Kittyradio Forums
Go Back   Kittyradio Forums > listen & watch > the jukebox


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-29-2006, 08:13 PM
debaser's Avatar
suicide pact - you first
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 21,389
debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute debaser has a reputation beyond repute
The Grates Cut Back On Swearing And Increase Touring [discussion]



The Grates Cut Back On Swearing And Increase Touring

Thursday June 29, 2006 @ 06:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff



The Grates
Not many bands can say that their lives would be completely different if a backyard shed hadn't let them down, but that's exactly what happened for Australian trio The Grates.

When they formed four years ago, singer Patience Hodgson, guitarist John Patterson and drummer Alana Skyring rehearsed in Patterson's dad's shed ("where we still write heaps of our songs now, actually"). As Hodgson explains, they thought that it was soundproofed and played "heaps of music with swear words in it.

"We used to write the ****tiest songs. We marginally write better songs now, but they used to be ****. We used to have this song that just was like, 'Who's that sexy mother****er with the short, short hair?' and then we'd say it about 100 times."
That came to an end when Patterson's mother informed them that the shed wasn't soundproofed. "I can't say that that hasn't influenced our songwriting, because I think it definitely did," Hodgson says.

"The moment that we found out that John's mom, who really hates swearing, could hear all of our swear words, I really cut back on the swear words to the point where some songs don't even have any in them."


Without counting the few profanities that made it past the shed, The Grates' Gravity Won't Get You High debut is one of those rare albums that boasts both radio-friendly pop and unpredictable indie tomfoolery. The band make fun, lo-fi, garage-style rock with traces of snotty punk, blaring horns and twanging banjos. Though the trio say that they had no plans to take their music anywhere, they quickly noticed that the crossover appeal of their songs had an audience outside of their Brisbane backyard.

Things started changing for the band two years ago when Triple J, Australia's popular youth-oriented national radio network, picked up a rough recording of the song "Trampoline." At the time, The Grates had only been making music for a few months and had never been on tour. They decided to play a few shows only to meet the demand for the single.

"We were never out to pursue anything, but then they kept saying, 'We're going to put another song on the radio,'" says Hodgson. "They didn't even tell us sometimes.
"Like 'Rock Boys,' which was our worst recording that we just recorded with one mic. They just started playing it one day.

"So I suppose, because somebody there liked us, it kind of encouraged us to always take that next step — like, 'Oh, we've got a song on the radio, that's kick-***.' Because you think it's going to happen just the once, and then it happened again. So we're like, 'Let's do another tour.' And then when the other songs started getting played, people were asking us to do supports. So there's just things that you can't control that led into one another."


The band soon found themselves spending two months in Chicago with producer Brian Deck, who they selected to "put more layers into our sounds." Gravity Won't Get You High debuted at #9 on the Australian sales chart in April. The record will be released in North America on August 29, but Hodgson isn't the least bit bothered about sales figures here, there or anywhere. There are other things on her mind.

"In a wonderful way, people really like [the music] and they get really happy and it feels really good for us when we can play a show and it's just positive," she squeals.
"So I suppose when we play our songs and people like it, it's just subconsciously like positive reinforcement. And that's the kind of reinforcement we like, so now we're just really happy with people feeling happy."

The Grates play Limerick Junction in Vancouver on Friday.

__________________
due to lack of interest, tomorrow has been cancelled.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-29-2006, 09:35 PM
*Band Aid*'s Avatar
http://www.fat-aus.com
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: melbs
Posts: 2,540
*Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute *Band Aid* has a reputation beyond repute
oh i love them. i cant wait to get back to australia, i cant believe i havent seen them yet!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 06-29-2006, 11:11 PM
KillTheLastRomantic's Avatar
Lets stay up
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 7,543
KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute KillTheLastRomantic has a reputation beyond repute
Everybody should get their cd its super cute
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-30-2006, 04:37 AM
xburnblackx's Avatar
Barbie Is Not Your Friend
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: toyland
Posts: 843
xburnblackx is a jewel in the rough xburnblackx is a jewel in the rough xburnblackx is a jewel in the rough
i love them they are really good
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-30-2006, 05:17 AM
procrastinating
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Lester, innit.
Posts: 764
pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute pobie has a reputation beyond repute
Send a message via MSN to pobie
i saw them a few weeks ago, they were so lovely.

they gave out free 7" and balloons
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
back , cut , discussion , grates , increase , swearing , touring

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


 
Forum Stats
Members: 104,959
Threads: 155,603
Posts: 1,745,105
Total Online: 82

Newest Member: johnmaterax

Follow Kittyradio

Latest Threads
- by clotty
- by Ophiel
- by sarahlc



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:45 AM.

Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.3.2

Site content: Copyright © 2006-2008 kittyradio.com
Any unauthorized usage and/or quotations from this site on other web sites
or in the press are copyright violations and will be pursued as such.
Violators will be prosecuted under United States copyright laws.