00:00:06
Robert Scott, welcome to my podcast.
00:00:08
>> Good morning, Dominic Harvey. Hello.
00:00:10
>> What are we doing?
00:00:11
>> Uh, something that could bite us in the
00:00:14
bum later on, possibly.
00:00:16
>> This this is um this is a strange
00:00:18
podcast because um you and I have been
00:00:21
best friends for decades now.
00:00:23
>> So, I figure this episode is um not a a
00:00:26
typical sort of episode. Maybe it's like
00:00:27
a celebration of long friendship. I I'd
00:00:29
say so. Yeah. Since 1990 when I first
00:00:31
met you at 2XS. You just come out of
00:00:33
school. Two 2Xs at Hamster North. And um
00:00:36
we clicked even though you know I'm
00:00:38
somewhat older than you.
00:00:39
>> Yeah. So this is going to be an
00:00:40
interesting podcast. Interesting
00:00:42
podcast. You asked me before how much um
00:00:44
preparation I do for these things. I do
00:00:45
a lot but um I I didn't do a lot for you
00:00:48
because what what could I possibly find
00:00:50
online that I don't already know about
00:00:52
you?
00:00:53
>> There's nothing online that actually
00:00:54
would be detrimental anyway. I don't
00:00:56
think so. You can dig all you like.
00:00:58
What? What? Oh, what other detrimental
00:01:00
things?
00:01:01
>> Um, why does it have to be detrimental?
00:01:03
>> No, just things before the internet was
00:01:05
invented. I
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>> Yeah, I we we both know where the bodies
00:01:10
are buried.
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>> We do. Yeah.
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>> Why did you want to do the podcast?
00:01:13
>> Um well uh because at the end of last
00:01:17
year, I got some news that um I have
00:01:20
prostate cancer. And I thought to
00:01:22
myself, blue September's on the way. It
00:01:23
was time to talk publicly about my
00:01:25
diagnosis. Now be before it raises any
00:01:28
sort of concern, we have got this really
00:01:31
early to the point where all I get is
00:01:33
monitored now blood tests and the odd uh
00:01:36
uh biopsy. At this stage the the um the
00:01:40
prostate stays where it is until things
00:01:43
get more concerning. So, I thought to
00:01:45
myself, uh, speak out, tell guys of a
00:01:48
certain age over 50 to, um, make sure
00:01:51
they see their doctor on a regular basis
00:01:53
and get that PA PS psa test uh, on a
00:01:56
regular basis just to see where things
00:01:58
are at because one in eight Kiwi Bloss
00:02:01
get prostate cancer. That's pretty high.
00:02:04
>> Yeah,
00:02:05
>> it is high. Um I think we're at a stage
00:02:08
now with um like um can cancer treatment
00:02:10
and development where it's not the when
00:02:13
you hear the word the BC it's not the
00:02:14
the big C it's not necessarily like the
00:02:16
death sentence that it it once was e
00:02:18
>> no correct we have the science we have
00:02:20
the tools we've got very clever people
00:02:21
who are you know doctors etc who who are
00:02:24
are very methodical in their approach to
00:02:26
what do we do next and so you get
00:02:28
yourself a good urologist in my case and
00:02:31
uh and and go from there just trust the
00:02:33
science so I I'm not concerned
00:02:36
But when you get that
00:02:37
>> that diagnosis, yes, you do have cancer,
00:02:40
it's a it's a bit of a shock.
00:02:42
>> Yeah. I'd imagine your mind your mind
00:02:43
goes to the darkest places imaginable,
00:02:45
the worst case scenario.
00:02:46
>> Yeah. Yeah. I was relatively calm about
00:02:49
it. I kind of knew uh that it was a
00:02:52
possibility because my PSA was rising
00:02:55
quite quickly. Um and my wife Carmel,
00:02:58
who is has a medical background, said,
00:03:00
"I reckon you have prostate cancer." And
00:03:02
so I had this biopsy which was pretty
00:03:05
pretty rough to go through to be honest.
00:03:07
Um
00:03:07
>> what was it?
00:03:09
>> Well, you know, they put you out general
00:03:11
general um
00:03:11
>> Yeah. And like a like a little camera up
00:03:13
your bum or
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>> uh No, they they they they dig needles
00:03:16
into you into into into your boys
00:03:18
>> and uh into your testicles.
00:03:20
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a photograph
00:03:22
for your prostate.
00:03:22
>> Can I show you a photograph of of of the
00:03:24
um the recovery process? Um this is
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>> I think you sent this to me. Is this
00:03:28
your bruised test?
00:03:29
>> Yeah. Look at that. Yeah, that's not
00:03:31
going anywhere.
00:03:32
>> So, this
00:03:34
I just I want to explain it. Um cuz
00:03:36
people watching this can't see this and
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neither can people. So, this is this is
00:03:39
you
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>> um on your knees from behind.
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>> Um and you look like a bulldog.
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>> So, so your your your thighs are shut
00:03:46
and your your balls are like captured at
00:03:48
the back.
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>> Okay. A lot a lot of detail there. Um
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and a very swollen.
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>> That was after that was afterwards
00:03:53
obviously, not beforehand. Um and and so
00:03:56
uh
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>> why have you got that on your phone?
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>> To show you. Why do why do I what do I
00:04:00
do to deserve that?
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>> My love.
00:04:02
>> I don't want to see that. No one
00:04:04
deserves to see that.
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>> Too late. Um so, uh that was afterwards
00:04:07
obviously and uh it was rather um raw
00:04:10
and sore waking up. And then they put a
00:04:12
gauze over my little fellas and we had
00:04:14
to take the gauze off and of course it's
00:04:15
it's it stuck. And there I am on my
00:04:18
hands and knees on the bed biting a
00:04:20
pillow as my wife pulled this gauze off.
00:04:23
And can you imagine how uncomfortable
00:04:25
that would have been? I see you
00:04:26
clenching. And I'm sure the neighbors
00:04:28
next door cuz we live in an apartment
00:04:29
thought something really weird was going
00:04:31
on with me biting into a pillow making
00:04:32
this noise. But uh the biopsy uh the
00:04:35
results came back two or three weeks
00:04:37
later and they said yeah you know you
00:04:38
you you do have in the words of David D
00:04:42
some mild touch of the cancer. So yeah
00:04:44
so I thought you know talk about it now.
00:04:47
Blue September. They say that men
00:04:49
necessarily these days don't die of
00:04:52
prostate cancer they die with it. Makes
00:04:56
sense.
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>> What does that mean?
00:04:57
>> In other words, I'll have it for life
00:05:00
>> unless unless they remove my prostate if
00:05:02
it gets any worse.
00:05:03
>> Oh, that's interesting. Yes. A previous
00:05:05
podcast guest from this year, Detective
00:05:07
Inspector Scott Beard.
00:05:08
>> Yeah, I heard that was great.
00:05:09
>> Yes, I had him on the podcast. He he
00:05:11
announced on the podcast just like
00:05:12
you've done that he had prostate cancer.
00:05:14
It's not the first time he's had it, but
00:05:16
he the weird thing is um so when it came
00:05:20
back the second time for him, he had no
00:05:21
prostate. His prostate had already been
00:05:23
removed.
00:05:23
>> I don't understand that. And then he he
00:05:24
he called in just this wasn't on the
00:05:26
podcast or anything a couple of weeks
00:05:27
ago just to say it's he's cancer free
00:05:29
again.
00:05:30
>> Oh, good.
00:05:30
>> Yeah,
00:05:31
>> that's great.
00:05:32
>> So I I feel like things as long as you
00:05:34
get that early detection e I think
00:05:35
things are
00:05:35
>> absolutely it's not the scary thing at
00:05:38
>> my PSA is really low now. it's well
00:05:40
below the the threshold point and they
00:05:42
say you know relaxation and exercise and
00:05:44
all these things I have been doing over
00:05:45
the past few months uh since I left work
00:05:48
um have possibly helped that because
00:05:50
they say that um cancer feeds on stress
00:05:53
right and in a stressful situation
00:05:56
perhaps that was what was fe feeding the
00:05:58
cancer I don't know but either way I'm
00:06:01
pretty relaxed when I told you at the
00:06:03
beginning of the year um we we were at
00:06:05
your place it was just myself and my
00:06:07
wife and you and uh you I told you. And
00:06:10
then you went down to pick up the pizzas
00:06:11
and Caramel said, "He's processing
00:06:13
this." Because you were quite shocked at
00:06:15
the time. I think you were quite
00:06:17
shocked. Uh because I was quite relaxed
00:06:19
about it. But I remember, you know, when
00:06:20
you tell people the first time, they go,
00:06:21
"Oh my god." But because it's early, I'm
00:06:25
fine and I believe I'm going to be fine.
00:06:27
>> I suppose that's one of the maybe I'm
00:06:30
quite protective of you, but I've known
00:06:31
you such a long time.
00:06:32
>> Yeah. And like I we'll get back in into
00:06:35
into some of this later. Um but since
00:06:37
we're straight on the cancer thing,
00:06:38
we'll stay there for a second. But yeah,
00:06:40
like um my my first two overseas trips
00:06:42
were were with you. We went to we went
00:06:43
to Fiji together and we went to Bali
00:06:45
together. And so I was in my late teens,
00:06:46
early 20s, you were like mid20s at the
00:06:48
time.
00:06:49
>> Yeah.
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>> And you you were you were stressed and
00:06:51
anxious about everything back then. You
00:06:52
were so highly stressed.
00:06:53
>> That's terrible. And
00:06:54
>> and it's I suppose like seeing you h um
00:06:57
handle the news that you've got cancer.
00:06:59
It's like, "Oh, Robert's going to be
00:07:01
just in turmoil about this." And you
00:07:02
weren't. I think maybe you've just
00:07:04
chilled out as you go.
00:07:05
>> I have. I mean, I was messed. You needed
00:07:06
to.
00:07:06
>> Oh, yeah. I I I got I got that from my
00:07:08
mother. I can remember being so anxious,
00:07:11
myself and my I was 12 years of age and
00:07:14
uh a friend who's still a friend now,
00:07:15
Ashton. We were um smoking cigarettes in
00:07:18
the bushes in in the square in Palmer
00:07:20
North and I was so 12 years old. I was
00:07:23
so convinced my mother could see me with
00:07:25
binoculars at one of the big buildings
00:07:26
across the road. I was so paranoid. are
00:07:28
worried about absolutely everything. You
00:07:31
know,
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>> your mom hilarious. By the way, I I I
00:07:34
was thinking about this on on the run
00:07:36
yesterday. Think about some stories that
00:07:38
might be useful for the podcast or might
00:07:39
not be useful for the podcast. Um I
00:07:41
didn't have this one written down, but I
00:07:43
remember I think you were you'd moved
00:07:44
from Palmer to Oakland and you were back
00:07:46
down in Palmer North staying with your
00:07:47
mom. So, I would have been 22. You would
00:07:49
have been like late 20s, maybe 30. Yeah.
00:07:51
I picked you up from your parents place
00:07:52
for a game of golf and I remember
00:07:54
reversing out of your driveway, your mom
00:07:56
chasing the car down the driveway
00:07:57
wanting to like give you a sun hat with
00:07:59
a flap on the back and making sure you
00:08:00
had sunscreen on your face. You're a
00:08:02
grown ass man.
00:08:03
>> I know. I know.
00:08:04
>> How cute is that?
00:08:05
>> Yeah, you're you're a very tolerant
00:08:08
friend actually to be fair cuz I used to
00:08:09
worry about a lot but I don't I've
00:08:12
either grown out of it or I don't care
00:08:13
so much anymore.
00:08:14
>> I think I think that's a luxury that
00:08:16
comes with the aging proc.
00:08:17
>> Yes. And I'm enjoying getting older. At
00:08:18
one stage I wasn't, oh I'm getting
00:08:20
older. Oh [ __ ] I'm in my 50s, whatever.
00:08:22
Now it's like, okay, if I can remain
00:08:24
healthy and happy. Um, and I'm I'm I'm
00:08:27
loving my life, I'm I'm great. I'm in
00:08:29
much better place than I was when I was
00:08:30
30.
00:08:31
>> So So get getting that diagnosis, was
00:08:34
Caramel there with you?
00:08:35
>> Yep. Absolutely.
00:08:36
>> Yeah. And and how was that when you hear
00:08:38
the news?
00:08:39
>> The room start spinning?
00:08:40
>> No, not really. It was like, okay. Okay.
00:08:42
So what what how do we progress? What do
00:08:44
we do next? and and since then I've had
00:08:46
two or two blood tests and you know
00:08:49
PSA's come back biopsy at the end of the
00:08:51
year. We're just keeping an eye on it.
00:08:53
>> Yeah. Simple as that.
00:08:54
>> What's been the biggest mental challenge
00:08:56
since the diagnosis?
00:08:59
>> That must be a weird weird feeling. It's
00:09:00
like you're carrying this invisible
00:09:01
weight.
00:09:02
>> Yeah. I I keep forgetting about it.
00:09:04
>> Isn't that weird, eh?
00:09:05
>> It's good.
00:09:06
>> Where's Robert Scott gone? Who's taken
00:09:07
him? You know, it's like Yeah, I do
00:09:09
forget about it.
00:09:09
>> Are you Are you on Are you on um like
00:09:11
anti depressants or anything?
00:09:13
>> No.
00:09:13
>> No. You want like any medic
00:09:15
>> anti you know the satrona you know the
00:09:17
anxiety a very mild dose and I went on
00:09:20
that not long after all the lockdowns
00:09:23
because being on air you were there
00:09:25
around that time it was pretty horrible
00:09:26
going into work and um a and you know
00:09:29
wiping the desk down and and trying to
00:09:31
find the right tone to broadcast to
00:09:33
people to make them feel comfortable
00:09:36
about um what was going on with the
00:09:38
lockdowns and and co and at the end of
00:09:40
it I was absolutely run out and so I
00:09:43
went to my doctor and she goes, "Okay,
00:09:44
we're going to put you on a very small
00:09:45
dose of Satrona."
00:09:47
>> And within two weeks, it was like the
00:09:49
edge had been taken off.
00:09:51
>> Slow release thing.
00:09:52
>> Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Slow release. But
00:09:54
I know lots of people are on it. My
00:09:55
doctor said afterwards, I reckon they
00:09:58
should put it in the water because it
00:09:59
takes the edge off people's anxieties.
00:10:01
And perhaps I could um attribute the
00:10:04
change in my personality down to having
00:10:07
that
00:10:07
>> that drug.
00:10:08
>> Yeah, it must be making an impact. But
00:10:10
that's that's good. But if it's made you
00:10:12
more calm and more relaxed,
00:10:13
>> I can think clearer.
00:10:14
>> Yeah, I think that's wonderful.
00:10:16
Yeah. A lot of people a lot of people um
00:10:18
that are on like anti-depressants or
00:10:20
like anti-anxiety medicine like they
00:10:23
take it as a badge of honor that they
00:10:24
they get off it. But if you've got a
00:10:26
chemical imbalance in in your brain and
00:10:27
it's fixing that chemical
00:10:29
>> reflect on last year just just to last
00:10:31
year was a [ __ ] show. U 2024 fair my my
00:10:35
dad died. Now my father was 91 and he
00:10:38
had been um slowly fading away. He his
00:10:41
batteries ran out, you know, but even
00:10:43
then it was difficult and horrible
00:10:46
because we were great mates and I used
00:10:47
to see him every week, go over to the
00:10:49
the rest home and see him and and walk
00:10:51
out the door thinking, is this going to
00:10:53
be the last time I'll see him and he
00:10:55
would say to me, "You've been a great
00:10:56
son. You've been a great dad." We'd talk
00:10:57
in the past tense and then he did die.
00:11:00
Um, and then two or three weeks later,
00:11:02
there was a drama at work as there is
00:11:03
now. Now bearing in mind I went back to
00:11:06
work the day after dad died because that
00:11:08
was my job and I needed to immerse
00:11:09
myself in my radio but there was a bit
00:11:11
of drama at work and normally I could
00:11:13
have coped with that but I was still
00:11:15
treading water you know and so therefore
00:11:17
I was spinning all through the year and
00:11:20
then towards the end of the year a bit
00:11:22
more change was was was um brought up
00:11:24
and I'm going ah shivers this is a lot
00:11:27
to handle and then my diagnosis came in
00:11:29
and was like ah I think I need a rest I
00:11:32
need to walk away from stress in the
00:11:35
situation,
00:11:36
>> you know.
00:11:38
>> Is this um the cancer diagnosis the
00:11:41
biggest adversity you've gone through?
00:11:42
How old are you now? What are you 59?
00:11:44
Yep. 59. Is this the biggest?
00:11:46
>> Oh, I think being diagnosed with celiac
00:11:48
diseases has been pretty rough as well.
00:11:50
How long you got in my medical history?
00:11:53
Uh cuz that was in the early days when
00:11:55
I'm like early 15 years ago when there
00:11:57
wasn't a lot of gluten-free option out
00:11:58
there and all of a sudden I was being
00:12:00
told you can't have this, you can't have
00:12:01
this. And so you're at the supermarket
00:12:03
going, "Oh, is this got wheat? Has it
00:12:04
got gluten in it?" And uh and it felt
00:12:07
like life was pretty rough. Um but
00:12:11
having said that, that the health
00:12:12
benefits of being diagnosed are great in
00:12:14
the sense I was really scrawny. Do you
00:12:16
remember I was real scrawny. I was I
00:12:18
bottomed out at 59 kgs. So that was
00:12:21
nothing, right? A feather. That was
00:12:22
because my food uh the nutrients in my
00:12:25
food were was not being uh digested by
00:12:28
my gut because I was eating gluten which
00:12:30
was affecting the way my body worked.
00:12:32
Does that make sense?
00:12:34
>> And so the moment I gave up eating the
00:12:35
gluten then the nutrients from food was
00:12:38
being absorbed and that's when I started
00:12:39
to put on weight and I looked a bit
00:12:41
healthier and things like that. But
00:12:42
there was a period of a good year when
00:12:45
it was like I felt like I can't eat
00:12:47
anything. I can't go anywhere. You know
00:12:49
that was pretty rough. I I remember um
00:12:52
yeah, shortly after you got diagnosed uh
00:12:54
with celiac. So you got two big C's.
00:12:57
>> I have.
00:13:00
>> Shortly after you were diagnosed, I
00:13:01
think um there was some like gene or DNA
00:13:03
testing, so your kids got tested as
00:13:04
well. And I found out your daughter
00:13:06
Molly didn't have it,
00:13:08
>> but your son Sam did. We went out for um
00:13:10
a lunch and um So how old was Sam at the
00:13:12
time?
00:13:13
>> Oh, he would have been a year 12 pop.
00:13:15
Oh, 15 years ago. Oh
00:13:17
>> no, maybe 13 or 14. I'm not sure.
00:13:20
>> I remember him um like just like boiling
00:13:22
his eyes out, sobbing at this dinner
00:13:24
table cuz he wasn't allowed to eat the
00:13:25
fries.
00:13:25
>> It's been really rough on him. Well, it
00:13:26
was initially. He's gray now.
00:13:28
>> It's a lot lot to process, I suppose, at
00:13:29
that age realizing I can't have fries
00:13:32
for the rest of my life.
00:13:33
>> That's right. But now we know where we
00:13:34
can get fries, which are which are
00:13:36
cooked in a a gluten-free fryer and
00:13:37
things like that. And he's he's grown up
00:13:39
being celiac and his friends, you know,
00:13:42
um they're fine with that. There are
00:13:44
lots of people who are gluten-free, so
00:13:46
it's not like um as weird as it felt
00:13:48
when I was diagnosed.
00:13:50
>> Especially especially where you live
00:13:51
like central Oakland. I feel like 50% of
00:13:53
the population is absolutely
00:13:55
>> you're not special, mate. Bring it on.
00:13:56
>> Excluded free.
00:13:59
>> Um and you you're you're super anal
00:14:02
about it though. Like you're you got
00:14:03
like a card.
00:14:04
>> You have to be. Oh no, I haven't got the
00:14:05
card anymore. No.
00:14:06
>> You ask knives at restaurants like
00:14:08
>> No. No. Didn't do that. I
00:14:11
>> have the knives. Have the knives cut
00:14:12
gluten. No, in that voice.
00:14:17
>> Uh, surely.
00:14:18
>> So, so what cuz you see so so you you
00:14:20
ate gluten your entire life and
00:14:21
obviously it wasn't good for you.
00:14:22
>> No.
