Motor Ace held legendary status in the Australian music. "In retrospect, it can look a bit like we came out of nowhere. But we did work very hard with a lot of relentless touring, a focus on writing great songs and energetic live shows," vocalist and guitarist Patrick Robertson remarked. By 2003, the Australian alternative rock band had released two successful albums in Australia and as 'The Age' reported, "imploded in Japan and British and American radio stations were beginning to play their tracks."
Drummer Damo Costin recalled, "We always struggled a little to find a stylistic niche and felt a little on the outer in that regard. But I think at the end of the day we made some really strong connections, and hopefully enduring ones, with our fans because of our songs above all else. It was pretty amazing at the time, and something that I still feel very proud of… we definitely milked being number one on the charts."
Drummer Damo Costin recalled, "We always struggled a little to find a stylistic niche and felt a little on the outer in that regard. But I think at the end of the day we made some really strong connections, and hopefully enduring ones, with our fans because of our songs above all else. It was pretty amazing at the time, and something that I still feel very proud of… we definitely milked being number one on the charts."
Michael Parisi, A&R (Artists and Repertoire) head of Warners, then FMR signed the band. "I'd heard Snowblind and was impressed with the songwriting. Patch's songwriting, for his age, was really sublime and struck me." Formed around 1998, "their iconic track 'Death Defy' reaching an even wider audience as the theme song for the popular television series 'The Secret Life Of Us' (2001-2005)."
At its peak, Motor Ace was considered the next big thing in Australian music. Bassist Matt Balfe told 'The Age' in 2005, "The album did really well over there (in Japan) ... it was an amazing time in one sense. We were being offered things like a month-long UK tour." In August 2018, a press release announced of a Five Star Reunion National Tour in 2019 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Motor Ace's inception.
"It’s been 20 years since we were playing our first shows around Melbourne – at the Punters Club, Evelyn and Espy – and 13 years since the last Motor Ace show. It feels pretty bizarre to be honest, but really looking forward to playing shows with the guys and most importantly seeing if we can still party!" Patrick Robertson told the press.
At its peak, Motor Ace was considered the next big thing in Australian music. Bassist Matt Balfe told 'The Age' in 2005, "The album did really well over there (in Japan) ... it was an amazing time in one sense. We were being offered things like a month-long UK tour." In August 2018, a press release announced of a Five Star Reunion National Tour in 2019 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Motor Ace's inception.
"It’s been 20 years since we were playing our first shows around Melbourne – at the Punters Club, Evelyn and Espy – and 13 years since the last Motor Ace show. It feels pretty bizarre to be honest, but really looking forward to playing shows with the guys and most importantly seeing if we can still party!" Patrick Robertson told the press.
October 26, 2018 - 'theaureview.com'
Jade Kennedy: Let's go back to the beginning of Motor Ace for a minute. What was your goal when you brought the band together in '98?
Patrick Robertson: Oh… I mean we were definitely extremely naïve. Probably over-confident, over-cocky, and I think we definitely saw ourselves as trying to be an international band. I guess, like our heroes, you know, when you're twenty that's what you want to do. But, I think we quickly realised that it was going to be a lot harder once we started getting a little bit of radio play and were still playing to ashtrays and tables. I think we realised we'd have to do a lot more hard work and a lot more touring.
I think from that first album's release we probably resigned ourselves to hitting the road as hard as we could, and trying to do as good live shows as we could, and I think gradually that strategy kind of worked. I mean, I guess Australia is a hard place to do that, because it's so sparse and there's only a small amount of people here to actually support a tour, so I think that was probably the only downside of that. I think it would've been nice to have social media and more of a global reach, I guess; back then we didn't have any of that. But, you know, we did some good stuff and had a lot of fun and got to play with a lot of our heroes, so that was great.
I think from that first album's release we probably resigned ourselves to hitting the road as hard as we could, and trying to do as good live shows as we could, and I think gradually that strategy kind of worked. I mean, I guess Australia is a hard place to do that, because it's so sparse and there's only a small amount of people here to actually support a tour, so I think that was probably the only downside of that. I think it would've been nice to have social media and more of a global reach, I guess; back then we didn't have any of that. But, you know, we did some good stuff and had a lot of fun and got to play with a lot of our heroes, so that was great.
September 2018
Matt Balfe: It was a wild ride. When the four of us connected it was immediately obvious that the chemistry was extremely special. We locked ourselves in a rehearsal room for six months and developed a strong set of songs. When we started playing live in Melbourne we gained a decent following really quickly and got signed by Festival Mushroom within the year.
