All right, everyone relax: DJs Dave “the Dude” and Margie, of Costa Rican English-language radio fame, are coming back. But you’ll have to retune your dial to listen to them; their new venue is 99.5 FM Radio Dos.
And by the way, they got married, too. “Everyone’s happy. It’s like a big love story,” said Dave Scott, who has been entertaining listeners with good music, good humor and his trademark English accent for 11 years.
So what’s with all the changes? “New love, new station, new music,” Scott said. “We wanted to work together.” Getting married was step one.
“I’ve been asking her to marry me every year since I met her. She finally said ‘yes’ last year. I was stunned,” he said.
It’s quite the leap of faith for this freewheeling DJ, blues musician and veteran of the music industry, who went 64 years before tying the knot.
Beginning next week, listeners can enjoy the newlyweds together – they’ve not only joined in marriage, but in radio, too. Their new show, “Buenos Días, Costa Rica,” will air for the first time on Valentine’s Day, Feb 14.
The duo is thrilled at the opportunity.
“She’s such a pro. She’s funny; I can bounce stuff off her. And besides, she’s got the perfect face for radio,” said Scott with a smirk and laugh over coffee last week.
“We laugh all day. I wish everyone could feel like we do,” said the blonde, blue-eyed and boisterous Margie Flaum, who expects listeners will be laughing, too.
One thing that won’t change is the hour; the new show will air from 6 to 9 a.m. weekday mornings. Evan Luck, former morning show DJ at 99.5, has chosen to take the afternoon slot, a welcome change after six years of early rising.
“It worked out perfectly; Evan is a night person – he was getting tired of waking up so early – and we can’t stay up late,” Scott said.
The first show will feature Luck, Scott and Flaum together. After that, Luck moves to the evening slot, from 5 to 7 p.m., where he’ll pick up more live broadcasts from the beaches, and restaurants and bars in the San José area.
“I’m excited, too. It’ll give us all a chance to try something new,” Luck said. Together, the three will practically monopolize English-language radio in Costa Rica, providing listeners with good tunes and entertainment that many, Ticos and foreigners alike, have come to take for granted. Better still, their show will now be broadcast throughout the country – not just in the Central Valley as before – and even around the world through live-streaming Internet radio.
“We get an amazing mix of people who listen to our radio show. A lot of Ticos listen to learn English. It’s great. I love the mix,” said Scott, who has never considered his work on the radio a “job.”
“Music is our life,” Scott said. “Some people go to work, and do a job their whole lives and don’t like it. I think it’s so important to have a job you love, like we do.”
The duo’s new show will air at the same time as Scott’s old one, and both confess it will be nice to have some company when the alarm sings at their home in the western suburb of Escazú.
“It can be lonely that early in the morning, headed to work,” Flaum said. “Now we’ll have company.”
Listeners will be able to enjoy the good company, too.