00:14:23
>> Um, and what was the change like when
00:14:25
you cut it out?
00:14:26
>> You got tested. Okay. Because I was
00:14:28
losing a lot of weight and has an upset
00:14:30
tummy and um and my doctor who was
00:14:33
absolutely lovely, we did some tests and
00:14:36
uh and she rang my wife and said, "Okay,
00:14:38
bit of news. Either he's got he's got
00:14:40
cancer or he's got celiac disease." And
00:14:42
she said, "I just hope it's celiac
00:14:44
disease." And sure enough, it was.
00:14:45
>> Yeah. But I've had so many endoscopies
00:14:48
and, you know, all those procedures, you
00:14:50
know, when they put the camera down your
00:14:51
your throat and up your bum and stuff
00:14:53
like that. Just we have this wonderful
00:14:54
science that can detect anything that's
00:14:56
wrong inside. So, yeah, I'm I'm the
00:14:59
go-to guy. Um, I'm going to have an
00:15:01
endoscopy. What's it like? Oh, it's
00:15:03
fine.
00:15:04
>> You know, they knock you out and you
00:15:06
can't remember a thing.
00:15:08
>> Wow.
00:15:10
Yeah. It's quite a lot to go through,
00:15:11
eh?
00:15:13
>> Yeah.
00:15:13
>> Um I I wonder if like that I've known
00:15:16
you longer than what your wife's known
00:15:17
you and I I I wonder if you Yeah. She's
00:15:19
definitely been like you rock through
00:15:20
all this stuff. I don't think you'd be
00:15:22
as calm calm and composed without her by
00:15:25
your side.
00:15:26
>> I think I think you like you you you get
00:15:28
this news and you look to her and if
00:15:29
she's not panicked, you're like, "Okay,
00:15:31
it's no need to panic."
00:15:32
>> Yeah. Yeah. Is it fair to say?
00:15:33
>> I think when we got together, that was
00:15:35
the best timing because I was a bit of a
00:15:36
lost soul in some respects. cuz I
00:15:38
couldn't floaty my way through life and
00:15:40
I didn't have any savings and I had, you
00:15:42
know, I was having a great time, but I
00:15:43
had no direction. So, yeah, I I put that
00:15:45
down to meeting her getting me on the
00:15:48
right track.
00:15:49
>> You back then you loved a car called a
00:15:50
Honda Prelude. Like, you'd keep updating
00:15:53
your car and it was always a Honda
00:15:54
Prelude. Why? Such a weird People are
00:15:56
going to have to Google that cuz you
00:15:57
don't see them on the road anymore.
00:16:00
>> It's a strange little strange shape if
00:16:02
you look back now. Why did you keep
00:16:03
updating to the Honda Prelude?
00:16:04
>> I don't want to let the facts get in the
00:16:06
way of a good story. There was there was
00:16:09
only two Honda Preludes. They were both
00:16:11
imports, but they had sunroofs, you
00:16:13
know, and I could get to him a tangy
00:16:16
real quick.
00:16:19
>> I felt I felt like there was like a
00:16:20
whole succession, a whole string like um
00:16:23
a brown a fleet of preludes, there was a
00:16:26
brown one, and there was a silver one.
00:16:28
>> Oh, and then you moved to Oakland, you
00:16:29
got a BMW.
00:16:30
>> Oh gosh. Okay. So, yeah, moved to
00:16:33
Oakland in 1992. Um, and of course when
00:16:36
you are a provincial radio announcer
00:16:38
back in the day, all you wanted to do is
00:16:40
is work on Oakland radio and I had my
00:16:42
chance and I was doing that TV show that
00:16:44
no one can remember called Yahoo at the
00:16:46
same time in the morning. So it was the
00:16:48
the what now um version but TV3 with
00:16:50
Moana.
00:16:51
>> Oh, you were on what now? That was
00:16:53
amazing.
00:16:53
>> No one. No, no, no. You know, you know,
00:16:56
I was on Yahoo. I was on the other side.
00:16:58
Okay. Yeah. Okay. I was Simon Baret
00:17:00
light. Yeah. Teeu. Timu. You're Timu
00:17:04
Baret.
00:17:06
Anyway, um and and I was doing that and
00:17:09
I I was um hosting uh the Coke Shake 30,
00:17:13
which was a countdown around the
00:17:14
country. So, I was making way too much
00:17:15
money from him at my age. It worked out
00:17:17
to be about 130k and I was at 20 23. So,
00:17:22
>> what year was this?
00:17:23
>> 1992.
00:17:24
>> Wow. Okay. It's a lot of money now.
00:17:25
>> Yeah. So, what Yeah, it is a lot of
00:17:27
money now. So, what did it do? I'm going
00:17:28
to buy either buy a boat because I live
00:17:29
in Oakuckland or I'm going to buy a BMW
00:17:32
cuz I thought myself I'm an Oakland
00:17:33
tosser. So, I bought this BMW and it was
00:17:35
a big money pit and I sold it within the
00:17:37
year. It was a nightmare. I paid cash
00:17:39
for it. I had no more cash after that
00:17:41
and that was that.
00:17:43
>> Wow.
00:17:44
>> Fool.
00:17:45
>> Oh, it's worked out all right though.
00:17:48
>> They were bit late than ever, right? And
00:17:50
I suppose what you needed is the
00:17:52
security of like a a partner to, you
00:17:54
know, get your ducks in a row, which a
00:17:56
lot of guys a lot of guys take a while
00:17:57
to grow up. They were fun days at the
00:17:58
beginning because I was going to all
00:17:59
these parties and meeting all these
00:18:00
famous people and stuff like that. But,
00:18:01
you know, it was it was pretty crazy.
00:18:04
>> And then it all started to fall away cuz
00:18:05
Yahoo got cancelled because it was not
00:18:06
as good as what now.
00:18:08
>> Well, no one even remembers it.
00:18:10
>> And here's the thing.
00:18:11
>> That's mean actually. Um I remember it.
00:18:13
I'm just I'm being I'm being I'm I'm
00:18:16
teasing you about here. But you the Fen
00:18:18
Fullen host when you went there was Phil
00:18:20
Kogan who was like from um The Amazing
00:18:21
Race.
00:18:22
>> No, he was the he was the guy I took
00:18:23
took over from. So what a hard act to
00:18:25
follow.
00:18:25
>> Oh, you replaced him. Yeah.
00:18:27
>> Oh, yeah. You were doomed to fail.
00:18:29
>> He's amazing. He's won Emmy awards.
00:18:31
>> He was great. And we're still mates now.
00:18:33
And um and uh he he was really really
00:18:36
good, but it was a heart to follow. And
00:18:37
then at the end of Yahoo, and I've never
00:18:39
told you this, they they flew me down to
00:18:41
Christ Church to um audition for What
00:18:43
Now? Because What Now was quite popular
00:18:45
because Simon was leaving. And I I think
00:18:48
I got the job um because it went really
00:18:50
really well. And um Janine, who's uh
00:18:53
Jason Gun's wife who was producing the
00:18:55
show, she go, "No, Janine Morel."
00:18:57
>> Morel. Yes.
00:18:58
>> She said um she goes, "Oh, so so Yahoo
00:19:01
um when is it finishing on the air?"
00:19:03
Because we were pre-recording by the
00:19:05
stage. And I said, "Oh, we've got until
00:19:06
April." And she went, "Oh, okay." And I
00:19:09
could see I've just buried myself
00:19:11
because there was no way I could be on
00:19:12
Yahoo and whatnot at the same time. So I
00:19:14
didn't get the job.
00:19:15
>> Why were they worried about that? No one
00:19:17
was watching Yahoo. It would have been
00:19:18
sweet.
00:19:19
>> You've made that point already. Can we
00:19:20
move on?
00:19:21
>> Yeah. I um Yeah. Yeah. I must be hard
00:19:26
work as a friend. Like roasting is one
00:19:28
of my love languages.
00:19:29
>> Hard work as a friend is an
00:19:30
understatement. You're a nightmare. I
00:19:32
have to defend you all the time.
00:19:35
>> No. Like roasting roasting is my love
00:19:37
language. Like that comes from a place
00:19:38
of love. Like I'm just whining you.
00:19:39
>> Oh yeah. No, but you're a you can I turn
00:19:41
around on you?
00:19:42
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:42
>> Welcome to the Robert Scott podcast um
00:19:44
with Dom Harvey. Uh you are you are two
00:19:47
different people. you are this lark, you
00:19:49
know, in your public life, but damn,
00:19:50
deep down inside, you've got the most
00:19:52
beautiful soul and you are a great
00:19:53
listener and you always make people feel
00:19:56
good when they're around you. So, I
00:19:57
think that's a lot of our relationship
00:19:59
is based on your kindness. You're a very
00:20:01
kind person. You're complex though, but
00:20:03
you know that.
00:20:04
>> I think we all are though in a way,
00:20:05
aren't we? We're all sort of onions.
00:20:06
>> Yeah.
00:20:07
>> Um Yeah. So, what about you? Because
00:20:10
like there's um everyone talks about
00:20:12
Yeah. the important I suppose in media
00:20:14
circles or radio circles everyone talks
00:20:15
about the importance of you authenticity
00:20:17
and being real but the reality is
00:20:19
everyone is [ __ ] boring. So everyone
00:20:22
on air is I suppose an extension or a
00:20:25
variation I would say. So yeah.
00:20:27
>> So so who is who is Robert Scott the
00:20:30
person versus the on air person? Uh
00:20:32
they're very similar. Uh but the the the
00:20:33
the the Robert Scott off air is possibly
00:20:37
a bit cheekier and naughtier than the on
00:20:39
air cuz you know I was working on the
00:20:40
breeze and and more FM prior to that
00:20:43
classic hit. So it's quite
00:20:44
familyfriendly orientated. I was never a
00:20:46
bad boy but you know I there is there is
00:20:49
a naughty side to me. In fact people
00:20:52
dark side
00:20:52
>> a dark side
00:20:54
>> that there is um there's more more you
00:20:58
and me than people see. if that makes
00:21:01
sense because this is where we connect
00:21:02
that there will be parts of people
00:21:04
things that people don't see about me
00:21:06
that are like you things we've done in
00:21:08
the past like naked dashes into the
00:21:10
water and stuff like that and
00:21:13
>> you know a New Year's Eve and
00:21:15
>> yeah there's some yeah some things like
00:21:17
that that I was thinking about um before
00:21:19
doing this podcast today. So there's
00:21:21
like photos in um my old wedding album
00:21:23
of um you and I like having a naked dash
00:21:25
in the snow. So this was in 2004 so like
00:21:27
21 years ago. So I suppose we were still
00:21:30
quite old then. But I wouldn't you
00:21:31
wouldn't dream of doing it now.
00:21:32
>> Too cold.
00:21:34
>> No, but also it's like no I don't I I
00:21:36
don't No one needs to see that. Like I
00:21:39
you know what I mean? And there's even a
00:21:40
photo we've got of us flying to Bali and
00:21:42
or flying back home from Bali and we're
00:21:44
we're sitting in our we got the um the
00:21:47
the the steward on the plane to take a
00:21:49
photo of us and we're sitting in our
00:21:50
seats topless. What the [ __ ] were we
00:21:52
doing? And also we did this other thing
00:21:54
on the same flight by putting um um um
00:21:57
towels over our heads and dark
00:21:59
sunglasses to look like Arabs. Wouldn't
00:22:01
do that.
00:22:01
>> Oh, this was pre 911 though. So
00:22:04
>> even so, I don't think we'd do that. You
00:22:06
live and learn, right?
00:22:07
>> Yeah. So there's um there's aspects of
00:22:10
that that that you are kind of nostalgic
00:22:12
and you kind of miss. Yeah. But then
00:22:14
then you think, "Oh, we're not as
00:22:15
playful as what we used to be." But I
00:22:17
think part of that just comes with
00:22:18
aging. Like you just don't want to I
00:22:20
don't want to do dumb [ __ ] like that
00:22:21
anymore. Do you know what I mean?
00:22:22
>> Yeah. And you think of what we did at
00:22:24
the radio awards that year when um it
00:22:26
was in Wellington and we moved all the
00:22:27
furniture from the mezzanine mezzanine
00:22:30
level of the hotel into the lift and
00:22:32
then the police were called and I hotel
00:22:35
security. That's right. That's right. So
00:22:38
it was in like a conference conference
00:22:39
sort of area. We got artwork, coffee
00:22:42
tables, armchair being on by people. Yo
00:22:45
y ashtray water cooler. And so we put
00:22:47
the water cooler in the lift.
00:22:48
disappeared and at the end of it there
00:22:50
was no furniture left on the mezzanine
00:22:52
level and then someone came down and
00:22:54
said, "Okay, right. I don't know who's
00:22:55
responsible, but the police are on their
00:22:56
way."
00:22:57
>> Lord,
00:22:58
>> oh, that's a lot of fun though, eh? But
00:23:00
you wouldn't dream of doing that. I I
00:23:01
don't know. I suppose um there's aspects
00:23:03
of getting older that I do I miss stuff
00:23:06
like that.
00:23:07
>> Yeah.
00:23:07
>> Um but for the most part, like I mean we
00:23:09
could still do that stuff, but would
00:23:10
you? No.
00:23:11
>> No. No.
00:23:13
>> I I think it just become it becomes a
00:23:15
age inappropriate and you know it's age
00:23:17
inappropriate. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:19
It's not It's not me anymore, but it was
00:23:20
certainly fun at the time.
00:23:21
>> What other stuff have I got here?
00:23:24
>> Oh, yeah. What are your earliest
00:23:25
memories of our friendship?
00:23:27
>> You So, you were you were an established
00:23:29
broadcaster. You're doing the afternoon
00:23:31
show at this station in Palmy North.
00:23:34
>> Yep.
00:23:34
>> Which is 92.2. It's a more FM station
00:23:37
now.
00:23:37
>> Um and I was doing like work experience.
00:23:40
So, I'd come in a Thursday each week for
00:23:41
your school uniform high. Yep.
00:23:43
>> Yeah.
00:23:43
>> Earliest memories. Um most people
00:23:45
thought you were annoying.
00:23:47
Oh, I was.
00:23:48
>> Yeah. In fact, everyone thought you were
00:23:50
annoying.
00:23:51
>> Everyone.
00:23:52
>> I didn't. I found you entertaining and
00:23:55
uh you'd um you'd bring me a beer from
00:23:57
the staff meeting cuz the staff meeting
00:23:59
was always on at the time when I was on
00:24:00
air and you'd bring a beer in so I could
00:24:01
have a beer and we'd talk. And you
00:24:03
clearly uh had a grasp of radio. You
00:24:06
seemed to know what you were doing in
00:24:09
your head. But your voice was terrible
00:24:11
though, eh? Those Midnight to Dawn shows
00:24:13
you
00:24:14
>> weren't great. Right. M
00:24:16
>> midnight. So this is um this is like
00:24:18
1990 we're talking. So this is before
00:24:21
>> what's known as automation or like
00:24:23
computers where you don't have to have a
00:24:25
person there overnight.
00:24:26
>> So you needed a live person. I was
00:24:28
terrible. I would have been I would have
00:24:29
been stuck on that show forever, I
00:24:30
think. But imagine how devastating that
00:24:32
is for me. So it's it's it's my dream.
00:24:34
It's been my dream for like five years.
00:24:35
It's what I wanted to do more than
00:24:36
anything. Finally get the opportunity
00:24:38
and then you suck at it. And I knew I
00:24:40
sucked at it and there's nothing I could
00:24:41
do about it. But then Mike West who was
00:24:44
doing the breakfast show you began to
00:24:45
work with him as his offsider come you
00:24:48
know the character known as Bulldendrick
00:24:49
and that's when you found your feet
00:24:50
right and he nurtured you
00:24:53
>> I think you know shout out to him he
00:24:55
he's he has been a very influential
00:24:58
person in our lives because of his work
00:24:59
ethic and um he's no longer in radio but
00:25:03
boy at the time he was a powerhouse and
00:25:05
I think that's when you came into Jerome
00:25:06
right that Mike western bald brick for
00:25:08
show was massive
00:25:09
>> yeah for years
00:25:10
>> yeah I was a local celebrity.
00:25:12
>> You were a local I was a big deal in
00:25:14
pub. Um yeah know that was definitely
00:25:16
like what I'd consider like an
00:25:18
apprenticeship.
00:25:19
>> Yeah.
00:25:19
>> Just going back to your question. I I
00:25:20
just found you as naughty fun.
00:25:22
>> Okay.
00:25:22
>> And um the the girlfriend I was with at
00:25:24
the time didn't didn't really warm to
00:25:25
you because I always got in trouble when
00:25:27
we were together.
00:25:28
>> Oh, was I that friend?
00:25:31
>> Yeah. Oh. Um I maybe I maybe I remember
00:25:35
this slightly differently, but I
00:25:36
remember like you know coming in on
00:25:38
Friday afternoons um for the the staff
00:25:40
meeting at the station. So this is when
00:25:41
I was still at school.
00:25:42
>> Yeah.
00:25:42
>> And just wanting a job in radio
00:25:44
desperately and just not getting an
00:25:45
opportunity.
00:25:46
>> I remember coming into the studio. So
00:25:48
you were doing your show on say a Friday
00:25:49
afternoon. I'd bring you a beer. And I
00:25:51
look back now and I I think maybe I was
00:25:53
I think I was mentally unwell at the
00:25:54
time. Maybe I was maybe I was depressed.
00:25:56
Maybe it was just like a teenage
00:25:58
hormonal thing. But I used to be I was
00:26:00
really negative and [ __ ] and I just I
00:26:02
>> Oh, you were? That's right.
00:26:03
>> I just like vomited out on you.
00:26:05
>> Yeah, you were. I'd forgotten about
00:26:06
that.
00:26:06
>> And I look back now and it was like I
00:26:08
was probably in that space for maybe a
00:26:09
year, 18 months. Not a great space to be
00:26:11
playing in, but I and looking back with
00:26:13
hindsight now, I feel sorry for me.
00:26:15
>> Yeah.
00:26:15
>> Like um I was obviously not like like
00:26:18
not well. I was just in this negative
00:26:19
sort of head space. Maybe you were the
00:26:21
only person that would like put up with
00:26:22
it. Or maybe it's cuz I came into your
00:26:24
studio and you had to do a show so you
00:26:25
couldn't leave.
00:26:27
>> There was like a captive audience. Some
00:26:28
of the other guys were rough on you, I
00:26:30
thought. You know, we won't have to name
00:26:32
names, but they um they they found you
00:26:34
annoying, very annoying, you know, and
00:26:37
um
00:26:37
>> they would um rat you out and pimp on
00:26:40
you if you did something, you know, you
00:26:42
were like a bit of a target to them.
00:26:44
Maybe they were threatened.
00:26:46
>> I probably was annoying cuz I was just
00:26:48
so eager. I was so hungry.
00:26:49
>> Yeah.
00:26:50
>> I just wanted this thing so badly and it
00:26:51
just wasn't happening. Yeah.
00:26:52
>> And then everything sort of clicks into
00:26:54
place.
00:26:54
>> Does.
00:26:55
>> Okay. What else have we Yeah, that's a
00:26:57
good me. And then it's been like a
00:26:58
lifelong friendship since then.
00:26:59
>> Absolutely.
00:26:59
>> It's quite it's quite it was like it's
00:27:01
the age gap doesn't seem like anything
00:27:03
now, but at the time it was probably
00:27:04
quite quite significant.
00:27:07
>> Yeah, it was. But maybe that's what I
00:27:09
enjoyed. You were fun cuz you know I um
00:27:11
growing up my my sister uh left home uh
00:27:15
when I was 11. So I grew up in uh what
00:27:18
felt like a I was an only child
00:27:20
situation. So and always wanted a
00:27:22
brother and you know you have filled
00:27:23
that space. You're not the only person
00:27:25
who's my brother. I consider I've got
00:27:27
you know group of about six or seven
00:27:28
guys which they are my brothers and uh
00:27:31
guys from school and guys from radio and
00:27:34
you know we all get together and there's
00:27:36
I've got separate groups of people that
00:27:38
do this and they are my brothers and so
00:27:39
therefore you you were part of that that
00:27:41
filled that space that I that I really
00:27:43
wanted. Yeah
00:27:43
>> cuz I was quite lonely growing up when I
00:27:45
was young. There was no one in the house
00:27:46
but me. You you you just picking up on
00:27:48
something you said there. You do have a
00:27:50
lot of brothers and that that's
00:27:51
something that I have found difficult
00:27:52
about our friendship and I have had to
00:27:55
like understand that we both come with
00:27:57
our own complexities and difficulties.
