BATES are a highly strung bunch of rockers who seem to cross all genre boundaries available to them. Venturing from rock to prog and dipping their toes in the alternative world too, this band have been compared to greats such as Foo Fighters and Muse, and you can certainly see why. Their raw energy and extreme guitars are infectious from the off, and on the back of their new single 'Catalyst', we sat down with this New York quartet who are making real moves, exclusively for FLEX.
Hey BATES! Sum up your new single ‘Catalyst’ in 3 words please?
Reminiscent, fun, bittersweet
Your music possesses so many genres in it, is this what you want the listeners to take away from ‘Catalyst’?
Absolutely. We don’t like to limit ourselves musically. When you listen to our music, you’re going to hear a lot of sounds all at once. Catalyst is a microcosm of that idea and in that song’s case, you’re getting a combination of grit, ambiance, and emotion.
The guitar work really drives this track, it’s incredible. What axe does Patrick use?
The guitar I used on Catalyst and nearly everything 'Bates' related is my Paul Reed Smith CE-24. My father got it for me after I finished college, 5 years ago. It is hands down my favorite guitar in my possession. It does everything I need it to do for the sound we like to capture.
For the purpose of recording Catalyst, I played my PRS through a Kemper Profiling Amp, utilising an Orange Rockerverb tone for the dirty sounds. For the cleaner tones, I believe I used a Fender Twin Reverb tone with some modulation.
Stream 'Catalyst' in full here:
There’s a real sense of prog rock in ‘Catalyst’ too, you really do cover all bases in 4 minutes and 7 seconds! Which band members are influenced primarily by what genres to create this brilliant blend?
We all enjoy garage rock bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keys, and I’d argue that is the core of our sound. However, we do enjoy more proggy bands like Rush, Tool, and Karnivool. I feel as though our music is a happy medium of those styles of rock.
Any live shows for BATES in 2023?
Yes! We are taking the rest of this year to finish this new batch of songs. However, we have already booked shows in NYC for 2023. We plan to come back strong and filled with new songs for everyone to enjoy!
Thanks for joining us here at FLEX! Anything else you want to share with us?
We just want to thank all of those who have continued to support us over the years, especially during the pandemic. You guys are our family and we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing without you. We look forward to sharing our art with you all, and we hope to meet some new people to add to our family along the way.