Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band formed in 2010 on the west side of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Best described as a high energy rock’n’roll band, Nato and the Blue Diamond Band all come from a background of playing in various punk rock bands down over the years, and that mentality is present in the more straight-ahead driving style of music they play, with songs running the stylistic gamut from power-pop through garagey punk through Americana and rootsier material.
Nato and the Blue Diamond Band have toured across the continent several times, and might be doing so at this very moment, depending on when one is reading this sentence. The current members of the band are Matt Engelstad (bass), Luke Lecheler (keyboards), Sam Beer (lead guitar), Mike Cranberry (drums), and Nato. The band has recorded and released a plethora of songs and records, most notably and recently the album Flyover, available on Don Giovanni Records (vinyl and digital) and Rum Bar Records (compact disc).
Nato is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His band from back in those days was the Modern Machines, who attempted with varying levels of success to play a Hüsker Dü meets early Replacements style of punk. After that band broke up, Nato moved to New York City, where he played in both the Radio Faces and the Used Kids, both of which showcased elements of the more complex songwriting that he would finally bring fully to fruition after his move to the Twin Cities, where he and Mike Cranberry got the Blue Diamond Band together.