00:27:59
Like I'm I'm um super spontaneous. So
00:28:01
I'll message you on a Saturday afternoon
00:28:03
saying um what are you up to? It looks
00:28:04
like a a great day for a wine wine glass
00:28:06
emoji. And you'll be like oh I'd love to
00:28:09
but I've got this on. And then you'll
00:28:11
send me a text like, "Oh, what are you
00:28:12
doing on Thursday the 18th of July next
00:28:16
year? Caramel's away. Why don't we have
00:28:18
nachos?" So, you've got like this
00:28:20
military style calendar.
00:28:22
>> And I'm more spontaneous. You are.
00:28:24
>> So, I've had to I've had to accept that.
00:28:26
We've got to meet somewhere in the
00:28:27
middle.
00:28:28
>> Oh, I didn't realize that was an issue.
00:28:29
Okay.
00:28:29
>> I know. Now I know it's not an issue.
00:28:32
But you're never you're never available
00:28:34
at the drop of a hat.
00:28:35
>> Oh, no. No.
00:28:37
>> But I'm very grateful for my friends.
00:28:39
That's all. Going back to your question,
00:28:40
what did uh I I see in you? You were a
00:28:43
great friend and and possibly, you know,
00:28:45
at that time a brother that I never had.
00:28:48
>> Oh, that means a lot still now.
00:28:50
>> And those those other brothers you're
00:28:52
talking about just on that again. Um
00:28:53
Yeah. So you were the best man at my
00:28:55
wedding.
00:28:56
>> Yep.
00:28:57
>> I was the best man at your wedding, but
00:28:58
I was like the understudy.
00:28:59
>> I need this one.
00:29:01
>> So you Yeah. You your best man was Shane
00:29:03
Cortiz. Was he singing on a cruise ship
00:29:06
or something at the time?
00:29:06
>> Shane, the late actor. He he priorities.
00:29:09
>> He's always late to rehearsals when
00:29:10
we're playing. That's another joke that
00:29:12
went really badly. Sorry. Okay. Edit
00:29:15
that out.
00:29:19
>> Okay. You were saying about Shane.
00:29:20
>> Yeah. So, he he was he was going to be
00:29:22
the best man, but he couldn't make the
00:29:24
wedding, so I was the best man. I was
00:29:25
like the understudy.
00:29:26
>> Yeah. He was he was uh he was uh in
00:29:29
England when we were in England. We were
00:29:30
living there. We were in Reading. He was
00:29:31
living in London. And he was doing a
00:29:33
panto as Prince Charming Cinderella. and
00:29:36
the season was extended and so therefore
00:29:38
he could not come back uh early January
00:29:41
2000 for the wedding. So step right up
00:29:44
the
00:29:44
>> car I got the job. I'm not not bitter
00:29:47
about it either. I'm just pleased to be
00:29:49
>> not after all these years.
00:29:51
>> What is it like 25 years?
00:29:55
>> Um
00:29:59
what about our Do you remember our club?
00:30:01
The club we had back in the day?
00:30:04
>> Yes, I do.
00:30:06
Are you going to talk about that?
00:30:07
>> No. How do we go about talking about
00:30:08
that?
00:30:08
>> Podcast. You can say that.
00:30:09
>> It's just just a club, two or three
00:30:11
people involving yelling out the most
00:30:13
obscene word uh as loudly as possible in
00:30:17
public.
00:30:18
>> It was quite cool. It was quite quite
00:30:20
cute. So, it was you, your girlfriend at
00:30:21
the time, Janette.
00:30:22
>> Yeah.
00:30:22
>> And me. And it was a a club called the
00:30:24
[ __ ] Club.
00:30:25
>> Yeah.
00:30:25
>> And the rule was
00:30:26
>> You went there. Okay.
00:30:27
>> If uh Well, it's it's a podcast. It's
00:30:29
fine. So, um the rule was Yeah. If if
00:30:31
you saw the other person in a public
00:30:33
place or even if you were at that public
00:30:35
place together, if someone just yelled
00:30:37
it out at the top of the voice, one of
00:30:39
the other the other club members had to
00:30:41
yell it back. But you could yell it out
00:30:42
in such a way that it just didn't it
00:30:44
sounded like a noise.
00:30:45
>> Yeah. If you
00:30:46
>> if you didn't put the T on the end of
00:30:48
it, you could get away with it in
00:30:49
church.
00:30:51
>> Maybe we need to bring that back.
00:30:52
>> No.
00:30:54
Where did How did that fizzle out? See,
00:30:56
there's all these fun things that we did
00:30:57
in our 20ies.
00:30:58
>> We We became more mature.
00:31:01
Yeah, maybe that's what it is. Um, what
00:31:03
about our holidays? So, we we touched
00:31:05
upon Bali before where we um we were
00:31:08
topless on the plane and
00:31:10
>> um had makeshift like burkas on.
00:31:13
>> Um what about the trip to Fiji? Do you
00:31:15
remember downtroing me at the bar?
00:31:16
>> Yeah, that was great. And you were
00:31:17
unaware of it. Uh and you'd been
00:31:19
drinking um at the bar and it was
00:31:21
daytime drinking. Not that it was called
00:31:22
that back then. And uh the the tip of uh
00:31:26
your what whatever you're wearing
00:31:28
trousers managed to um not the tip of
00:31:30
your trousers, the elastic
00:31:34
managed to hit the tip of your pen and
00:31:36
and and you were clearly in the state of
00:31:38
excitement because it was bouncing up
00:31:40
and down like a diving board and you
00:31:42
didn't realize it
00:31:44
>> for some moments and say, "My god, a
00:31:47
what's he doing?" And b, "My god, he
00:31:49
needs to join the circus."
00:31:52
Yeah. What's this guy doing with an
00:31:53
erection at the bar in the middle of the
00:31:55
day? Um, yeah, that that seems
00:31:57
inappropriate, but there was beach
00:31:58
camera island, which is like a
00:31:59
backpacker's island. So, anything
00:32:01
>> I want to turn this around on you.
00:32:03
Somehow you always ended up getting
00:32:04
naked and there's you're running around
00:32:06
the beach naked and that the
00:32:09
you're playing some game out there and I
00:32:11
wasn't there. I'm going he's naked
00:32:12
again. And and and some of the some of
00:32:14
the locals who were working on Beach
00:32:16
Gamer Island had a very old video camera
00:32:18
and they were filming you. And then we
00:32:21
went back to their little heart to watch
00:32:23
the video and all you could hear was
00:32:26
laughing away at you running around the
00:32:27
beach naked.
00:32:29
>> Ah, good times.
00:32:30
>> Um, yeah, that was a good that was a
00:32:33
good time. That's when you hooked up
00:32:34
with that American girl. You had like a
00:32:36
holiday romance.
00:32:36
>> Gosh. Yes.
00:32:37
>> Kimberly from Tennessee.
00:32:38
>> Kimberly from Tennessee. You know, madly
00:32:40
in love with Kimberly from Tennessee.
00:32:41
Got back to Oakland. uh did a did a
00:32:45
story in the new idea about it and you
00:32:47
know photographs that you took and oh
00:32:49
yeah who it's love and then she dumped
00:32:51
me before the magazine even came out.
00:32:54
>> It was never going to work.
00:32:56
>> It was never going to work.
00:32:56
>> What a dick.
00:32:57
>> But you were always um on holidays like
00:32:59
that you you know you'd see a girl you
00:33:01
like and then you'd ask around at the
00:33:02
bar, "Oh, does anyone have a guitar?
00:33:04
Does anyone have a guitar?" Then sit
00:33:06
down on the beach at sunset.
00:33:07
>> That was like that. But
00:33:08
>> I feel like it was a strategic move.
00:33:10
>> Oh gosh.
00:33:11
>> Was it? Are you implying that I had an
00:33:13
ulterior motive?
00:33:15
>> He was that guy. That guy with a guitar.
00:33:18
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:20
>> Um
00:33:23
>> what about the obsession with Jordan
00:33:25
Luck?
00:33:26
>> I I think I've probably Jordan Luck is
00:33:28
the lead singer of a band called The
00:33:29
Exponents. The Dance Exponents. I think
00:33:31
I've probably been to about
00:33:33
>> maybe 10 or a dozen uh Exponents
00:33:36
concerts with you.
00:33:36
>> Right. Okay. It's got a bit of a story
00:33:38
here. Um I um fell in love with New
00:33:40
Zealand music around 1980. I was 13 and
00:33:43
the first band I was really into was the
00:33:44
Dudes. Um and I bought their record on a
00:33:47
cassette, you know, cassette and it was
00:33:48
a secondhand and I loved it. I thought,
00:33:49
"Wow, this Q music stuff's really good."
00:33:51
And I was aware of Split Ends and they
00:33:52
were fantastic. True Colors Wata and
00:33:54
then but those guys always felt like a
00:33:56
generation ahead. And then all of a
00:33:58
sudden I heard Airway Spies by the V by
00:34:01
by Dance Exponents and um thought, "Wow,
00:34:05
that's a great we pop song." And then
00:34:06
Victoria and your best best friend loves
00:34:08
me too. And then of course like a few
00:34:11
months later out comes another band
00:34:13
sounding quite similar. The mockers. I'm
00:34:15
going this is our music. And I think a
00:34:17
lot of people my age would agree with
00:34:19
me. Dance exponents mockers. Neither
00:34:22
were dancing toys.
00:34:26
Those bands were the the the fabric of
00:34:29
our lives growing up. you know that that
00:34:31
stage when you are really forming your
00:34:33
own opinion on music and the fact that
00:34:35
you could go to a a bar if you looked
00:34:37
old enough
00:34:38
>> to watch them was amazing and I've
00:34:40
always loved great songwriters so I
00:34:42
would say um Jordan Luck and Andrew
00:34:45
Fagan with um Gary Curtis who is his
00:34:48
coowwriter great songwriters they
00:34:50
churned out so many great pop songs yeah
00:34:52
I'm always in awe that if someone can
00:34:54
create something from nothing
00:34:57
uh like a song that goes on to live for
00:34:59
generations patience. That is
00:35:01
extraordinary.
00:35:02
>> Yeah, that period you're talking about,
00:35:04
I suppose, like the mid to late 1980s,
00:35:06
it was definitely what you'd call like a
00:35:07
purple patch for New Zealand music.
00:35:08
>> Yes, it was.
00:35:09
>> But um Yeah. But yeah, Jordan like his
00:35:12
band. Yeah. Why have I Why do I get all
00:35:15
the invites to those gigs? Then I see
00:35:17
you.
00:35:18
>> I love it.
00:35:19
>> My 40th birthday party, I was in heaven,
00:35:21
wasn't I?
00:35:22
>> Oh, yeah. You got him to play live
00:35:23
>> and Andrew Fagen. And and and and so I
00:35:25
asked Jordan to play. Yeah. Yeah, sure.
00:35:27
And he goes, he goes, "Oh, can you put
00:35:29
some music friends together?" He'd bring
00:35:30
his own guitarist Brian along to it. So
00:35:32
Zayn and Mark, who I'd played at bands
00:35:34
with for years, I said, "Listen, you're
00:35:36
coming to the party, but swat up on the
00:35:38
dance exponent's greatest hits because
00:35:40
you're going to have to play every
00:35:41
single song." No rehearsal. And they
00:35:42
nailed it.
00:35:44
>> And and Andrew and I did shield
00:35:45
yourself, which is a mocker song. I was
00:35:47
in heaven. Absolute heaven.
00:35:49
>> It was great.
00:35:49
>> Yeah. How good.
00:35:51
>> So I'm not obsessed. I just admire these
00:35:53
people who who can create something from
00:35:55
nothing, from dust. Oh, no. Like like
00:35:57
I'm I'd say I'm obsessed with Bruce
00:35:58
Springsteen, but I I've got no desire, I
00:36:01
think, to see him and his show as many
00:36:02
times as what you've seen
00:36:04
>> because how much time do you have in
00:36:05
your life? That's four hours shows,
00:36:07
Tommy.
00:36:07
>> Okay, that's that is a fair point.
00:36:10
>> Um I've got a gay sauna written down
00:36:13
here.
00:36:13
>> Well, there you go.
00:36:16
>> What is What is that um key phrase mean
00:36:18
to you?
00:36:19
>> You were writing a book. Really good
00:36:20
book. Well done. Your two first books
00:36:23
are great. The third one about running I
00:36:24
didn't read. Um,
00:36:26
>> unleash your honors.
00:36:28
>> Uh, yeah. And it was a bucket list book,
00:36:30
right?
00:36:30
>> Yeah. Bucket list of
00:36:31
>> Yeah. And one was to go to a gay sauna.
00:36:33
And, uh, you'd you'd approached Mike Pu
00:36:35
to go and he said, I'm not going to the
00:36:37
Centurion Club. No way. And I didn't
00:36:39
know about that part of the situation.
00:36:40
And so you sat me down. You want to do
00:36:42
this? Oh, yeah. It'd be fun. And so I
00:36:43
imagined a gay sauna to be like um the
00:36:46
Blue Blues Brothers where they sit
00:36:47
around in towels with dark sunglasses on
00:36:49
and hats and just talk, right? And
00:36:51
they're topless and they're sweating. I
00:36:52
thought, "Oh, yes, it's just going to be
00:36:53
guys." um sitting around talking. I
00:36:56
could not be more wrong. It was a shock
00:36:58
to the point where at the end I drove
00:37:01
home and had a panic attack and threw up
00:37:03
on the side of the road. It was the most
00:37:05
confronting thing I've ever seen in my
00:37:06
life.
00:37:09
>> Since then, I've I've started going to a
00:37:11
sauna on a regular basis. I don't think
00:37:13
there was even um an actual sauna in the
00:37:15
gay sauna we went to.
00:37:16
>> No, we were walking around naked because
00:37:18
it was towels off Tuesday, which you
00:37:20
knew about.
00:37:22
walking around naked. Other men walking
00:37:25
around naked. We found we found safe
00:37:29
haven in a room which we realized was
00:37:31
just a a room with a bed, but it wasn't
00:37:34
a bed. It was just like t plastic sort
00:37:37
of vinyl with a with a with a vase full
00:37:40
of condoms. Okay. Walked around the
00:37:42
corner and there's one guy on a trapze.
00:37:45
And then around it was like a maze.
00:37:46
another guy watching Emmerdale Farm
00:37:49
naked on a lazy boy.
00:37:53
It was the And it was lunchtime. This
00:37:55
was the lunchtime crowd. I think from
00:37:57
memory. I just wanted like um an
00:37:59
experience or content for this book to
00:38:01
write. I think we were probably there
00:38:02
for maybe like 5 minutes all up. Like it
00:38:04
was a very quick trip, wasn't it? Or
00:38:06
have I got the timeline?
00:38:07
>> It was five minutes.
00:38:07
>> Five minutes. There was like a maze
00:38:09
there as well. There was
00:38:11
>> it just felt it was the we
00:38:12
>> it was like a like a like an like like
00:38:14
an actual sort of sort of maze made out
00:38:16
of, you know, like just walls. So I
00:38:18
suppose you can
00:38:19
>> I could I could have given you like a
00:38:21
you know a 10-second head start and then
00:38:22
chased you naked around the maze.
00:38:24
>> We would have fitted in. We really There
00:38:26
was one guy just watching a porn film.
00:38:28
Oh my god. Okay, this is lunchtime
00:38:32
on a Tuesday. Well, thanks for doing
00:38:34
that. Thanks for doing that. I don't
00:38:37
know if I
00:38:37
>> took one for the team. You know, people
00:38:39
to this day said, "I've just read
00:38:40
Dominic Harpy's book." Oh, yeah. Talking
00:38:42
to Gay Sauna. So, yeah. Thank you for
00:38:43
that. That's my legacy.
00:38:45
>> No worries. Um, another note I've got
00:38:48
here is um crying at Paul McCartney.
00:38:51
>> Oh, yeah. Do you
00:38:51
>> remember that? I I feel slightly bad
00:38:53
about that. You and I went to Paul
00:38:54
McCartney concert.
00:38:55
>> Did I cry? Oh, the beginning of it when
00:38:56
he came out.
00:38:57
>> Yeah. Um,
00:38:59
>> just use using you for content. So, we
00:39:01
we we're both very big fans of the
00:39:03
Beatles. Went to Paul McCartney concert.
00:39:05
We had very expensive seats up up quite
00:39:06
close to the front. And then when he
00:39:08
came on stage um it was such um an
00:39:10
emotional almost religious experience
00:39:12
for you that you started crying and
00:39:13
instead of just being there in the
00:39:15
moment with you I filmed it and put it
00:39:16
on Instagram and Facebook.
00:39:18
>> Yeah. I recall you talking to um Bryce
00:39:20
Casey about the fact you mind your life
00:39:22
for content. One of the worst things you
00:39:23
did was you uh only babysitted my son
00:39:27
once. You and JJ and uh he must have
00:39:31
been five or six maybe even that. And
00:39:34
you put words into his mouth about
00:39:36
finding daddy's stash of marijuana. And
00:39:39
he and remember this? No.
00:39:40
>> No. I've got no recollection.
00:39:42
>> Played it on the radio and that was the
00:39:44
first I heard of it.
00:39:45
>> That was the last time you babysat.
00:39:47
>> Amazing.
00:39:48
>> Yeah. It's quite funny like um you I
00:39:51
suppose the the radio station you were
00:39:53
on the breeze. It was was it's kind of
00:39:54
different in the respect that there's
00:39:55
not that not that um inferno of content
00:39:58
that's required.
00:39:59
>> Not like that. You know, not having to
00:40:01
sell your soul so much. No. Yeah. And I
00:40:04
I've I've spoken to um Sharon about
00:40:05
this. So Sharon Casey was doing
00:40:07
Afternoons at the Edge. She finished up
00:40:09
at the same time as you.
00:40:10
>> Um I know she's enjoying um
00:40:13
>> uh not having the daily grind or the
00:40:15
pressure of of doing that. Like having a
00:40:17
situation. Yeah.
00:40:19
>> When you take a backseat from it, you
00:40:20
can go out for a dinner with friends and
00:40:22
not think in the back of your mind, how
00:40:24
can I turn this into a 5m minute voice
00:40:26
break tomorrow morning or
00:40:28
>> Yeah. because there's just it's just
00:40:30
there's so many voice breaks and so much
00:40:32
content that you have to come up with.
00:40:33
It's just never ending.
00:40:34
>> Yeah. I still used to do a lot of that,
00:40:36
you know, put notes on my phone.
00:40:38
>> Don't have to do that anymore, you know.
00:40:39
>> Yeah.
00:40:40
>> It's a good space to play in.
00:40:41
>> Yeah.
00:40:42
>> All right. Well, let's talk about your
00:40:43
radio stuff, eh? 40-year radio career.
00:40:46
>> Okay.
00:40:46
>> Um more radio awards than any other
00:40:50
broadcaster. And you
00:40:51
>> That's not true. That can't be true.
00:40:52
>> It feels like you you you the the
00:40:54
category you were in, it feels like you
00:40:55
won that award every year. No, I did
00:40:57
not.
00:40:58
>> Did you not?
00:40:58
>> It's interesting the perception. No,
00:41:00
it's not like that. No, it's not. So,
00:41:02
shut that down.
00:41:03
>> The most the most winniest broadcast
00:41:06
store in New Zealand.
00:41:07
>> Be.
00:41:08
>> It feels like every year it was like,
00:41:09
"Oh, maybe it's maybe it's a perception
00:41:11
thing because you you either win or you
00:41:13
always make the finals."
00:41:14
>> No, I don't.
00:41:15
>> And so, it's like you hear, "Oh, Robert
00:41:17
Scott's in the finals again. No doubt
00:41:18
he'll win like he did every year for the
00:41:21
past."
00:41:22
>> I became that guy. It was like back in
00:41:24
the day was Kim and Corbett, right? Oh,
00:41:26
they're always in the finals. They're
00:41:27
always winning and justifiably so, but
00:41:28
you know. No, it wasn't like that. But
00:41:30
there was there's a few. Yep.
00:41:33
>> So, yeah. So, early years, you're born
00:41:35
in the UK.
00:41:36
>> Yeah.
00:41:36
>> Yeah. And you moved to New Zealand when
00:41:39
you how old?
00:41:39
>> When I was eight,
00:41:40
>> right?
00:41:41
>> Oh, okay. I thought you were younger
00:41:43
than that.
