Jay and Dave: Unlikely broadcast fellows hit 10 years on-air
Brekky show hosts Jay Shipston and Dave Peters dish on what it’s like hosting the show for a decade
Mackay
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A decade is a lifetime in both marriage and radio but Jay Shipston and Dave Peters have made it work.
They joke they're either too lazy to find another job or they like what they're doing.
Their listeners, though, have no doubt the latter rings true for radio stalwarts of the Jay and Dave show on Triple M.
Because if there was any doubt, there is no way these two blokes would have notched up 10 years together on breakfast radio in Mackay, especially considering how it started.
"With chemistry, you just can't fake it," Dave says, settling into a seat on his side of the bench at the studio.
"The bosses, they didn't know if it was going to work or not because this would be the first male duo they would have on breakfast radio in Mackay," Jay adds, likewise getting comfortable on the opposite side of the table; the one with the buttons.
Theirs is an arranged marriage of sorts, Dave says, but one that works.
As they mark their anniversary today, it's a time to reflect on a decade of highs, lows and iconic moments.
Like Jay coming out as a gay man on air to a staunch same-sex marriage opponent.
Like talking about mental health struggles, and letting listeners know that it's OK to not always be OK.
Like getting Buffy the cane toad a makeover in Sarina.
Naked photo shoots on Whitehaven Beach. Ivana Banana. Welcoming KISS to Mackay. All with laughter (sometimes so intense a fart escapes inside the windowless studio on-air that later requires checking) but always with respect and tolerance.
Jokes aside, Jay and Dave have left an impression on Mackay and the pair's connection to community and their friendship has created a safe space for each other, and the city.
"You're always going to go through patches where it can sometimes become a bit of a chore and that's why it's good having someone in there with you as well, to egg you on a little bit, because there are a number of times where both of us have been tired as well," Dave says.
"There's lines that we both know not to cross and we vocalise them off the air," Jay adds. "There's certain things I don't want him to talk about on the air and if those things are brought up in conversation, that you can't talk about them on air because it makes the other person uncomfortable, everything else is open slather."
So when it came to Jay confirming the undenied and unhidden fact he was gay while the pair interviewed Bob Katter back in 2012, Dave let his mate take the lead.
"You were nervous as hell, like for a week, because we knew we were going to have Bob Katter on the show. Yeah, of all the people to come out to," Dave says.
In 2012, Australia, and Mackay were stuck in a different era and the federal MP had made no secret of his views against same-sex marriage.
But remarks made that morning fuelled a fire in Jay that ultimately pushed him off the fence, telling Katter "well, you're talking to a gay man.
"And that's when we decided, in that moment," Jay says.
"It was never a secret off the air.".
And when Australia voted yes to legalise same-sex marriage, Jay and Dave, broadcasting from Wood St, learned just how far Mackay had come in the five years since the Katter moment.
A "big burly bloke" climbed out of a truck and called out to Jay who thought the man was going to have a go.
"But he came down and gave me this big burly hug and said 'congratulations. I have a son who is gay. I heard you in the plebiscite and I know what it's like, it's horrible'. So it is nice to hear that side - sometimes you forget you have an audience listening to you," Jay says.
"For me, that was probably the biggest event in the 10 years, to see you break out from hiding and then just come into your own," Dave adds.
"It was one of the biggest things," Jay agrees.
"But away from us, I think the town needed it because - and my mum is a Mackay girl so I can say this - sometimes Mackay can be seen as a bit of a bogan town and a bit backwards and not that I would expect to change anybody's mind but I think me saying, 'this is who I am' … maybe that would inspire the conversation with somebody in their family."
There are few things on the absolute hard-no list when it comes to pranks, and it all depends who this pair can get in on the fun. Dave finally getting a tattoo, for example. No chance.
Jay waking up in the mayor's seat in the middle of a council meeting? Done it. A blindfold challenge threw his sense of direction out of whack only to be unmasked in former mayor Deirdre Comerford's chair in council chambers.
Complaining endlessly about the Harbour Rd banana's state of disrepair? Got it painted - and named.
"It used to be this ugly f***ing thing so we said we needed to get that made over, and eventually someone rang and said they were painting it," Jay says.
It was only right their listeners could name it, they said, and eventually settled on Ivana Banana, named in honour of Ivana Humapolot from Austin Powers, not Donald Trump's ex-wife.
"We got to make over Buffy the Sarina cane toad which was just on a mound and looking kind of drab," Dave said. "We pushed the council and they did it up with the wall of fame for rugby league icons."
The Buggles got it right for a few decades that radio did kill the radio star but it's now had quite the reverse for the lads.
Both have been recognised in some rather … compromising … positions. A shout-out from another participant in the Whitehaven Beach nudie photoshoot had Dave turning the other cheek, so to speak, and it seems Jay can't even go to the doctor without being recognised mid-examination.
But that's part of what they love about what they do; it makes them part of the community.
"I think we have the chemistry and try to find the fun and make it local. There's no point talking about fun stuff that happens in Sydney because no one cares but if you like having fun about Ivana Banana, they're like, 'oh I drive past that every day," Jay says.
Have they ever gone too far? Probably but nothing to get them off the airwaves.
"Some of the April fools stuff has been fun too, and (Mayor) Greg Williamson has been in on it as well," Dave starts, and Jay frowns.
"I'll never forgive him for that," Jay mutters. "Everyone always talks about this wave pool … and they were going to put it at the site of the Gooseponds and I was like, what about the ducks and that sort of thing? Yeah we're going to do a duck crossing and all that sort of thing, and I was like, what the hell?"
Cue date reminder and a public pranking of elaborate proportions, including news reporters, was successfully pulled off.
"I've always been a fan of Cold Chisel and Ian Moss, and the first time I got to meet him was here in Mackay, and I happened to have lost the State of Origin bet," Dave, who bleeds NSW blue, recalls without a hint of regret.
"And you were dressed as Princess Leia," Jay gleefully fills in.
"We have a lot of fun on this show but I think it has to be balanced; it's not just about giving away cash, it's about saying hey, I'm having a really sh-- time."
Jay agrees that doing the show has helped him find himself.
"We can talk about the fun stuff and the interviews but we would be ripping ourselves and our listeners off if we didn't be open and honest about when we struggle with things. For me, it's no different to anybody else. If I am down, I will talk about it.
"I have real issues with how I look, with my image. I feel I am 10 tonnes … that's a mental health issue and I've spoken about that before on a podcast with Dave and I, and I got lots of feedback from men, saying they felt the same and I think that is how you connect."
Dave knows the importance of that, coming from that generation of blokes "expected" to bottle things up and keep it private.
"I'm at that stage in life that whatever happens, happens. You can have a five-year plan, 10-year plan, it doesn't really matter in the long run," he says.
"When you stop having fun, it's time to get out because if I'm not having fun and I still have to wake up at three in the morning, something is going to change."
So what the future holds, and who will be on their show, remains a big question mark but neither man even hints at hanging up the headphones just yet.
Well, there's one thing for certain - Dave won't be getting a tattoo.
"Each to their own," Dave ends.
So what do these blokes say about each other when they're not together?
"It's probably not fit to write! But how about, 'Keep being you, brother!"
From Jay: "Dave has had my back for 10 years. I've had some really challenging years, but he's always picked me up, he's covered for me, and made sure I'm OK. He probably has no idea how much he's helped me in the most difficult of times."
And that's just how these two lads - mates - are, as listeners over the past decade know.
Happy anniversary fellas!
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