Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz (2001 - present)

The foundations of the Big John Bates sound were laid during Voodoo BBQ / Flamethrower in 2001 - "fun as a midnight drag race fueled by a fifth of bourbon" (Exclaim Magazine). This led them to Europe in 2002 beginning at the 10th Annual Psychomeeting in Calella (with Demented Are Go, Frenzy, Long Tall Texans and Restless). After the BJB set Sparky from Demented proclaimed to anyone listening that BJB was the best thing at the festival. This tour also saw the band play a headlining slot in the tent at Belgium's Sjock Festival among the US Bombs, the Belrays, Cenobites and New Bomb Turks.

Mystiki is where the band solidified musically between John and upright bassist Caroline Helmeczi (sCare-oline). Tough as it was going through a bucketful of drummers, the two began a long-term relationship with producer Todd Simko (Pure, Xavier Rudd). The tour saw them play Vegas at Mandolay Bay for Hellbilly Halloween, a monster in the making that was stopped pre-maturely by venue management due to complaints that the show was too risqué. It saw them at a federal prison in Belgium. Mystiki wound up all over internet playlists and charted for weeks in the top 50 College Charts. From their base in Vancouver they gathered supporters like Ray Condo and the west coast roots scene & found a home at the infamous Railway Club. World-wide they were featured in major articles and coffee-table books on burlesque. John flew to Los Angeles as part of the A&E / Discovery documentary on Russ Meyer to explain how his movies had influenced BJB's lyrics and their neo-burlesque performances.

Now playing over 100 shows a year in North America and Europe and supporting bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Dave Alvin, Southern Rock Allstars, SCOTS, the Shack Shakers and Los Straitjackets; John also began working with Frank Weipert and Teamworks (a major fixture in Canadian music - Mathew Good, Lowest of the Low, Jim Rose Circus Sideshow). In 2005 came BJB's sophomore release - Take Your Medicine. Listening to a lot of Eagles of Death Metal, White Stripes and SCOTS led BJB to work on a lo-fi production with a strong live feel. The Medicine CD started off with a cursing, female voice-mail and busted wide open into an indie-blues number that got a lot of attention - Aren't You Pretty. It included the band’s no-budget, tongue-in-cheek grindhouse Youtube video - Burlesque Is Dead.

Medicine charted on blues radio, college radio, internet radio and specialty shows. It was featured on playlists from rock'n'roll to blues to garage. This led to bigger and tighter shows than ever and the band began working towards a new vision with neo-burlesque performer Little Miss Risk. At the end of the tour they returned to Vancouver to document the first chapter in the world of Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz with the 2006 DVD "Live at the Voodoo Ball". It was a huge undertaking as the band was in Europe during the inception and only arrived back in Vancouver a few days before the concert. This was also the final curtain for many original Voodoo Dollz numbers and early Big John Bates songs as they were decidedly heading in a new direction. The band decided to create the DVD as a document of its past.

Touring logged tens of thousands of miles a year and accolades for this underground act began surfacing. Press reviews for Santa Monica's Summer Strummer festival called them "the biggest surprise of the entire event" and they were almost regulars on TV shows like BC's Urban Rush. More semi-annual Voodoo Balls were staged and they played main stage at the Ink & Iron Festival on the Queen Mary with Mad Sin, Junior Brown and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Gretsch Guitars had recognized and begun sponsoring John and he made a splash in their calender, topping the Falcon page and eventually became a featured player. The band was making more inroads into festivals outside the usual scenes; they were being noticed for developing an original sound and a completely unique and integrated live style.

2009 was time for a new album and John wanted a tough feel so he, sCare-oline and drummer J.T. "Massacre" Brander loaded the Circus in Flames house in East Van with gear. The list of players on this release is an A-team including Jimmy Roy (Ray Condo, Big Sandy) on pedal steel on "A Boy Named Sue" and "Whiskey Goblins", Jenn Chycoski (Choir Practice) on organ and vocals, a duet of "Breaking the Law" with Braden McNichol (Cuban Neckties) and Stuart Quayle (Wonderful Diving Horses) even added his drum kit to a few songs. Todd Simko played a bit of everything (including pianorgan and marimba). Tours were relentless, twice crossing North America from Seattle to Vegas to Florida to Chicago and across Canada. Then Europe for six weeks, highlighted by Holland's Ribs & Blues Festival with the Blasters, Eric Sardinas & Solomon Burke and a Roots Festival with Legendary Shack Shakers, Jooles Holland & Koko Taylor.

Summer of 2009 saw the band back in the EU playing the biggest shows and festivals of their career. BJB supported Germany's Boss Hoss (a multi-million-selling band) selling out amphitheatres on a summer tour for audiences from 2,000 to 13,000. They also co-headlined the first Stag-o-lee Festival with the Fuzztones and Stemwede to 10,000 people - following teen sensation Jennifer Rostock. The band had taken on a new bassist - the Hofner-endorsed Brandy "Bones" - and documented the event in a second concert DVD, 2010's "Clockwork Blues". They followed up with an 8-week tour then regrouped and did 14 more weeks across two continents and 13 countries while the stage was taking on a menacing sideshow feel. BJB & the Dollz waits in the wings while the BJB Grindshow starts rolling, hitting the road around in the world to support the band-oriented "Battered Bones" release in spring 2012.