00:41:43
>> No, eight. Right. That was quite the
00:41:45
culture shock. So, dad was working at
00:41:46
Heathrow airport doing shifts. He was a
00:41:49
aircraft engineer and uh and England was
00:41:52
getting busier and he was working at
00:41:53
3:00 in the morning and we wanted a
00:41:54
different life. a lot of English were
00:41:56
coming through uh to to New Zealand and
00:41:57
he was um got a job in Palmer North of
00:41:59
all places to work with other palms. Uh
00:42:02
and it was
00:42:02
>> what was Palmerston North a hot bed for
00:42:04
UK immigrants?
00:42:05
>> Well, certainly the um field air at the
00:42:08
airport was a lot of English guys
00:42:10
working there.
00:42:11
>> Okay.
00:42:12
>> Yeah. But it was a pretty um wasn't an
00:42:14
easy time for me.
00:42:15
>> All right. So when was this like mid70s?
00:42:17
>> Yeah. 74. So I left all my friends
00:42:19
behind. I left all my toys behind and I
00:42:20
was quite excited about coming to this
00:42:22
whole new country. First of all, I was
00:42:23
excited about flying on a plane for the
00:42:25
first time, you know, all all the way
00:42:27
around the other side of the world and
00:42:29
you'd push the button and there'd be
00:42:31
free Coke and peanuts, you know, they
00:42:33
bring you. And then um we arrived in
00:42:36
Wellington and then flew up to Palmer
00:42:38
North, which was going to be home. And
00:42:40
it was quite the culture shock. In what
00:42:42
way? Um well, for example, school was
00:42:45
interesting because I began school at
00:42:46
the age of four. So I was a year ahead
00:42:48
of all these other kids and I went to a
00:42:50
Catholic school there and uh and the
00:42:54
that was not tolerated. I had to relearn
00:42:57
things like when it came to writing you
00:42:59
know as in I was doing what we know as
00:43:01
print script joining up. Oh no these
00:43:03
kids were still doing this old English
00:43:05
bloody old world way of forming letters.
00:43:07
So I had to relearn that. Um and because
00:43:10
I was English it was not easy. Uh back
00:43:13
in those days the the the unions were
00:43:15
very strong, always led by someone with
00:43:18
an English accent and there was um a
00:43:20
radio host at Radio Pacific and um he
00:43:22
had a a campaign called Punch Up a Day
00:43:25
and uh it's blatant racism and I I've I
00:43:29
got the brunt of that as a kid. Not much
00:43:31
fun to be honest. That's why I don't
00:43:33
like racism at all.
00:43:35
>> Yep.
00:43:36
>> So So people were punching you or were
00:43:39
you just aware that this was a thing?
00:43:40
>> Didn't get punched. Um, I was
00:43:44
I was sat on an entire lunchtime one by
00:43:47
once by three guys just as I'd come to
00:43:49
New Zealand.
00:43:50
>> This wasn't at the gay hall.
00:43:51
>> No, no, no, no, no. I was a
00:43:53
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:54
>> Then there was this moment in in primary
00:43:56
school which is it still harrows me. Um,
00:43:59
uh, it was a very hot summer day in 1977
00:44:03
and we'd been sanding down our desks.
00:44:05
Remember the discs were they wouldn't
00:44:08
and
00:44:08
>> the little pin well and the little
00:44:10
>> Yeah. Okay. And so my lips were all
00:44:13
blistered up because of the sun. It's
00:44:14
been a very hot summer and this one guy
00:44:16
and I know his name to this day came up
00:44:18
behind me and he sandpapered my lips
00:44:21
with sandpaper and it was so bloody
00:44:24
painful and there was blood everywhere
00:44:27
and you know you never forget the
00:44:28
bully's names and I know I know who he
00:44:31
is and know what he does now and
00:44:32
ironically
00:44:34
>> he's a builder. So that was his first
00:44:36
first job on me and now he works with
00:44:39
bloody sandpaper. But I've tried to
00:44:40
reach out to him.
00:44:41
>> Why?
00:44:42
>> To get some closure. He's ignored it.
00:44:44
I've emailed him. Yep.
00:44:46
>> What did you What did you email?
00:44:48
>> I said, "Hey, are you that guy?" Because
00:44:50
I'm pretty sure we went to school
00:44:51
together. Nothing.
00:44:53
>> Do you know he saw it?
00:44:55
>> No.
00:44:57
>> I know. I need to leave that alone. But
00:44:59
it was horrific.
00:44:59
>> It's funny because Yeah. when something
00:45:01
like that happens to you, the the impact
00:45:03
of it or the trauma of it, whatever you
00:45:05
want to call, uh stays with you forever,
00:45:07
but for him, he may not even remember
00:45:09
that. Also, he was an old kid as well.
00:45:11
>> Yeah.
00:45:11
>> Um not not excusing his behavior, but I
00:45:14
don't know.
00:45:16
>> I don't know. I don't know what I'm
00:45:17
trying to trying to say here, but I I
00:45:18
know I know the impact that has on you
00:45:20
and that sort of thing. When it happens
00:45:22
to you as a kid, it stays with you
00:45:24
forever.
00:45:24
>> Um
00:45:26
>> but yeah, I mean, he's probably not he's
00:45:28
probably not sandpapering people now.
00:45:29
Unless he is.
00:45:31
He's got unlimited access to all the
00:45:32
buildings.
00:45:33
>> I need to let he Yes. Any kind of grade?
00:45:36
What would you like? Really coarse or
00:45:37
fine today, sir. Give me your lips.
00:45:40
>> Maybe he's more compassionate in his old
00:45:41
age. So, he's like, "Oh, this guy's got
00:45:42
very soft skin. I'll just give him a
00:45:44
nice
00:45:44
>> I did run into him. I ran into him early
00:45:48
maybe uh 2008 and uh we were at an event
00:45:51
together. I couldn't believe I saw him.
00:45:52
I felt sick when I saw him."
00:45:54
>> Did you?
00:45:55
>> Yeah.
00:45:55
>> Right. You just felt You felt like an
00:45:57
8-year-old boy.
00:45:57
>> I had nothing to say to him. Oh my god,
00:45:59
there is that guy.
00:46:00
>> Why did Why didn't you Why don't you
00:46:02
confront him?
00:46:02
>> Oh, I was I was
00:46:04
>> just panicked.
00:46:04
>> I was just blindsided.
00:46:06
>> I never thought I'd see him again, but
00:46:07
there he was.
00:46:08
>> Feel like that's um that's that's a
00:46:11
difference between you and me. And I
00:46:12
think you're probably in the right here
00:46:14
and I'm in the wrong. But I'll be I'd be
00:46:15
like, I'm not going to write to that
00:46:16
[ __ ] I'm not going to give him
00:46:17
the satisfaction to know that all these
00:46:19
years later it still plays on me, even
00:46:21
though it does. Whereas you like, hey,
00:46:24
>> what you did was not right. This is how
00:46:25
it made me feel. M
00:46:26
>> what you what did you what did you want?
00:46:28
Did you want an apology from him?
00:46:30
>> Wanted to know what was going through
00:46:31
his mind.
00:46:32
>> That was a not an apology as such. I
00:46:34
would have probably got one but uh yeah.
00:46:36
>> Yeah.
00:46:36
>> But I won't hear from him. That's all
00:46:37
right. That's what it is.
00:46:39
>> Have you any therapy or anything?
00:46:41
>> Not for that.
00:46:42
>> No. No.
00:46:42
>> No.
00:46:44
>> Yeah. It's Yeah. Stuff like that it
00:46:46
shapes you as a person. It's amazing.
00:46:48
Eh,
00:46:48
>> you don't realize the impact this has
00:46:50
potentially until later.
00:46:51
>> So yeah, that adjust you you still sort
00:46:53
of speak with a little bit of an English
00:46:54
accent. There's some words
00:46:56
>> slightly. Yeah. Yeah. But I I kind of
00:46:57
learned um the only way to get through
00:47:00
school was to lose it. And so, uh yeah,
00:47:03
I I managed to lose it. My sister who's
00:47:05
older than me still has very strong
00:47:06
English accent, but no, mine left.
00:47:08
>> No, there's still words like when you
00:47:10
say because
00:47:10
>> because you like I think you said it
00:47:13
differently than you because
00:47:15
>> I'm not a toy.
00:47:18
[Laughter]
00:47:20
>> Yeah.
00:47:21
>> One thing that was very funny. I was
00:47:23
told before we left uh England that
00:47:25
every kid in New Zealand had a pet lamb.
00:47:27
Oh, great. Right. So, get off the plane.
00:47:30
Where's my lamb? Never happened.
00:47:33
Where's my lamb? Can you buy me a lamb
00:47:35
for my birthday next year, please?
00:47:38
This is [ __ ]
00:47:40
Yeah, I can't. That's a strange age to
00:47:42
be moving. Eh, I for some reason I
00:47:43
thought you moved to New Zealand when
00:47:44
you were younger, like pre preschool
00:47:46
age. No,
00:47:46
>> but you've already got some of your like
00:47:48
primary school roots established. I
00:47:50
can't imagine the out rough. And we went
00:47:52
back a few years later when my
00:47:54
grandmother had cancer. Myself and my
00:47:56
dad went back. We went back back to my
00:47:58
hometown of Farra to the park I used to
00:48:01
play in. And I saw my best friend Tim on
00:48:03
a swing. And I went up to him and said,
00:48:05
"Tim, hi, it's Robert."
00:48:09
And he'd forgotten all about me. He
00:48:12
didn't know who I was.
00:48:15
Maybe he's like, "This guy looks like
00:48:17
Robert, but he sounds like a New
00:48:18
Zealander."
00:48:19
>> Yeah. And he's wearing gum boots.
00:48:21
He's got a sheep under his arm.
00:48:24
>> Oh, he hasn't.
00:48:25
>> Oh, that must have been heartbreaking.
00:48:27
>> Yeah, it was pretty [ __ ]
00:48:28
>> Well, did he What did Were you like
00:48:30
remember Robert? You know, we used to
00:48:31
>> Yeah, tried. Nothing.
00:48:33
>> Ring a bell. Sorry, mate.
00:48:34
>> I really made an impact on Tim.
00:48:37
>> Oh, that's devastating. So, why did you
00:48:40
>> Hey,
00:48:41
>> why did you um why did you gravitate
00:48:42
towards radio?
00:48:43
>> Oh, yeah. So, um, Palmster North had a
00:48:46
local radio station, Tuesday, and, uh,
00:48:48
you could actually go and see them
00:48:50
behind the glass, do their thing, and
00:48:51
get requests on, and it felt like they
00:48:54
were part of the community. In England,
00:48:56
there wasn't that because it all came
00:48:57
from London. I had no concept of radio
00:48:59
living in England. Uh, come to New
00:49:01
Zealand. There's two today. They're
00:49:02
doing promotions in the square in Palms
00:49:04
North. And, uh, I felt that's me. And
00:49:06
also, I I love music, you know. I love
00:49:08
music. So, um, the two go hand in hand.
00:49:11
Uh, and I I've always enjoyed the music
00:49:14
when I've been on air. I've never worked
00:49:16
at a radio station where I haven't
00:49:17
enjoyed the music. That's a big part of
00:49:19
it for me. And I get to meet musicians
00:49:21
and the whole it was a marriage made in
00:49:23
heaven. It was a combination of music,
00:49:25
performing, which is what I love doing,
00:49:27
either playing in a band or amateur
00:49:28
theater back in the day. Uh, it was it
00:49:31
was the perfect thing for me to do. And
00:49:32
I knew that um that I was going to do it
00:49:36
cuz when you're young, no one ever says
00:49:38
you're not going to or you can't. Uh,
00:49:40
and so I was just so determined to do
00:49:42
it. I failed the audition for Radio New
00:49:45
Zealand when I was 17. They said come
00:49:47
back in 10 years and then next year I
00:49:49
went to 2XS and the private radio
00:49:51
station in Palmer North and uh and and
00:49:54
got a job quite quickly. Um, but as you
00:49:57
as you will have known back then no one
00:50:00
wanted to be on the radio because they
00:50:02
never had the dream of being on the
00:50:03
radio. Now a lot of people want to be in
00:50:06
broadcasting of some sorts. You know, we
00:50:08
were we were quite we were different.
00:50:11
>> I suppose when you when you live in a
00:50:13
place a small place like Palmer North in
00:50:15
the 80s or the 90s, that's as close as
00:50:16
what you can get to being like a
00:50:18
celebrity.
00:50:19
>> It is.
00:50:21
>> You know what I mean? People say maybe
00:50:23
you'd aspire to be on Shortland Street
00:50:24
or something, but or on the news, but in
00:50:26
in a regional New Zealand
00:50:29
>> the dreary ' 80s and 90s, that's about
00:50:30
as big as what it gets. I was being paid
00:50:32
$12,000 a year, which even at the time
00:50:34
in 1990 was a pittance. Right.
00:50:36
>> So, it was like they're like, "Oh, this
00:50:38
guy sucks, but whatever. He's doing
00:50:39
good."
00:50:40
>> Yeah.
00:50:40
>> He turns up, he's liable, he's [ __ ] but
00:50:43
no one's listening anyway.
00:50:44
>> It was your attitude that got you across
00:50:45
the line. Absolutely.
00:50:48
>> So, were you good immediately or like
00:50:51
when you when you started, did did it
00:50:52
like fit like a glove? Like it that
00:50:54
definitely wasn't my experience.
00:50:56
>> People said I was good, but I don't
00:50:57
don't think I was good. People people
00:50:59
said I was um confident and I had, you
00:51:01
know, a voice that sounded right on the
00:51:03
radio, but um I was very hard on myself.
00:51:06
You know, I'd make mistakes and beat
00:51:09
myself up over it. Took a long time to
00:51:11
get to a point where I was happy with my
00:51:13
performance. Even then, I go back to
00:51:14
listen to tapes in the 90s and I'm so
00:51:17
jockish. 91.
00:51:19
It sounds ridiculous. It's appalling.
00:51:22
>> Oh, but there was a time I think a
00:51:24
moment in time where people were talking
00:51:25
with funny voices on the radio. your
00:51:26
your voice now, your just your normal
00:51:28
voice. It sounds like a radio voice.
00:51:30
>> Does it?
00:51:31
>> Yeah. Oh, dear.
00:51:31
>> I mean, if I was working in a cafe and I
00:51:33
served you, I'd be like, "This guy
00:51:34
sounds like if this guy's not on the
00:51:35
radio, he should
00:51:36
>> I got that the other day. I was ordering
00:51:38
a coffee." Oh. So, what are you doing
00:51:39
with yourself? I'm I'm in between jobs.
00:51:41
What were you doing? I was on radio. I
00:51:43
could tell that.
00:51:47
>> So, the um So, you got the job straight
00:51:49
out of school?
00:51:50
>> Pretty much doing Midnight to Dawns on
00:51:52
2X. I I went to teachers college for a
00:51:54
bit uh because I didn't know what else I
00:51:56
wanted to do. So, I I left Teachers
00:51:58
College and then got a full-time job at
00:52:00
2XS uh April 1985
00:52:04
and midnight to Dawns or two to two to
00:52:06
2:00 to 6:00 in the morning plus two
00:52:08
hours doing reception and uh that lasted
00:52:12
for a while and yeah, I left Palmy after
00:52:15
going through um different shows like
00:52:17
Drive and I filled in with you on
00:52:20
breakfast for a bit in between breakfast
00:52:22
shows and then moved to 91 FM in
00:52:24
Oakuckland to do afternoons. Yeah. Yeah.
00:52:27
What did you when you started in radio?
00:52:28
What did you want to achieve?
00:52:30
>> Have you done more than what you
00:52:32
imagined?
00:52:32
>> Yeah. I I mean you we both of us aspired
00:52:36
to to working in a big market and that
00:52:37
was Oakland and it was like I want to be
00:52:40
on Oakland radio and then I want to be
00:52:42
on Oakland breakfast and and and you you
00:52:44
you tick these boxes as you go along.
00:52:46
And it was it was amazing. When I began
00:52:48
breakfast on 911 Fair with Jackie
00:52:50
Tucker, I'd worked out that myself and
00:52:53
Robert Rakati um were and Jackie, we
00:52:56
were the three youngest on Breakfast at
00:52:59
that time, which was in Oakuckland,
00:53:02
which was mind-blowing. I was
00:53:06
26,
00:53:07
>> which sounds old now, but at the time it
00:53:09
was like, "Wow." Yeah, it was pretty
00:53:11
cool.
00:53:12
>> Yeah. And and just um Yeah. just to to
00:53:14
fill in some some gaps for people that
00:53:16
might not not might not understand what
00:53:17
Robert's talking about is this is pre-
00:53:18
internet so like Oakland was like a
00:53:20
different a different city. Oh yeah.
00:53:21
>> So in Palmer North that like all the big
00:53:24
dogs in radio were in Oakuckland and we
00:53:26
had no way listening to them or no
00:53:28
>> here if you went up to Oakland on
00:53:29
holiday maybe you could like like listen
00:53:30
to these big shows and see what the big
00:53:32
dogs are doing but otherwise you had no
00:53:34
idea what was going on. Oakland may as
00:53:36
well have been LA or somewhere. And I
00:53:38
need to thank you because when I first
00:53:39
got the job doing breakfast, um I didn't
00:53:41
really know what to do, but I knew that
00:53:42
you and Mike were doing some amazing
00:53:43
work. And I came down to Palmster North
00:53:45
the weekend before I began on on 2XS and
00:53:47
you gave me a realtoreal tape of all
00:53:49
these song parodies and all these bits
00:53:51
and pieces and you constantly send me
00:53:53
information um fax it up and I would use
00:53:57
a lot of the stuff that you were doing
00:53:58
on air and palmy in Oakuckland. So thank
00:54:00
you.
00:54:01
>> Fax it up. That's a phrase I haven't
00:54:03
heard.
00:54:03
>> Those were the days. Can I
00:54:06
>> the internet was in in a very early uh
00:54:08
stage and you guys got telephone numbers
00:54:11
for people like Henry Winkler and uh
00:54:14
Leslie Nielson, Vincent Price and we
00:54:17
used to ring them as well, right?
00:54:18
>> And it was amazing. This was before
00:54:20
these celebrities cotton on to the fact
00:54:22
they possibly should change their
00:54:24
telephone numbers or have enlisted
00:54:25
telephone numbers, but we used to ring
00:54:27
them on their birthdays. How cool was
00:54:29
that?
00:54:29
>> I I think this was this was a time where
00:54:31
like someone with a New Zealand accent
00:54:32
was still not
00:54:33
>> correct. That's right.
00:54:34
>> Oh, you're from New Zealand. Hi. Okay.
00:54:36
I'll give you 5 minutes of my time.
00:54:38
>> Um,
00:54:39
>> yeah, 40 years is is an incredible run
00:54:41
like in in in any industry or any any
00:54:44
job. I think it's an incredible run.
00:54:46
>> Um,
00:54:46
>> but especially in some arms of the media
00:54:49
like radio, like it's it's remarkable.
00:54:50
So, what do you think the secret is to
00:54:52
staying relevant and employed?
00:54:54
>> Um, keeping your head down to a point.
00:54:56
Uh,
00:54:57
>> that's a terrible way. It's a terrible
00:54:59
thing to say, isn't it?
00:55:00
>> It's true. Head down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,
00:55:02
keep your head down. Uh, learn, keep
00:55:04
learning, especially technology. Uh,
00:55:06
once again, when the internet came
00:55:07
along, okay, how can I use this as a
00:55:09
tool? Um, when I went to to live in the
00:55:12
UK and work in the UK there in radio, my
00:55:14
co-host guy uh had a a program on his
00:55:17
computer where you could edit audio and
00:55:19
I need that as well. So, I learned how
00:55:21
to do that so I could do it at home.
00:55:23
Keep learning the technology and listen
00:55:25
to young people. What are they doing?
00:55:27
Listen to other more experienced
00:55:30
broadcasters. What are they doing? you
00:55:31
know, you you become a magpie, right?
00:55:33
You borrow things from people and make
00:55:35
them your own.
00:55:37
>> Constantly evolving is the I guess the
00:55:39
answer to your question or trying to
00:55:41
>> Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Just Yeah. I feel like
00:55:43
that's a good a good um a good lesson
00:55:45
for any any aspect of your life like
00:55:47
just constant constant improvement,
00:55:48
>> but especially with radio technology,
00:55:50
right? Technology has changed so much.
