Big John Bates

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Big John Bates is a "first-rate guitarist who melds garage, punk, rockabilly, psychedelia & goth ..."(Weekly Volcano / Tacoma) and his band kicks out a sound that's "dirty, filthy ... just like Lux and Ivy used to make." Big John Bates is also the first Rock and roll band to add a Burlesque group - the Voodoo Dollz - to create a live touring show, similar to what Alice Cooper did with B movie horror. They were the first revivalists to take burlesque on the road, playing clubs throughout Europe and North America. Although they are a Canadian group (from Vancouver), much information on them has been featured on Europe's VH1 and America's A&E_Network. National TV shows in many countries have also featured BJB's sexy cross of music and dance.

The Voodoo Dollz are also the longest-running burlesque troupe in Western Canada, coming at the beginning of the revival in the late 1990's. Documentaries on film-makers such as Russ Meyer also feature interviews with the band, as themes for their burlesque were prominent in his films. Originally influenced by The Cramps, Big John Bates draws their musical inspiration from Rockabilly, Blues and Garage Rock and adds it to the pulp fiction-style imagery that dominates their unique style.

BJB & the Dollz have performed nearly 400 shows in 10 countries and expose the New Burlesque art form to many new fans and future performers. This influence has also been reflected by musical groups such as Los Straitjackets and has re-introduced burlesque to personalities such as B-movie actress Tura Satana.

Featured Performers are:

Big John Bates (aka John Bates): Vocal and Gretsch Guitars
sCare-oline (aka Caroline Helmeczi): Upright Bass and backing vocal
Little Miss Risk (aka Tristan Risk); Voodoo Dollz performer/choreographer

History of the BIG JOHN BATES Band:

- 2006 CD 'Take Your Medicine' released on Wolverine Records (GERMANY)
- BJB & the Voodoo Dollz on season 3, episode 1 of Battlestar Galactica
- headlined Vancouver International Burlesque Festival
- co-produced, filmed and starred in DVD of Vancouver's First Annual Voodoo Ball
- cover story in Bizarre_(magazine)
- Big John interviewed for the A&E / Discovery documentary on Russ Meyer
- featured in coffee-table book "Burlesque - the new bump and grind" (Speck Press, USA)
- 2003 CD 'MYSTIKI' released on Devil Sauce Recordings (CANADA)
- featured in coffee-table book "Gigs From Hell" (Sleazegrinder Press, USA)
- 2001 CD 'Flamethrower' released on El Toro Records (SPAIN)
- headlined the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (Helloween)
- featured in Maclean's Magazine at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 2002
- Big John Bates band formed with sCare-oline and the Voodoo Dollz

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[edit] Sidenote

John's musical career began in his teens as the singer and co-writer for the critically acclaimed metal band Annihilator - Alice in Hell and Never, Neverland.