Post by scotty on May 4, 2004 14:19:42 GMT -5
the Nerve Magazine presents...
longshot recording Artists...
The Operators ( edmonton)
with the Hoodwinks @ mike's Tavern AKA columbia hotel
Sat may 8th
www.theoperators.tk
Edmonton’s the Operators prepare to take Power Version to the rest of the country
by PHIL DUPERRON
(the VUE)
The Operators aren’t licensed to handle a scalpel, but they sure do get folks cutting it up on the dance floor. Slinging out old-school reggae and dancehall tunes with the energy of a punk band, they’ve carved out a niche for themselves in Edmonton’s thriving music scene. Frontman Eric Budd—who plays “the vital organ,” a couch-sized Hammond—says when they first got together, the band drew up a list of goals to accomplish within their first year. Now that they’ve returned from the Victoria Ska Festival with a three-week tour heading east to Montreal on the immediate horizon—and their debut disc Power Version coming out this week—they’ve completed every one of those goals with surgical precision.
Rubbing shoulders in Victoria with ska luminaries like the Slackers, Chris Murray, the Aggrolites and the Kingpins (who, coincidentally, play Edmonton on July 25 at the Power Plant) has obviously left the band buzzing. “It was the funnest four days of this year, if not my life to be honest,” says bassist Chris Bateman.
The afternoon slot they played in Victoria was alright, the Operators say, but it was the house party that took place afterwards that they can’t stop talking about. After one of their friends on the coast missed their show, the Operators set up in his kitchen and dropped a set. Then the Los Angeles-based Aggrolites turned up and played. Before you knew it, an all-star ska jam broke out, with members of both bands bouncing alongside Murray and a horn section made up of a who’s-who of players from across Canada.
“We didn’t really know each other’s names at the time, but we were all kind of bonded by ska music for an hour,” says Budd. “Until the Victoria police showed up because of a noise complaint.”
The funny thing is, the Operators don’t even consider themselves a ska band. They’ve definitely soaked up some of the groove and off-beats that spawned the sound in Jamaica, but the Operators are distancing themselves from the flash-in-the-pan third wave and instead have headed straight for the heart of the music. “For me personally,” Budd says, “ska was a big part of how I grew up and part of who I am today and that comes across in the music. Ska has had a pretty dramatic impact on the way we play and the way we approach music, but we also grew up in the punk scene so we all have that kind of approach and attitude as well. Edmonton’s a punk town, so we’re on punk bills a lot of the time. We can still play with the bands who are playing really fast and really loud. We can still hold our own. We probably play louder than them. We probably get more noise complaints than half the bands in this city.”
The Operators started out playing more traditional dancehall and reggae, but their sound has been bulking up and getting much more aggressive. “When we started this thing,” says guitarist Brad Nattrass, “I was more interested in sounding a helluva lot like an old Jamaican record than I am now. That was a fairly easy accomplishment for us. Now it’s time to make it our own.”
Nattrass says the heavier sound starting coming on by accident when he broke his guitar amp at a recent hall show. He borrowed one from the Dance Floor Disasters—with the gain cranked up in true street-punk style. “I played it,” he says, “and I was like, ‘Damn, this is what it’s got to sound like.’ It’s something I wouldn’t have done a year ago.”
In similar punk style, Power Version was recorded by Nik Kozub at Zonik Studios and comes out on Longshot Music, home to Edmonton movers and shakers like the Wednesday Night Heroes and the Cleats. Longshot recently ditched its Vancouver digs for the grittier (and arguably hipper) environs of Brooklyn, but despite the relocation, the Operators credit label owner Mike Thug with going above and beyond the call of duty to get the disc out on time.
After flogging the same demo for a year now—the Lakeside Sessions, which topped the charts at CJSR—the Operators are positively giddy to get their hands on the new disc. You will be too. Its thick, smooth grooves will make you wiggle in your seat and turn your spine to rubber before bouncing you back up with sumptuous horn blasts. “Recording with Nik was a fantastic experience because he’s a really good friend of mine,” says Budd. “I played in the Cleats with him about a year ago, so I got to know him pretty well. He digs what we do, he digs our sound and he has a fantastic ear for making Edmonton bands sound really full and rich. It means a lot to me to have a professional recording that’s gonna be available all over Canada and the U.S. that has my name on it and my playing. I’ve played in a few bands and I never got a chance to play on the recordings out there. So this record is a part of me. It shows my personality and the personality of the four other guys in the band and that’s very important.”
