no, but i snicked all night, knowing you were there

Did YOU get to see penguins with lasers for eyes and a snow machine?

No...didn't think so. Ha!

Oh wait, you saw the Olsen twins in a towel...touche!

i played a gig last night, and the theme was black friday. fux ake, it's only october, you'd have to be whack in the crania to be thinking about xmas now...

wow, nothing is secret

yes, towlsen twins were great

Can i throw up at the grates?

Thread should be about At The Gates.

Be my guest lokihanns..

It was a weird gig, I couldn't fathom the crowd. You know when you go to a place and look around and think who ARE these people? Where do they normally go...?

so basically you're saying, they were shit but i enjoyed myself.

They suck arse. Why sing in an american accent

They weren't shit at all... it was just an odd concert, short and a weird venue for a band that isn't that big. There were more people there last night then there were at the residents/chicks on speed gig..

what's with all this anti-Grates vibe around here? they're silly good fun! last i saw them, they had balloons and confetti and they had me bouncing and smiling. its not rocket science, it's just kids having fun. why all the negative vibes?

i've never understand that either, tinyman. i still think they're fab and a load of fun.

i just didn't want to see them at the forum, and had dcf to see.

oops, weird combo sentence between 'i've never understood' and 'i don't understand'

They literally make me nauseous whenever i see them tinyman.

One mans silly good fun is another man's gastritis.

I feel the same way about Metallica lokhanns..

So do i peaches...

I have a sensitive stomach.

To be honest, the first time i ever saw these guys was about half an hour after i tore half the skin off both my hands falling over a kerb running at full pelt. And that i did end up having to go out of the corner to vomit from the shock halfway through their set.

That may add to the sense of nausea.

I do love Bjork however, she has that effect on a lot of people.

I used to hate the Grates with a passion, I saw them at 161 about 3 years ago in my shake some action days and I walked in to hear them playing and said to my friend 'who is this bitch who thinks she's Karen O?'.
I then hated Patience because when they did a big day out or something, I had many people say 'wow, have you heard of the grates! you're so much like the singer!' but my man bought their album and I liked them cus they sounded like old no doubt. It's weird how I have to justify my like for a band...i have the most 'uncool' taste in music of anyone i know.

i keep saying this, but when did the grates become a band it's cool to hate?

i must have missed that.

was it after their great debut ep, or their solid debut album?

Has it ever occurred to anyone in the grates camp that they're a very in your face band? It's got nothing to do with it being 'cool' to hate them the just garner a strong reaction from people, and from some people that reaction is strongly negative.

Facebook is serious business, guys.

she was the tubby one yeah? i remember seeing interviews with them where she came across as just a punching bag for the skinny birthmark one and the shithead guitarist one. no surprise she quit. hopefully the rest will follow suit, the guitarist will commit suicide and patience will do a photoshoot on abby winters and the world becomes all the better for it.

'carve your name' is still a top song though.

I have a low key crush on the singer.

Perhaps this answers all questions:

http://www.messandnoise.com/discussions/3798138

Wow, you guys are lame. The grates are real nice, all of em, whatevers

omg, they are not friends on Facebook?

Sigh.

Anyhow, they are all lovely people, but I suspect they'll be better without Alana.

No sarcasm radar?

No, it's there.

You just weren't funny.

but I suspect they'll be better without Alana.

why? how?

And it's official - the presser:

*The Grates record their third album and announce a line up change *

The Grates have been based in Brooklyn for the last year. Holed up in the studio they have been writing and recording their forthcoming album. It’s been an interesting period for the Brisbane band as they relocated to the USA, saw a change in their line up and began work in earnest on their next record.

Drummer Alana Skyring has moved on from The Grates to pursue culinary arts, studying in Manhattan at the Institute of Culinary Education.

“Brooklyn has a persuasive & inviting community spirit. Being surrounded by thousands of artists finding pleasure in their creations definitely re-energised our spirits in writing a new record.” says frontwoman Patience Hodgson of the move.

“Naive or ignorant - maybe both - but eventually Summer passed and the severity of the North America Winter was unexpectedly upon us and the slowly changing dynamic between us was as evident as the shift in season. Moving to NYC had successfully brought out the best in all of us but Alana was discovering that her best lay not with drums but with baking. To continue growing as people we decided to go our separate ways,” Hodgson says.

The Grates will continue as a two-piece, recruiting talented renegades along the way for recording and live performances.

Patience and John Patterson spent some time while trapped inside as blizzards raged outside in the NY Winter experimenting with new sounds and lyrical depths.

“With this new arrangement still seeping in John and I carried on writing. Losing time and losing light, we experimented in our tiny grey band room, making riffs out of feedback loops, fooling around with sounds and layering vintage synthesisers, for hours daily, sometimes without choice, being trapped by blizzards too terrific and terrifying to ride our bikes home in. We punctuated the day with ritualised trips for cheap beer and tamales,” Patience muses.

“Satisfied but not full, craving more sounds to eat, we began asking friends to fill in the gaps with bass and drums.” The Grates then recruited Brooklyn drummer Ben Marshall to bang the skins on the record. He’s passionate about music with an insatiable appetite for good tunes. They hit upon the right mix with bassist and producer Gus van Go, also bringing in Werner F to help with production duties.

“After working with a handful of talented musicians we hit upon the right chemistry with Gus, one half of our production team, taking over bass duties and Ben on drums. We then took a month in the studio working through each song together, playing as a band, getting ideas and getting excited.”

“Recording has begun, songs are taking shape. Even through it's cold, we continue to bike daily to Gus & Werner's Williamsburg studio. Our producers are amazing, we love every minute,” enthuses Patience. “That said we also can't wait to bring home a bunch of new music to Australia.”

The Grates’ highly anticipated new album is due out in June 2011.

but I suspect they'll be better without Alana.

why? how?

Alana was technically limited as a drummer. Not exactly a metronome.

i haven't seen them in ages, but they were always really nice and put on an awesome show

Wait... when is Patience posing for Abby Winters?

Not soon enough Molly & Atiba

It's gotta be better than the girl from Operator Please.

I'm hoping even better then the girl from The Wellingtons!

The Grates will continue as a two-piece, recruiting talented renegades along the way for recording and live performances.

I'll try that again.

Shame about Alana, she's always been into her cooking so it's good to see her chasing that dream.

Glad a new album is on the way though. Yeeha!