SONG CONTEST BLOG

Breaking the Band 3 from We Are Listening bolstered the unquestionable radio potential of one of Canada’s finest independent acts: Hello Operator.  Already a disruptive force in and out of the US music market, the rock à la mode group won Breaking the Band and reaped the ‘career-breaking’ rewards.  After a three month engagement with Tinderbox Music courtesy of We Are Listening, Hello Operator became the only self-released act breaking into CMJ’s Top 100, pilfering airplay from heavy hitters such as Snow Patrol, Kings of Leon and Keane.  That, coupled with six network television placements, secured Hello Operator’s pole position on the indie circuit.  Songs from the group’s most recent EP, “The Breaks”, can be heard on MTV’s “The City”, “The Real World”, and “Parental Control”, E!TV’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, Oxygen’s “Bad Girls Club”, and Lifetime Television’s “Models of the Runway”.

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Hello Operator, recent winners of Breaking the Band, were called a “newsmaker” in Macleans magazine, and listed as “one of 12 bands to watch out for” by Canoe.ca.  Their video for Chasing Satellites has been in regular rotation on Much Music and Much Loud since November 2007 and the band has been on “Much On Demand”, “Going Coastal” and “Much News”.  Hello Operator have appeared and performed on MTV Live, were showcased on E-Talk Daily and have toured with Faber Drive, Hilary Duff, Ill Scarlet, Switchfoot, Simple Plan, Hedley, Thornley, Loverboy, and many more.  The London Free Press called Hello Operator a “guaranteed breakthrough rock act” and now, after headlining club dates across Canada, more stadium shows with Duff, and several U.S. tours behind them, the band has just released a new 6-song EP, called The Breaks.  The new material offers escapist pop jangle tempered by a moody new-wave pulse. Not only is it a progression from the quirky Cars/ Costello vibe of the first Hello Operator EP (produced by Arnold Lanni), but is also the result of many hours spent in the studio, where Mike Condo and Evan Huson experimented with taking a new approach to their songs. The Breaks (co-produced by Mike Condo and
Dom Condo) shows the evolution of Hello Operator from Mike’s original work to collaboration between Mike, Evan and a full live band.  VIEW Magazine calls it “a mature, expansive set of fun, playful songs.”

Chasing Satellites