Alto sax player Mike Garth (who happens to be the son of Vue Weekly publisher Ron Garth) says Kozub’s patience and the fact he never got sick of the band’s music was the key to their charmed relationship. “We played a show shortly afterwards,” Garth says, “and he was there, front row centre, cheering us on and everything, dancing and getting everyone into it. He never got sick of it, which was really cool.”
Garth’s shiny black instrument is the sole member of the Operators’ horn section, but that hasn’t slowed them down any. “I seem to make up for it,” says Garth. “I play through an effects pedal and get lots of funky sounds with that. We seem to get by with just one.”
The band isn’t letting legalities impede them either. If you look closely at the front cover of Power Version, you’ll notice three digits beside the band’s name. It’s not some crazy inside joke or anything—it’s an attempt to avoid future legal problems. As it turns out, there’s an established indie-rock band from Boston also named the Operators—and our boys aren’t willing to relinquish their moniker. “For legal purposes we had to add on the 780—our area code,” Budd explains, “because we’re proud that we come from Edmonton, the home of tons of great bands who are all doing fantastic things with their music this summer.”
While the band is justifiably proud of Power Version, they seem even more excited about their upcoming tour. For Budd, who’s never played in his Montreal hometown, the trip is a pilgrimage. For drummer Ian Whitham, who’s never been east of Saskatoon, it’ll be even more of an adventure. “It’ll be cool to go out that way for once in my life,” he says. “I just want to test us,” says Nattrass. “See how we do playing away from our friends. Play shows that haven’t been promoted well. Play to people who don’t give a fuck. Play to people who don’t know what the hell we’re all about and see how they react. That’s the most important thing to me. In my mind, I think we’re really strong and we’re doing something new, so to play to people who aren’t expecting anything—that’s the most rewarding thing.” V
longshot recording Artists...
The Operators ( edmonton)
with the Hoodwinks @ mike's Tavern AKA columbia hotel
Sat may 8th
www.theoperators.tk
Edmonton’s the Operators prepare to take Power Version to the rest of the country
by PHIL DUPERRON
(the VUE)
The Operators aren’t licensed to handle a scalpel, but they sure do get folks cutting it up on the dance floor. Slinging out old-school reggae and dancehall tunes with the energy of a punk band, they’ve carved out a niche for themselves in Edmonton’s thriving music scene. Frontman Eric Budd—who plays “the vital organ,” a couch-sized Hammond—says when they first got together, the band drew up a list of goals to accomplish within their first year. Now that they’ve returned from the Victoria Ska Festival with a three-week tour heading east to Montreal on the immediate horizon—and their debut disc Power Version coming out this week—they’ve completed every one of those goals with surgical precision.
Rubbing shoulders in Victoria with ska luminaries like the Slackers, Chris Murray, the Aggrolites and the Kingpins (who, coincidentally, play Edmonton on July 25 at the Power Plant) has obviously left the band buzzing. “It was the funnest four days of this year, if not my life to be honest,” says bassist Chris Bateman.
The afternoon slot they played in Victoria was alright, the Operators say, but it was the house party that took place afterwards that they can’t stop talking about. After one of their friends on the coast missed their show, the Operators set up in his kitchen and dropped a set. Then the Los Angeles-based Aggrolites turned up and played. Before you knew it, an all-star ska jam broke out, with members of both bands bouncing alongside Murray and a horn section made up of a who’s-who of players from across Canada.
“We didn’t really know each other’s names at the time, but we were all kind of bonded by ska music for an hour,” says Budd. “Until the Victoria police showed up because of a noise complaint.”
