Brissy's fun-loving popsters The Grates are currently Stateside, having tackled the mammoth South by South West (SxSW) conference, they are about to embark on shows in New York and Los Angeles. With one last hurrah around Australia this May in support of their Teeth Lost, Hearts Won record, frontwoman Patience Hodgson chats about life on the road and future plans.
yourGigs (yG): You're heading out across Australia in May on one last tour for your Teeth Lost, Hearts Won record. What's next for The Grates when this tour is all over?
Patience Hodgson (PH): Songwriting, OS touring and lots and lots of sleeping. Right now we're in NYC and sleeping here is very hard. One: it's NYC! Come on! Two: there's five of us in one tiny apartment and all our gear. John [Patterson, The Grates' guitarist]'s bed has the hardest mattress on it. It's like about as hard as sleeping on a rug on the floor.
yG: The tour kicks off in your home town of Brisbane. Are you expecting a large amount of The Grates' extended family and friends to show up? Is it weird seeing old friends after being away from home for so long?
PH: No, not at all. Brisbane is a pretty sleepy town, lots of people I know only see their closest of close friends on the weekend. I think it's because our liquor licensing laws are so tough. In Melbourne there's local bars in your neighbourhood, you can see a mate for a relaxing beer or two before you go home to dinner or bed but there's none of that in Brisbane. And I think it stinks!
yG: What was behind the decision to hand-pick your own local supports in each city?
PH: We always do, I'm pretty sure that all bands do. It's a small country it's not hard. You just go on Myspace or you ask someone you heard on the radio.
yG: You're currently over in the US, how have you prepared for this overseas assault and what are you most hoping to gain from it?
PH: We practice as much as we can and make sure all our clothes are clean before we leave. Actually this is the first time I've not been living in a share house (ever!) so I had to organise a house-sitter (I have been told my shallots are coming along nicely!). As for what we want to gain I'd say it's simply opportunities. Opportunities to keep doing what we love! Anything that helps us stay as a band for one more day.
yG: So you've just played SxSW; how's it going for you? What do you enjoy most about playing that particular music conference?
PH: Ribs! The chaos! Bands. We saw Red Red Meat on Friday night which was great. I really doubt we'd otherwise ever see them again in our whole lives. Plus I found this band on Myspace called Those Darlins and we played a showcase with them. They only have an EP out and probably won't tour Australia for ages so it was cool I got to see them so early on. Another band I stumbled across was Lets Wrestle - very cute.
yG: You're pretty well known for your onstage theatrical antics. Can American audiences expect the same behaviour?
PH: I just talk more over here because the crowds are smaller. It's scary talking to a big crowd. How about this: we played our second last SxSW show at a place called [Club de Ville] and I went out in the crowd to do my 'Rock Boys' ribbon dance when this girl came over and out-danced me! She had two ribbons! It was mind-blowing.
yG: On tour there must be times when you get tired and cranky. How do you reconcile these moods with your upbeat, jovial stage persona?
PH: Yeah, there are, but honestly I don't get that cranky on tour. I just get pissed off if someone else gets pissed off! Once on stage everything usually melts away, anyways.
yG: You've recently signed on with Nirvana's former manager Danny Goldberg, what has been the juiciest story you have heard from him thus far and what do you hope he can achieve for you in the US?
PH: To tell you the truth - nothing. He's tall, handsome and quiet. We rarely see him; instead we hang with his shorter, cuter and more talkative co-partner, Brady. But you can hear Danny for yourself if you download the Sound Opinions podcasts off iTunes where they talk to him about running into geniuses. Now, I just have to figure out where he'll be at noon today so we can make him "accidently" run into us!
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