00:55:53
So,
00:55:54
>> get up with the play, make
00:55:56
>> make social media content that's going
00:55:58
to resonate, you know, that whole thing.
00:56:01
Yeah.
00:56:01
>> What are some of the highlights of your
00:56:03
40 years?
00:56:04
>> Are there any standout moments?
00:56:07
>> I've always enjoyed the ability, this is
00:56:08
going to sound sanctimonious, but it's
00:56:10
true. Yeah. Oh, no. I think I'm bringing
00:56:12
you into this conversation. Being able
00:56:13
to help people, you know, when you did
00:56:15
the marathons for that that young girl
00:56:16
that need the operation, right?
00:56:18
>> You use the power of radio to make
00:56:20
someone's life better. And when we did
00:56:22
Win a Wish on the breeze, you could do
00:56:24
that. you know, whether it be get
00:56:26
someone a mobility scooter or a new spa
00:56:29
pool or, you know, you can actually use
00:56:31
the power of broadcasting, you know,
00:56:33
through a Contra to um to make their
00:56:35
lives a bit better.
00:56:36
>> Highlights. Yeah, that'd be it.
00:56:38
>> Yeah, 100% agree with that. I I had um
00:56:40
Bryce Casey from The Rock Rumble on the
00:56:42
podcast um a few months ago and and it's
00:56:45
the same sort of thing. It's like it's
00:56:46
only like say 5% or 10% of their show,
00:56:48
but the the stuff they've done around
00:56:50
mental health awareness and fundraising,
00:56:52
that's the stuff that's the stuff that
00:56:53
sticks with.
00:56:54
>> And how good is it that you know when we
00:56:55
began radio, the radio announcers were
00:56:57
that was this is and now you have the
00:57:00
likes of Bryce, likes of yourself,
00:57:02
myself, people who are not afraid to
00:57:05
emote and say how they are really
00:57:07
feeling and that takes a huge leap of
00:57:09
faith. And you did see a lot of the
00:57:11
presenters begin to fall away when that
00:57:13
was required. When when we we were asked
00:57:15
to become more than just personalities,
00:57:18
we were asked to become people or
00:57:20
persons. A lot of guys went, "Shit,
00:57:22
that's I can't do that. I need to back
00:57:24
announce that song and talk about that
00:57:27
fun fact from Led Zeppelin of 1975." But
00:57:30
who cares? I I had um I was driving
00:57:33
around the other day and I had a radio
00:57:34
station on. It was like the gold or the
00:57:36
sound or something
00:57:37
>> and um they were doing like a list of
00:57:39
celebrity birthdays in the morning and
00:57:41
most of the people were dead.
00:57:43
Yeah. Like
00:57:45
>> so singers from bands, I was like, who
00:57:47
cares? Who wants to listen?
00:57:48
>> I don't know why people still do that.
00:57:50
But you know, that was a leap of faith
00:57:51
for us as broadcasters when they
00:57:52
suddenly said, "You've got to be
00:57:53
yourself." You know, how do you really
00:57:55
feel about this? Don't don't say what
00:57:57
you think you should say, say how you
00:57:59
really feel. And that is a real leap of
00:58:01
faith. And either you could do it or you
00:58:02
couldn't.
00:58:03
>> Yeah. Interesting.
00:58:06
What was the toughest day you had on
00:58:08
here
00:58:09
or toughest days? Certainly the day
00:58:12
after my mother passed away because I
00:58:14
went on air. They knew she'd been unwell
00:58:15
to talk about it. I just did an hour and
00:58:17
talked about it and went home again.
00:58:19
That was real oral.
00:58:20
>> Why did you go in?
00:58:21
>> Um uh because once again it's a
00:58:24
connection with the listeners. They knew
00:58:25
she was unwell and and I thought, you
00:58:26
know, I would just go in and talk about
00:58:28
it and it felt good. Felt cathartic to
00:58:30
do it.
00:58:31
>> Yeah.
00:58:33
>> But there's no pressure for you to go
00:58:34
in. You just seem like the right thing
00:58:36
for you to do.
00:58:37
>> Yeah. Yeah. Also, the Christ Church
00:58:38
terror attacks were terrible in the
00:58:40
afternoon cuz I was I was on air while
00:58:42
it was all unfolding and you know to
00:58:43
find the right tone and get the right
00:58:45
information and there was one radio
00:58:47
station that was playing audio that was
00:58:49
you know it was so many people have been
00:58:51
affected by it so many people had died
00:58:53
but that was it wasn't proven and it was
00:58:55
a case of working out what was really
00:58:58
happening and and presenting that to the
00:59:00
people of Christ Church to make sure
00:59:01
that it was accurate but I know there
00:59:04
was one station that was going oh
00:59:06
sensationalizing the whole
00:59:08
Not that you could say it wasn't being
00:59:10
sensationalized, but they weren't
00:59:11
accurate. And to find that right tone
00:59:13
and all the right details was a was was
00:59:16
hard,
00:59:17
>> you know, during a terrible terrible
00:59:19
day.
00:59:20
>> Yeah. I suppose hard when it's
00:59:21
especially not your it's not your bread
00:59:23
and butter.
00:59:24
>> No, you're the you're the radio station
00:59:25
that was playing in like medical
00:59:27
reception rooms.
00:59:28
>> Yeah. Right.
00:59:28
>> Playing like Lionel Richie songs, you
00:59:30
know. It wasn't your place to be,
00:59:33
>> you suppose, the home of like breaking
00:59:35
devastating news like that. I can recall
00:59:37
walking out to Ponby Road and across the
00:59:39
road there is there's a few bars and
00:59:40
people on that Friday were drinking and
00:59:43
I'm going, "Wow, are you are you guys
00:59:45
aware of what's just happened? Are you
00:59:48
aware?" You know? Anyway, that was that
00:59:50
was the hardest day I think.
00:59:52
>> Really
00:59:52
>> hard to get the tone right on something
00:59:53
like that though because like what do
00:59:55
you what do you do? Are those people on
00:59:56
Pon that were having a good time? Should
00:59:58
they have just gone home and been been
00:59:59
sad? Maybe.
01:00:01
>> I don't know. I don't I didn't feel like
01:00:02
going out for a drink.
01:00:03
>> Yeah. But you'd been in it all
01:00:05
afternoon, I suppose. Yeah, I had and
01:00:06
911 in England was tough because that
01:00:08
because we were of a different time
01:00:10
zone, northern hemisphere that happened
01:00:12
in the afternoon. Um, so we watched it
01:00:15
live on TV and then we had to get on air
01:00:17
the next day. And of course, as you
01:00:19
would have found, the next few weeks
01:00:21
talk about 9/11. But England um went
01:00:24
into overdrive with panic and and
01:00:27
justifiably so because at one stage
01:00:29
there was talk about a plane flying
01:00:31
towards Canary Warf, which is in London,
01:00:33
the financial district and and the next
01:00:35
day the the Sun newspaper had a picture
01:00:38
of a gas mask on the front saying sold
01:00:41
out because everyone was concerned about
01:00:42
anthrax and things like that. So England
01:00:44
went into a panic mode and so that those
01:00:48
few weeks were really challenging and
01:00:50
part of the reason why we chose to come
01:00:52
home at the end of the year. We thought
01:00:54
we want to come back to New Zealand.
01:00:55
>> [ __ ] it was such a long time ago and a
01:00:57
lot of people won't even of a certain
01:00:58
age won't even remember. But yeah, so
01:01:00
911 2001
01:01:02
>> it's crazy to think that before that you
01:01:04
you just rock up to an airport.
01:01:06
>> Yeah.
01:01:07
>> Carry your bottle of water through
01:01:08
>> happy days. You could take your hair
01:01:10
straighteners on the plane with you if
01:01:12
you wanted. Um, it changed everything.
01:01:15
>> Have you been to the museum in New York?
01:01:18
>> The the memorial.
01:01:19
>> Yeah. Underneath underneath.
01:01:20
>> No, I mean underneath.
01:01:23
>> It's incredible.
01:01:24
>> It's beautiful, but it's shocking. And
01:01:26
>> yeah, there's a wonderful mosaic as you
01:01:29
go down these escalators. And people
01:01:31
were asked to paint the color of the sky
01:01:33
as they saw it that day. And of course,
01:01:35
all these collections are blue. It's
01:01:37
It's amazing.
01:01:38
>> But it's Yeah. Yeah.
01:01:40
>> Frightening. So, um, next year I, if
01:01:44
I've got this right, would have been
01:01:45
your 20th anniversary on the Breeze.
01:01:48
>> Oh, possibly. So, yeah.
01:01:48
>> Is that right?
01:01:49
>> Yeah.
01:01:50
>> Would you, is that a milestone that you
01:01:51
wanted to make it towards that you just
01:01:53
couldn't? Would you have liked to have
01:01:54
been there for 20 years or is that an
01:01:56
insignificant number?
01:01:57
>> No. Um, no. No. No. Proud of being part
01:02:01
of a team that that did well because the
01:02:03
breeze was like really wasn't ratings
01:02:06
like 15 years ago. We we would not even
01:02:09
make the media works press release
01:02:10
because our our figures weren't great.
01:02:12
Uh and um there was a change in
01:02:16
management and Will Macy came in who had
01:02:18
good vision and put together a great
01:02:20
team and we did things like Coca-Cola
01:02:22
Christmas on the breeze and we did all
01:02:23
these things which made some noise and
01:02:24
gradually we you know I remember you and
01:02:27
Bryce on the podcast saying everyone can
01:02:28
say they're number one but we were
01:02:30
number one you know we were
01:02:31
>> okay mate
01:02:33
>> shut up I get um proud to be part of
01:02:37
that but as far as any milestone's
01:02:39
concerned no don't care
01:02:41
>> well it's it's it's Funny because it
01:02:42
it's a number that would mean something
01:02:44
to you but to nobody else and it's so
01:02:46
I'm pleased to hear it didn't didn't
01:02:48
mean anything to you.
01:02:49
>> Um yeah what do you think the breeze
01:02:52
brought to New Zealand radio that was
01:02:53
missing before?
01:02:56
>> Um
01:02:57
>> so was it the
01:02:59
>> that's a great question. Was it the
01:03:00
Breeze when you started like 18 19 years
01:03:02
ago or did it did you did it was it
01:03:05
switched on as the Breeze and you
01:03:06
started? So you were the first breakfast
01:03:08
Roberty and I and Janette Thomas were
01:03:09
the first breakfast show in 2006.
01:03:13
>> Okay.
01:03:13
>> Okay.
01:03:14
>> So the Breeze launched and you were the
01:03:15
first breakfast show the two Robbies.
01:03:17
Yeah.
01:03:17
>> Correct. Y
01:03:18
>> yeah. So um that's so cool. Starting a
01:03:21
station.
01:03:22
>> Yeah, it was. And we were
01:03:23
>> and then being there for that long.
01:03:24
>> It was hard work. It was just the just
01:03:26
the two of us and uh it was it was hard
01:03:27
work. It was Yeah. Was there was there
01:03:29
even talk early on in those early years
01:03:31
that they might like switch it off or
01:03:33
reformat to something else? Not that I
01:03:34
was aware of. Oh, there was there was to
01:03:37
few years into it we we got pipped by um
01:03:42
Easy Mix which was the NZME station and
01:03:45
uh there was concerns there that perhaps
01:03:48
Robert and I would not be continuing.
01:03:50
>> Oh, so the station would continue but
01:03:51
you guys Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So
01:03:54
>> that's a constant It's funny that like
01:03:56
um that's a constant threat when you're
01:03:57
in when you're in radio. Yeah,
01:03:58
>> it's not not necessarily imminent like
01:04:00
you have a few survey periods
01:04:02
>> um but you know if the writing is
01:04:04
beginning to be on the wall
01:04:05
>> basically there was a conversation
01:04:06
saying if things don't change we're
01:04:08
going to have to look at the show and
01:04:10
then um uh uh divine intervention came
01:04:14
when NZME changed classic hits to the
01:04:17
hits and they dumped a whole lot of the
01:04:19
older audience straight to the breeze
01:04:21
and this everything changed.
01:04:23
>> Yeah, that was a big
01:04:24
>> So it was like a saving grace.
01:04:26
>> Yeah, hugely so.
01:04:27
>> Yeah. And that changed the changed the
01:04:28
momentum.
01:04:28
>> It did. Yep.
01:04:29
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. So, back to that
01:04:30
question. Yeah. What do you think the
01:04:32
Breeze brought to New Zealand radio that
01:04:33
was missing before? It's definitely it's
01:04:34
found like it's found a place.
01:04:36
>> It has. It has for two decades now.
01:04:38
>> Well, you know, I I I've never really
01:04:39
enjoyed the whole take it easy easy
01:04:41
listening kind of thing. But I I think
01:04:43
that what once again it comes back to a
01:04:45
mission whereby we were the place to go
01:04:48
if people wanted to get away from all
01:04:50
the noise. You know what I mean?
01:04:51
especially during co uh we were we were
01:04:54
obviously um part of that and uh uh
01:04:59
being informing people on on on what was
01:05:02
happening but at the same time we were
01:05:03
the place to that was the escape that's
01:05:05
the word the escape and also Breeze TV
01:05:07
came along right and so for two years
01:05:09
Breeze TV was an extension of our brand
01:05:11
playing our music playing our promos we
01:05:13
were on it uh it was cuming sorry a lot
01:05:16
of people were watching it and that was
01:05:18
a great extension to the brand so
01:05:20
everything happened at once
01:05:22
It was cool.
01:05:23
>> Did do you have any listeners?
01:05:26
Actually, maybe you didn't don't even
01:05:27
have the answer to this one, but are
01:05:28
there any listeners that were there with
01:05:30
you like in the very beginning of the
01:05:31
breeze that were still there like when
01:05:32
you finished like 19 years later?
01:05:34
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:05:36
>> It's a crazy relationship, eh?
01:05:37
>> Yeah.
01:05:38
>> It's a very one-sided relationship. Like
01:05:40
it's like you you're giving them
01:05:41
something and they're not really giving
01:05:42
much back. But
01:05:43
>> I'm still in contact with a lot of them
01:05:44
as well. Social media. I went out to
01:05:46
lunch with one.
01:05:47
>> Did you? What before?
01:05:48
>> Oh, Alex. My friend Alex. Who's Alex?
01:05:51
>> Alex. Alex um uh is Down syndrome and
01:05:54
he's he's my mate. And we've been out to
01:05:56
lunch and we're going to go bowling and
01:05:58
stuff like that. So, he was also on my
01:05:59
show. He's like Alex would would send me
01:06:01
an audio clip of um today's the last day
01:06:05
of the school holidays and I'd put a
01:06:07
like a fan fair around him. So, here's
01:06:08
Alex with the public service
01:06:10
announcement. So, he loved being part of
01:06:11
my show. He was great. And yeah, we went
01:06:14
to lunch the other day. Had a great
01:06:15
time.
01:06:16
>> It's good that Hston wants to be your
01:06:17
friend because I I had Steven from
01:06:18
Tuned.
01:06:19
>> Yeah. Um, but did he drop you?
01:06:21
>> How rude.
01:06:22
>> Yeah,
01:06:23
>> he's tough.
01:06:23
>> When he could when he couldn't get on
01:06:24
the air every Friday, it was like, yeah,
01:06:26
the calls became more infrequent.
01:06:29
>> He's been on the No, I'm I'm playing.
01:06:30
He's been on the podcast.
01:06:32
>> I've heard that. It's a great podcast.
01:06:33
>> He's He's all good.
01:06:34
>> That's a funny podcast.
01:06:35
>> There many people like that. Do Do you
01:06:37
miss that? Do you miss that sort of
01:06:39
daily radio show or that connection?
01:06:40
>> I miss the people at the radio station.
01:06:42
I don't miss the show at the moment. No,
01:06:43
no, no. I'm fine.
01:06:46
>> You What's been the biggest surprise for
01:06:48
you? like take this this this career has
01:06:50
been a big part of your life like 40
01:06:51
years. Yes. And then suddenly it's not
01:06:53
part of your life anymore. What what
01:06:54
have been like the biggest surprises?
01:06:56
>> Initially I thought, oh my gosh, I've
01:06:57
always been um two parallel people, you
01:06:59
know. There's me on the radio and
01:07:01
there's me as a person. And me on the
01:07:03
radio is now going to have a rest.
01:07:04
What's going to happen? And it it was
01:07:06
fine.
01:07:08
I'm I'm Yeah, I'm great. I'm loving
01:07:10
playing in the band with Shane, who was
01:07:12
going to be my best man. And um that's
01:07:15
great. So, we played covers and
01:07:17
available for um corporate gigs. Hello.
01:07:19
>> Well, look, if he's ever sick or
01:07:21
unavailable to make the band one day,
01:07:22
I'll I'll be his um understudy for that
01:07:24
as well.
01:07:25
>> Thank you for the warning.
01:07:28
>> Um
01:07:30
yeah, one of the one of the surprises
01:07:31
for me um so I was doing radio for 30
01:07:34
years uh is just how little you when
01:07:37
when you're in there, you think it's
01:07:38
your the entire world
01:07:40
>> and then you when you're no longer in
01:07:41
it, you realize, oh, no one actually
01:07:43
gives a [ __ ] can remember you warning
01:07:44
me about that and so I was very aware
01:07:47
that that would be the feeling and yeah
01:07:49
so I haven't had an issue with that and
01:07:51
it's really funny though the moment you
01:07:53
finish there are some people you never
01:07:54
hear from again right that you worked
01:07:56
with you thought hang on a second I
01:07:57
thought we were mates but you call it
01:07:59
transactional right
01:08:00
>> oh
01:08:01
I suppose that's the same in any
01:08:02
workplace like if you work in a work in
01:08:04
a place that you really like so say
01:08:05
someone's listening to this and they
01:08:06
work at B and Zed and you got like 20
01:08:08
people in your team that you work with
01:08:10
when you finish to go somewhere else
01:08:11
you'll be like oh we'll all keep in
01:08:12
touch we'll And the reality is a couple
01:08:14
of them you will but most of them you
01:08:16
won't.
01:08:16
>> No, there's a few people I I catch up
01:08:18
with. Um Braden who was producy
01:08:24
today, you know, so I I keep in contact
01:08:26
with a lot of people.
01:08:27
>> Yeah.
01:08:29
>> Yeah. So to to time stamp this uh
01:08:31
conversation, we're recording this like
01:08:33
a week after some um radio ratings came
01:08:36
out. Yes. So this would have been maybe
01:08:38
the first time in the last 40 years that
01:08:40
you haven't woken up with like nerves or
01:08:42
anxiety.
01:08:43
>> Yeah.
01:08:43
>> The the day that that radio did you even
01:08:45
know the radio ratings? How did you how
01:08:47
did you even know they were coming out?
01:08:48
>> Oh, because I checked on the website the
01:08:50
>> Oh, you actively you actively sort out
01:08:52
the information.
01:08:53
>> No, cuz I I wouldn't even know now. I
01:08:55
wouldn't even know when when the the
01:08:57
ratings are coming out.
01:08:59
>> I'll get to that stage. But yeah, it was
01:09:00
just
01:09:01
>> Oh, you want to Are you still on that
01:09:02
stage where you want to
01:09:04
>> You want to see if the person who
01:09:06
replaced you is doing worse.
01:09:07
>> I'm not that guy.
01:09:09
>> I'm looking at that guy.
01:09:11
>> Everyone is that guy a little bit.
01:09:14
>> I did not know. I didn't know until
01:09:16
Saturday uh the ins and the outs of of
01:09:19
what had gone on. I saw the um they
01:09:22
called them the top line and that was
01:09:23
it. Yeah. So, I did not know.
01:09:26
>> Yeah. It's it's a funny thing. You Yeah,
01:09:29
as I was saying, when you when you're in
01:09:30
radio, you feel like it's really
01:09:31
important. And then when you when you
01:09:33
step out of it, you realize it's it's
01:09:34
not that important. And that's why
01:09:37
everyone everyone has a station that
01:09:38
they Well, actually, no, that that's not
01:09:39
true anymore. But people that listen to
01:09:41
radio, they have a station that they
01:09:42
like and they listen to and they assume
01:09:44
that station's number one.
01:09:45
>> Yes. Sure.
01:09:46
>> Like I I talked to my sister about it.
01:09:48
She's like, "Oh, Haki must be number
01:09:50
one." Like Jeremy Wells is just so
01:09:52
funny. So funny. And I'm I'm like, "No,
01:09:54
it generally doesn't perform that well."
