What we learnt from The Grates

Fri 23rd Sep, 2011 in Local News

The FasterLouder forums were sent into a fit of marriage proposals and cat-related questions when Patience and John from The Grates stopped by at lunchtime to have a chat.

If you missed out on all the action, here are few of the most important things we garnered thanks to everyone’s hard-hitting questions.

Dear The Grates, you spent time in New York writing your album – I’m going there in December/January, can you give me any travel tips? i.e. – Should I avoid Bedford avenue at all costs (damn hipsters)?
Patience: Yes, heaps! We have lots of good tips. The corner bistro, best burgers! Baby Cakes, best vegan bakery. We’ve got too many to write, Fettesau – best BBQ in NYC. I don’t care what anyone tells you. Bedford avenue is a long avenue, so avoid some parts but go. That’s where the best bagels in NYCare, on Bedford avenue. It’s called the bagel store.

Hello John and Pae. The most obvious question is when are beers in Toronto happening again?!!!?
Patience: I don’t know when they’re happening again, we’ll have to do it over skype!

Dear The Grates,would you prefer to pat a cat named Thomas or a cat named Bartholomew? Also when you look at Tom Ballard can you not help but stare at his chin and think it’d be great in the new aliens movie?
Pateince and John: Bartholomew for sure.

Since your Melbourne show is on 31st of October, Halloween, would you make the concert goers come in costume? Also how much wood would a woodchuck chuck wood, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
John: I want to dress like Mr. Burns. It’s a mask thing, you wear it on the top of your head and when you put your head down you look like a hunched Mr. Burns. I’m going to try and pick it up there.
Patience: Every vacant store in America turns into a Halloween store, so we’re going to get lots of ideas. I kinda think it would be very funny if everyone dressed as mr burns. A whole army of mr burns, that would be very freaky. Worst case scenario i’ll dress as an adult baby.

dear the grates, would you like to play big day out this year? cheers, viv Lees
dear vivian lees,
of course, it’s the best.
sincerely,
john and patience.

hey patience, have you tasted alana skyrings cooking before? is it any good?
Patience: yes, more times than i could count on my fingers and toes.
John: more than 20
Patience: it was always amazing. except for one time when she made fish tacos. they weren’t very good. she didn’t buy tacos she bought lettuce leaves.
John: give her a break, that was six years ago.
Patience: i’ll never forget it, it was tacos inside a lettuce leaf.

dear the grates, what’s the weirdest, most obscure gift you have ever received from a fan?
John: i got a blue big mac with little characters that dance inside of it. a japanese happy meal toy. that was pretty weird

to patience: how do you feel about getting groped so many times in the crowd? to john: i loved your shirt that you wore at the enmore, where can i get one?
Patience: i still don’t believe i’ve been groped once. i think that our crowds are always really polite and everyone looks after me, and i really love them for it.
John: was that an old cartoon shirt? it was probably the brand daf monk.

what’s the most ridiculous/offensive question you’ve ever been asked in an interview?
John: can you give us a brief history of your band?
Patience: that happened to me last week!

dear the grates, rate these brisbane bands in order of preference….please ;-)
powderfinger, go betweens, regurgitator, dune rats, the saints
oh no, it’s hard. the saints, go betweens, powderfinger, regurgitator, dune rats. dune rats could be number one in 5 years time, but they are still so fresh.

any songs that are commonplace in your setlist, that you get sick of playing?
Patience: you just keep streamlining every album. my favourite to play live still in trampoline. i love it, it’s really stripped back and they can do really weird stuff with my voice that they can hear and it’s not competing with instruments.

do you have any secret rituals before you play a show?
Patience: we huddle, and then we say something to each which is a secret. it’s a sorcerer’s poem, but we can’t tell you what it is.

thank you for secret rituals. such a solid album. it reminds me a lot of the mid 90s… was that conscious or it did it just work out that way?
it was what we were trying to be influenced by. we were hoping to build on our favourite bands from that era. it felt fun to build on music that we already loved close in our hearts. and thank you.

what other career would you like to try?
Patience: hosting playschool.
John: drawing pictures.

dear the grates, would you support rebecca black? because it looks as though a remarkable musical opportunity has just opened up…
ah, no.
John: everyone just likes her becuase they feel bad about themselves because they were mean to her.
Patience: i’ve got short stack on speed dial, i’ll ask them.

dear the grates totally boring question, but i would love to know your top 3 albums of 2011
unknown mortal orchestra; dirty beaches mini-album; the babies’ album (it’s got cassie from vivian girls in it)

who would you prefer to collaborate with mike patton or bjork?
John: bjork.
Patience: mike patton would be more fun.

thanks to i have ADD, lukep2, therat, littleweirdguy, vivian lees, spicy mchaggis, coolrusty, clements95, muzbuz, oldgregg, superflange, kat627, demosthenes and p1owz0r for your questions