Dustin Bates

Background

Since Dustin Bates was a little boy, he has had two passions: music and space. He is the son of Tim and Marifi Bates and has two sisters — Chrystal and Heidi — and one brother, Jay. After graduating from high school, Bates attended Ohio University, where he obtained a master’s degree in avionic engineering. After graduating, he studied at the International Space University. Bates carried out his studies in an Australian base, where he worked with over 100 space specialists.

Bates’ second passion, music, wasn’t left out of the picture, though — he started playing various instruments from a young age. When he graduated from high school, he joined different local bands and played at clubs. In 2001, Bates co-founded the alternative metal band Downplay. In the beginning, the band only played covers. In 2010, the band landed a deal with Epic Records. Downplay has released five studio albums since then.

In 2013, Bates founded a second band called Starset, consisting of Dustin Bates, Ron DeChant, Brock Richards, and Adam Gilbert. Bates is the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter of the band. Starset released its first album, “Transmissions,” in 2014. The band has released three more studio albums since then and reached global success. Bates combined his two passions — music and space — in 2017 when he collaborated with Marvel Comics to create the graphic novel “The Prox Transmissions.” The novel was released along with Starset’s album “Ship.”