Tjarani Barton-Vaofanua and Casey Miller
Radio hosts
Alarm clock time: 6am
It’s 8.30am and Beyoncé is about to drop the F-bomb. Tjarani Barton-Vaofanua hovers with her finger over a mixing board, and just before Queen Bey swears she hits a button. She’s just live-censored the biggest popstar in the world. It’s a typical morning for the Koori Radio breakfast host. “We probably should have put on a clean song,” says her co-host, Casey Miller. “A lot of the oldies are listening early in the morning,” says Barton-Vaofanua. “The younger ones start listening a little later.” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music is key on their roster. “Everyone knows those classics – Yothu Yindi’s ‘Treaty’ – but we’re here to promote new artists coming through.” Lately, that has meant a lot of Ziggy Ramo and Electric Fields.
In the early hours “you get a lot of happy, friendly people”
Though Miller only just graduated, and Barton-Vaofanua is still at university, the pair have been in the breakfast show slot for over two years, talking about “anything we think is pop culture, related to strong black culture.” The Koori Radio offices are in Redfern, and Barton-Vaofanua finds that in the early hours before work, “you get a lot of happy, friendly people. All the tradies have just kicked off work, and they’re in a good mood. You can tell.” Miller is not a morning person, but Barton-Vaofaunua is. In order to handle the breakfast shift, Miller’s going to bed at 9pm. That said, it doesn’t always help. “We’ve both slept in,” says Miller. “We just say ‘Welcome to the breakfast show with Casey and not Tjarani.’ We’re pretty good at picking up if the other one’s going to be late,” adds Barton-Vaofaunua. “It’s a black magic connection.” Alyx Gorman
