When did you first start listening to PBS?
I moved over to Melbourne from Perth five years ago, and was skipping through the radio on my car stereo one night. I happened across Michael Mullholland’s show Junkyard, which is an artist focused show. He was doing a special on the band The Fal’ and I remember thinking “wow, this guy is really cool – and he really knows his stuff!”. That’s the thing about the announcers at PBS – they are all walking encyclopaedias on their genre of choice. I tuned in to his show every Thursday night after that, and then pretty soon after began to get familiar with other shows on the PBS program guide that I loved as well.
When did you start working at the station?
I started working at the station just over two years ago.
What’s it like, as a place to work?
PBS is a really great environment to work in and although there are really few paid-staff members, we have heaps of really great volunteers coming through all of the time so it’s almost like a big, happy family of music nerds from all different backgrounds. Of course being a not-for-profit, we are all paid out of a very limited budget, but everyone who is here does it because they love it – and that’s very rewarding.
What sets PBS apart, as a radio station?
The musical diversity is a big stand out as to what sets PBS apart. There aren’t too many other stations that you can tune into that would play hip hop one minute and then classic metal the next. That’s what I love about PBS though, and so do our listeners. Music is such an expressive art form and if it all sounded the same it would be boring.
Why is PBS important to the local music scene?
PBS matters because we support musicians and artists from the ground up. We are passionately committed to seeking out, discovering and presenting under-represented music, and were dedicated to promoting and nurturing music in all its diversity.
What are the challenges facing the radio station this year?
There’s always loads of challenges… we’re looking at ways to resource ourselves to be able to deliver alternative content on digital radio, and ways to resource better connections with our community. Resources! There’s a challenge. If you’re in a band, becoming a member is a great way to contribute to your fave community radio station, because you become part of the scene that plays your music, and you provide vital funds to stations (we don’t receive government funding like public radio, and we ain’t like those commercial types either).
How, when and why did the PBS Live Drive concept evolve?
Since 1988 PBS produced a mega week of live to airs called ‘Live Music Week’… there was a live band in each show for a full week. It was great, chaotic and exhausting! Over time, the station had to develop other ways to keep supporting live music but make it a bit more manageable. So this will be the second annual Drive Live, where all the action happens between 5pm and 7pm for a week, and the focus is really to provide an intimate studio experience for bands, punters and listeners alike. The announcers and event producers choose a mixture of established and more emerging bands, and it’s programmed in a way that is different to a regular club show. More like a radio show that’s a gig of long players.
What one thing can you guarantee the punters will experience during Live Drive?
Punters who choose to come into the studio during Drive Live will be in for a treat – especially those that haven’t witnessed one of these gigs before. It’s a very unique experience in that the bands actually play inside Studio 5, so essentially the audience is watching them through the glass. There is a lot going on, as our announcers cross over from one studio to another, with different acts getting ready to play in them. It’s a little bit chaotic, but a lot exciting. It’s basically like watching radio, which is pretty awesome.
What’s something you’d like to happen, but can’t guarantee?
We’re hoping that Kim Salmon and Spencer P Jones do their cover of Kanye West’s Runaway – but you’ll have to tune in to find out if they do.
BY SIMONE UBALDI
