The Diamond Bar

Hi, we are a group of like minded ROCK fans who live in Ballymena, CO. Antrim, Northern Ireland. We have all been Pat Mcmanus (ex Mamas Boys) fans for far too long to mention and we travel the length and breadth of Ireland watching Pat and his band Hi-Voltage. About three years ago we decided to try and bring Pat and his band to Ballymena, so we approached all the bars/clubs in the town but nobody was interested. All the owners were interested in were "Dolly Birds" standing behind a programmed keyboard and infront of a "Japanesse" drummer.So we widened our search and ended up in the village of Ahoghill, 4 miles outside Ballymena, where we met bar owner John Small. John very gratefully gave us his upstairs lounge and soon we were booking Pat and Hi-Voltage for a gig every 8-10 weeks. These gigs were so well attended, that soon the crowd were asking us to bring different bands. So that is what this profile is about. If you are a rock band and you're looking for a gig, give us a shout. The venues capacity is only about 110 so if you are used to playing at Wembley Arena, we are not the gig for you. However, if you like a small and very enthusiastic crowd who will treat you really well, we might just be what you are looking for. Our punters come from far and wide and turn up in big numbers, for most of our shows. Pat Mcmanus nearly always sells out. However, unfortunately if they don't know you, they stay at home. We get hardly any passing trade. The lounge bar of The Diamond has its own side door so entry into the downstairs pub is not required. We have recently extended the size of the stage so we can easily accomodate anything up to a 5 piece band. We are not doing this to make money, we are only doing this to keep REAL music alive and to have a bloody good night out. In 2007 we run 15 shows and some of the bands that played for us included :- Barry McCabe, Glyder, Pat Mcmanus & Hi-Voltage, Pay*ola, Revengance, Sinnerboy, Stormzone, The Deans, The Chaos Emerald and Tizz Lizzy.Our in house PA consists off :- 1-16 Channel Allen Heath Mix Wizard wz3 Desk, 2 Martin W2 Speaker Cabs (12" + Horn), 2 RCF Speaker Cabs (12" + Horn) 2 Martin W32 Sub Bass Speaker Cabs (2x15"), 1 Martin MA1.3 Power Amp, 1 Peavy pv 3600 Power Amp, 1 Peavy pv 2600 Power Amp, 1 Martin W3 crossover, 1 EV XP200a Power Amp, 2 EV SX300 Speakers as Monitors, 2 DB Technology MPA204 amps to run the monitors