The Grates

While there will be many people questioning the future of The Grates with a new baby on the scene from band members Patience Hodgson and John Patterson, the only interference she’s caused so far in The Grates’ musical career is through the occasional gurgle and grunt during this interview.
“She’s started making these screams before that I’ve never heard in my life,” Patience laughs as she holds Soda in her nursery.
“I want to give her a musical childhood, but it’s more than just a musical childhood. I just want to give her a childhood that’s authentic to her – whatever she’s into. Obviously I’m going to try and get her into music but if that’s not her jam and she’s really into kicking balls around then we’ll just roll with that.”
While Soda is blessed with the possibility of having a highly musical upbringing, for Patience it wasn’t until she met John and Alana Skyring (past drummer) that her eyes – and ears – were opened to what was out there in the music world.
“When I became friends with them they kept sending me mixed cassettes and that was it,” she says.
“I remember when I heard Pearl Jam ‘Evolution’ and I was like, ‘Holy shit, that songs rules’. Then when we moved out there was just all sorts of music they were involved in. They were doing all these punk festivals at the skate park and once they moved over to study at tafe they knew all the places to go in the Valley and I guess that’s when I got involved in the music scene.”
The moment the three decided to form a band, came from a casual, normal day watching a garage rock band’s clip on rage.
“I was just like, ‘Guys I could do it, why don’t we start a band? I love hanging out with you guys’. The whole time I was watching this garage rock band I was thinking: ‘I could do that. That doesn’t look hard at all it just looks like fun’,” she says.
Thus The Grates were made, but with limited experience in singing, let alone in a band, getting her vocals up to scratch was something that took a bit of practise. To begin with her voice was weak, a mere glimpse of what her vocals are now, but it was through perseverance and practice that gained Patience her gusto.
“I’d done heaps of singing to the radio at night while I was in London because I lived in this tiny bedroom the size of a nursery actually – I’m sitting in one now and my bedroom was the size of a nursery. All I had was the radio so I just listened to that and had heaps of fun. When I came back John only had to have my voice at like a quarter of what the sound used to be and he was like, ‘Aww, your voice has gotten stronger’,” Patience says.
While there have been a few changes in drummers, Alana was soon replaced by Ben Marshall and now Ritchie Daniell, the ethos for the band has stayed the same: to have fun in what you do.
“It’s not just Ritchie who helped form the concept of Dream Team, it’s all of the people we’re surrounded by now,” she beams.
“It’s just really fun. There’s a lot of good people who have come into our lives now, we’ve always had good people but now we see them on a daily basis.”
When&Where: Splendour In the Grass, Byron Bay – July 25 & The Corner Hotel, Melbourne – August 15
Written by Amanda Sherring