Frenzal Rhomb guitarist Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall is very happily out of his comfort zone.
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Radio is not unfamiliar for the well-known broadcaster but the nerves are “well and truly there’’ ahead of starting his new gig with the ABC as host of its Illawarra Drive program.
“Yeah I’m nervous, I’m having anxiety dreams but I quite like the fact that that’s happening because it means I’m doing something new and exciting and I’m not quite sure how to do it yet, which is exciting,’’ McDougall said.
He also likes the idea of turning 40 this year and having his ‘’first official adult job’’.
“I was at triple J all through my 30s and parts of my 20s but I definitely didn’t feel like that was an adult job and now I’m in a place where they supply coffee and there is stationery and stuff,’’ McDougall joked.
“My only other job was working at Coles in Engadine in the fruit and veg section before I joined Frenzal Rhomb.
“So apart from a few other bits and pieces to make money when the band wasn’t making any money that’s really the only jobs that I have had so I’m very excited to start my 40s here where I’ve wanted to live for so long and with an actual income so I can afford to go out and see it all.
“I mean you have rooftop bars here. That wasn’t here five years ago.’’
I mean you have rooftop bars here. That wasn’t here five years ago.
- Lindsay 'The Doctor' McDougall
McDougall though is no stranger to the Illawarra and recently moved to Fairy Meadow, near where his wife Jennifer grew up.
The 39-year-old grew up in Engadine but spent a lot of time in Wollongong and the Illawarra’s northern suburbs, in particular Coalcliff, where his mother lives.
“We used to spend a lot of time at Coalcliff,’’ he said.
“I have memories of going down to Coledale Hospital when my brother got scratched by a dog and Thirroul before Anita's Theatre was a theatre, when it was a roller skating rink. I remember that and we used to go to Warrawong to the movies.’’
McDougall moved to Newtown when he joined punk rock group Frenzal Rhomb in 1996
About 10 years later he scored his first gig in radio and hosted Triple J’s breakfast show with Frenzal Rhomb bandmate Jay Whalley, and later with Myf Warhurst.
He went on to host his own drive show, before leaving the ABC at the end of 2014 to record another album with his band and to get married to longtime love Jen Owens.
McDougall and his now wife tied the knot in October 2015 at Sublime Point.
A who’s who of music, television and radio celebrities and personalities were in the house at the star-studded wedding reception at Thirroul’s Beaches Hotel.
“We were looking for an excuse to move down here and even if I hadn’t got a job we were going to move down here and quite luckily I got the first big job in ABC Illawarra in years,’’ McDougall said.
“Even though the [house] prices have gone up since we started looking to buy here, it’s been a great move.’’
The only negative for the pair who love taking their dogs for walks on the beach, is council’s ‘’silly hours’’ for dogs on beaches.
“But now that I have my own radio show maybe I can talk to council about that,’’ McDougall joked.
“To be really cheesy I just want people to see the Illawarra through my eyes and see all the things that I think is really special about it.
“But if you are driving, you don’t want to look through my eyes because one is a bit dodgy.’’