Kovat kehut mm. Big Beat lehdessä. The following excerpt is taken from a recent cover story interview in the 50th issue of Seattle’s BackFire” Magazine and a review of Flamethrower from Toronto’s ”Exclaim” Magazine . . .

”With all of the wickedness of a sucker punch, Big John Bates’ debut Flamethrower, has all the earmarks of a minor psychobilly classic – a gonad-rattlin’ rhythm section behind booming sing-along lyrics, and a flame topped Gretsch that alternately emits Wray-like rumbles and demonic screams. Aptly named, ’30ish Big John Bates is a phenomenal guitar player, with a spectacular live show – – – sweaty, primitive, raunchy and horny. And good for that, because this album’s as fun as a midnight drag race fueled by a fifth of bourbon. With close references to The Reverend Horton Heat and the Cramps, Big John Bates is proudly old school in his approach to making music and the lifestyle around it. The psychobilly experience can’t be complete without a sense of humor, however, and BJB has that in spades.”

Big John has received numerous accolades for his guitar abilities, including an endorsement from GHS Strings, but his band, known intimately as ”the Furies”, outright rocks. It features the wicked sCaroline on upright & electric bass – she’s a tattooed belly dancer who wiggles like a librarian gone real bad – and on drums is Kermit – a hep cat who throws 4-foot flames from his vintage kit. No one who experiences a BJB show can forget the pair of 6-foot dancers flanking the stage, the Voodoo Dollz, choreographed and outfitted by Bombshell Betty – they’re a pair of bad girls who love to play with fire.

Big John and the Furies have toured throughout the US and Canada, doing shows with renowned musicians such as the Guana Bats, Slim Jim Phantom and Johnny Legend, while the likes of the Reverend Horton Heat and Los Infernos have made a point in checking out the touring show. 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.”