We are in our early 20s, living the dream, with all expenses paid. It's all quite unreal in retrospect. (ABC's youth radio station) Triple J played four of our songs on high rotation during the 'Five Star Laundry' period and crowds grew in all capital cities. Then we dropped 'Shoot This' (No.1 hit, sold 100,000 copies) and things went into overdrive with touring in Australia, Europe, the US, and Japan. I regret nothing!
As reported, "Within the first month of being on sale, 'Five Star Laundry' went gold in Australia – a massive feat when considering what it takes for a record to go gold in 2018, with just seven Australian albums having been certified gold this year." Speaking to Mary Boukouvalas of 'whatsmyscene.com' in October 2018, Matt Balfe made the point, "The Australian live music scene goes from strength to strength. When Motor Ace first kicked off back in 1998 live music was in decline… All my mates at uni were buying turntables… and bad cover bands were packing beer barns in the outer suburbs. I am so stoked to see the growth of the original live scene and the place that Australian bands have on the international stage."
'The Age' informed, "The Motor Ace story began in Fitzroy in the late 1990s with Robertson and Balfe, former schoolmates in a band called Snowblind. They were rehearsing at a studio where drummer Damian Costin was employed. Costin told Robertson to call him if any vacancies came up with the band. Eventually Robertson and Balfe called Costin and the search began for another guitarist. Enter Dave Ong.
"On face value, the band is a strange pastiche of characters. Robertson is the brooding (and, insiders say, domineering creative force); Costin is the energetic soul of the band; Balfe the workmanlike team player; while the bohemian Ong is perhaps the band's most distant and enigmatic member." Michael Parisi believed, "Motor Ace arrived when dance music was strong and they weren't part of the new rock movement either. They've always sat outside of cliques and were never particularly fashionable. But that's what I like about them, they haven't bowed down to the trend of the day."
In 2018, 'Five Star Laundry' was remastered for vinyl release. Patrick Robertson told 'ilikeyouroldstuff.com', "We'd spoken to a couple of people at Warner about doing it ourselves, because we'd originally recorded the album in analogue and were conscious at the time that it might be our last opportunity to make a purely analogue production. I'm pretty nerdy when it comes to that sort of stuff, so was surreal to be able to get up and put ('Five Star Laundry') on my record player.
"We originally mixed the album in London and mastered at Abbey Road, which was pretty cool. Damo and I got a pic on the Abbey Road zebra crossing on a throwaway camera, so it was a surreal experience to be there. I remember there being a vinyl lathe there in the mastering suite – they would actually cut the vinyl there, so we really should have pressed a (vinyl) copy back then!"
As noted, "Motor Ace always had to battle for its audience. Yes, there was a following, but they always had to work hard to reach them and let people know they had an album out or that they were on tour." Patrick Robertson spoke to 'Tone Deaf' website in 2016, "The fire that compelled me to make music in the first place was extinguished by the end of Motor Ace. I was young and took every kink in the road harder than I should have. I do have some regrets about not enjoying the great music we made and our success a little more ... I was only 24 or 25 at the time, as well, so I didn't know how to deal with a lot of that angst at that time. Even though things were going well."
Local music identity Jeff Jenkins stated in 2005, "Even though there'll be no more records and you can't go and see them play any more after Friday, they will live on in people's minds and in people's record collections." Damo Costin conceded, "It feels absolutely surreal, the reason being that when I was 22, and young and earnest, I had no idea that 20 years later I was going to play these songs again! I am most excited about enjoying those songs again in a live space, excited to play again with a sense of nostalgia and giving my all with the guys."
September 2018
'Hear2Zen': Let me start by asking, does 13 years really feel like 13 years?
Patrick Robertson: In some ways it does, but in some ways it feels like yesterday. Also, its hard to connect back to it because I don't really feel like the same person. But, I feel that once we get together and start rehearsing, and then start playing shows it will all come back together really quickly.
'H2Z': During its hiatus, did you ever sit back and take stock of the achievements the band had?
Patrick Robertson: Yeah, It’s a weird thing. Starting this process again, and doing interviews and talking with people, it's having more impact now. I think, I appreciate, in hindsight how difficult it is. While there is some luck, there is so much hard work. I got to know a lot of other bands over the years, that have struggled for a long time, so I do appreciate it more now, the success we had, when at the time I probably thought it wasn’t quite enough.
