190kb english / german

"rustic punk" - "americana, garage, blues..." "...or file under Rock'n Roll-Exotica"


LIKE BEING SERENADED WITH A RUSTY HAMMER ...

Big John Bates is bringing you a hellfire remedy for all that ails you. He has his Voodoo Dollz on hold while Brandy Bones (upright bass/lead vocals), Hagberg (drums) and BJB de-construct Americana with dark punk, western, blues and garage. They have been laying down their "rustic punk" sound in studios from Nashville to Vancouver.
New Album expected in spring 2012 !


"Big John Bates has one hell of a band. Their blend of Alternative Punk/Country/Rock is one of the most refreshing things that I've heard in 5 years. I would honored to put my 30 year reputation on the line for their music."
- Bill Arnovich (Adele Media)


"Big John Bates is an irresistible hipster draw" - The Telegraph (Illinois)

"Big John Bates is one Of Vancouver's most notorious musicians" - The Globe & Mail (Toronto)

"A high-octane musical experience" - Orange County Examiner (Los Angeles)

Big John Bates are not only a band; they are an infectious lifestyle choice that needs to be absorbed by all of humankind."
- Twin Cities (Minneapolis 2010)

-------------------NEW PRESSINFO COMING SOON !-------------------------

And this was 2010 - the year to change something:
Yes, that's right ! Time for a change, time for the Grindshow !
Big John Bates' 2010 release "Bad Pussy / Scarecrow Close" (7" Rookie Records) has exposed the bands move into a rustic hybrid of roots & rock.
Now 2011 brings their Grindshow to life: b-movie queens led by Calamity Kate - switchblades & grinders battling tassels on fire! 2011 will also see their 5th album "Battered Bones", the second for drummer J.T. Brander and the first featuring lead vocals by both BJB and upright bassist Brandy Anderson. New Year's Eve 2011 will mark 10 years of BJB - the Evel Knievel of Rock'n'Roll - still madly jumping canyons with rockets ablaze!

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Don't be fooled by Brandy Battery's upright bass or Big John's hollowbody guitar, this ain't no mere rxckxbilly band. "With one foot in Memphis and the other on 42nd Street", BJB have punked out the Hotrod Blues and wrapped it up in a cabaret from Hell, a live spectacle featuring the one-and-only Voodoo Dollz Burlesque!
But keep in mind: Even everyone says "they brought Burlesque on european stages", meanwhile the whole thing transmuted to a bombastic Neo-Burlesque show.

Auch nach über 800 Shows in Canada, USA und Europa räumen BIG JOHN BATES & The Voodoo Dollz ("the Girls of Burlesque") aus Vancouver/Canada weiterhin gewaltig ab und hinterlassen nach jeder Show staunende Fans...
All Pressphotos - 300dpi
All photos free to print / Abdruck frei

Photo credit: Voodoo Bill
Aber Vorsicht, BIG JOHN BATES & The Voodoo Dollz sind KEINE typische Rock-A-Billy Band !

Picture a touring revue led by a rock'n'roll vision of Tom Waits flanked by beautiful girls on fire a living slice of Rocky Horror fueled by the pounding beat of the Garage Blues!
Barreling through the crossroads of Roots punk & Rock noir are Gretsch-endorsed guitarist Big John Bates, upright bassist Brandy Battery and drummer J.T. Massacre. If you haven't heard their style before then you've missed a lot - four albums, a live DVD and more than 600 performances in 15 countries. Musical accolades grow with each album - as does their huge live reputation. Beginning in 2000, they embraced the second coming of burlesque by including the amazing Voodoo Dollz Burlesque as a integral part of their spectacular live show. They play over 100 dates a year putting the cult back in culture ... and music before industry.
Their fourth album - Bangtown - released in February 2009 is produced by Todd Simko (Pure, Xavier Rudd) & is the hardest rocking BJB album yet created! The songwriting bar has been raised even further and features new favorites from recent tour such as Fill Your Tank & Bangtown. It also again has artwork by the infamous 'I, Braineater'.

If your musical taste includes Jon Spencer's Heavy Trash, Gogol Bordello, th' Legendary Shack Shakers, the Cramps, White Stripes, Supersuckers, AC/DC, Reverend Horton Heat or Social Distortion listen up ...

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Das ist nicht spektakulär genug ?! Dann bitte mal weiterlesen:

Neben dem fantastischen Gitarristen JOHN BATES (Da schwärmt selbst Brian Setzer Brian Setzer "the fastest GRETSCH in the west" – Siehe auch „artist spotlight“ www.gretschguitars.com) und Vancouvers legendary Drummer J.T. Massacre, bedient seit Aug.2009 BRANDY BONES -als Nachfolgerin von sCare-oline - den "upright-bass" (Stand-bass).
Abgerundet wird das Ganze von der Burlesque Show der VOODOO DOLLZ ! („Burlesque“ = eine Mischung aus Varieté, Tanz, Erotik – seit den 40er/50er Jahren populär in USA/Canada und dank BIG JOHN BATES & The Voodoo Dollz auch in Europe etabliert) Die Show der VOODOO DOLLZ Little Miss Risk und Calamity Kate ist allerdings um einiges
vielseitiger und z.T. der Neuzeit angepasst, und es schlicht NEO-BURLESQUE nennen. Ständiger Kostümwechsel während des Konzerts, schräge Geschichten, ausgefeilte Choreografien die begeistern. Unmengen von Kostümen, Spiel mit dem Feuer oder einer Kettensäge, bis hin zu den unglaublichen „Krankenschwestern“, die „liebevoll“ die eine oder andere Person aus dem Publikum „behandeln“ - Ein riesen Spass !

Als BIG JOHN BATES & The Voodoo Dollz vor einigen Jahren erstmalig erste mit solch einer Show nach Europa kamen, sorgte man für Verwirrung unter den typischen Rock’n Roll Fans, löste aber gleichzeitig eine Burlesque Welle aus. Nicht selten heisst es: „Kanadas Aushängeschild in Sachen Rock’n'Roll Burlesque“ oder „Die Band, die „Burlesque“ nach Europa brachte“.
"Fakt ist: Das Publikum ist so gemischt wie bei kaum einer anderen Band die man mit Rock'n'Roll in Verbindung bringen kann.

John Bates selbst bezeichnet es als „LOWBROW“ Sound. Die Lowbrow Szene ist ein Kunstbewegung / Lifestyle in dem es um Music, Cars, Clothes, attitude and more…“ geht. Ein Lifestyle zu dem sich auch Burlesque zählen lässt und stark von der sog. Pulp Literatur /Filmen geprägt ist.

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"And Big John didn't come out of nowhere - he co-wrote for ANNIHILATOR (Alison Hell / Never, Neverland) on Roadrunner Records - his songs selling over 500,000 copies worldwide."