ReggaeXclusive Summer 2018 | Page 13

L-R: Jeffery “Okano” Graham, O’Niel “Drumstix” Walters & Joseph “Bassline” Graham WARRIOR LOVE BAND ENTERTAINMENT W arrior Love Band Entertainment, the brainchild of record producer, recording & mixing engineer and musician Joseph Graham, has become a force to be reckoned with in music production; located in Toronto Ontario, but originally from Kingston, Jamaica. The record label consisting of a production team that composes, records, mixes and masters for artistes and record labels, is synonymous with transforming concepts into chart topping hits. With a host of musical production and engineering credits to its name, the creative force behind the Band has worked with a long list of artistes including Richie Spice, Jah Cure, Luciano, Tony Rebel, T.O.K., Queen Ifrica, Turbulence and Duane Stephenson, amongst others. In 2002, Joseph and Jeffery Graham (the twins) were seen performing on CTV by one of the most illustrious musicians. He was impressed with their raw talent, and he Frankie Campbell, leader of the well known Fab5 band, gave them their first instrument; a keyboard for Jeffery and a bass guitar for Joseph, and named them the ‘One Love’ band. Both brothers made good use of these gifts. In 2004, Joseph and Jeffrey decided to form their own group and invite O’Neil Walters to join. The band then decided that Warrior Love needed a guitarist. So they recruited Nyerere “Duke” Thomas, who is considered one of the most versatile and technically proficient young guitarists in Jamaica today. In 2009, the group hired a manager, and auditioned for the annual Ritz Pineapple Ball. Out of that rose another member of the band, saxophonist Conrad Pinnock. This five piece ensemble began performing throughout Kingston at events such as Flow’s Christmas Party, VMBS Talent Show, Jamaica Stock Exchange 50th Anniversary and City View Hotel’s “Rapture under the Stars”. They toured with Fanton Mojah as the ‘Macka Tree Band’ and backed artiste such as Tessanne Chin.? In 2011 the group changed their manager, and hired Mr. Dwight James where they kicked off their first tour with Turbulence to Africa. The band toured for the entire year with different artistes. As the year 2011 ended, band leader Joseph decided that the band should extend its presence to performing as backing band on some of Jamaica’s well- known shows, the first of which was Sting 2011. Warrior Love worked with 37 artistes for Sting 2011 and was branded as a Dancehall and Reggae backing band. The band’s next big show was the famous Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival. Rumors had by then flooded the street about this CD sounding band, which attracted the attention of Tony Rebel, who recruited the band to back his annual reggae show, Rebel Salute. Other shows that followed included Follow Di Arrow, Jamaica International Kite Festival, and Taurus Bash, where the band had worked with all the major artistes headlining these shows. The group saw that things were on a high and as such decided it was time to recruit a lead singer. Auditions were done and they decided unanimously that Raine Davis would make a great addition to the now booming CD sounding band. In 2011, Raine agreed to join the band and performed with them for the Mars Group in St. Thomas at a lunch hour concert at the Institution of Jamaica, and at City View Hotel. There existed room for further growth and so the band decided it was time to do some recordings. Raine, who is a prolific song-writer, provided good material for the band to start working on their own recordings. The Warrior Love band now looks forward to the endless possibilities that exist for them in music and continues to make their mark in the industry. DJ REBEL T SOUND D j Rebel T is available for weddings, birthday parties, stage shows, events, baby showers, BBQs and festivals. With a full, heavyweight Sound System, his sound is the Best of the Best. To book DJ Rebel T call: (519) 865-3527 or email [email protected]. reggaeXclusive -- Web Site: www.reggaexclusive.com --- Phone: 416-519-0831 -- Email: [email protected] Pg - 13