01:09:55
She finds that hard to believe. She's
01:09:57
like, "I find it hard to believe. All
01:09:58
our friends listen to it. I listen to
01:10:00
it.
01:10:01
>> So
01:10:01
>> it does take itself very seriously. E
01:10:04
radio. Yeah. When you're on the inside,
01:10:05
it's Oh my god.
01:10:07
>> Oh, if if you have a real [ __ ] day in
01:10:08
the ratings. Yeah. You Yeah. I mean, you
01:10:11
you go home and you're evaluating your
01:10:12
life,
01:10:13
>> but once you step outside, I mean, my my
01:10:15
wife is in healthcare and she goes,
01:10:17
"This it's just radio. You're not saving
01:10:19
lives, guys." You know, which is true,
01:10:21
>> right? It is. It is. It's not. Yeah.
01:10:24
It's even steps down and down from that.
01:10:27
>> Yeah. like some, you know, it's caller
01:10:29
number nine wins a prize. Hello. It's,
01:10:31
you know, you're not flying a plane.
01:10:32
>> Yeah. When we were doing it, they were
01:10:33
like, you got to tease everything. So,
01:10:35
coming up next, we're going to we've got
01:10:37
a two-minute interview with Benson Boon,
01:10:39
and you expect someone's going to get to
01:10:40
work and sit in their car and listen to
01:10:42
it. You're dreaming. It's out of touch.
01:10:43
On the on the plus side of it, it's been
01:10:46
a great time for both of us. You're
01:10:48
meeting crazy people. Like, for example,
01:10:51
you know that I was I am a KISS fan
01:10:53
growing up. You know, I love Kiss. and
01:10:55
to be interviewing Paul Stanley, lead
01:10:58
singer, and he was so charming. And then
01:11:00
his manager coming up afterwards and
01:11:02
giving myself tickets and backstage
01:11:04
passes to meet the band. And I rang up
01:11:06
all my friends from form two and we all
01:11:08
went along and had our photograph taken
01:11:10
with the band. That is living the dream.
01:11:12
How I'm so grateful for the time I've
01:11:14
had.
01:11:14
>> Little moments like that.
01:11:15
>> Yeah, there's so many good experiences
01:11:17
and it's almost like we've um we've both
01:11:19
managed um to get our way through life
01:11:21
without having like a real job, if
01:11:23
>> you know what I mean.
01:11:24
>> I agree. like um and I'm not not saying
01:11:26
that lightly cuz I I know I know there's
01:11:28
a real real job and as we've probably
01:11:30
talked about in this chat like there's a
01:11:31
lot of stress and anxiety that comes
01:11:33
absolutely a lot of it placed upon us I
01:11:34
think by poor management
01:11:36
>> um you know making you feel like you're
01:11:38
going to lose your job every time
01:11:39
there's some bad ratings like that's not
01:11:41
that's not a great
01:11:42
>> and playing on those insecurities to a
01:11:44
point um but I'm I'm very grateful
01:11:46
you're right it wasn't it never felt
01:11:47
like a real job my sister is a doctor
01:11:49
that's a real job
01:11:51
>> you know so
01:11:52
>> and we we're both lucky we've done we've
01:11:53
both done pretty well out of it.
01:11:55
>> Yeah.
01:11:55
>> It's given us both very good lives.
01:11:57
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I've met the best people
01:11:58
when I was at school at Boy High and
01:12:00
Palmy. Um there was a group of
01:12:02
musicians. They were my tribe. But there
01:12:04
was they were we were the oddballs. We
01:12:06
really were. I I I began work at 2XS.
01:12:09
You are my people. You are my people.
01:12:11
You're crazy. You're eccentric. You're
01:12:14
colorful. You're egotistical. You do
01:12:16
weird things and
01:12:17
>> judgmental. Yeah. Yeah. You're my
01:12:19
people. A and you know the likes of
01:12:21
yourself. um and and Roger Clamp and
01:12:23
Jeremy Corbett and and Roger Bowmont,
01:12:25
Sha O'Neal. We are still friends today
01:12:27
from that radio station,
01:12:29
>> you know what I mean?
01:12:30
>> We're great friends.
01:12:31
>> Yeah, that's probably the big surprise
01:12:32
for me. I I didn't go I I went into
01:12:35
radio like with the goal of being like
01:12:36
um like a a like a a radio superstar and
01:12:40
and standing on standing on whoever's
01:12:42
toes I had to to get to where I wanted
01:12:43
to get.
01:12:44
>> Ruthless boy.
01:12:44
>> Ruthless. One thing um which I I cherish
01:12:48
more as I get older is like the
01:12:49
friendships that I've made along the
01:12:50
way. lifelong friend like like what
01:12:52
we've got here.
01:12:53
>> I I went to I was at a 21st like a few
01:12:55
weeks ago and uh someone stood up and
01:12:57
made a speech and she goes um
01:12:59
>> she said, "Oh, we've had our ups and
01:13:01
downs, but now we're best friends. Like
01:13:03
two years ago when we met, I hated her."
01:13:04
And I'm thinking, "Fuck, I've known
01:13:06
people like Robert longer than what you
01:13:08
guys have been alive.
01:13:10
>> They're talking about the eb and flow of
01:13:12
their two-year relationship."
01:13:13
>> Yeah, we've been really lucky.
01:13:14
>> That is one of the one of the wonderful
01:13:16
aspects of aging, eh? Oh, the longevity
01:13:18
of friendships
01:13:19
>> and the fact we can have these
01:13:20
conversations and be open and honest
01:13:22
with people uh you know our mates. Yeah,
01:13:24
it's great. I love it and I'm very
01:13:26
grateful for for for living living the
01:13:30
dream which I have because I just I
01:13:31
really have enjoyed my radio time and
01:13:33
I've enjoyed the people I've met so many
01:13:35
friends.
01:13:36
>> So, um what sort of um like decid what
01:13:40
sort of thought process went into the
01:13:41
decision to to end?
01:13:44
>> I was uh I needed to reset my life. when
01:13:47
you get the diagnosis. Yes, you do have
01:13:48
prostate cancer. It's like, okay, here's
01:13:50
a chance to get off the um
01:13:55
the the ferris wheel. Just just have a
01:13:57
>> hamster wheel.
01:13:57
>> Hamster wheel. That's that's the way it
01:13:59
was going from survey to survey, you
01:14:01
know. Yeah.
01:14:03
>> Yeah. What do you think about radio and
01:14:04
the future of radio?
01:14:06
>> Sunset industry.
01:14:07
>> No, not yet. No, I think it still has
01:14:09
relevance. Um I I still think especially
01:14:13
say during co times that was amazing
01:14:15
because people were stuck at home and
01:14:17
they had they had a friend in the priest
01:14:19
you know I mean but they had someone
01:14:20
that was terrible
01:14:21
>> singer you can't say that without
01:14:23
singing it
01:14:24
>> I'm not going to sing it but they were
01:14:26
someone they connected with you know
01:14:29
radio is can be and should be
01:14:30
unpredictable um it shouldn't be the
01:14:32
same songs all the time I think radio
01:14:34
stations gosh I I never get the the
01:14:36
concept of having only a few songs on a
01:14:38
playlist I've never understood
01:14:42
never understood that. I think radio
01:14:43
could actually I I'm I'm wrong because
01:14:45
I'm not a program director of course. Uh
01:14:47
and there is um there's a saying from
01:14:50
from other program directors. They'll
01:14:51
say to staff, "Oh, everyone's a program
01:14:53
director. We all have opinions." But
01:14:54
I've always felt that radio station
01:14:56
playlists are too small. Whereas with
01:14:58
Spotify, you can get as much as you
01:14:59
like. But Spotify does not
01:15:01
>> give you that connection, that emotion,
01:15:04
that unpredictability. So I think
01:15:06
radio's still got a place.
01:15:07
>> Yeah.
01:15:07
>> People are still listening.
01:15:09
>> Yeah. Diminishing though surely. in some
01:15:13
demographics like there's only there's
01:15:14
only so so many listening hours and
01:15:17
surely that's been split with although
01:15:20
in saying that like um
01:15:22
>> through the years like there's been
01:15:23
heaps of challenges for radio right like
01:15:25
starting with um TV killed the radio
01:15:27
stuff
01:15:28
>> then there was um like discmen and and
01:15:31
walkman that came along people like oh
01:15:32
that's going to stop radio then the iPod
01:15:34
shuffle and iPhones
01:15:36
>> everything
01:15:36
>> but it's been very resilient e but I
01:15:38
just wonder if it
01:15:39
>> if it has seen better days now Uh, it's
01:15:42
just changed. I' I'd like to because I'm
01:15:44
an optimist and you're a pessimist. I'd
01:15:46
like to
01:15:47
>> No, I'm in the podcasting game now. I
01:15:49
got a podcasting business. So, I'm uh
01:15:52
I'm I'm I'm putting all my chips on
01:15:54
this.
01:15:55
>> I'd like to think that it has a place.
01:15:57
But having said that, did you know in
01:15:59
the UK YouTube has uh surpassed the ITV
01:16:03
for the number of people watching it?
01:16:05
>> Wow.
01:16:05
>> You know, and so that's massive. So
01:16:07
YouTube is uh
01:16:09
>> is a major threat to to TV. Yeah.
01:16:12
>> And yes, so radio has survived this
01:16:14
long. I'm sure it's got another
01:16:16
>> few decades left.
01:16:17
>> Do you Are you Are you done or you want
01:16:19
to do more radio?
01:16:20
>> Do I want to do more radio? Yes, I do.
01:16:22
Yes, I do. But I'm
01:16:23
>> What do you want to do?
01:16:24
>> I'd love to give um give Talkback a go.
01:16:27
I really would. Yeah,
01:16:28
>> because I love telling stories and
01:16:29
talking to people and I, you know,
01:16:31
people people say, "Oh, you know, one
01:16:33
thing I can do is talk on on the phones
01:16:35
with people. You know, I love a good
01:16:37
yarn like that." Do you think you'd be
01:16:39
robust and resilient enough? I'm just
01:16:41
thinking of um a mate of mine um Matt
01:16:43
Heath. He's he's at News Talk ZB. He's
01:16:45
only been there like eight months. Um
01:16:48
apparently like if the audience
01:16:50
disagrees with you, they can be they can
01:16:52
be quite vocal. It's not the it's not
01:16:54
the friendly play pit of the breeze.
01:16:56
>> No, it's not. It's not. Um uh so uh I've
01:16:59
read I've read Matt's book and he
01:17:00
dedicates an entire chapter to dealing
01:17:02
with that. And could I could I deal with
01:17:04
that? I don't know. I don't know. But
01:17:06
>> I think I think Simon Bunnet found that
01:17:08
really rough as well. So Simon Bunnet's
01:17:09
back on music radio now, he'd go I think
01:17:11
it was really good on the on TV as well.
01:17:14
Um but I think he found that sort of
01:17:15
backlash from the audience. It's crazy
01:17:17
because you you think um when you think
01:17:19
of like you people being mean online or
01:17:21
keyboard warriors, you think of kids.
01:17:23
>> You do,
01:17:23
>> not 50 year olds listening to ZB.
01:17:25
>> But Matt Heath asks the question, well,
01:17:27
I don't know uh who you are, so I don't
01:17:29
really care about how you feel about me.
01:17:31
But it also says is this person are they
01:17:33
just winding me up or are they are they
01:17:35
mentally well? You know he asks those
01:17:37
questions when he sees a text like that
01:17:38
to say what is behind what drives that
01:17:41
person to pick up a phone and say those
01:17:43
things about me. So he he he is very
01:17:46
analytical the way he looks at it. But
01:17:48
to answer your question I don't know
01:17:50
>> but you'd like to give it a crack.
01:17:52
>> Yeah.
01:17:52
>> Yeah. Interesting. How much time off do
01:17:54
you want? So you've been off for say say
01:17:58
say say say say say say say say say say
01:17:58
say say say say say say say say say say
01:17:58
eight months now I guess
01:18:00
>> if something came up tomorrow I'd be
01:18:02
keen but yeah I don't know it's how long
01:18:04
is a piece of stroke
01:18:05
>> um yeah over the years how do you how do
01:18:07
you think like radio and the audience
01:18:08
has changed the most like
01:18:10
>> we're far more interactive aren't we
01:18:11
>> over that 40 years
01:18:14
>> well I suppose when you started as you
01:18:15
alluded to before the importance was on
01:18:17
the tone of voice
01:18:18
>> yeah yeah yeah
01:18:19
>> and now it's just now way more about the
01:18:21
connection you have and voice actually
01:18:22
doesn't matter all that much
01:18:23
>> yeah and you could be at home and
01:18:24
someone will, you know, message you.
01:18:26
It'll be a listener asking about
01:18:28
something. You know, back in the day, we
01:18:30
used to go home and that was it.
01:18:33
Now it's 24/7.
01:18:34
>> Oh, in terms of like DMing you on social
01:18:36
media.
01:18:37
>> Yeah. And you need you need to have that
01:18:38
that that connection.
01:18:40
>> It's all those using Simon Bunn as an
01:18:42
example again. He's managed to avoid
01:18:43
that. E like he doesn't have any social
01:18:45
social media.
01:18:46
>> He's got no presence at all. E I admire
01:18:48
that to be honest.
01:18:49
>> Oh, it's incredible.
01:18:50
>> Yeah. Yeah.
01:18:50
>> It's incredible. I feel like the most
01:18:52
most of us just don't have I don't know
01:18:53
the talent or whatever it is to get to
01:18:56
get away without that and you need that.
01:18:58
>> You're right. You're dead right.
01:18:59
>> Oh, speaking of Simon Bunnet, um so his
01:19:01
old co-host way back in the day, Gary
01:19:03
McCormack, they worked together. You
01:19:05
guys had beef. What was the beef?
01:19:07
>> Yeah, there was be Did he create be
01:19:09
because you've got beef with nobody like
01:19:11
you were not overly confrontational and
01:19:13
he did he create beef with Okay, we got
01:19:16
to go down this track. Can I say that?
01:19:17
Um
01:19:18
>> I didn't have this written down. This
01:19:19
just came to mind.
01:19:19
>> Damn it. Um he was the first person I
01:19:22
ever interviewed in like in 1986 and I
01:19:25
really enjoyed his company and he was
01:19:26
always great. Now something weird
01:19:28
happened uh we were both somehow
01:19:31
nominated for radio hunk of the year a
01:19:33
few years ago right and uh they were
01:19:36
very proactive of Moram. He was on the
01:19:38
Breakfast show and um
01:19:40
>> you're way by the way can I just say
01:19:41
you're way hunkier than what Gary is.
01:19:44
>> Don't tell Gary that. And anyway, I made
01:19:46
a video I'm too sexy and it was a real
01:19:49
cool video and I'm too sexy for and it
01:19:51
was a parody of that right said fret
01:19:53
thing and uh McCormack went on to win.
01:19:56
Well, great. Good on you, Gary. Okay. Um
01:19:59
and then the interview appeared in the
01:20:02
Women's Weekly and there was a whole two
01:20:04
or three paragraphs dedicated to how
01:20:06
sorry he felt. He tried so hard but it
01:20:09
would always look up to me. He went even
01:20:10
to the extent of making a video and uh
01:20:13
and he was referred to as being the
01:20:15
radio version of Bert Reynolds and he he
01:20:18
said I hope that he finds his inner
01:20:21
Bert. He's always looked up to me and
01:20:22
I'm going wow I'm reading this going
01:20:25
what have I done? What have I done to
01:20:26
deserve this?
01:20:27
>> You're involved in like a battle that
01:20:29
you didn't even want.
01:20:30
>> No. And uh he was Was he joking? He was
01:20:33
probably joking.
01:20:34
>> Well, yeah. Yeah, but it was lost in the
01:20:35
translation. And the next year Next year
01:20:38
some more. Um, I was at a function and I
01:20:40
ran into to to Marilyn who's the editor
01:20:43
of the women's weekly and she goes, "Oh,
01:20:45
Gary McCormick. He's had some fun with
01:20:47
you." I said, "What are you talking
01:20:48
about?" Uh, because the next year's um
01:20:51
uh competition was up and running and
01:20:54
they interviewed the previous year's
01:20:55
winner and McCormack had a go again. And
01:20:57
I said, "Can you please take that out?"
01:21:00
She goes, "Why?" And I said, "Just it
01:21:02
was so much grief the first time."
01:21:03
Anyway, yep. End of story.
01:21:05
>> Have you seen him in person since then?
01:21:07
>> No. No. Do you think he'd even remember?
01:21:10
No. He was probably just being
01:21:11
>> care about me.
01:21:11
>> No. No. No. He was probably just
01:21:13
>> You didn't even know who I was.
01:21:14
>> Yeah.
01:21:15
Um, you had any other beef? No. You've
01:21:18
got no beef with anyone, eh?
01:21:21
>> No. No. There's never been any sort of
01:21:24
>> Yeah. I I had to walk into rooms and you
01:21:26
know, you talked before about walking
01:21:28
into the room and the sandpaper guy and
01:21:29
you didn't want to speak to him, but
01:21:31
every when I was in radio, every room I
01:21:32
walked in, it was like, "Oh god, who's
01:21:34
going to be in this room that I have to
01:21:35
avoid?"
01:21:35
>> Yeah. No, I've never had anyone like
01:21:36
that. Yeah.
01:21:37
>> No. Lucky, I think. Lucky.
01:21:39
>> Um,
01:21:41
what's the most what the [ __ ] moment you
01:21:42
had when the mic was live? Have there
01:21:44
been any like monumental stuff ups on
01:21:46
the air? Everyone must have had a moment
01:21:47
where they left the microphone on and
01:21:49
you swore on air or something unexpected
01:21:51
happened
01:21:52
>> from a caller.
01:21:56
No. Um, but I I I will bring into a
01:21:59
story that we did one year at 2x which
01:22:01
is kind of similar but not really. uh
01:22:03
the kite days in Palmer North when you
01:22:05
know it was Easter and there'd be pl
01:22:07
people flying kites down uh
01:22:11
at Oni Park and I was in charge of
01:22:14
dropping ping pong balls out of a light
01:22:16
plane and one ping-pong ball had a lucky
01:22:18
number on it to win a stereo a car
01:22:19
stereo and I was in the plane and I
01:22:22
dropped all the balls out. You imagine
01:22:24
health and safety now like I wasn't even
01:22:26
restrained. I was hanging out this plane
01:22:28
and we landed at the airport and over
01:22:31
the RT comes the announcer from the
01:22:33
studio back in Palmer North. H they're
01:22:35
just wondering when are you going to
01:22:36
drop the balls and the wind had taken
01:22:39
all the balls and they blown into the
01:22:40
Leo swimming pool next door. And so they
01:22:44
me away
01:22:44
>> all these people were swimming around
01:22:46
being showered with pingpong balls. We
01:22:50
never found the lucky winner either.
01:22:53
There's always moments like that. There
01:22:54
was but there was a slightly unrelated
01:22:56
once again um these Russian skaters uh
01:23:00
were coming in for an interview and they
01:23:02
were late. We didn't have a chance to
01:23:03
talk to them beforehand. So the the
01:23:05
moment came when they came in the door
01:23:07
ah um you know Naja's here. Hey Naja,
01:23:11
welcome to New Zealand. You know what do
01:23:13
you know about the country and what's
01:23:15
your background? And she paused and she
01:23:16
went I like to skate. Couldn't speak a
01:23:19
word of English.
01:23:21
>> Short interview.
01:23:22
>> Short interview.
01:23:24
short interview. And how about them
01:23:26
being late? You think they would rush
01:23:27
in?
01:23:29
>> Oh,
01:23:32
that's why you're here for the gags.
01:23:36
>> Um, yeah. If if not radio, have you
01:23:39
thought about what comes next? I've got
01:23:41
no doubt there'll be whatever you want
01:23:42
to do, um, it'll happen because you're
01:23:44
very experienced and you're very good,
01:23:45
but also there are very limited jobs.
01:23:48
So, you know, a job cannot be created
01:23:50
for you unless someone else gets fired
01:23:52
pretty much. You know what I mean? At
01:23:54
the moment I'm enjoying being a trophy
01:23:55
husband um with my wife working and I'm
01:23:58
just That was a joke as well. Okay. It
01:24:00
didn't go down too well. Um
01:24:01
>> No, no, no. How is that a joke? Like
01:24:04
>> trophy husband's a trophy wife. I've
01:24:05
turned it around. Oh god. Why don't you
01:24:07
explain these things?