We are in our early 20s, living the dream, with all expenses paid. It's all quite unreal in retrospect. (ABC's youth radio station) Triple J played four of our songs on high rotation during the 'Five Star Laundry' period and crowds grew in all capital cities. Then we dropped 'Shoot This' (No.1 hit, sold 100,000 copies) and things went into overdrive with touring in Australia, Europe, the US, and Japan. I regret nothing!
As reported, "Within the first month of being on sale, 'Five Star Laundry' went gold in Australia – a massive feat when considering what it takes for a record to go gold in 2018, with just seven Australian albums having been certified gold this year." Speaking to Mary Boukouvalas of 'whatsmyscene.com' in October 2018, Matt Balfe made the point, "The Australian live music scene goes from strength to strength. When Motor Ace first kicked off back in 1998 live music was in decline… All my mates at uni were buying turntables… and bad cover bands were packing beer barns in the outer suburbs. I am so stoked to see the growth of the original live scene and the place that Australian bands have on the international stage."
'The Age' informed, "The Motor Ace story began in Fitzroy in the late 1990s with Robertson and Balfe, former schoolmates in a band called Snowblind. They were rehearsing at a studio where drummer Damian Costin was employed. Costin told Robertson to call him if any vacancies came up with the band. Eventually Robertson and Balfe called Costin and the search began for another guitarist. Enter Dave Ong.
"On face value, the band is a strange pastiche of characters. Robertson is the brooding (and, insiders say, domineering creative force); Costin is the energetic soul of the band; Balfe the workmanlike team player; while the bohemian Ong is perhaps the band's most distant and enigmatic member." Michael Parisi believed, "Motor Ace arrived when dance music was strong and they weren't part of the new rock movement either. They've always sat outside of cliques and were never particularly fashionable. But that's what I like about them, they haven't bowed down to the trend of the day."
In 2018, 'Five Star Laundry' was remastered for vinyl release. Patrick Robertson told 'ilikeyouroldstuff.com', "We'd spoken to a couple of people at Warner about doing it ourselves, because we'd originally recorded the album in analogue and were conscious at the time that it might be our last opportunity to make a purely analogue production. I'm pretty nerdy when it comes to that sort of stuff, so was surreal to be able to get up and put ('Five Star Laundry') on my record player.
"We originally mixed the album in London and mastered at Abbey Road, which was pretty cool. Damo and I got a pic on the Abbey Road zebra crossing on a throwaway camera, so it was a surreal experience to be there. I remember there being a vinyl lathe there in the mastering suite – they would actually cut the vinyl there, so we really should have pressed a (vinyl) copy back then!"
As noted, "Motor Ace always had to battle for its audience. Yes, there was a following, but they always had to work hard to reach them and let people know they had an album out or that they were on tour." Patrick Robertson spoke to 'Tone Deaf' website in 2016, "The fire that compelled me to make music in the first place was extinguished by the end of Motor Ace. I was young and took every kink in the road harder than I should have. I do have some regrets about not enjoying the great music we made and our success a little more ... I was only 24 or 25 at the time, as well, so I didn't know how to deal with a lot of that angst at that time. Even though things were going well."
Local music identity Jeff Jenkins stated in 2005, "Even though there'll be no more records and you can't go and see them play any more after Friday, they will live on in people's minds and in people's record collections." Damo Costin conceded, "It feels absolutely surreal, the reason being that when I was 22, and young and earnest, I had no idea that 20 years later I was going to play these songs again! I am most excited about enjoying those songs again in a live space, excited to play again with a sense of nostalgia and giving my all with the guys."
September 2018
'Hear2Zen': Let me start by asking, does 13 years really feel like 13 years?
Patrick Robertson: In some ways it does, but in some ways it feels like yesterday. Also, its hard to connect back to it because I don't really feel like the same person. But, I feel that once we get together and start rehearsing, and then start playing shows it will all come back together really quickly.
'H2Z': During its hiatus, did you ever sit back and take stock of the achievements the band had?
Patrick Robertson: Yeah, It’s a weird thing. Starting this process again, and doing interviews and talking with people, it's having more impact now. I think, I appreciate, in hindsight how difficult it is. While there is some luck, there is so much hard work. I got to know a lot of other bands over the years, that have struggled for a long time, so I do appreciate it more now, the success we had, when at the time I probably thought it wasn’t quite enough.
