About The Cold Cut...

The musings of a teenage audiophile. Indie, Rock, Hip-Hop, Rap, Dance, Dubstep, Garage, Metal... music crosses all boundaries. The Cold Cut is devoted to giving you a taste of what's going on in music at the moment.

About Me

A 17 year old taking his first tentative steps into the world of blogging. In my first year, its been up and down, from the slow first months to a busy time around the one year anniversary.

Quick Tip: Operator Please

Unfortunately, time constraints and a slow computer at work experience mean that I can't do a full length post today, but there's a lot of fresh, interesting music to cover so I thought I should at least write something short. My Quick Tip for today is an Australian 5-piece band called Operator Please, comprised entirely of members aging between 17 and 19, not something you generally see in popular bands nowadays. Lead singer/guitarist Amandah Wilkinson formed the band to compete in her high school's Battle Of The Bands competition: "I picked people at random who I knew played an instrument, and they just said yes." and so the band was formed. Their music is quite an eclectic mix, mostly because of the instruments their band members play: the current lineup has the usual suspects (guitar, bass, drums, voice) and two unique choices, keyboard and violin: check out the bit in the download below where you get a full-blown violin solo). Together, these 5 instruments and Amandah's powerful voice make an interesting sound when coupled with their songs, which are fun, if a little childish at times (you've got to forgive them for that: they're all under 20!).

The age aspect is pretty funny actually: 17 year old drummer Tim Commandeur looks so baby-faced that his presence is often questioned during their gigs, and he has even been mistaken for Amandah's son... but forget the age thing- this is a band who made it big purely by force of will, and at such a young age they have already been picked up by EMI and are set to play the Carling: Reading and Leeds festivals this summer, having received a lot of plays (on NME, XFM and Radio 1) of their hit single "Just A Song About Ping Pong". It's been a large shock to the band, just as you would expect: receiving a record deal with EMI whilst you're a teenager isn't something most people could brag about in their lifetime. Their debut album will be out sometime later this year, but whilst you're waiting I would recommend you take a look at some of their EP's and singles. A good place to start is over at the Hype Machine... You can also buy their EP's on their site

21 comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
     

    Just thought i'd let you know, Operator Please aren't 'all under 17'. The youngest member is the violinist Taylor who is 16. Tim the drummer, is 17. Ashley and Sarah (bass and keys) are 18, and Amundah is 19.

    Sure their single 'just a song about ping pong' is a little childish, but jump on their website or their myspace and have a listen to some of the other stuff on their EP (two for my seconds, waiting by the car or get what you want). Amundah's writting style is unique and well developed - leaving me feeling that 'just a song about ping pong' is an ironic fun joke that nobody gets because they're too caught up on their ages.

    - ninjawonderponies@hotmail.com

  2. Anonymous said...
     

    As the above commenter said, the members of Operator Please are aged from 16 to 19, and basing your opinion of their writing style on one playful song is ridiculous. Also, they have five instruments (guitar, bass, keyboard, violin, and drums) played by the five members (Amandah, Ashley, Sarah, Taylor, and Tim). I am amazed that you missed these vital facts when researching for this "review" of yours.

  3. Anonymous said...
     

    yeah... if you'd just even bothered to research them a bit more properly or even just checked out their myspace you would have found out at least one member is over 17...

    Infact a simple look at their webiste/myspace would have revealed their are 5 instruments not 6. Or listened to another one of their songs ie Two for my seconds or get what you want you would have discovered a far more mature writting style as well.

    Quick tip, next time you're reviewing a band, properly research them.

  4. Anonymous said...
     

    I agree.

    Research would be good, cause at least then you wouldn't look like a fool for writing about something you know nothing about, or couldn't be bothered to even check on myspace.

  5. Will said...
     

    well, I apologise for the fact that I got some "vital" facts wrong but I did say it was just a quick tip. If you listen to enough music you can tell that her writing style is not fully developed, but that is what makes them intriguing. Given the fact that they are young (I am the same age, and it is YOUNG), Amandah has a playful style of writing but this will most likely change over the course of their career...

    Oh, before I forget, there are 5 members, with 6 instruments... since when has your voice not been an instrument? So please take more care before launching an attack on one of my admittedly short and unresearched posts...

  6. Will said...
     

    Wow, this is receiving a lot of backlash...

    I'm sorry I didn't research them well enough but as I said I had major time constraints; I will edit the post if you like. The only thing I've got wrong are the ages, which is easily rectified. I still stand by the fact that their writing style is quite playful and simplistic....

  7. Will said...
     

    I accept some of your comments, but none of them are valid anymore; I have updated the page, and apologise for not doing enough research. I would ask that you could only comment this much on my full length posts, which have been thought through properly.

  8. Anonymous said...
     

    wow, whats with all the attacks on the poor writer?? its not like he's dismissing the band, kudos to him for taking the time to write about em. they're a great band.
    peace

  9. Anonymous said...
     

    The male members look very effeminate in many clips. My friend even thought it was an all-chick band when he saw them on tv... I made the same mistake thinking the drummer was more like a 10 year old CHICK, not a teenage bloke. lol:)) Their style and acting is also very juvenile for their age...certainly not my cup of tea. Too gay.

  10. Will said...
     

    I would agree; on first sight they do look all female, especially the drummer. The songs are on the whole pretty good but its hard to accept that a successful band can be made up of all teenagers. The sound of change, hey?

  11. Anonymous said...
     

    the drummer's 17???! i thought he was 12!! haha oh well. he'll probably age well. i like the music from operator please but im not sure about the singer... dont love her voice at all (well at least in the ping pong song). if she writes alot of the songs though kudos to her.

  12. Will said...
     

    Yeah, I think there's a lot of potential here; they're all very young and have a long career ahead of them. I'm sure Amandah's voice will change over the next few years...

  13. Anonymous said...
     

    ALL OF YOU, SHUT THE HELL UP!!

    Timmy DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A GIRL OR LESS THAN HIS AGE. This a very talented band that make awesome music and I'm not just gonna stand back while you attack them. You all need to get lifes and get some better brains. timmy and ashley DO NOT look like girls, Timmy DOES NOT look like a 10 YEAR OLD.

    I saw them in concert, they were awesome. There are 6 INSTRUMENTS! Drums, Violin, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Keyboard and Tambourine, yes, there's a tambourine (it's played by Sarah during "Just a Song About Ping Pong). And also, Just a Song About Ping Pong is a really awesome song with an amazing video clip and all of Operator Please's songs are excellent.

    In conclusion, Operator Please is a magnificient band, and adding that they're all under 20, that makes them breath-taking! Rock On Operator Please, You are doing so well!

    +oP Peace Out +oP

  14. Anonymous said...
     

    hello, Timmy is really hot.. and an awesome drum player... ( L )
    and teh rest of you are aweesome
    and i love you all.

  15. Anonymous said...
     

    timmy does look yougner but he so
    doesnt look like a ten year old chick
    anyway who cares what age they are..
    if they enjoy playing music let them
    play with out you guys telling them what to do and look like
    tap that

  16. Anonymous said...
     

    gosh !

    the drummer 17.. hmph.. i thought he was between the ages of 12-15 lol

    boy.. was i off..

    anyway operator please rocks.. don't diss 'em...mmhm.

    Timmy and Ashley is HOT.. yep!

    k dun.

    bye.

  17. Anonymous said...
     

    i totally agree with that chloe chick. tim is so much more grown up now and he hardly looks 10 years old. who wants to look overly old for their age anyway??

    =)

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