Scoring a box of doughnuts can do strange things to a band. When Brisbane indie outfit, Operator Please, took out first place – and the doughnuts – in a local band competition, something clicked. Having only met and formed a few weeks earlier, thanks to vocalist/guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, Operator Please not only continued to play together, they went on to showcase throughout New York, sign to Australia’s EMI and UK’s Brille as well as record an EP, Cement, Cement. And all of this between school work. Bassist Ashley McConnell explains, “we were at high school together and Amandah wanted to enter the battle of the bands so she just asked people who she knew played instruments. We’re a tight family unit now. The biggest challenge has been balancing school and the band. We love what we’re doing now. We like to have fun”. [see also Winter Park]
Also by NATALIE LIECHTI
Current UK beat-boxing champ, Beardyman, recently kept impatient crowds entertained between sets at London’s Lovebox Weekender. We spoke to the Brighton resident about his offbeat style: ‘I’ve been doing it since I was a baby, but I never knew it was called beat-boxing. I thought it was just a habit, like biting your nails, and people were always telling me to stop. Being a good beat-boxer is a mixture between being a good DJ, a cheesy street magician and a vocal athlete’.
Sydney-based artist, James Jirat Patradoon on his career defining moment: ‘If I could trace my artistic inspiration back to one event, it would have to be the Neo Tokyo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2001. I had never seen art like that before; I didn’t know you could be so playful with it. I vividly remember the Yoshitomo Nara sculptures made out of bandages, and Kenji Yanobe’s atom suit and Godzilla/Astro Boy sculptures that blew bubbles. It was just so fun. I think because a lot of Japanese art contains references to pop culture, it’s more accessible for audiences. They aren’t so intimidated by it because it can be quite light-hearted but still have a serious undertone to it’.
A haven for all things creative,
YOU'RE SAYING (9)
Lauren said | 3 August, 2007
I love Operator Please!
Taylor is really pretty & Timmy is so HOT!!
: )
OH-LIVIA said | 23 August, 2007
I SAW TIMMY TODAY IN TOPSHOP, OXFORD STREET!!
Unluckily he buggered off before i could get a picture.
Was so excited though 
:)
Hahaha.
I love Operator Please.
Ni-hammi-ni said | 23 August, 2007
i found these dudes wilst looking 4 the Old / New Rope String Band on youtube.
THAY ARE FABB!!!!!!!!!
ah!
mollmoll said | 5 November, 2007
timmy is the hotest guy eva!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! will you marry me??????????
xoxo
Elmo said | 5 November, 2007
I really love their song ‘leave it alone’! the film clips like how funny oh and btw timmy & ashley are total spunks!
Julie said | 18 November, 2007
I am an older fan, my 20 yr old daughter brought you to my attention, and I think you are just brilliant, keep up the good work and don’t let fame ruin you.
Julie
boob-stix said | 8 December, 2007
timmy and ashley r total sponks
Kell_ said | 18 December, 2007
Oh Em Gee,
Operator Please Is The Shit!
Best Band Ever!
Timmy && Ashley Are So Hot!
I Love You Guys.. =]
xO
HAVE YOUR SAY
We’ve featured Autumn Whitehurst’s vector art many times over the past few years and checked in with her recently about work and play in New York City: ‘It’s dandy, thanks for asking. I’ve lived here for about a decade and I don’t get out into the city as much as I used to, don’t oblige myself to go see all the newest cultural happenings because there’s always something new going on, and yes I totally love that, but I’ve committed the last five years to my work and it’s made me a bit of a homebody’. Read more
Personal messages and notes are nice, but be damned if you’re going to spend another ten minutes wondering if you should write regards, thanks, or cheers. That’s why the All-in-one Stamp is such a handy solution.
Andrew Fagan, lead singer of The Mockers, the poppiest New Zealand band of the 80s, came around to my place once when I was an impressionable 10-year old with stars in my eyes and a head full of shiny, shiny melodies. Read more
If you’re in New Orleans and you love barbeque, make sure to stop by The Joint in the Bywater neighborhood. Their brisket is outstanding, and for under $11 for a pound of the fatty, delicious beef and two sides, it’s a super good deal. Their ribs are also pretty good, but seriously, the brisket is the jam.
Pomocracy is a lifestyle statement Tumblr recently created in Berlin by PoMo, a nurse and designer. It’s an inspirational blog full of weird stuff.
After getting lost in the quagmire that is the internet, M83’s Digital Shades, first released digitally in 2007, has just been given a space on the shelf in your nearest music shop. Before shooting to acclaim with Saturday=Youth, Anthony Gonzalez looked closer to Krautrock and Eno and produced this ambient sometimes beautiful record. There’s much less of a disco feel than both Saturdays and his first album, Before the Dawn Heals Us. Some might say it’s a bit self-indulgent, not easily accessible, and more of a soundscape than a pop attempt. Yet, like Eno, Gonzalez is slowly becoming a master of the perfect chord sequence, and the result is an interesting, often heart-wrenching, set of compositions. Read about M83′s favourite songs right now.
Eik Ottosen, the hot Danish model has created Rubber Duck shoes. His Los Drillos come in just about every color and are super comfy and affordable. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork
Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Too sweet for words, these beautiful hoop earrings by Sydney-based designer Carmel Taylor are a real touch of origami for your ears. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
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Danii said | 19 July, 2007
i love them i really love timmy :]
i love dancing 2 all there songs and i hope they become really well known because thats wat there music deserves :]