Top Stories of 2020: Local DJ’s hang up headphones to cap lengthy radio careers

“I love you Nanaimo, take care, stay safe,” Jones said before playing “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd as his last song.

Jones had been a fixture in the daily morning routine of thousands of Nanaimo area listeners for decades. The long suffering Maple Leafs fan had a booming voice and larger than life personality, who loves camping and fishing in his free time.

Memories that stand out to Jones include broadcasting non-stop for 48 hours in a mall parking lot during a format flip and accidentally broadcasting a profanity-laced tirade to a live audience during an equipment malfunction.

Jones stumbled into the radio business by accident. With no radio experience, Jones applied for an overnight announcer position at what was then known as AM 1440 CFCP in Courtenay. He showed up at the station in response to a job posting and was asked to hand over a demo tape, which he didn’t have.

A station manager gave Jones an old newscast to read in a production studio.

“I didn’t have a clue how to operate the buttons, zero,” Jones chuckled “I had to pull somebody in from the hall to get the mic recording going. So I read it, he came back, listened to it and said ‘Yeah, I think we’ll hire you.’”

Jones at times pushed the boundaries with his sense of humour, which had spawned the odd complaint from listeners over the years.

“Personally my whole take on jokes is I think if everybody could stand to be made fun of we’d all be better off,” Jones said. His final day on-air drew a continuous stream of text messages, emails and phone calls, some from listeners who had followed his entire career in the Harbour City.

Jones’ departure was filled by 106.9 The Wolf afternoon host Graeme Tait.

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While he possessed a much more conservative style on a more relaxed radio format than Jones, Dave Graham was an exceptionally talented radio personality, who was heavily involved in the Oceanside communities.

Graham, armed with a smooth and natural delivery, quickly became a highly recognizable voice and face throughout the Oceanside region upon his arrival in 2005.

Graham MC’d numerous local community events to offer credibility and much-needed attention to many causes. He had a knack for connecting with his listeners as if he were having a chat in the living room with them. His interview abilities and connections helped advance many notable local causes.

“You get out what you put in and for me the great joy is being able to connect with the movers and shakers of this area, the people that make this community hum,” Graham told NanaimoNewsNOW during his final radio shift. “Just to be a part of that, in even an assistant kind of way…that is a great joy.”

Graham spent 40 years in the radio business, including stops in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Terrace and the past 15 years at 88.5 The Beach in Parksville. He cut his teeth in radio as a high school student in 1977, then quickly sprung a successful career as an on-air host across the country.

The likable avid photographer said during his final on-air shift “It’s a little bit surreal” realizing he was moving onto the next chapter in his life.

“It’s a bit strange, nostalgic certainly and looking back at what’s been great fun,” Graham said.

His morning show slot was filled by former 102.3 The Wave afternoon host Ray Evans.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

Top Stories of 2020: Local DJ’s hang up headphones to cap lengthy radio careers

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