The Grates

The Grates were an Australian indie rock band, which formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 2002 with Patience Hodgson on lead vocals, John Patterson on guitars and backing vocals and Alana Skyring on drums. Their first two albums, Gravity Won't Get You High (2006) and Teeth Lost, Hearts Won (2008), both reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 10. The third studio album, Secret Rituals (2011), peaked at No. 11. Their highest charting singles "Science Is Golden" (2006) and "Burn Bridges" (2008) reached the ARIA top 100. A video album, Til Death Do Us Party: Live at the Forum (2007), peaked in the ARIA Top 40 Music DVDs chart. Hodgson and Patterson married in November 2012 and were proprietors of Southside Tea Room in Morningside from 2012 to 2019. The Grates disbanded in 2020. The Grates were formed in 2002 in Brisbane by Patience Hodgson on lead vocals, John Patterson on guitars and backing vocals and Alana Skyring on drums. Patterson and Skyring had attended Alexandra Hills State High School. In 1999, they met Cleveland District State High School student, Hodgson, in year 12 at a drama class, which all three attended at the local TAFE to avoid physical education classes. Hodgson discovered her singing voice at a karaoke bar, where she performed "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin). According to Patterson the rendition "was less than stellar". The three were watching rage in 2002 when they decided to form a group. They independently released a limited number of a six-track extended play, The Grates in that year. After several rehearsals Hodgson, with her then-boyfriend, travelled to Scotland for a year where they planned a two-piece band, Prix Divers. Hodgson, Patterson and Skyring kept in contact and swapped ideas for songs. Patterson and Skyring each played in bands, Zombie Crime Boss and Clifton, as well as forming short-lived groups together or with others. Once back in Australia Hodgson rejoined Patterson and Skyring to rehearse in Patterson's garden shed. Patterson described their band roles, "[Hodgson] couldn't play an instrument, so she was the singer. I was bored of playing keyboards so I started playing guitar, and [Skyring] just drums however she wants." They deliberately chose not to have a regular bass guitarist, according to Craig Mathieson of The Age this indicates "they've shown a disdain for convention." They performed under a different name each night – they might trick regular customers into thinking they were a new band instead of the same "shitty" one. During 2003 they independently issued three more EPs Crocodile, four-track Black Dog Black Dog and Pyrate Kids. In January 2004 they first performed as the Grates at Ric's bar, Brisbane. Subsequent noise restrictions limited live performances at that venue, Patterson recalled "It's pathetic. Ric's is our favourite place to play in Brisbane... We played our first couple of shows there about a year ago and miss playing there terribly." According to Australian music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, "They name the Pixies and Weezer as influences." Whereas Tammy la Gorce of AllMusic opined their early material were "Ramones and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-influenced songs." Musicologist Ian McFarlane added X-Ray Spex as another influence, whereas the group create "one hell of a racket with their... blasts of indie punk rock." Later in 2004 they sent a rough demo of "Trampoline" to national youth radio station, Triple J, which was accompanied by a hand-written biography and press release. It was co-written by Hodgson, Patterson and Skyring. They used an 8-track recorder with two cheap microphones in Patterson's shed. The track received high rotation on Triple J. Mathieson described it as "a kinetic pop mantra where Hodgson skewers alternative rock's predilection for sultry female vocalists." "Trampoline" was used for a Just Jeans "Shortcuts" TV ad. During 2004 they supported tours by Rocket Science, the Tremors, TISM and then Regurgitator. They were signed to Dew Process in 2004 and released a four-track extended play, The Ouch. The Touch. (February 2005). Kathryn Kernohan of FasterLouder felt it was "a perfect taster... you couldn't ask for a stronger selection of tracks. It gives an indication of how good you'd be live, and it leaves me hanging out for an album." The Ouch. The Touch peaked in the top 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In April 2005 Hodgson explained her song writing style, "My attitude used to be just make up some shit that fits in and we'll be sweet, but now I want to work on the lyrics... I think when Daniel Johns first got some success, he didn't really know about music history, so he studied it, but I don't feel like I need to know. I just pick up stuff as we go along." In 2005, the band appeared at the Big Day Out, Meredith, Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival and Homebake. They supported the Go! Team on their tour over late 2005 to early 2006. In April 2006, the band released their debut album, Gravity Won't Get You High, which peaked at No. 9 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was recorded in Chicago with Brian Deck (Holopaw, Iron and Wine, Josh Ritter) producing. Nimmervoll noticed that "Some songs had been with them for a long time, others were wtitten just days before going into the studio." It was released in the UK and the United States in June. Nate Dorr of PopMatters opined that it provided "an infectious variety... At times, there's a sense of catchy frivolity to the proceedings, but it can easily be forgiven... sheer excitement of hearing such unbridled enthusiasm in an emerging talent. And they are talented." Pitchfork's Sean Fennessey felt "electric Hodgson, who sounds like she's riding a jet-fueled pogo on almost every song, is joined by guitarist John Patterson and drummer Alana Skyring, who make a sweet, playful style of basement band music." The lead single, "19 20 20", was released in March 2006. It was followed by "Science Is Golden", which was released in September 2006 and reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 60. The third single, "Rock Boys", was issued later that year. Four of the album's tracks were listed in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006: "Lies are Much More Fun" (No. 71), "Inside Outside" (No. 42), "Science is Golden" (No. 17) and "19 20 20" (No. 10). During 2006 they performed at the Big Day Out (Australian leg), headlined a national tour in the first half of the year, supported Sleater-Kinney on their Australian tour, supported the Zutons on their UK tour, supported the Young Knives, and then Arctic Monkeys in their tours of Australia. On 13 October 2006 they performed at the Forum Theatre, Melbourne, which was issued as a live DVD, Til Death Do Us Party, on 30 April 2007. Mess+Noise's Ben described how Hodgson's "a genuine livewire, swanning across the stage in a flouncy white dress, all red-cordial energy and child-like abandon. But her voice, in a live setting, is a tuneless thing. The harmonies and the melodies of the recording just aren't there." He felt that Patterson's guitar work is "bare too, skipping between clangy clean sounds and high-school-band distortion" while Skyring's "drums are solid, in the Meg White style, but she still looks like the whole thing – her, being here, behind these drums, and all those people, out there, pogoing – is a surprise." The Grates' second album, Teeth Lost, Hearts Won, was released on 2 August 2008, which peaked at No. 6. According to the Dwarf.com website's reviewer it "needs good set of speakers and an appropriate setting to really be appreciated. When you have seen a band like this live, the expectation is that they will try and capture some of that vibe – and for some reason – unless this sucker is played loud, the vibe is totally lost." Its lead single, "Burn Bridges", was released in July 2008, which reached the top 100. It was followed by "Aw Yeah" (October 2008). The Grates were listed onto the Triple J Hottest 100, 2008 with three tracks: "Burn Bridges" (No. 34), "Aw Yeah" (No. 80) and "Carve Your Name" (No. 83). In