An interview with Dave Vertigan
- · Joined MainFM in 2025
- · Presents: Rock Solid Foundation – Linking the old to the new, and demonstrating the connections between the two.
I have been interested joining MainFM since being a guest on Jaxon Bailey-Banks show, ‘Saturdaz’ several years ago.
I was doing the same thing that I am now, just without the regular research, planning and broadcasting of a weekly radio show. I was, and still am, a secondary media teacher, an animator with a few film festival inclusions amongst my animations, a keen record collector, an occasional skateboarder and a thoroughly mediocre harmonica player.
The forms of music that I like the most (blues, soul, funk, zydeco, cajun…) are not well represented in contemporary musical trends, although these older musical forms have enabled contemporary music to exist.
I’ve been collecting records for about 30 years, and in all the listening and reading that I’ve done over that time I’ve noticed that everything is connected and nothing new has been created in a vacuum.
I find the connections between old music that doesn’t get much of a mention, such as lined hymns and popular contemporary forms of music such as hip-hop, to be fascinating.
I also happen to be gradually digitising my record collection so I have a growing collection of music that I can easily broadcast, and I have a lot to say about it.
I am yet to meet a presenter from the station who is not a friendly, approachable and genuinely lovely person, but I have to single out Frank Veldze and his show ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ for creating such a singularly idiosyncratic and fascinating show.
If I ever turn the radio on without realising the day or time and hear his show, I immediately realise what I am hearing, but I have no idea where it will go next. While I value the contributions of all of the shows, particularly ‘On the Wing’ and the ‘The Luddite Show’, ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ blows apart any preconceptions of what a radio show can and/or should be.
Having my show approved of by the station staff was certainly memorable. I would not have been surprised if I had been asked “why would anyone want to hear 100 year old crackly music?”.
The second would be the fact that I have only ever received constructive and/or positive messages via the text-line (it’s nothing like social media), particularly when I had a string of technical issues one morning and receiving a string of encouraging text messages.
I have lived in many communities across two states and over 45-ish years and Castlemaine, and MainFM in particular, is the best community I’ve found. Keep being a great community.