Their debut album has only just hit record stores but DINO SCATENA says the Sydney foursome have already reached celebrity status overseas 

From a chance meeting over the grill at McDonald's in South Hurstville, Sydney band The Vines have suddenly become the biggest Australian music act in the world. 

How big are The Vines? A few weeks back, their debut album Highly Evolved entered the British charts at No. 3. A week later, it entered the US charts at No. 11 —the highest debut entry by an Australian act in 20 years. 

The album entered the local charts at No.5 and has already sold more than half a million copies worldwide. 

Based in the US, The Vines have announced their first headline Australian tour, in September. 

Until now, Aussie audiences have only ever had a handful of opportunities to see the band perform live in their home town. 

Last June, while still only a few public performances old, The Vines were bundled off to record their debut album in LA. 

Aside from a brief visit home in February. they've spent the past year criss-crossing the Atlantic and being hailed by some music critics as the most significant young rock band since Nirvana. 

The four guys themselves might find It hard to deny that they're an overnight success story, but they can argue they spent virtually every spare moment of their late teen years mastering their musical craft in a shed at the hack of bassist Pat Matthews' family home. 

Matthews, 26, and charismatic singer Craig Nicholls, 24, met while serving hamburgers and fries at Hurstville McDonald's seven years back and Matthews introduced Nicholls to one of his best mates at Sydney Tech High, David Olliffe. 

The trio bonded over a shared passion for local rock band You Am I. They would go together to virtually every show the band played in Sydney and rhapsodise afterwards about what made rock music great. 

Back in the shed, meanwhile, the three had started working on their own sound, using a four-track home recorder to capture and tweak their formative Ideas. Nicholls christened the trio The Vines in honour of his dad's band of the 1960s, The Vynes. 

Despite technically being a band for some four years, nobody in the world ever got to see or hear them until the three mates thought it was time to make a proper recording. 

In 1999, they approached another ex-Sydney Tech High student, Glenn Santry, who they'd heard was now studying to be a sound engineer. 

"When they first came and saw me to ask about recording, they came over to my place and played me some of their four-track stuff," recalls Santry. "I was pretty impressed." 

Santry was doing work experience at a recording studio in Riverwood and asked the owner if lie could get mate's rates on the weekend to record the band's first songs. 

"The first time they came into the studio. I had to tune their guitars for them because they weren't confident they could tune them properly." Santry says. 

"But then they played and they blew me away. I became a fan instantly. Even then they were great." 

In two days, The Vines had recorded and mixed their first semi-professional songs. One of the tracks, In The Jungle, would later be re-recorded for their debut album. 

A couple of months later, the band went back and recorded another three songs. Then, in early 2000, Olliffe's brother Michael organised for the band to be interviewed on Sydney's fledgling community radio station, FBI. Following the interview, the original version of In The Jungle was aired. 

Someone from the local independent label Ivy Records happened to be listening and was immediately impressed. The label's accompanying management company, Winterman and Goldstein, approached the band and signed them up. 

Suddenly, The Vines started playing their first shows and recorded another demo with renowned local producer Greg Wales. They then won a university band contest, but didn't fare as well in Triple J's Unearthed competition. 

However, their entry scored them a gig at Belmore Park, across the road from Central railway station. as part of the Olympic Games' Live Site entertainment. 

Winterman and Goldstein approached the Engine Room, a Sydney-based artist development company formed by young record industry entrepreneurs Todd Wagstaff and Andrew Klippel, to discuss what to do next with this hot talent. 

“I went along and had a look and there was something very special about (singer) Craig — his personality, his voice and his ideas.” says Todd Wagstaff, general manager of the Engine Room. 

"I asked for a demo and got it a few weeks later. I came home, put it on and listened to it from 9 at night until 9 in the morning. All night long. It was that instantaneous. And I did think I was hearing the best demo that I will ever hear." 

The Engine Room became partners in The Vines. They organised for the band to tour the country with their idols, You Am I, in February last year. 

"They hadn't spent much time away from home," Wagstaff says. "Some of them still lived with their parents and it was their first time out of NSW for a couple of them. 

"So they had to overcome the tyranny of travel, which they've had to overcome a lot more since then.

"Melbourne doesn't seem so far any more." 

In April 2002, The Vines were suddenly on their first international tour. A second guitarist, then 23-year-old Ryan Griffiths from Sydney's south, had joined the band. In June last year, they travelled to America to record with US producer Rob Schnapf. 

What was meant to be a two-month recording session stretched to five months. The pressure of being away from Sydney led to a major line-up change. Drummer David Olliffe came home, replaced by another Sydneysider, Hamish Rosser. 

When the first sounds from the sessions were released, the traditionally fickle British music press went berserk, hailing the band as the most exciting outfit of their generation. 

Twice In the past month, The Vines have featured on the cover of London music bible NME. 

Meanwhile, back in the US late last year, Andy Slater, the boss of Capitol Records in America — the same label responsible for releasing the Beatles there — has played a test pressing of the Highly Evolved album. After a few songs, Slater turned to those around him and declared: "The Vines will change radio formats in America. Don't touch anything. This is perfect." 

The Vines had found their international label. The rest, some might say, is history in the making. 

The Vines play the Metro Theatre in George Street on September 28.