Patience from The Grates isworried about sounding weird

Sun 10th Dec, 2006 in Features

“I hope I don’t sound too weird. I’ve done a mass of interviews today, and all of them before this one, I don’t know what it is, but they’ve just felt weird. I hope this one goes better.”

These may sound like famous last words, but for The Grates frontwoman Patience, being weird in interviews is not something to be worried about. After all, 2006 couldn’t have been much kinder to The Grates, and on their last tour, the stage was littered with cut-out animals, with glowing red demonic eyes – if we didn’t think she was weird already, one more interview isn’t going to swing the balance.

Patience is on the phone from America, where the group is completing yet another American tour, before returning to Australia for a run of shows, ending with Western Australia’s Side Track’d 2007 on New Year’s Day. But playing a show on New Year’s Day isn’t the only reason that Patience will be taking it easy on New Year’s Eve this year.

“Yeah, last year we played Falls [Festival] on New Year’s Eve, and then a show in Western Australia on January 2, and so I couldn’t party hard on New Year’s Eve, but I got really drunk on that night (January 2), and had the worst hangover I can remember on January 3,” she says. “That hangover stuck with me all year, I can still remember it, so this year I really don’t want to party that hard. I don’t really party hard at all any more.”

Patience has reason to celebrate the end of what some are dubbing The Year of The Grates. Two sold out Australian tours, the release of their debut, J-award nominated album Gravity Won’t Get You High, singles and film clips on high rotation across the board, and multiple overseas trips have seen The Grates go from small pub shows in the suburbs of Brisbane to being a headlining act for festivals like Side Track’d and Brisbane’s Alfred’s Block Party. But Patience says she doesn’t like it when people call it a ‘whirlwind’ year.

“Yeah, it’s been a really big year, but it’s all felt really organic,” she says. “Every time we try something, it just seems to work, so next time, we try something bigger, and that works too. The first run of shows, we sold out some smaller venues, so the second tour, we booked some bigger venues, and sold them out too. And people are starting to come along to our overseas shows, who actually know who we are, so that’s pretty exciting. Some people have said it’s a whirlwind year for us, but for me, it’s been anything but. It’s all just felt really natural.”

Patience is definitely not your typical rock band frontperson. For starters, she’s remarkably chatty and personable in interviews, with a natural charisma that flows easily, even over the phone line. Also, and this goes for the whole band, it’s a very hands-on experience for them. They designed and created the motifs for their two Australian tours (the first tour had a party style, with balloons and confetti, while the second had a winter wonderland theme, complete with artificial snow), and they are currently designing the DVD which they hope to release before Christmas.

And she also desires the simpler things in life. “Yeah, in the new year, we’re going to take a break,” she explains. “I want to get a share house, and a real bedroom, and maybe a sewing machine, and do some sewing. I want to organise picnics at Southbank with all my friends, because it’s a good way to catch up with a lot of people at once.”

“I’m in the strangest mood right now, I’m desperately homesick, and I just can’t wait to get home,” she continues. “I got everyone the best Christmas presents, I’m set for my whole family, and I can’t wait to see everyone again. Last night, [the band] all just went out together in Rochester, New York. We couldn’t get into the hotel, so we went down to this little bar, and they were having an arts and crafts night. So we got into that, and made some presents for We Are Scientists, because we’re touring with them, and they’re such great guys, really awesome to hang out with.”

The teleconferencer cuts in to say there’s one minute left – time flies when Patience gets on a roll - so I quickly ask if she has any other new year’s resolutions.

“Just the share house, and the sewing machine,” she says.” I want to sit down in my bedroom and write some new songs. So far, we’ve just got the tiniest pieces of songs. Touring the way we do, five of us crammed into an RV, its not a luxurious touring style by any means. We don’t end up having much time, so we end up working on artwork, and on the dvd. It feels like we’ve always got stuff going on – it feels like homework. It’s pretty weird, I should feel tired with all this touring, but I don’t. I love being in a band, and I love my friends, so it’s pretty easy for me to stay upbeat.”

Catch The Grates being upbeat at Side Track’d 2007, alongside The Living End, Something for Kate, Evermore, The Beautiful Girls and many more at Ascot Racecourse in Perth on January 1, 2007. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

While East Coast folk can see The Grates at this year’s Pyramid Rock Festival at gorgeous Phillip Island this NYE.