Big John Bates
(AUSTRIA 2008)

"Big" describes John's attitude and his appetite for having a damn good time. Face it, the man likes living large. Onstage you'll find him in control of an out-of-control stage show, and you may also notice a resemblance to a younger Tom Waits in the midst of all that madness ... with a very big guitar.

John grew up with the sound of big bands and Bill Haley but Hendrix & AC/DC started him off on his string-bending career at age 15. John's been hard at work since then, creating trio arrangements with influences varied as Cab Calloway's horns, Jack White's fuzzed blues and the Cramps "found art" rock'n'roll.

His first band Annihilator was co-founded with Jeff Waters right out of high school. The pair of them grew up close by one another and learned songwriting together, welding John's lyrics to Jeff's music and co-writing two critically acclaimed albums fueled by stolen liquor from John's parents among other things ...

John's biggest fan moment came when he had a chance to meet and speak one on one with B.B. King after BJB's first House Of Blues show in Las Vegas. John claims that B.B.'s signing of John's White Falcon was a moment of clarity that will be with him forever.

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GUITARS: BJB's desert island guitar is his '59 Gretsch custom shop Country Club but live it's nothing but Gretsch Falcons flying around that stage (... more on John's guitars here). Gretsch added BJB to their New Artist Spotlight in 2005 and features him on the Falcon page of their 2006 catalog. Being seen with some of the other players in there just blows his mind.

AMPS: "My recording amps are '60's Guilds - a Thunderbird (12" Celestion for the main tone) and a Thunderbolt (10" Jenson fuzz). Live I use Gibson Goldtones; an RV15 for the main sound and a GA15 for the fuzz."

PEDALS: "Not much - Tonebone switcher, a custom first edition Buzzbomb and a Fuzz Factory."

MICS: "Shure 55 for main vocal and a'60's Shure harp mic driven by a hotwired '80's Rat pedal."

Tiger Beat Questions:

A Godly Band - Slim Harpo
First Record - Bill Haley
Favorite Shot - Jagermeister
A Perfect Song - Transvestite Blues (Demented Are Go)
Influences - Brian Connelly, Jim Heath, Hendrix, Rick Smith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC
Obsessions - power toys & guitars (thanks to 12 Midnite for the awesome paint over the years!)
First Car - 1972 Chevelle SS, favorite was his 1964 Galaxie 500 Ragtop
Current Ride - 1997 Triumph Daytona 955
Cool Authors - James Ellroy, Mickey Spillane, Robert Crais, Kurt Vonnegut
Awesome Movies- 1966 Batman (DVD commentary on!), Confessions of a PsychoCat, Wild at Heart, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Life Aquatic, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kung Fu Hustle

Big John Bates
(Paul Hammill / VANCOUVER 2006)

Kool sketch drawn DURING an argument between John and some drunken fool in Saskatoon.

CLICK HERE FOR A KRAZY ROCKABILLY/KARATE CARTOON
STARRING JET LEE! (click cartoon to next page Cato!)

Listen to Motordaddy, Sean Law & Rumbletone A-Go Go on CITR 101.9 FM
Shouts out to Vancouver's rock'n'roll trailblazers: Nervous Fellas, Rattled Roosters
and, to a good friend, the legendary Ray Condo. (1950-1994)

Ex-Annihilator? What does Mr. Jeff Waters have to say about this? Let us tell you ...

"John Bates, the FIRST Annihilator singer, good friend and long-time Annihilator lyric collaborator (co-wrote tunes like Alison Hell, King of the Kill, I am in Command, etc...). John took a far different musical turn than I did with Annihilator. Bates was always into theatrical and dramatic styles of music (Alice Cooper, Jim Morrison, Rocky Horror Picture Show) so when he moved into his own style and sound, years ago, his Big John Bates band combined a mixture of those early influences with kinda a rock-a-billy/Stray Cats vibe... Very cool stuff and also a pleasure to see and hear that John is kickin butt across the world with sold-out tours around the globe and doin great records."

Yep, John's hair has always looked like that.