Both making the pilgrimage north for Splendour In The Grass 2008, good friends Ben Lee and Patience of The Grates sat down for a little on-the-record chinwag. On their minds: spirit animals, second albums, star-spotting at the Qantas Club and the splendour of Splendour…

Ben: Do you ever worry about your spirit animals getting overwhelmed by large festival crowds?
Patience: My spirit animal (you have until the end of this interview to guess what it is) is absolutely overwhelmed by festival crowds. So I always make time to have a little sit down by myself with a cool drink. And ear plugs! Ear plugs always help me stay focused. I also develop an ectosymbiotic relationship with one person (i.e. I live on their body surface. This can be quite annoying for the host).

How do you know if an audience is ready to “get clappy” or not?
It’s bold but I assume that if they turn up, they’re ready. Otherwise, anything goes after the third song.

Are you going to be playing any new songs?
Our practice room is a maze of leads, picks and animal mask while we try to figure out how to assemble a live show from our new album – so, yes! We will be playing as many new songs as we can get away with. I hope you’ll be around to see us play.

You recorded your new album in one of the strangest cities in America – New Haven. Why? Are you guys members of Skull and Bones?
Actually, we recorded our album in a neighboring town, Bridgeport, but spent every second of ‘free time’ in New Haven flirting from the wrong side of the iron gates which defined them as Skull and Bones, and us, as just The Grates. We are members in dozens of hush-hush clubs but that’s one secret society whose walls we could not penetrate. Still, New Haven has more to offer than fancy, elite, Yale alumni. There’s the Owl shop, where you go to smoke cigars and drink coffee; Rudy’s, where the fries are fried twice; Louis Lunch, home of the original hamburger, and a handful of formidable bars. Plus it’s also home to our friend and album engineer, Greg Giorgio. Fact: The motorcycle chase seen in Indiana Jones IV was filmed in New Haven.

Does the album feature any freestyle rapping by Alana?
No, but did I tell you it did Ben? I have a faint memory of me talking to you about what a great rapper Alana is. This came to my attention back when we were on tour with Regurgitator. Quan tried to text message rap battle me but Alana quickly took the reins and fought hard! I can’t remember who won but Alana surprised everybody, so that’s a win in my books. Alana should have a drum/rap album in the works by 2010.

Was it nerve wracking approaching the “difficult second album”?
Yes. It was weird to write music in such an insular way. With our first album, we wrote a few songs, started playing gigs, then continued this way until we finally recorded it. We were constantly playing new songs to audiences, friends and family but this time around we had less ears to get excited with. This isolation left me oscillating between happy confidence and self induced psych-outs. I have concluded that this process was helpful in letting me write a wide variety of songs and probably more good than bad. I love our new album so that kinda erases some of those struggles. Teeth were lost, but their loss contributed to the end result. Which means having a few missing teeth is better than if you had a perfect set.

How many frequent flyer miles do you have? Does the Qantas Club feel like home away from home to you?
I have 182,000 points! Enough to get me to your house and back. Let me speak on behalf of The Grates when I say that we love the Qantas lounge. It’s so the place to be! We spotted Human Nature, Thirsty Merc, Molly Meldrum, The Chaser dudes, Vanessa Amorosi, Ronnie James Dio and Andrew Stockdale there. I also feel really cool hanging in the lounge cos it makes us appear young. The lounge is generally full of old stiff bastards. I mean, business people.

How is your mum?
Oh she’s great. She’s proud to now have the official title ‘the crazy cat lady’ after acquiring her 4th cat and says “Hi Ben!”. She also says you have an old world entertainer’s charm about you (which is missing in entertainers these days). She’s also very concerned that teenage girls are not getting enough calcium. If you think you are not getting enough calcium consider visiting this site.

Any more episodes of your podcast Patience’s Telling Show planned? I think its genius performance art. Do you know Andy Kaufman? I think you’d love him.
I have one show left that I keep on forgetting to put up. It’s kinda scary for me, cos I called my friend at a really bad moment. It’s the pinnacle of the series. I must not forget to put it up any longer. As for Andy Kaufman, I love him, even fantasised about marrying him. I’ve watched his show on YouTube, the only place most Australians can see his show I think (thank you internet). Do you know this story? Some people believed he didn’t die cos he’d always said he’d love to fake his own death, and that if he did, he’d return exactly 20 years later, to the date. Then 20 years later, to the date, his friends held a party for his return and he never showed up. Brings a tear to my eye just typing it.

You’ve played Splendour a few times right? What was the best/worst performance?
The last time we played was amazing. Everybody in the crowd seemed to be having the best time and I was trying to keep up. Once in a life time special (but I want to make this year better!). I also found that the year I stopped camping at Splendour was the year I decided it was my favourite festival. I’m such a baby about camping…but no, seriously, I love how joyous people are – eating delicious foods, getting muddy and listening to music.

2009 – once again: “the year of the Grates” ...please comment.
What can I say, it’s always an honour to have your kind support Ben! And I’ll do everything I can to not let you down. I like this game!
P.S. My spirit animal is a seal.

Both Ben Lee and The Grates star at the sold-out Splendour In The Grass. Ben is playing a one-off show at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne on 1 August. The Grates play the following ‘Surprise Parties’ in July:

Friday 4th July – Brisbane, surprise location

Tuesday 8th July – Sydney, surprise location

Thursday 10th July – Melbourne, surprise location