BIG JOHN BATES

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Sunday, July 1st, 2012
Doors: 9pm

Change is one thing we can count on - and you can find the proof in John Bates. Starting as Annihilator's singer and cowriting the first two albums, he left them when they signed to Roadrunner and carved out a different path. In 2001 he freed his punkabilly alter ego - Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz. Fuelled by fire and keeping whiskey within close reach, Bates & his razor-sharp Gretsch chiselled out a career with a caravan of misfits, playing hundreds of shows every year across North America & Europe. The group was featured on Battlestar Galactica, on A&E Discovery, played for thousands at European festivals, was even shut down by Mandalay Bay. To keep things interesting they continued playing underground shows - like a Belgian prison and more than a few Austrian and East German bunkers. Then in 2010 John Bates once again changed his tune.

For the past two years he's been holed up with Hofner Strings' own Brandy Bones - who "shines in all her sultry, gothic temptress glory. She is the true master of her massive bass, using it as not only a tool to make music but as an instrument of seduction." At least that's what they said at CMW 2012 in Toronto. Her upright bass is thrown over her head as much as it stays on the stage and her cello strokes the music with dark melody. Brandy's love for old-school country infects her voice inside her often bleak lyrics while the band harnesses a wall of power in a style she has christened "Rustic Punk". JT Massacre's groove is built on incredible percussion that lifts the band out of punk chaos - something he learned forming East Van bands like the Real Mackenzies. And they create the perfect place for John to balance his Gretsch, crank up his baritone vocal cords and shake the roots out of the woodwork.

In 2012 they released a 12" EP called Headless Fowl, mixed by Slim Cessna's Robert Ferbrache. They did their first tour with indie Americana story-tellers Murder By Death. Headless sold out its initial run in a month, even impressing the likes of Jello Biafra and Alternative Tentacles. For a first video they choose the dark post-punk instrumental Amerkin; a sonic contrast between beauty and beast. Perfect for a band whose show is an hour of spell-binding melody wrapped in physical showmanship slashed with screams. Just don't expect them to stay on the stage - they like to get up close & personal - not just playing from the heart; tearing it out by the roots.

http://www.bigjohnbates.com

In concert with Lucid, Tranceformations, Harbour City Music, Sundown Diving, Acme Food Co., Harbour City Fitness & Tanning

Tickets available at the door.