After 12 years of breakfast radio, Jay and Dave from Triple M Mackay 98.7 and Whitsunday’s 92.3 don’t need an alarm clock.
Their bodies are finely tuned machines, always prepped and ready with all the latest news and views for and from the region, from 5am, and today the duo reached a major milestone, 2,500 shows.
To mark this moment, they were being presented with the keys to the city by Mayor Greg Williamson in the studio during the show (pictured), and joining the breakfast party were 12 invited listeners and the entire SCA team.
When asked about the best talent he had interviewed on the show, Jay says, “So many to name! Agro, Jimmy Barnes, Margot Robbie and Rick Astley were fun. Honestly though, local and inspirational people who do extraordinary things gets me in the feels every time.”
Dave says he had two standout guests, “The big one for me as far as laughability goes is comedian Ross Noble. But the main one was a young kid at primary school back in 2012 who had a heart condition by the name of Seth Hoey.
He had gone through so many operations and wasn’t given long to live from his doctors, and all he wanted was his mum to be happy. The way he accepted his fate left us all in tears on the day. Seth lived until last year which was tough on both of us.”
Dave says a secret of their long-time success was chemistry. “The chemistry between the two of us has never been faked. And as Jay says we started off as strangers and now have a great friendship. We’ve both been through a hell of a lot, both good and bad in our personal lives and it has given us a bond you can only get with best mates – we’re practically brothers.”
He says his proudest moments on air were very personal ones, “I’m so proud of Jay coming out on air – to Bob Katter of all people! Another proud moment is saying I needed help with the Black Dog. I don’t cry often – except when it’s a good belly laugh – but I completely broke down on air. Not only did it help me, it has also helped a number of blokes who got in touch, both on air and off, to put their hand up too.”
He says the list of people he’d most like to interview on air in Mackay was topped by Cathy Freeman.
“Cathy is from Mackay and we’ve tried several times to have her on the show. As far as international guests, either Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters or Adam Sandler, but only if they are in the area – we tend to be focused only on what’s happening around our neck of the woods – it’s what makes our brekkie show so real.”
Both said the ability to call the community to arms, whether it be for fire, floods, emergency or to help families or communities in need was one of their most loved actions on air.