The funny thing is, the Operators don’t even consider themselves a ska band. They’ve definitely soaked up some of the groove and off-beats that spawned the sound in Jamaica, but the Operators are distancing themselves from the flash-in-the-pan third wave and instead have headed straight for the heart of the music. “For me personally,” Budd says, “ska was a big part of how I grew up and part of who I am today and that comes across in the music. Ska has had a pretty dramatic impact on the way we play and the way we approach music, but we also grew up in the punk scene so we all have that kind of approach and attitude as well. Edmonton’s a punk town, so we’re on punk bills a lot of the time. We can still play with the bands who are playing really fast and really loud. We can still hold our own. We probably play louder than them. We probably get more noise complaints than half the bands in this city.”
The Operators started out playing more traditional dancehall and reggae, but their sound has been bulking up and getting much more aggressive. “When we started this thing,” says guitarist Brad Nattrass, “I was more interested in sounding a helluva lot like an old Jamaican record than I am now. That was a fairly easy accomplishment for us. Now it’s time to make it our own.”
Nattrass says the heavier sound starting coming on by accident when he broke his guitar amp at a recent hall show. He borrowed one from the Dance Floor Disasters—with the gain cranked up in true street-punk style. “I played it,” he says, “and I was like, ‘Damn, this is what it’s got to sound like.’ It’s something I wouldn’t have done a year ago.”
In similar punk style, Power Version was recorded by Nik Kozub at Zonik Studios and comes out on Longshot Music, home to Edmonton movers and shakers like the Wednesday Night Heroes and the Cleats. Longshot recently ditched its Vancouver digs for the grittier (and arguably hipper) environs of Brooklyn, but despite the relocation, the Operators credit label owner Mike Thug with going above and beyond the call of duty to get the disc out on time.
After flogging the same demo for a year now—the Lakeside Sessions, which topped the charts at CJSR—the Operators are positively giddy to get their hands on the new disc. You will be too. Its thick, smooth grooves will make you wiggle in your seat and turn your spine to rubber before bouncing you back up with sumptuous horn blasts. “Recording with Nik was a fantastic experience because he’s a really good friend of mine,” says Budd. “I played in the Cleats with him about a year ago, so I got to know him pretty well. He digs what we do, he digs our sound and he has a fantastic ear for making Edmonton bands sound really full and rich. It means a lot to me to have a professional recording that’s gonna be available all over Canada and the U.S. that has my name on it and my playing. I’ve played in a few bands and I never got a chance to play on the recordings out there. So this record is a part of me. It shows my personality and the personality of the four other guys in the band and that’s very important.”
Alto sax player Mike Garth (who happens to be the son of Vue Weekly publisher Ron Garth) says Kozub’s patience and the fact he never got sick of the band’s music was the key to their charmed relationship. “We played a show shortly afterwards,” Garth says, “and he was there, front row centre, cheering us on and everything, dancing and getting everyone into it. He never got sick of it, which was really cool.”
Garth’s shiny black instrument is the sole member of the Operators’ horn section, but that hasn’t slowed them down any. “I seem to make up for it,” says Garth. “I play through an effects pedal and get lots of funky sounds with that. We seem to get by with just one.”
The band isn’t letting legalities impede them either. If you look closely at the front cover of Power Version, you’ll notice three digits beside the band’s name. It’s not some crazy inside joke or anything—it’s an attempt to avoid future legal problems. As it turns out, there’s an established indie-rock band from Boston also named the Operators—and our boys aren’t willing to relinquish their moniker. “For legal purposes we had to add on the 780—our area code,” Budd explains, “because we’re proud that we come from Edmonton, the home of tons of great bands who are all doing fantastic things with their music this summer.”
While the band is justifiably proud of Power Version, they seem even more excited about their upcoming tour. For Budd, who’s never played in his Montreal hometown, the trip is a pilgrimage. For drummer Ian Whitham, who’s never been east of Saskatoon, it’ll be even more of an adventure. “It’ll be cool to go out that way for once in my life,” he says. “I just want to test us,” says Nattrass. “See how we do playing away from our friends. Play shows that haven’t been promoted well. Play to people who don’t give a fuck. Play to people who don’t know what the hell we’re all about and see how they react. That’s the most important thing to me. In my mind, I think we’re really strong and we’re doing something new, so to play to people who aren’t expecting anything—that’s the most rewarding thing.” V