01:24:07
>> No, no, no, no. Your wife Carmel like
01:24:09
she's very very successful. Like she she
01:24:11
put her she was a nurse. She put her
01:24:13
career on hold while you had a young
01:24:14
family. Um now it feels like like she's
01:24:17
she's picking up the weight in that
01:24:18
department. She is. So we've crossed
01:24:20
over. We've crossed over. Yeah. I mean,
01:24:22
she she put her career on hold for a
01:24:23
long time as as children were being
01:24:25
brought up and and
01:24:27
>> it's kind of feels like it's now now
01:24:28
it's kind of her time to shine.
01:24:29
>> Absolutely. And I'm I'm so behind that.
01:24:32
I'm very proud of her with what she's
01:24:33
done. What am I going to do? Um
01:24:39
uh
01:24:40
>> yeah, if if it was not radio
01:24:43
>> for voiceover work and bits and pieces
01:24:45
like that. I've always enjoyed writing.
01:24:47
I like to write.
01:24:49
>> Yeah. I write what
01:24:51
bits and pieces for you.
01:24:52
>> Let us let us to the sandpaper guy.
01:24:54
>> Okay. Yeah.
01:24:55
>> Yeah. You keep emailing him.
01:24:57
>> I want to keep playing in the band. I'm
01:24:59
really enjoying playing in the band. I'd
01:25:00
love more gigs. I love the guys. They're
01:25:03
a good band. Yeah. It's fun. I didn't
01:25:05
think I'd be almost 60 playing in a
01:25:06
band, but that's that's what I do. It's
01:25:08
in my DNA.
01:25:09
>> It's quite funny. Like you get older and
01:25:11
then you realize, oh [ __ ] okay, I I
01:25:14
don't feel old. I feel I feel great and
01:25:16
there's still a lot of life to live.
01:25:17
>> Yeah. And I think for all of us of a
01:25:18
certain age, if we remain healthy and we
01:25:20
keep taking our meds and we keep
01:25:21
exercising and looking after our mental
01:25:23
health, you know, we can live long happy
01:25:25
lives.
01:25:25
>> Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. You you
01:25:27
don't want to get old and just be in a
01:25:28
body that doesn't doesn't work anymore.
01:25:30
>> No.
01:25:30
>> But the only way you can do that is by
01:25:32
taking care of things.
01:25:33
>> Well, yeah. Yeah. Like with with music,
01:25:35
I never thought I'd be my age still
01:25:36
playing in a band at all. I remember
01:25:38
being in bands in Palms North and
01:25:40
watching the older guys who were in
01:25:41
their 30s going, "God, you guys are so
01:25:43
old playing these m this music." You
01:25:45
know what are you doing? You should be
01:25:48
>> if if MC Jagger, Elton John, Rod Stewart
01:25:50
heard this, they'll be like, "What are
01:25:51
you on about, kid?"
01:25:52
>> Yeah. But there is a market for the
01:25:54
music we play, which is it's 80s7s ' 80s
01:25:57
rock. People love that stuff. So yeah.
01:26:00
>> How do you how do you hope um Breeze
01:26:03
listeners would like to remember Robert
01:26:05
Scott the broadcaster?
01:26:08
>> Oh,
01:26:08
>> it was a massive contribution. N
01:26:10
>> that's a lovely question. I I don't
01:26:12
know. I I I guess they enjoyed listening
01:26:14
to me. It's as simple as that. Yeah.
01:26:16
Yeah. I never did anything outrageous,
01:26:17
you know. It wasn't like I I didn't make
01:26:20
many waves. I didn't
01:26:22
>> That wasn't the goal of that station,
01:26:24
though, was it?
01:26:24
>> No. No. No. No. No. No. There's no No. I
01:26:27
just think people
01:26:27
>> I think that station was supposed to be
01:26:29
like a safe space.
01:26:30
>> Yes. And And if they felt that I was a
01:26:33
safe announcer to listen to, that's
01:26:35
great.
01:26:36
>> I think that makes sense.
01:26:38
>> If you never do another radio show in
01:26:39
your life, what would you want your
01:26:40
legacy in New Zealand broadcasting to
01:26:42
be?
01:26:42
>> Longevity. M
01:26:45
>> well it definitely is that 40 years.
01:26:47
It's a long time. Yeah. A long long long
01:26:48
time. I'm not done yet. I would. Yeah.
01:26:50
I'd like a bit more, but 40 years is
01:26:52
okay.
01:26:53
>> If you could give your younger self one
01:26:55
piece of advice, knowing everything you
01:26:56
know now, what would it be?
01:26:57
>> Stop taking yourself so seriously.
01:26:59
>> Yeah.
01:27:01
>> How old do you think you were when you
01:27:03
when that hit home?
01:27:04
>> I think when uh when I became a dad and
01:27:06
I had responsibilities um outside of my
01:27:10
own self.
01:27:11
>> Yeah. Yeah. I don't care what people
01:27:14
think about me anymore. I used to. I'm
01:27:16
not.
01:27:19
>> I still I still do on the on the wrong
01:27:21
day. If I read a comment on the on the
01:27:23
on the wrong day or from the wrong frame
01:27:25
of mind, like there'll be comments that
01:27:27
that'll get to me, but then I realize
01:27:28
that's more of a a me problem because if
01:27:30
my mental health is 100% where where it
01:27:32
is me, I can read a comment about myself
01:27:34
and I'll just about to laugh it off and
01:27:35
say, "Fuck, that person must be having a
01:27:37
bad day." See, I don't I don't sort of
01:27:39
get those comments as such. I possibly
01:27:40
might after this, but um I can recall in
01:27:44
92 um when Yahoo and what now were uh
01:27:48
critiqued in the paper and it was by
01:27:51
someone I actually knew at school and uh
01:27:53
and she wrote this scathing piece on how
01:27:56
wonderful uh yeah what now was and Yahoo
01:28:00
was a failed teleathon. It looked like a
01:28:02
failed teleathon. Not even Moana's and I
01:28:04
can I can recite this verbatim. Wana is
01:28:07
and Robert Scott's talent can save this
01:28:09
show and I cut it out and I've now that
01:28:12
really really hurt. Now I've had that
01:28:13
now what I
01:28:14
>> what did it what did it say? What was
01:28:15
the quote again?
01:28:16
>> It was nothing can save the show from
01:28:18
looking like a failed teleathon. Not
01:28:20
even Robert Scott or Moana's talent can
01:28:23
do that. It was just so scathing.
01:28:25
>> I mean that's a that's a compliment to
01:28:26
you. I would I would have taken that as
01:28:28
a compliment.
01:28:28
>> But she dissed the show you talented.
01:28:30
>> She dissed the show.
01:28:31
>> But saying you're not the problem.
01:28:32
>> I know. But and also like what were they
01:28:35
doing doing a comparison between Yahoo
01:28:37
and what now? That's like comparing a
01:28:38
Rolls-Royce to a Corolla
01:28:41
>> in terms of budget. It really really
01:28:44
was.
01:28:45
>> But I Yeah, I cut that one out. But
01:28:47
yeah, if I put My point is if I had that
01:28:49
now, would I care? Not as much.
01:28:52
>> I don't know. I think it would still
01:28:53
sting.
01:28:54
>> Yeah, possibly.
01:28:54
>> Yeah, maybe. Um Yeah. What do you think
01:28:58
your best and worst habits are?
01:29:00
>> My worst was worrying.
01:29:02
It definitely was my best is uh always
01:29:06
connecting with people in the sense of I
01:29:08
I'm I'm I'm loyal to friends from the
01:29:11
past. I'm always in touch with people
01:29:13
and I've always done that.
01:29:14
>> Oh, you are? Yeah. You You're quite
01:29:16
quite nostalgic. Would that be fair to
01:29:18
say?
01:29:19
>> Yeah. To a point.
01:29:20
>> I I went to watch you and your band play
01:29:22
a few weeks ago and there was like an
01:29:23
ex-girlfriend from 30 years ago there.
01:29:26
Like you you you are a collector of old
01:29:28
friends.
01:29:28
>> Collector. Okay. Uh yes. Yeah. I I I I I
01:29:32
remain connected.
01:29:34
>> I
01:29:36
I hope collect doesn't sound like
01:29:37
>> No, I know. It's not like butterflies,
01:29:39
is it?
01:29:40
>> Oh, no. I think it's it's a good thing.
01:29:42
It's It says you're like not a
01:29:44
transactional sort of person.
01:29:45
>> No. No. I've got a lot of love for for
01:29:47
for many people in my past.
01:29:49
>> Yeah.
01:29:49
>> Is there a what if that keeps you up at
01:29:51
night?
01:29:54
you know,
01:29:56
well, um,
01:29:58
uh, when I was at school, I thought
01:30:01
about not only radio, but going to
01:30:02
journalism school. Um, and even when I
01:30:06
began radio, I thought, shall I, now
01:30:07
I've got two or three years under my
01:30:09
belt, go to to journalism school. I was
01:30:12
too scared that I'd lose my place in
01:30:13
radio. Uh but having said that if I'd
01:30:16
gone to journalism school and then gone
01:30:17
back to radio, I'd possibly be more uh
01:30:23
worth more now because it wouldn't have
01:30:24
had that string to my bow.
01:30:27
>> Oh, okay. Interesting. So you But how
01:30:29
many unemployed journalists are out
01:30:30
there?
01:30:31
>> Oh, I know. I know. I know. But I didn't
01:30:32
think about that in 1985.
01:30:33
>> Yeah. You went to know their TV.
01:30:35
>> The only other what if was going back to
01:30:37
England to work because I always wanted
01:30:38
to work in England and and got the
01:30:40
opportunity to work in Bing and we were
01:30:42
there for three years and had a great
01:30:43
time. And during that period of time, I
01:30:46
tried to get an agent in London to do
01:30:47
some TV. And my god, just even getting
01:30:50
an agent took three years. By the time I
01:30:51
got an agent, I was done. I was too
01:30:53
tired because I would go and take the
01:30:55
train into London, 20 minutes to
01:30:56
Paddington, and then go and meet with
01:30:57
people and no, no, no, no, no. Finally
01:31:00
got a yes. But I was done. We wanted to
01:31:02
come home.
01:31:02
>> Yeah.
01:31:03
>> So, at least I know. At least I tried.
01:31:05
>> I tried.
01:31:06
>> Yeah.
01:31:08
>> Yeah. How's your mental health been? It
01:31:09
seems really good at the moment. Hey,
01:31:11
may maybe some of that's got to do with
01:31:12
the anti-anxiety.
01:31:13
>> It's been good. It's been it's been good
01:31:15
for a long time, actually.
01:31:16
>> Yeah.
01:31:16
>> Yeah. Yeah.
01:31:17
>> It's been some rough patches. I know.
01:31:18
You had a rough patch when um your old
01:31:20
school mate, what was the the cop in the
01:31:22
UK?
01:31:23
>> Was terrible.
01:31:25
>> So, what you met right now? Yeah. So, he
01:31:27
was shot.
01:31:28
>> We were we were friends at primary
01:31:29
school. Um and it was a what you call a
01:31:32
low desile school. And I didn't really
01:31:33
fit in because I was a palm, but he um
01:31:35
he well that was a terrible I hate that
01:31:37
word. Um my word pom pom,
01:31:39
>> right? Prisoner of Mother England. Do we
01:31:41
still use that? We shouldn't.
01:31:42
>> Oh, is that what it stands for? I didn't
01:31:43
know.
01:31:44
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Huh. Yeah.
01:31:47
Um and um so Matthew um was was a big
01:31:53
moldy boy. Um and his mom was a solo mom
01:31:56
and we were great mates. And um
01:32:02
and and we we drifted off. You know how
01:32:04
people drift off during high school. He
01:32:06
was at boys high with me but he went off
01:32:08
into played tennis and I was doing music
01:32:10
but you know we never had a falling out
01:32:12
and then during co he popped up on
01:32:15
Facebook and then we started facetiming
01:32:17
each other and there he was. I knew he
01:32:19
was a cop in London and there he was
01:32:21
with his uniform and I met his partner
01:32:23
and and um it was really funny. He took
01:32:26
he took me to town. I'd just done some
01:32:29
social influencing posts advertising
01:32:31
tuna, you know, and you get paid a
01:32:34
couple hundred bucks for it. Anyway, I
01:32:35
just want to say one thing. You're
01:32:37
better than tuna, Robert. You're better
01:32:38
than tuna. Don't sell yourself. And we
01:32:41
talked about memories of of primary
01:32:42
school and it was wonderful facetime
01:32:44
chat. And then about two months later,
01:32:47
yeah, walking around Greyland Park and
01:32:50
my phone pops up and said, "Yeah, um,
01:32:53
Kiwi uh Kiwi cop killed in in London.
01:32:56
It's Matthew." And sure enough, it was
01:32:58
that night watching him on the screen
01:33:00
going, "Holy hell,
01:33:02
>> why did you think it was happen?" Just
01:33:03
because
01:33:03
>> Oh, just intuition.
01:33:04
>> Yeah. Because there's so few Kiwi.
01:33:06
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it was he was
01:33:08
doing a routine COVID test for this guy
01:33:11
who hadn't been searched properly and he
01:33:13
was murdered.
01:33:15
>> But his mother was always lovely. Mary
01:33:16
Ratner, that was her name.
01:33:18
>> Yeah. I feel like that had um that had
01:33:20
quite a big impact on you.
01:33:21
>> That was horrible.
01:33:22
>> Yeah.
01:33:22
>> It was Yeah. I heard and um um Bryce
01:33:27
Casey talking about dealing with with
01:33:29
friends who take their own lives. I had
01:33:31
a similar situation with my friend Paul
01:33:33
back in 93 who we used to play in a band
01:33:36
together and was with him that night
01:33:38
that he did it. We were up singing a few
01:33:40
songs and he was he took his life two
01:33:42
hours later. You know, it never leaves
01:33:44
you.
01:33:45
the questions remain and you know and
01:33:48
>> yeah you wonder
01:33:51
>> it's probably like like an an ego a
01:33:53
natural human ego thing but you wonder
01:33:55
like what I could have done differently
01:33:56
>> or what did I say was it was something
01:33:59
you blame
01:33:59
>> it's not it's not no one you can never
01:34:01
blame yourself
01:34:02
>> well it turns out many years later I
01:34:03
learned that a few hours later Paul had
01:34:05
been with some other people and he was
01:34:06
right as he was right he was just like
01:34:08
happy and okay so anyway anyway but yeah
01:34:11
I think there's some psychological thing
01:34:12
about that I think people that are that
01:34:13
are suicidal that like, you know, go
01:34:15
back and forth tossing tossing up the
01:34:18
idea. When they finally made peace with
01:34:19
it and they've got like the date.
01:34:21
>> Yeah.
01:34:21
>> That's when they feel rel like a relief.
01:34:23
>> But the fun stopped for all our friends.
01:34:25
It was like [ __ ] this has happened. And
01:34:27
for years it was like Yeah.
01:34:29
>> And whenever you hear a song on the
01:34:30
radio, there he is playing his guitar.
01:34:32
It's pretty it was brutal for everybody.
01:34:35
>> Oh, what song was he on a song?
01:34:36
>> No. No. What? No, but he used to play
01:34:38
league guitar. Very good league
01:34:39
guitarist. And but you hear a song that
01:34:40
he used to play.
01:34:41
>> Oh, okay.
01:34:42
>> Yeah. Okay. There's Paul.
01:34:44
>> When was the last time you you cried?
01:34:47
>> Probably when dad died.
01:34:48
>> Yeah. Are you quite emotional or
01:34:51
>> Yeah, I am. Did Do the um anti-anxiety
01:34:54
meds sort of like dull that a bit?
01:34:56
>> No, I don't think so. No, no, no. I can
01:34:57
recall though when when I was um young
01:35:00
with my first girlfriend, Elizabeth, uh
01:35:01
you know how girls are so much smarter
01:35:03
in their their emotional um
01:35:06
intelligence, so much more mature. Yeah.
01:35:08
And she would say to me, "There's lots
01:35:09
of emotion down here. It's like a river
01:35:10
running through your chest." and she'd
01:35:12
bang on my chest, but I don't see it.
01:35:14
Well, she has certainly opened up that
01:35:15
river. I blame her.
01:35:19
It's good. We know David Seymour on the
01:35:21
podcast. He he said he hasn't cried in
01:35:22
like 20 years. It was like when his mom
01:35:24
died. But it's like it it's a great
01:35:25
emotion to lean into. Like it's not
01:35:27
something we should be ashamed of. E
01:35:29
like if you if you feel like crying, you
01:35:31
should just cry.
01:35:31
>> I knew my father was going to die and I
01:35:33
just knew just I knew it was going to be
01:35:35
[ __ ] and it was. Yeah. I loved him.
01:35:38
Yeah. Like a mate. What did it um did it
01:35:41
make it any easier that he was like 91?
01:35:43
>> Yeah, I think so.
01:35:44
>> Yeah.
01:35:45
>> But we went through bloody hell through
01:35:47
the the two years beforehand. He got CO
01:35:49
twice. He was the first person in the
01:35:51
rest home to get CO and then he got
01:35:52
shingles and they didn't warn me what
01:35:55
that was going to look like. So I went
01:35:56
into the room and he had this just the
01:35:58
shingles all over his face like a
01:36:00
massive scab and he didn't quite know
01:36:03
where he was. I'm going, "God, you guys
01:36:04
could have told me what this is going to
01:36:06
look like."
01:36:07
You you could you could have told me
01:36:08
what your testicles look like when you
01:36:10
showed me that photo at the beginning of
01:36:11
the podcast.
01:36:12
>> People have forgotten about that.
01:36:12
They've moved on.
01:36:16
>> Yeah.
01:36:17
Yeah. You were you were a good son to
01:36:19
both your mom and your dad.
01:36:21
>> Thank you.
01:36:22
>> Yeah. I never I never want to have any
01:36:23
regrets in life. So I always made sure
01:36:25
that we never had an argument with
01:36:26
myself and my parents.
01:36:28
>> Even when I came down the driveway one
01:36:31
just a bit too fast and I smashed on
01:36:33
into his vintage car. used to have
01:36:35
vintage cars and I did I hit some moss
01:36:37
and slid right into it and smashed his
01:36:39
vintage car down the side and he just
01:36:41
came out went okay. He wasn't angry at
01:36:44
all. So yeah, he didn't seem to have a
01:36:45
temper.
01:36:46
>> No. No.
01:36:47
>> This reminds me of a story about your
01:36:48
mom and maybe I'm getting some some
01:36:50
wires cross here, but I I think you were
01:36:52
in Oakuckland and your mom had a heart
01:36:53
attack or something and you may have
01:36:54
called me and said, "Oh, mom's in the
01:36:56
hospital. She's had a heart attack."
01:36:57
>> I went to Palmer's North Hospital and
01:36:58
somehow I ended up in like the intensive
01:37:00
care ward with her with surgeons working
01:37:02
on her and stuff.
01:37:03
>> No. Yeah,
01:37:04
>> you're not what?
01:37:06
>> Hey, Marion. And
01:37:10
>> this does ring bells that you managed to
01:37:12
get together.
01:37:12
>> Maybe I'm getting some words. There's a
01:37:14
couple of different stories, but
01:37:15
>> for some reason, yeah, I went straight
01:37:17
past the visiting desk and
01:37:19
>> was in the thick of it. Felt like it was
01:37:21
>> You were always in the thick of it. I
01:37:22
want to touch upon because because Carl
01:37:24
and I got pregnant with Sammy quite
01:37:25
early into our relationship. Eight
01:37:27
months into it. Eight months. No, not
01:37:29
that long. No, it was six weeks. Yeah.
01:37:31
Six weeks. Yeah. Yeah, we went to Fiji
01:37:33
for holiday and come back as three. And
01:37:35
um and I flew to Parson North to tell my
01:37:38
parents that the girl they'd met once
01:37:40
was having their grandchild and it was
01:37:42
at the Cobb Co in Palmy and there's a
01:37:44
public bar one side and then you got the
01:37:47
restaurant and I sat with them uh to
01:37:49
break the news to them. My mom had had
01:37:51
some heart issues. I thought this is
01:37:52
just going to finish her off. this is
01:37:54
going to be such a shock. And I had a
01:37:56
big big Nokia phone and you're next door
01:37:59
waiting to come in and congratulate them
01:38:01
and you rang and uh they could hear you
01:38:04
and you were saying, "Have you told them
01:38:06
yet?" Mom's going, "What's what are you
01:38:09
going to tell us, Robert?" "Oh no, you
01:38:11
kind of blew that." But it was a lovely
01:38:13
>> I was in the bar. So I was like, "Fuck,
01:38:15
when Robert and Carl get here, me and
01:38:17
Robert can can start drinking." I was
01:38:18
probably just like, "Hurry the [ __ ] up."
