scott H. Biram.
The band consists of :
John Wesley Myers : bass keys, Fender Rhodes, organ, knife and vocal. Left hand of rhythm, right hand of soul. The son of a Baptist preacher, John Wesley is from Port Arthur, Texas and has been shaking his “testimony” all over the south for 25 years, playing gospel as a child till the devil got hold of him. John Wesley also fools around with fellow blues-evangelists, the Immortal Lee County Killers.
Van Campbell : Drums, vocal, getaway . Van is from Louisville, Kentucky and comes from a family of bourbon distillers. He holds a degree in Mandarin Chinese from a small girls’ college in New York and has drummed professionally on three continents. Upon deportation from England, Van returned to the states after a three year stint with The Invisibles, and the art punk explosion now known as The Rum Circus. |
