WITNESS THE FITNESS

As you well know The Grates are the Brisbane trio whose power pop songs simply rocket along with an innate sunny enthusiasm and colourful visual explosion and an oft-overlooked pithy sharpness in the lyrics department.

No surprise there for the countless fans seen singing along to every song at any of the band's recent firecracker festival performances.

It seems plucky lead singer Patience Hodgson is rapidly developing a reputation as the consummate front person with that voice, the energy, the lively banter with the audience and those costumes - Batgirl and marching band-leader being recent examples.

In one corner of this hurtling triangle is drummer Alana Skyring, maintaining her aerobic fitness at peak level keeping time for this particular band. But she did get to have more of a break between songs on their most recent tour to the US, where they were part of the largest ever-Australian contingent to head to the most influential band-spotting market event going - the SxSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

“It's a whole different way of talking to the crowd in America at the moment. In Australia the venues are big and you can't be personal with people because it's kind of excluding and confusing for the audience. It doesn't work striking up a conversation with someone in the second row of an audience of 1200 people.

“You've gotta keep up the energy and cover that expanse … it comes out more like 'Hey Brisbane - we're here to party'. Whereas if you do that in a small venue, if you hear 'Hey New York - how's it going' and there's 60 people with their eyebrows raised going 'Yeeah right' … it looks dorky.

“With the smaller audience Patience tells stories, interacts, she gets them to do stuff with her, like riding on someone's shoulders. It's cool and it's new for everyone. It's great we can mix it up - they have no expectations.”

Clearly Patience is ready for anything the Americans can throw at her but you wonder what it's like for the more reserved members of the band. “Everyone is more reserved than Patience, it's unfair to put yourself up against her. She can talk to any person, not only is she a big talker and easy to get along with - she can talk to any type of person. We'll be on a train and she'll start talking to the lady sitting next to us with a dog stashed in her handbag, about life's truths or something like that.

“I used to be incredibly shy - I remember at the start I used to think 'I can't do this' - it wasn't stage fright … more just the sort of social pressure of having to just always be out there talking to people and new people.

“I think just the experience that comes with being on the road for years, I'm a lot more comfortable. Now I'm really excited to go out and meet people and in America it's great because it's like a blank slate with everyone and you can just talk to anyone about any old thing and they have no preconceived ideas about you.

“There's definitely a sliding scale in our band: Patience - the most outgoing; Me - outgoing but also likes the quiet life a bit; and then there's John who loves just working and …being left alone,” says Alana with a giggle of guitar player John Patterson.

“He does like people, has nights out and is open with people, but he's a bit more insular as a person. John is very good with computer graphics, colour and layout. He takes care of the design of the website, Twitter, Facebook and the posters and tee shirts. He has great eye for graphic design. Patience and I, we do more of the interviews and outgoing stuff.”

The two girls are both illustrators as well, so John incorporates their work into his thing. “There's lots of drawing and planning that goes into it all. We put a lot of time and pride into our merch. Patience and I contribute a lot of ideas and images, but John brings it all together very efficiently and we couldn't do it without him and of course he's a great illustrator himself. It gives us something to do outside of the music business which you can't do 24-7.”

The Grates perform at The Hi-Fi, West End, May 1 with Children Collide and DZ in support.