Inside the Life of a Radio Host with Taylah Strano
For almost four years, Taylah Strano has been waking up with the people of Perth on RTRFM as the host of the morning show, 'Breakfast with Taylah'.
Starting at the community radio station as a volunteer seven years ago, she worked her way up to become the breakfast presenter and producer in what she describes as her perfect job.
We sat down with Taylah after a busy morning on the mic to chat about her broadcasting journey, love for tunes, and advice for wannabe radio stars as part of our May series exploring all the careers in the music industry (besides being a musician).
Photo: Eduardo Cossio.
A career a long time in the making.
Taylah says she's been lucky to have always known she wanted to work in the music industry, but it's still been a long and winding journey to get where she is today.
“I think when I was at uni, I had these great ambitions of being a music journalist and I thought I was gonna be writing for Rolling Stone, but it turns out that I don't love writing as much as I love talking. Radio felt like the perfect fit," she said.
"It was music, it was media, it was radio. It was the sort of beacon of connection that I needed. So I finished my degree and walked straight into a commercial newsroom, and then I sort of tricked around a couple of different newsrooms."
Along the way, Taylah was volunteering her time at RTRFM as a news reader and working hard to create opportunities for herself along the way.
“Obviously being a huge music fan, I tried as quickly and as keenly as I could to convince people to let me jump ship essentially and come to the music side of things. So finally, when the role of breakfast presenter arose, which I never really thought would arise, I jumped at the chance to apply."
Photo: Sophie Minissale.
A day in the life.
So what does 'business as usual' look like for a radio presenter? Taylah said it certainly isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem, especially at 4 in the morning when her alarm goes off.
“I get up and dress myself quickly in the dark and just hope and pray that I’ve got matching shoes on,” she laughed.
“Once I get to work, I just start to get my day together, having a look at what's been happening overnight in the news, looking at any new releases from the day before and making sure the show is prepped.
“Then from 6am, I jump in the studio, fire off the start of the breakfast program theme song, and then for three hours, I wake up with the people of Perth on the radio.”
As part of the show, Taylah plays all kinds of music, focusing on the celebration of local West Australian music “first and foremost”, as well as interviewing people “making music and touring in Western Australia”.
Photo: Sophie Minissale.
Always been intrigued as to what happens after the show airs? Well, people often think that’s where her day ends… but those people would be wrong.
“It’s a common misconception that we just come and do the radio show and then leave, but it doesn't happen as seamlessly as that. It takes literal hours to put together a three-hour program,” Taylah said.
“After 9am, the show ends and then the rest of my job happens—the less glamorous, off-air button pushing stuff, all the emails and the pre-recording and whatnot.”
As for her stand-out memories, Taylah said getting one of Australia's most-loved indie rock bands, Spacey Jane, in the studio for their first ever interview was definitely a highlight.
"I interviewed them like the day after they played their first band comp at Mojo's. I listened back to it recently and cringed on both of our behalfs because we all sound so young. But, you, know, that's pretty great to see just the crazy heights that they've reached," she said.
Music isn't just Taylah's job, it's her whole world.
Taylah's life revolves around music in every possible way and it has done since her very first live show as a teenager.
"I grew up right in that sweet spot where online communities really formed around their love of particular music subcultures, so I was a really big user of online social media platforms and was able to find a real community of people engaging in local music," she said.
"After interacting with all these people online, I dragged a friend in my third-hand 1995 Laser up the freeway to attend a Love Junkies gig. It just took so much convincing to get anybody to come to that with me, but I needed to dip my toe in, and I guess from there after I was sold.
“I’m a fan first. Before anything, I’m a music fan. I was just lucky enough to turn that into a career.”
Beyond online music community fanbases and local shows (which she's still very involved in both), she's got a radio that never switches off and can often be found behind the DJ decks in her spare time.
"I do get the call up to DJ on the side every now and then, which still floors me that anybody would trust me to do that or would want me to," she laughed.
"Really the only time that I'm not listening to the radio is when I'm asleep.
"I definitely don't make any music though. I'm always in shock and awe of anybody who does."
That must be about all she doesn't do.
Taylah's advice for up-and-comers.
Think a career in radio could be your calling too? Taylah has a few words of wisdom if it's something you want to pursue.
It starts with asking questions, finding your people and not letting anything get in your way.
“Your community is out there somewhere. If you haven't already found them, look for the things that you love online, then ask the people who know about it questions. Start the conversation and if they’re also passionate about it, they’ll be more than happy to talk to you about it," she said.
"Also find all the things that you can, that are within your reach and within your accessibility, and try and be a part of them. That may mean volunteering until they ask you to leave or they start paying you.
"I get, it can be discouraging... if your love of music is the thing that you are super passionate about, you have to find a way to make it work. I obviously understand that it's very easy to say that as somebody who now gets paid to do this... but it is totally okay to be against the grain and it's okay to dig your heels in and love the things that you love."
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You can catch Taylah on RTRFM 92.1 every morning from 6-9am for Breakfast with Taylah. And if you love all things music, keep an eye on our May series profiling all kinds of super cool and profesh industry experts.
