They were called a "newsmaker" in Macleans magazine, and listed as "one of 12 bands to watch out for" by Canoe.ca after their exciting Canadian Music Week performance. Their video for Chasing Satellites has been in regular rotation on Much Music and Much Loud since November 2007. They have appeared and performed on MTV Live, were showcased on E-Talk Daily and appeared as guests on Much Music's "Much On Demand". They toured Canada with Hilary Duff, and have shared stages with 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, and is getting ready to cross both countries again. The first single, Chasing Satellites is already gaining momentum, having been added to the playlist on Sirius Hits 1 and XM Radio's The Verge.
On the follow-up to their self-titled EP, Hello Operator offers escapist pop jangle tempered by a moody new-wave pulse. The new material is not only a progression from the quirky Cars/ Costello vibe of the first Hello Operator EP, but is also the result of many hours spent in the studio, where Mike Condo (vox/guitar/piano) and Evan Huson (synth/vox) experimented with taking a new approach to their songs.
The upcoming release shows the evolution of the band from Mike's original work (which lead to Arnold Lanni's involvement on demos) to a collaboration between Mike, Evan and a full live band. It merges the band's new wave pop sensibilities with their other influences, including brit-pop, punk, and 70's rock n' roll.
Ever since Mike's first demos garnered industry attention from the likes of Coalition Entertainment and S.L. Feldman, the band has played anywhere and everywhere they could and built up a following of dedicated fans across the country and around the world through extensive touring as well as building up a large and growing community online.
The first Hello Operator EP (which was originally recorded as a demo with Lanni), charted on many college stations in Canada and the U.S. It also found its way to FM stations across Canada, and "So Free" has received airplay coast to coast by stations like Mix 99.9 Toronto, Hot 103 Winnipeg and Y108 Hamilton among others. The song "Hot Step" was also picked up by 106.7 ZROCK in San Francisco and is a favourite on many Internet radio stations.
