Ramatam was a 1970s rock band featuring Mike Pinera on guitar and vocals, Mitch Mitchell on drums, and April Lawton on lead guitar. 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 was previously with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.The group also included some former members of Janis Joplin's Big Brother and The Holding Company.
After some changes in membership, 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.
