Breakfast in Hobart

Who would roll out of bed five days a week to do breakfast radio on their own and for no money?
 
Meet Perri Deane host of Breakfast with Deane on Hobart’s independent youth radio station Edge 99.3FM.
 
Perri describes himself as a “young man trying to make his way in life by doing what he truly loves.”
 
But how is he able to do what amounts to a full-time job on a radio station for no pay?
 
“I don’t have a paying job and nor do I get any money from the government or anything like that. Being only 17, I still have the luxury of being able to live at home so I have access to free food and a place to sleep.

“But the days get closer until I’m 18, that’s why I’m winding my time at Edge up and am now looking for a full time job, hopefully at some sort of commercial station and or something involving production work,” says Perri putting in a plug for himself.
 
Dig a little deeper and it’s remarkable he his even on-air.
 
“I had quite low self esteem, was quite depressed and would wonder why people would bother to tune in to listen to me babble on about nonsense.”
 
But they do.
 
“I like to think that the listeners of my show are like me…quiet people with a small circle of friends tuning in to the radio to have a reliable friend who will always be there for them, someone they can relate to.”
 
“I just really want everyone who listens to feel like I am their friend.”
 
The philosophy of community radio is often to generate content not necessarily offered by commercial stations.
 
However, that doesn’t mean Perri disregards his commercial competitors.
 
“I do listen to a bit of commercial radio for ideas and things…but I try to do my own thing.”
 
“On Edge I want to be different to the commercial stations because if I’m doing the same thing as these massive stations then why would someone listen to me over a station with a big name so I always change things up and do things a bit differently.”
 
Perri has also had a brief stint at a local commercial station.
 
I did relief work at 7HOFM for about a month just doing production work and work experience.”
 
“I hit if off with the producer and later in the year he told me he was going away after Christmas and needed to find a replacement and offered me the job and I was more than happy to except it. I loved every minute of it, loved the feel, the pressure, the insanity of it…”
 
Perri offers a similar story on his foray into breakfast radio.
 
“The previous person on breakfast had just got a job in the local newspaper and they had no one on in the morning. I was doing lunch 3 times a week and thought I was horrible but the programmers here liked me and asked would you like to do one day in the morning?”
 
“They really liked me so they asked me to do it the full 5 days a week … the rest is history.”
 
 
Breakfast can be hard enough with two people doing it so how does Perri cope on his own?
 
 
“I was always a very shy kid with hardly any friends, so a lot of the time I would talk to myself at home and have full on conversations with myself. In a way I was my own best friend so when it was my first time on air it was really easy for me to talk.”
 
“I love telling my funny stories and chatting to all the listeners. I much prefer doing a show by myself, I love it really.”
 
 
And as with most community stations Perri is more than a one trick pony once his breakfast show wraps up there is plenty for him to do.
 
“I do all the production work around the station. Anything from IDs, to promos and even sponsorship announcements. Production is my true passion and is what got me into radio.”
 
Now that you are in radio, as a solo breakfast host what strategies do you have in place when you need to go to the loo?
 
“Honestly when I need to go I just go. I just let the music play and do my business. Edge’s automated system is Selector and Master Control so if you have worked with that you know how easy it easy to just let the computer do its thing.”