Motor Ace

Motor Ace
Origin	Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Alternative rock Post-grunge
Years active	1998–2005
Labels	Sputnik/Festival Mushroom
Members	Patrick ('Patch') Robertson Dave Ong Damian Costin Matt Balfe

Motor Ace were an Australian alternative rock band. Formed in Melbourne around 1998 out of the remains of another band named Snowblind, their members were Patrick ('Patch') Robertson (vocals/guitar), Damian Birchall Costin (drums), Matt Balfe (bass), and Dave Ong (guitar).

Motor Ace's swaggering rock anthems have seen many commentators liken them to Brit rockers The Verve and Oasis. Motor Ace supported the latter during their Australian tour in 2002. Unusually, they also once supported (along with Bodyjar) Blink-182 during their 2000 Australian tour. Along with 28 Days, Machine Gun Fellatio, and NoKTuRNL, they were part of a wave of mostly successful young Australian acts signed to Festival Mushroom Records' development label Sputnik, which launched in 1999.

The band began recording their debut release, a self-titled EP, during April 1999. On it they worked with producer Paul McKercher, who has also assisted well-known efforts by You Am I and The Cruel Sea. The eventual track listing of their self-titled release included "Chairman of the Board", "Chromakey", "Criminal Past", "Lowrider", and "Fluke". Other songs, "American Shoes" and "Siamese", were also considered, but were left out after the band decided they wanted to make a straight-up rock EP (though they wound up on future releases). Triple J gave the band heavy airplay, assisting the band on their touring schedule. Afterwards, the singles "Death Defy" (which was used as the title theme for TV show The Secret Life of Us), "American Shoes", and "Hey Driver" were released throughout the course of 2000, in the buildup to their debut album. Some of them charted in the top 100 of the ARIAnet singles chart, while they also gained popularity on Triple J.

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