Annihilator John Bates first band was as a founding member of
Annihilator, a
thrash metal band. His meeting
Jeff Waters was through mutual neighbourhood friends with the intention to cover
AC/DC songs. After meeting, they decided to instead write original songs together and the two of them formed Annihilator. Bates recruited bassist Dave Scott while Waters brought in drummer Paul Malek. The band rehearsed daily in the basement of a women's fashion shop under Bank Street in Ottawa for a two-year period before settling in
Val-d'Or after a residency there. During this time, Waters and Bates co-wrote most of the tracks from the albums
Alison Hell and
Never, Neverland before the first incarnation of the band dissolved. Bates and Scott quit the group to form Ligeia, notably recording a version of
Alison Hell in 1987 that was pre-dated the Annihilator release (on cassette only). Following that, Bates went to business school in
Nepean, Ontario while he started Bates Motel. After graduation, he moved to Vancouver, where Bates Motel recorded a
FACTOR-funded LP produced by Jeff Waters in 1996. The CD was released by Tomcat Records, owned by
Doug Bennett from
Doug and the Slugs and sold out all four pressings. During the recording of the follow-up, Bates's songwriting had developed into more of a
rockabilly style and the record was scrapped with four songs surviving as the first "Big John Bates" seven inch, which was released on red vinyl in 1999. Bates later co-wrote songs on
King of the Kill, engineered the demos for the record deal, and subsequently wrote songs included on the three following albums. Bates also contributed a guitar track to "Remains".
Bates Motel Bates Motel was formed in Ottawa in 1987. They self-released four cassettes to college radio across Canada and the band moved with Bates to Vancouver in 1992. In Vancouver, Bates teamed up with Kermit McFedries (drums) and Sandy Matusik (bass) to record the debut album "Tales of Ordinary Madness" (title taken from a work by
Charles Bukowski). The album was recorded at Fiasco Brothers studio in
New Westminster and was released on Tomcat Records (owned by Doug from
Doug and the Slugs. The studio and engineer (Paul Blake) were also involved in the recording of the
Annihilator debut
Alison Hell. After a few cross-Canada tours the band folded and Bates briefly performed as guitarist with
Bif Naked for her Plum Records period,
Bif Naked.
Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz The group was formed in 2000 and peers considered the group's style garage/rock'n'roll music that was part of the neo-psychobilly scene. The band cited influences such as
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet,
the Cramps,
Reverend Horton Heat, early
Alice Cooper, the pioneers of
swing music and the
new burlesque revolution. They were the first touring band to incorporate burlesque performers including
Little Miss Risk and performed over 1000 shows and festivals throughout Europe and North America. The group received one of Canada's first
Jagermeister music sponsorships as the group used Jager onstage with shots, syringes and flaming pasties. A
Gretsch guitar sponsorship also followed with Bates featured in the 2006 Gretsch catalogue with his Black Falcon. Bates supported notable artists such as the
Fuzztones,
the Blasters,
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club,
Solomon Burke,
Koko Taylor,
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy,
The Boss Hoss and
Andre Williams. Bates brought the group to an end in December 2010 though a version continued touring as the Big John Bates Grindshow until Bates and Brandy had new music ready for the launch of the Big John Bates: Noirchestra in 2012.
Noirchestra Big John Bates' Noirchestra project with Brandy Bones officially launched in Vancouver in 2012. However, their initial recording for the song "Scarecrow Close" was done in 2010. The single was featured in Hot Topic stores across the US and was released as a seven-inch by Rookie Records. Brandy Bones also received a
Hofner Strings endorsement for upright bass. During the 2011 US tour the band completed demo recordings at Mark Robertson's studio (
Legendary Shack Shakers) in
Nashville from which a cover version of the TV theme song
Rawhide was released. The LP/EP pair "Battered Bones" /
Headless Fowl was recorded in early 2012 at Todd Simko's New Westminster studio. The tracks were mixed and mastered in
Denver by Robert Ferbrache, creator of the "Denver Sound". These sessions were split with six songs, released in North America as
Headless Fowl in April 2012 by Frontman Records and the remainder released in Europe as "Battered Bones" on Rookie Records (
Germany) in September 2012.
Dead Kennedys frontman
Jello Biafra claimed that "Headless Fowl was extremely cool" and included the release in the
Alternative Tentacles catalogue. The EP was accompanied by a March/April 2012 co-headlining tour of the US and Canada with
Murder By Death. Videos for the post-rock instrumental "Amerkin" and "Taste the Barrel" were produced by Chris Ray and Hora Morrior and released on YouTube to support the tour. "Battered Bones" was supported by a Fall 2012 headlining tour through Europe and North America. These dates included
Canadian Music Week and the
Halifax Pop Explosion, where their dramatic performance earned the festival's highest rating among bands such as
Black Lips,
Elliott Brood and
Wintersleep. The band began this tour as four-piece, but the fourth member subsequently disappeared without a trace during the tour. Following the tour Frontman Records compiled 13 tracks from the sessions and released them digitally as
The Headless Fowl LP. 2014 saw the dark rock band release the 7" single "Black Timber, Bitter Root" mixed by
The Smugglers guitarist David Carswell and released on Rookie Records and completed a 22-date headlining tour of Europe in May 2014. The band again became a four-piece, adding cello to their live sound and completed a Canadian and American tour with White Cowbell Oklahoma (CA) and The Paceshifters (NL) in winter of 2014. On their time off, the band wrote and recorded their sophomore LP
From the Bestiary to the Leathering Room in their studio aboard the
Caleuche, Bates' boat moored in Vancouver's
False Creek. The LP saw its Canadian release in Spring 2016 and the group was joined by drummer Ty-Ty. They performed dates in the U.S. and on their second 2016 European tour they were completed by chamber-punk violinist RequiEmily. In March 2017 the Noirchestra completed their first tour of Japan; playing nine shows in six cities and recording two songs in Kyoto with Alternative Tentacles artist Ultra Bide. In early summer 2017 a third round of European touring that completed the promotion for "Bestiary" with both club and festival shows. In summer 2018 the band performed festivals and shows while in Germany to record the drums and bass for their release
Skinners Cage in
Wilhelmshaven. Additional recording for the LP was once again aboard the Caleuche in Vancouver and was mixed by Felix Fung at Little Red Sounds. The LP was released by Rookie Records April 12, 2019, and garnered exceptional acclaim by press in Europe and Canada. In 2017, their song "Taste the Barrel" appeared on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV series
Arctic Air. In 2020, the Noirchestra appeared on the
Netflix series
Snowpiercer (season 2, episode 4) as the band in the Night Lounge.
Big John Bates Returns In 2023 Bates put a trio back together with long-time bassist Brandy Bones and drummer Tim Huston to revisit his entire catalog of music. Playing a sold-out birthday show in Vancouver at the WISE Hall, they brought back "upbeat bangers from all seven albums". After a few short tours and a sold-out show with
Agent Orange, Bates has booked a 25th Anniversary Tour of Europe in Spring 2025. == Band members ==