The Grates are a three-piece
band from Brisbane
, Australia, comprising
Patience Hodgson (vocals), John Patterson (guitar) and Alana
Skyring (drums). They have been lauded for their catchy
songs and enthusiastic and energetic live shows, as Patience spends
much of the time bouncing around, even while singing. Their music
is frequently described as "fun": "We just wanna have fun and hope
other people do too." (Patience
[147562]). Their sound has been compared to the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs and
Be Your Own Pet.
In March 2006 they
played at the South by Southwest
trade music fair in Texas
.
Biography
John Patterson and Alana Skyring had been good friends since Year
9, and they met Patience Hodgson in year 12 at a drama class all
three were attending to avoid physical education classes. Patience
didn't discover that she had a voice herself until a night at a
karaoke bar, when just as a joke, she
performed "
A Whole New World",
from
Aladdin. A month or two
later, while watching
rage together in 2002 she suggested
to Alana and John that they form a band together.
But just three weeks
later, after a handful of rehearsals Patience travelled to Scotland
for a year
where she formed the idea of a two-piece band, Prix Divers, with
her then-boyfriend. She kept sending back ideas for songs.
Alana and John in the meantime played in bands Zombie Crime Boss
and Clifton as well as forming a number of short-lived bands
together and with others.
On her return, Patience started jamming with John and Alana again
in John's family garden shed. Prix Divers performed various gigs
for approximately a year, while at the same time The Grates were in
their formative stages. They started performing under a different
name every night. They thought they might trick audiences into
thinking they were a new band instead of the same “shitty” one. But
the Grates name stuck once people started hearing them. That
happened in 2004 mainly through their sending a rough demo of the
song "Trampoline", recorded on an
8-track recording with two cheap
microphones in John's shed, to national youth network
Triple J accompanied by a hand-written bio and
press release.
The band has a distinctive style. All three members have a
background in art and they design their own album artwork, posters,
t-shirts and even socks.
[147563]
They released an array of limited edition recordings before
releasing what is referred to as their debut EP,
The Ouch. The Touch, in Australia on 14
February 2005.
The EP received a United Kingdom
release two months later via the Captains of Industry
collective.
In 2005 the buzz surrounding the band only grew, with festival
performances at the
Big Day Out,
Meredith,
Falls Festival and
Homebake.
Their debut album,
Gravity Won't Get You High,
was released on April 8, 2006. It debuted at #9 in the
ARIA charts and reached a peak of #9. It has
also been released in the UK and the United States (June 2006). The
first single off the album, "19 20 20", was released in March as a
7" and
iTunes music
download.
They have been growing in popularity since being invited to perform
at the 2006
Big Day Out Australian leg.
They also launched on a national tour in the first half of 2006 and
have supported
Sleater-Kinney on
their 2006 Australian tour,
The Zutons on
their 2006 UK tour,
The Young
Knives in 2006,
The Go! Team in 2005/2006 and
Arctic Monkeys in their 2006 tour of
Australia.
Four of their songs got into the Hottest 100 2006, entering the top
20 and top 10. "Lies Are Much More Fun" was #71, "Inside Outside"
was #42, "Science is Golden" was #17 and "19 20 20" reached
#10.
Their live DVD 'Til Death Do Us Party' was released on 30 April,
2007.
It
was filmed at the Forum
Theatre
in Melbourne on 13 October, 2006.
Their new album titled "Teeth Lost, Hearts Won" was released on 2
August, with the first single release, "Burn Bridges", released 5
July. As of August 2008, the album had peaked at number six on the
ARIA Charts.
[147564]
The Grates again featured in the
Triple J Hottest 100 with three entries
in the
2008 countdown;
Burn Bridges at number 34,
Aw Yeah at number 80
and
Carve Your Name at number 83.
Discography
Albums
EPs and singles
- "Two Kinds of Right" CD Single (2009)
- "Aw Yeah" CD single (2008)
- "Burn Bridges" CD single (2008) #61
AUS
- "Science is Golden" CD single (2006) #52 AUS
- "19-20-20" 7" (2006)
- The Ouch.
The Touch. EP (2005 on
Dew Process, and on Captains of Industry Records in the UK) #77
AUS
- Sukkafish 7" (2005)
- Nightstick + Grates Double A-Side 7" (2004)
- Pyrate Kids EP (2003)
- Black Dog Black Dog EP (2003)
- Crocodile EP (2003)
- The Grates EP (2002)
DVDs
- Til Death Do Us Party: Live At The Forum (2007)
Awards and nominations
Nominations
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