01:38:21
>> Really selfish reason. I wonder if they
01:38:22
could have hear me like through the wall
01:38:23
of the bar
01:38:24
>> probably. So,
01:38:25
>> or through the the giant Nokia,
01:38:26
>> but they both cried with with absolute
01:38:28
joy and that extended my mother's life
01:38:30
by 15 20 years. It's great.
01:38:32
>> Why were you so nervous about telling
01:38:33
them? You were you were in your 30s.
01:38:35
>> I was, but it was just so rushed. It
01:38:38
felt so quickly quickly happening. You
01:38:39
know,
01:38:41
>> why did that happen so quickly? Cuz you
01:38:42
you're like a No.
01:38:44
>> Did you want a biology lesson?
01:38:46
>> No, cuz you were like a long
01:38:48
relationship guy. Hey, you had like a
01:38:50
lots of long relationships. Then you
01:38:51
meet Carmel and then you you you guys
01:38:53
you click and you almost did you just
01:38:55
know were you at that at the right age
01:38:57
in the right stage of life?
01:38:59
>> Um do you know what I mean?
01:39:00
>> I think having a baby on the way really
01:39:02
cemented things that really um that um
01:39:05
that settled me down.
01:39:07
>> Yeah. But if it wasn't a successful
01:39:08
relationship, you you guys would have
01:39:09
gone your separate ways years ago.
01:39:10
>> Yeah. It just happened. That's all. You
01:39:12
know Yeah. We make each other laugh or
01:39:16
she laughs at me. um we click and we we
01:39:19
we know our strengths and and she has
01:39:22
got lots of them and I think that she
01:39:23
really came along at the right time in
01:39:26
my life.
01:39:28
>> Yeah. Very lucky. I'm very very lucky.
01:39:31
>> Yeah. Shane Cortez introduced me to her.
01:39:34
You didn't.
01:39:36
>> So that's why you deserve to be the best
01:39:37
man.
01:39:40
>> Um Oh, no. And it's it's nice seeing you
01:39:42
guys together. Um like if if if we're
01:39:45
out drinking and yeah, there's a moment
01:39:47
recently on the balcony at home where
01:39:49
the three of us were there and then she
01:39:50
she'd had enough to drink. So she just
01:39:52
like curled up with her head on your
01:39:53
lap. It's quite it's cute.
01:39:54
>> We have a we have a very
01:39:56
>> You're old you're old as [ __ ] now.
01:39:57
You're old people and you still like
01:39:58
each other.
01:39:59
>> We have a very playful relationship. We
01:40:00
have a good time,
01:40:02
>> you know. We really have a good time.
01:40:03
And now with obviously kids out the
01:40:05
house, you know, we're because we never
01:40:06
had that when we first started seeing
01:40:07
each other. We were with child pretty
01:40:09
much straight away. And so for the first
01:40:10
so many years you're bringing up these
01:40:12
kids with Molly as well.
01:40:13
>> Molly was born in the UK, brought her
01:40:15
back, etc. But now um Sam is 28, Molly's
01:40:18
24. We are we are doing what we most
01:40:22
couples do at the beginning
01:40:24
>> when they don't have any children. So
01:40:25
we're just doing these things, going out
01:40:26
for dinner and going on holidays and
01:40:28
stuff like that. So yeah, it's it's
01:40:30
quite lovely the way it's worked out.
01:40:32
>> Yeah, it's a wonderful time of life. Um
01:40:34
yeah, so you mentioned um you got
01:40:36
pregnant with your first child in Fiji.
01:40:38
Whereabouts in Fiji? Um,
01:40:41
>> you don't have to answer that.
01:40:43
>> Dinner. Dinner. And Dale. There we go.
01:40:46
>> This is what we talked about at the
01:40:48
beginning. Like we know things about
01:40:49
each other that Yeah. Dinner.
01:40:52
>> After after Yeah. After meal,
01:41:00
>> an hour 42. Gosh, this has gone on for a
01:41:02
long time.
01:41:03
>> Um, what would you say your your biggest
01:41:06
flaws are?
01:41:09
things that you still want to work on.
01:41:11
>> Uh yeah, I still worry a little bit.
01:41:14
>> I need to lose some tummy.
01:41:17
>> You you Yeah. Um yeah, co was quite
01:41:20
rough for you. I remember just just
01:41:23
going into work and and doing that and
01:41:24
Yeah. I didn't really enjoy that.
01:41:26
>> Yeah.
01:41:26
>> And anxiety levels. Yeah. Quite
01:41:28
>> Yeah. Yeah. I think it was for a lot of
01:41:29
people though. E
01:41:30
>> Yeah, for sure.
01:41:31
>> Yeah. Yeah. That was um it was
01:41:33
interesting coming out the back of that.
01:41:34
Um, you know, it was it was exhausting
01:41:35
and everything went back to normal, but
01:41:37
I I think we still have a trailing
01:41:40
anxiety from that. Perhaps some of us
01:41:42
do.
01:41:43
>> Well, yeah. When you when you've got
01:41:45
like um Justindra Adurn and Chris
01:41:46
Hipkins and the government saying, you
01:41:48
know, CO kills, stay home, save lives.
01:41:51
That was the slogan they had. And then
01:41:52
suddenly they go, "Oh, we're going to
01:41:53
let it rip in now." Yeah.
01:41:55
>> I think it's I think a lot of people
01:41:56
found that very confusing.
01:41:57
>> Yeah.
01:41:57
>> I was on the camp where it's like, "Come
01:41:59
on, let it rip earlier. Let it rip
01:42:00
earlier."
01:42:01
>> Cuz they could see what was happening in
01:42:02
the Yeah. We were locked down for a long
01:42:04
time here in New Zealand. E
01:42:05
>> and I don't think those down country
01:42:07
realized how bad it was for Aland as
01:42:09
well. That was going through those other
01:42:10
lockdowns when everyone else is out
01:42:12
there doing these ones.
01:42:14
>> That was old man thing to do, wasn't it?
01:42:16
Um but uh yeah, it just it felt that we
01:42:18
were getting caned. Yeah.
01:42:20
>> What about future goals?
01:42:23
>> Future goals.
01:42:24
>> Are you much of a goal set? I remember
01:42:25
>> I used to be.
01:42:26
>> Yeah. There was a there was a there was
01:42:27
a book that came out like maybe about 15
01:42:29
20 years ago called The Winners Bible. I
01:42:32
I'm a huge fan of self-help books. Yeah.
01:42:34
But you got me onto this book and yeah,
01:42:35
it was about like scrapbooking and
01:42:37
visualization,
01:42:39
>> a lot of work involved. That's
01:42:40
manifesting. That was actually to dig me
01:42:42
out of a hole I was in mentally and it
01:42:44
really did help, I think.
01:42:45
>> Yeah. You make up your little winners's
01:42:47
bible of of things which you know fire
01:42:50
up your your imagination or your
01:42:51
emotions. But it's a good book. It's a
01:42:53
good read. Yeah. You
01:42:54
>> what have been the big things for your
01:42:56
mental health? What helps you the most?
01:42:58
>> Definitely exercise.
01:42:59
>> Yeah. Um,
01:43:01
now I'm not working anymore. Um,
01:43:04
>> that's a lot less stress, eh?
01:43:05
>> Yeah. My friends, catching up with my
01:43:07
friends.
01:43:08
>> Yeah. Talking, just taking the piss out
01:43:10
of each other. They talk about, you
01:43:11
know, so important for guys to do that.
01:43:13
I would agree 100%. So good.
01:43:17
>> Yeah.
01:43:18
>> Yeah. The social connection, you need
01:43:20
it. I think especially as you get older,
01:43:21
like lon there's some stat, maybe I just
01:43:24
read this on Instagram or Tik Tok, but
01:43:26
loneliness is like a bigger killer than
01:43:28
smoking or something. Yeah, put it this
01:43:30
way. I don't want to be, you know, they
01:43:31
they talk about when you retire, which I
01:43:33
don't think I have. You need to still be
01:43:34
able to contribute whether or not I'm
01:43:36
I'm playing in the band or, you know,
01:43:37
I've I've thought about because in
01:43:39
between going to um 2XS, I worked at a
01:43:43
record store in Palmer North and so I've
01:43:45
looked at the real groovy website, but
01:43:47
they've there's no jobs. I wouldn't mind
01:43:49
doing something like that. Still comes
01:43:51
back to being involved in music.
01:43:53
>> I've loved music.
01:43:54
>> Yeah. You just love it. I've never got
01:43:55
the vinyl thing.
01:43:56
>> Oh, no.
01:43:56
>> I don't get the vinyl thing. Um, poor
01:43:59
me. No, poor your wife. Like she's got
01:44:03
beautiful design aesthetic. You live in
01:44:05
a beautiful apartment and there's just
01:44:06
like this wall of vinyl which is be
01:44:09
people people stage their houses now and
01:44:10
they're trying to sell them with vinyl.
01:44:12
You see like you see these movies and
01:44:15
there's vinyl because it's cool.
01:44:17
>> Yeah. And Robert's got a theory. He's
01:44:19
like I I only buy vinyl if it's like a
01:44:21
what's your what's your rule?
01:44:23
>> Oh, that's gone out the window. That
01:44:24
theory.
01:44:24
>> It was like if it's a collectible or a
01:44:26
No. No, it's to do with the covers. If I
01:44:28
like the cover, the iconic cover. No,
01:44:30
that's gone now.
01:44:31
>> Okay.
01:44:31
>> I just buy them all if I can.
01:44:33
>> If I'm allowed to.
01:44:34
>> You got so many.
01:44:35
>> Yeah.
01:44:35
>> So, do you have to like sneak them in
01:44:37
the house now? If you've been to like a
01:44:38
vinyl fair like or
01:44:41
you do
01:44:45
you have to sneak them in? You probably
01:44:46
do. E.
01:44:49
Okay. All right. Cut that out. Um, are
01:44:52
there three words your friends and
01:44:54
family would use to describe you? How
01:44:56
what would you like those three words to
01:44:57
be? I can get the ball rolling with one
01:44:59
if you want. Like I'm I'm your friend.
01:45:00
I'm sitting here. I'd say loyal.
01:45:02
>> Yeah, that would be the first. Um
01:45:05
um loving and a little bit eccentric.
01:45:10
>> Do you think so? I wouldn't have gone
01:45:11
eccentric.
01:45:13
>> I feel like I am.
01:45:14
>> Do you? In what way? How do you feel
01:45:15
like you're eccentric?
01:45:21
>> I can be unpredictable.
01:45:23
I would like to think I can be
01:45:25
unpredictable.
01:45:27
>> Um that's that's yeah I think that is my
01:45:29
perception that just sometimes I might
01:45:32
>> talked about it before that there is
01:45:34
possibly you know listeners think oh
01:45:35
yeah he's he's you know very uh straight
01:45:40
laced but I'm not there there are parts
01:45:41
of me which is just as crazy as you.
01:45:44
>> And I think as we've talked about in
01:45:46
this podcast like there's um things that
01:45:49
as you get older there's just things
01:45:50
that you don't want to do anymore.
01:45:52
I'm nowhere near as crazy as chaotic as
01:45:54
as what I was. But I enjoy it. I enjoy
01:45:56
the um
01:45:56
>> Yeah.
01:45:57
>> The calm
01:45:58
>> Yeah.
01:45:58
>> of the stage of life I'm in now. Like
01:46:00
I've got no desire to get naked in front
01:46:02
of other people. No.
01:46:03
>> Got no desire to do a manggina in a
01:46:05
lobby of a hotel. No. No one I I I don't
01:46:09
need to do that. No one deserves to see
01:46:10
that.
01:46:13
>> But you did it so well.
01:46:14
>> So you you can you can argue say, "Oh
01:46:16
god, we're getting old and boring." But
01:46:18
I don't know. I I think um it just gets
01:46:20
replaced with something else and part of
01:46:22
that something else is the lack of
01:46:24
desire to do that.
01:46:25
>> Yeah. And so, you know, I've I've I've
01:46:27
been learning how to play the guitar a
01:46:28
lot better because I always thought I
01:46:29
was an okay guitarist, but now I've got
01:46:31
time to do that. So, those are little
01:46:33
goals, bits and pieces I'm doing. You
01:46:35
know, I punish my friends by putting the
01:46:37
the solos up on YouTube to watch,
01:46:39
>> you know.
01:46:40
>> Yeah. You're very good. You're very
01:46:41
good. Even um there's that saying you
01:46:43
can't teach an old dog new tricks. But
01:46:44
you you're very good at um teaching
01:46:46
yourself stuff online or watching
01:46:48
YouTube tutorials, especially when it
01:46:49
comes to tech and stuff, which I'm no
01:46:50
good at.
01:46:51
>> Yeah.
01:46:52
>> Terrible. I can't troubleshoot.
01:46:53
>> I've enjoyed that. I enjoyed emerging
01:46:56
technology and and learning about it and
01:46:57
how how it can work for a situation.
01:47:01
Yeah. But certainly learning how to play
01:47:02
the guitar, for example. Uh these days
01:47:04
it is so much easier. You got these kids
01:47:06
and they are 14 and 15. They'll go this
01:47:08
you do this, this, oh, okay. and you can
01:47:10
slow YouTube down to hear where bits are
01:47:12
being played and so much easier to learn
01:47:14
than it was when I was younger. So the
01:47:16
guitarists when I were younger, my god,
01:47:18
they learned from their hearts and now
01:47:20
I'm just watching a screen. But you
01:47:22
know, hey ho, whatever gets you there.
01:47:23
>> Did you just did you just almost say
01:47:25
back in my day?
01:47:26
>> Did I said felt like you said?
01:47:29
>> No, no, no, no. Back in the day, there's
01:47:32
just one word difference makes a huge
01:47:34
difference.
01:47:34
>> Um, is there anything This has been fun
01:47:36
today. Is there anything that we we
01:47:37
haven't talked about that you wanted to
01:47:39
talk about?
01:47:40
>> No.
01:47:41
>> No.
01:47:41
>> No.
01:47:42
>> How's it been for you?
01:47:43
>> Exhausting.
01:47:45
>> Why? Why has it been exhausting?
01:47:47
>> I don't know. You've done very well.
01:47:49
>> You're good at this. You should keep it
01:47:50
up.
01:47:50
>> No, it's fun. It's fun. It's really It's
01:47:53
really cool. And I like the um the
01:47:54
variety of people that I I can speak to.
01:47:56
Like it doesn't matter. That's one thing
01:47:58
about radio. Like so you you get told
01:48:00
who cuz I know you're a huge fan of Kiwi
01:48:02
music as we established
01:48:03
>> and on a station like the Breeze maybe
01:48:04
you'll be like oh I'd like to get this
01:48:06
person on and then there's all these
01:48:07
other filters like absolutely be like no
01:48:09
no one gives a [ __ ] about you know
01:48:12
>> insert band name here but this I can I
01:48:14
can speak to whoever I want people can
01:48:17
choose to listen to it or not listen to
01:48:18
it
01:48:18
>> but earlier I mentioned about I have
01:48:20
great admiration for anyone who writes a
01:48:22
song making something of nothing that's
01:48:24
exactly what you've done with this you
01:48:25
know
01:48:26
>> don't you think you know you had your
01:48:28
you had your podcast studio in your in
01:48:30
your apartment and you built it from
01:48:31
nothing. You were doing runners only and
01:48:33
and then you changed it to something
01:48:35
more broader and look at you go.
01:48:36
>> Yeah. So, I suppose it's just like um
01:48:38
evolution. Yeah. It's like you just
01:48:40
start something and keep going and you
01:48:42
be surprised where you end up.
01:48:43
>> Yeah.
01:48:43
>> Yeah. Are you proud of yourself?
01:48:45
>> Yeah.
01:48:46
>> Yeah. Awesome.
01:48:47
>> Well, you know, I'm very lucky in the
01:48:50
sense that, you know, I wanted to be on
01:48:51
the radio when I was 10.
01:48:53
>> You know, that was what I was going to
01:48:54
do. And like I said earlier, no one
01:48:56
tells you no when you are young. That's
01:48:58
what I'm going to do.
01:48:59
>> Yeah.
01:49:00
>> I get the feeling you're missing it even
01:49:01
already a little bit.
01:49:02
>> Uh don't know.
01:49:04
>> Yeah,
01:49:05
>> I would challenge you on that. But
01:49:08
>> yeah, what what do you miss the most
01:49:10
about it?
01:49:10
>> Just the people, you know, the eccentric
01:49:12
people and the buzz of going into work.
01:49:14
Uh the purpose,
01:49:16
>> but I make myself busy.
01:49:19
>> That's wonderful. Hey, this has been
01:49:21
great.
01:49:21
>> It's been wonderful. Yeah.
01:49:23
>> Thank you. You've done well. all your
01:49:24
research.
01:49:27
30 years of friendship. We didn't even
01:49:29
really Oh, we didn't talk about the
01:49:30
barley trip. That's okay. That's okay.
01:49:31
That can wait for another time.
01:49:33
>> We talked about the plane ride there on
01:49:34
Garuda. But yeah,
01:49:37
that um
01:49:38
>> the barley trip involves
01:49:40
>> more you than me.
01:49:41
>> Yeah, there are um yeah, maybe that's
01:49:43
why I live there. There are aspects of
01:49:45
getting older that you miss about that
01:49:47
sort of thing, like the spontaneity, I
01:49:49
suppose, of being young and being in
01:49:50
your 20s and going on holiday with your
01:49:51
mates. But it's I think that's um
01:49:54
>> I don't know. I think that's just an
01:49:55
aspect of getting older. Yeah.
01:49:57
>> You know, you you'd rather go on holiday
01:49:59
with your partner than like a mate or a
01:50:02
bunch of lads.
01:50:03
>> Yeah, absolutely.
01:50:04
>> Um but they're good memories.
01:50:06
>> Great memories. And we've got the the
01:50:07
photographs not up on on on Facebook. We
01:50:11
got the photographs to prove it, you
01:50:12
know, printed out there.
01:50:14
>> I do. I've got an album somewhere.
01:50:16
>> Yeah.
01:50:16
>> Like an actual album.
01:50:17
>> Yeah.
01:50:18
>> Yeah. That was weird. There's photos of
01:50:20
me like hanging off like road signs and
01:50:22
cooter and stuff. What were we doing?
01:50:23
How did we not get arrested?
01:50:25
>> And one thing to what it used to do is
01:50:27
always think that people look like
01:50:28
famous people. And there's one shot
01:50:30
beach camera island of this poor guy who
01:50:32
looks like Robin. He doesn't look like
01:50:33
Robin Williams.
01:50:34
>> I got it right once. Yeah. Yeah. And we
01:50:36
found a guy that looked like Marcus
01:50:37
Lush, but he was Fijian. And we had our
01:50:39
photograph taken with him.
01:50:41
>> Fijian Marcus L.
01:50:45
>> Oh, this has been great. Oh, there's
01:50:46
even photos in Barley of of us like at
01:50:48
the airport and there's signs saying if
01:50:50
you're trafficking drugs, you know,
01:50:53
there's a death penalty and I'm like
01:50:54
thumbs up next to that sign. Like it's
01:50:57
like we were drawing so much attention
01:50:58
to oursel like what were we thinking?
01:51:00
>> I know.
01:51:01
>> What were we thinking?
01:51:02
>> We survived. We've grown up.
01:51:04
>> We did. And it's a great it's a great
01:51:06
space to be playing in. Hey, it's been
01:51:07
wonderful to have you.
01:51:08
>> Thank you for having me. Gosh
01:51:09
>> on the podcast today. But mainly it's
01:51:11
been wonderful having you as um such a
01:51:14
presence in my life. likewise
01:51:16
>> for so many years and long continue. I
01:51:19
love the the um age and stage of life
01:51:21
we're both at. It's cool.
01:51:22
>> I love the honesty between us.
01:51:24
>> Yeah.
01:51:24
>> Thank you very much for having me.
01:51:26
>> Love you, Robert Scott.
01:51:27
>> You too, Dominic Harvey.
01:51:28
>> Thanks for coming on the podcast.
01:51:29
>> And we've all got a friend in the
01:51:32
breeze.
01:51:34
>> What the [ __ ] is that?
