The Grates are a fun, guitar-driven band with a vocalist who shows off her lyrical excitement.
When The Grates came together in Brisbane, Australia around 2002, the last thing they wanted to do was take themselves too seriously. “When we started, it wasn’t even serious—it was kind of a joke and we were just fooling around,” admits guitarist John Patterson. Perhaps best compared to a lighter version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Grates have a very eclectic retro rock sound, with an unmistakable pop music excitement.
However, in order to harness all of this in a more professional manner, the trio had to leave Patterson’s garden shed where they had been recording for a Chicago-area studio that provided a much more driven—yet exhausting—environment to work in. “It was really full-on,” says Patterson. “You go from just slacking off all the time to putting 12 hour days in. Try to be creative for 12 hours a day—it fries your brain.”
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