Lexy Savvides first got bitten by the radio bug while she was studying at university. Savvides completed a presenting and producing course at her local community radio station and never looked back. She was hooked.
“Presenting and deejaying on air is incredibly addictive,” Savvides confesses to Neos Kosmos. “There is no other medium like radio – it’s immediate, live and always exciting. Once I got behind the microphone and started speaking, I was hooked. The potential for things to go awry always keeps you on your toes.”
The adrenalin rush that radio brings saw Savvides pursue a path in this highly competitive field not only for the buzz that she gets, but for the love of new music. Savvides recognises that one of the best parts of being a DJ is “sharing new and amazing music” with her audience. “The best part of being a radio DJ comes down to sharing music and talking about it to a receptive audience. I am always listening and researching new music from Australia and abroad, and there’s nothing like getting really excited about a new song and playing it on air.”
When asked what makes a good DJ, Savvides says it’s all about being yourself and having some fun. “Being really knowledgeable about your subject is another attribute that I find to be incredibly important. Plus, you have to inject your presenting style with a bit of fun too. My favourite on-air moment was when a presenter I was working with delivered his final mic break totally naked! Needless to say I didn’t peek.” FBi Radio, Sydney’s leading community station, is where Savvides is making her mark.
She started volunteering at the station in 2006 and began by producing shows. After cutting her teeth in production, Savvides got her first show in 2008. “I finally got to make my on-air debut in the very early hours of the morning in mid-2008 and soon moved into my own breakfast show on Saturday mornings. After a year-and-a-half of 6 am starts, I moved into the Weekend Lunch show on Sunday afternoons from 12-3 pm,” says Savvides, and that’s still where you can hear her now.
Community stations vary from commercial ones in that they are not-for-profits and are run mainly by volunteers. They cater for a particular ethnicity, or group of people in a specific location or style of music, arts and culture. Community stations are funded by sponsors, the government and the community itself. And what the listener gets is an independent view.
“Each type of broadcaster caters to a different audience,” explains Savvides, “so it’s difficult to pick and choose. I love community radio for the diverse range of presenters and music, but I also have incredibly fond memories of growing up listening to commercial radio in the ’90s.”
Community radio all over Australia produces talent and provides a cultural richness in our society. Whether it’s PBS in Melbourne, Three D in Adelaide or Nimbin Community Station, they all share the love and passion for what they do.
“There are so many amazing radio DJs on air at FBi Radio and other community stations in Sydney, Melbourne and across Australia that it’s hard to choose the best attributes from such a diverse group. However, one thing that really does stand out is a passion for sharing and communicating – whether it’s music, news or cultural content,” says Savvides about community radio station DJs.
Having the diverse background helps Savvides in other areas too. She says that she is always on the look-out for exciting and new sounds from Greece. “One particular band I am loving at the moment is called Keep Shelly In Athens – a play on words of the suburb Kypseli in Athens – who do some great dreamy pop, interspersed with shoe gaze and chill wave influences. “I often get really excited about the live music scene in Greece, especially when I see my favourite bands playing gigs there. When I was in Greece on exchange studying at the University of Athens, there was always something happening in the music scene, with so much to do and see. There’s never a quiet moment in Athens for music lovers, which is wonderful.”