Operator immediately turned our heads last fall, and even played our November benefit for only their second official show. Since then they have honed their synth-pop sound and Euro-vibe behind the ephemeral yet sultry, laissez faire female vocals into a blissed-out atmosphere of layered beats and grooves. Although they haven’t yet released an official album, the addictively dreamlike ebb and flow of their nine-song demo, which you can buy on their myspace, marks them as one the top local bands to watch for this year. You have two opportunities to catch them this week – Thursday the 17 at the Whiskey Bar and Saturday the 19 at Club DeVille.
Profile : Operator
Year Formed:
2005 (this date is debated in some circles, some camps saying 2004, some saying 1995 . . . most of us have known each other since Junior High or earlier, with the exception of Sherry who joined us all in college, musically dabbling along the way - so no really solid formation, just a point of reaching a certain critical mass and having songs to play . . . and being able to play them)
Members/Instruments played:
Cory: guitar, synth, programming
Sean: bass, drums (iPod)
Lauren: violin, synth, vocals
Gabe: synth, guitar, programming
Sherry: vocals
Former Bands/Side Projects:
Racecar Bob (1995/96) Cory, Gabe, and Sean
Albums:
ooooh - no album yet, other than our collection of tracks we put together ourselves in the back room of the house . . . but this looks to change soon . . .
Influences:
Air, Stereolab, Komeda, Blondie, Ladytron, ABBA, Tripping Daisy, Daft Punk
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
“Stereolab meets Ladytron meets me in a pizza parlour for a slice and a jig!” - jasminemade
Favorite local bands:
Clap Clap!, Octopus Project, Ghostland, Single Frame, Voxtrot
Favorite local venue:
Mohawk
Upcoming shows scheduled:
Well, we’ve got our two this week - which should be great. Then we’ve got one at Stubb’s July 7th with Shuttle Debris and Matson Belle, which should also be great.
Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:
Manu Chao (if we could go)
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
Cory: Blonde Redhead ‘23′, Fujiya & Miyagi ‘Transparent Things’
Sean: Ratatat’s new one, Of Montreal ‘Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?’
Lauren: Arcade Fire ‘Neon Bible’, LCD Soundsystem ‘Sound of Silver’
Gabe: Arling & Cameron ‘Hi-Fi Underground’
Sherry: Air ‘Pocket Symphony’, Entre Rios ‘Onda’
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
Any one of the bands listed under ‘Influences’
Austin Sound questions:
One of your songs is being used in an upcoming film - what can you tell us about the film and how did that collaboration come about?
How did you know that? Really, we don’t know anything about the film . . . most of the band just found out this whole thing in the process of answering this question. Actually, the maker of the film just contacted us and wanted to use some of our stuff for his film, and as we’re in the habit of whoring ourselves out, we said ‘yes.’
The Euro-pop feel of your music is pretty heavy, and you also have songs called Madrid and Barcelona, so I’m assuming some members have spent a decent amount of time in Europe. What would you consider your best and worst experiences musical experiences on the continent?
Yeah, of few of us have studied abroad. The worst experience? - Probably discovering that bad American music will follow you even there. Best Experience? - none really, too busy doing non-musical things . . . Lauren almost saw Madonna through a mob in London once . . .
Song Introduction:
This is ‘Move On.’ It’s the first song we wrote as a complete band - kind of defined our direction in a few ways. Enjoy!
Sound Off:
schnarf, schnarf. (a summary of 20 minutes of bickering) Really though, there’s no way that all five of us sitting here are going to be able to agree on this answer. If there is one thing about Operator, it is that there is a lot of personality, and considering we know each other so well, it has no problem coming out. Plus, I think each one of us has a slightly different idea as to what this group’s about. After arguing over almost every previous question for the last 30 minutes, we all hate each other now, and will probably break up.
Mp3s from Operator:
Move On
Frenetic Fit
Website:
Myspace
