Antipodean
teen-rockers Operator Please are one of 2007’s hottest new bands.
They talk to Ashleigh Scott about religion, ponies and their fear of
milk...
After
an exuberant performance at the Astoria, London, I got the chance to
go down under (well, backstage) and talk control, fate and school dinners
with Antipodean teeny-rockers Amandah (19), Taylor (16) and Ashley (18)
of Operator Please.
“I am actually enjoying the weather,” declares vocalist
Amandah. “It is really cold outside! But it’s quite different
to what we’re used to in Australia, which we enjoy.”
Before delving further into the bands burgeoning success, I take a swig
of Amandah’s beer, which amuses violinist Taylor greatly: “Ha
ha, this dressing room does get hot though.” I nod politely, agreeing
that I too am ‘working up a sweat just sitting here.’
Operator Please’s brand of frenetic ADHD new-wave is colourful
and a welcome excursion from the drabness of much of today’s ‘indie’
bands - like a musical happy-bomb exploding on the scene.
“It’s important to make people happy when writing music,
you know, there is so much negativity in the world. We’re all
from very different backgrounds as well, which has an effect on our
writing now and our purpose,” reveals Amandah.
“Oh, really?” I inquire. “Well basically, I was raised
in a Muslim family. A couple of our members are atheist too.”
Taylor interjects to point out that she is interested in Buddhism, “I
really admire the monks in Burma.”
Ashley, bassist, strolls in having just straightened his hair, “Oh
my, are you talking about religion now?” Amandah makes her opinions
very clear at this point, believing that ‘governments should separate
religion and politics… placing anyone on a pedestal is a bad thing;
the power goes to their head. The world is a huge place and if you don’t
look outside your own point of view you’re going to get fucked
up, basically.”
What does their music tell us about living in the year 2007 I wonder?
“People like computers” chuckles Amandah.
“Ha! We love MySpace - we’re always
checking it!” giggles Taylor.
“But yeah, seriously, Amandah’s lyrics are timeless and
just subliminal.”
Ashley steps in, ‘they highlight social issues as well; I mean
not political issues, but stuff regarding relationships and human behaviour.’
A modest Amandah then indicates that the aforementioned social issues
should maybe not be taken seriously : “I’m scared people
might turn into robots in the future, it’s like, a fear I have.
Ew, taken over by robots!”
“I have a fear of milk!” howls Taylor. I can’t help
but laugh and agree that soya is the way forward. “Once a strange
man came up to me in a library and asked why I drink soya instead of
milk. He said I couldn’t make good decisions because of it and
I just thought oh wow, this man is scaring me” she adds. A bashful
Ashley apologizes for their ‘ramble’ interview style. “99%
of what we’re saying is ramble,” she apologises.
If anything is clear, it is that these kids are extremely supportive
of each other - vital for such a young, up-and-coming group. “Amandah
is
like an older sister. I had an issue with a boy at home, but she got
my back!” Taylor snuggles up to Amandah.
It becomes apparent Amandah is the bands central figure and a lot scarier
than she might appear.
“If you fuck with a band member, you fuck with the whole band!”
she threatens.
Operator Please formed during high school for a band competition, practising
regularly at lunch times in a minuscule music room. “Not a fan
of school dinners then?” I ask, attempting to crack a joke. Taylor
laughs, “We brought our own lunch. No one eats in the canteen
in Australia. It’s always like a special treat if you get to eat
at the canteen! I wasn’t in the band then though, I joined later
on.”
Amandah fills us in, “Taylor’s family farmed Shetland ponies.
Do you know what they are?” I ponder for a while, giving my best
‘intellectual’ response: “Oh what, the small kind?”
“Yeah, yeah! Playing the violin was a hobby for me really. I had
always planned to make horse riding and breeding my career,” Taylor
stresses.
Funnily enough, it turns out that the horses played a huge role in securing
Taylor’s place as violinist in the band. “It was so weird
actually. My friend bought a horse from Taylor’s mum, and it was
through her we found a new violinist. Our previous violinist left in
‘06 you see, and so I constantly pestered my friends asking if
they knew anyone that could take over. Finally, I was introduced to
Taylor through my friend that bought the horses. We auditioned Taylor
in my living room!” explains Amandah.
The girls clarify that they are huge believers in fate: “Oh yes,
fate, definitely!”
But how about musicians that are not quite so lucky on the route to
success? I query television such as Pop Idol that commercialise the
forming of bands. “If you have a voice then people should be willing
to listen. Not everybody was made to write music, so it would be wrong
to criticise. Anyone that tries to shoot down another human being should
be ashamed. But if you have a good voice and you want exposure, you
know? It’s a hard thing to do I think, maintain total composure
and broadcast yourself like that.”
Taylor thinks that ‘everybody’s in this industry for the
same reason - to perform music and almost, bare your soul through that
music. Some of the performers are so talented. Did you see that opera
guy on X-Factor? He made me shiver!”
There is no doubt that Operator Please have been lucky gaining industry
and indeed, audience interest so early on. Their debut single ‘Just
A Song About Ping Pong’ was released on August 20, reaching number
10 in the UK Indie Chart and managing to bag 2 nominations for the ARIA
awards.
“We never thought the band would get anywhere, but there is always
a subconscious hope that it will. We had been a DIY band for 9 months,
you know, designing our own CD covers and booking our own gigs. If I
weren’t in this band I’d be working part-time. I think travelling
so much and being in a band has helped us to grow up. You meet so many
different people in this industry and see so many places - we’ve
definitely learnt to respect that. We’ve learnt how to be polite.”
Taylor follows on from Amandah: “Gawd, I’d probably be in
school failing chemistry. We’ve really learnt how to live.”
by
Ashleigh Scott
