Janet Bates
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter.
These are the words that fuel Janet Bates passion.
These are the words that fuel her music.
These are the words that give her a voice.
Canadian born Janet Bates voice has been compared
to Joan Baez and Judy Collins in the past,
but certainly has a quality of its own. At times
her music has been described as traditional folk,
having a touch of Celtic influence in her vocal
approach, with some songs having a slight bluegrass
feel to them. Combined with a feel reminiscent of
the 60 s, her lyrics are powerful and display her
passion to pass along her message.
Starting from an early age, Janet s music teachers
noticed her spectacular voice and encouraged her to
participate in music and drama festivals. When she
was 13 she began playing the guitar, with her talents
carrying over into high school where she regularly
played in coffeehouses and was inspired to pursue a
professional music career.
The war in Iraq marked the beginning of Janet's musical
approach. After attending an anti-war rally,
she happened to read a brochure that contained excerpts
of Martin Luther King's Riverside Speech. Bates had long
disagreed with the actions taken against Afghanistan and
the plans for Iraq; and wanted to do something about it.
Along with King s immortal words and her husband, Ken's
encouragement, she began to write letters to newspaper
and magazine editors and organize rallies. Following her
husband's advice to turn her feelings into songs,
it was not long before she had a number of meaningful
tracks and was performing them for her friends.
She hooked up with acoustic guitarist Gary Montesano
and formed a trio and created the debut album A Time has come.
Although A Time has come was inspired from anti-war emotions,
it also contained songs about relationships, love and life
in general. It was played on various syndicated Internet radio
stations around the U.S. and was featured as and editors pick
on various music websites. The music also received airplay
in folk music programs in over 39 states and provinces throughout
the US and Canada, in addition to various stations in Europe,
the UK and Australia. The song For whom was later chosen
for the compilation CD, Songs for a Better Planet.
It wasn t long before her inspiration to write new music had
taken over her soul, and it was time to create a new album.
"The Colours Will Come Back" was recorded earlier this year,
produced by Canadian folk legend and founder of Borealis records
Bill Garrett, the album contains the folk and bluegrass sound
that compliments Janet s voice so well, containing songs that
range from anti-war sentiment, love, and life.
The album has already made its mark with over 50 radio stations
playing songs from the advance copy on their programs.
Martin Luther King once said, Our lives begin to end the day we
become silent about things that matter. These are the words that
fuel Bates passion. These are the words that fuel the music.
These are the words that will forever give us a voice.
Janet was a finalist in the Vermont Solarfest songwriting contest 2005
as well as a semifinalist in the UK songwriting contest.
She has also captivated the interest of Thom Hartmann,
(radio show host for a national political radio show) and
has been on his show 6 times to date..
The band has played extensively around Oregon, 2 festivals last year,
and had been chosen for the South Florida folk fest until it
was cancelled due to FEMA
They also did a tour through British Columbia summer of 2005.
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