SCA’s Jacob Brown: The night I opened for Tommy Little

It will go down as one of the greatest nights of Jacob Brown’s life. But the way it came about was totally unexpected.

Jacob – Workday announcer for Hit Central Queensland – was doing a radio interview with Tommy Little about his upcoming comedy show in Rockhampton.

Jacob tells Radio Today “During our chat, I just kind of mentioned that I’d done a bit of stand-up before and asked if he had any advice for me to get bigger and better.”

“Tommy just said ‘Well, you can open for me if you want.’”

Jacob couldn’t believe his ears.

He got straight to work on a set, practised it and refined it.

Then, just over a week ago, as the final punters took their seats at Rockhampton’s Pilbeam Theatre, Tommy got up on stage and addressed the 800-strong crowd:

“As part of my job, I do a fair few interviews, on TV and on radio. I get asked the same questions all the time. So, when someone goes that extra mile, it really stands out.”

 “I had a lot of fun with Jacob and he told me he’s a stand-up comedian, so I thought we’d do something a little different tonight. He’s going to open the show and do a short set. Give him some love and I’ll come back on later …”

“I can’t express how nervous I was,” says Jacob. “Not just getting up on stage in front of 800 people, but meeting Tommy. I was starstruck.”

“I’d done stand-up before, but never for more than a hundred people, and never opening for a really well-known comedian.”

Jacob needn’t have worried. Sharing the story of his first break-up, he quickly had the crowd engaged and laughing along.

“The best thing was, I came off stage after my eight or so minutes and Tommy shook my hand and said ‘That was well done!’” Jacob smiles.

“It was great to get that immediate sort of validation, because he’d never seen me do stand-up before. To know that he enjoyed it – I could hear him laughing in the wings during my set – was wonderful.”

Also pretty darn wonderful, I have to say, is Jacob’s own infectious laugh, which bursts forth many times during my interview with him.

Stand-up comedy, as we know, can be a brutal profession. But that night in Rocky, Jacob had the crowd eating out of his hand.

“People laughed, which is always good!” he smiles. “I didn’t embarrass myself up there.”

A career in entertainment was always on the cards for Jacob, who grew up in Perth and started acting at the age of ten.

“I always enjoyed the comedic roles and making people laugh,” he says.

Making it as a stand-up comic was always the goal.

“My parents were always so supportive of what I wanted to do. They’d come to shows and purposely laugh out loud!”

Upon finishing high school, Jacob made the big move east to Sydney, where he really started putting in the hard yards.

“The good thing about Sydney is that there were open mic nights, pretty much every night of the week,” he says. “So, you could go and practise and get your name out there.”

The not-so-good thing about Sydney? It’s an expensive place to live.

His finances dwindling, Jacob made the decision to move back west.

“That’s when I really started committing to radio, getting a job as a street teamer for SCA in Perth, trying to be as obnoxious as possible and get to know people and get my name out there!” he chuckles.

A radio opportunity at Hit Fraser Coast came up.

Jacob relocated to Queensland and began his journey as a radio announcer. And he didn’t mind criss-crossing the country again to do it.

“Moving to Sydney was hard, because I didn’t really have a plan. I just did it,” Jacob explains.

“But when I moved to Fraser Coast and then to Rockhampton, it was for my dream job, basically.”

“It was like, Oh my God, I’m going to be a radio announcer.”

“It doesn’t matter how far I have to go. This is what I want to do in life, and the fact I’ve been given this opportunity is wonderful.”

The Fraser Coast also holds a special place in Jacob’s heart for another important reason: It’s where he met his girlfriend and fell in love. They now live in Rocky.

What does Jacob love most about radio?

“All of it!” he enthuses. “It’s a little bit selfish to say I love the fact that it gives me a chance to perform and tell jokes for an audience every single day.”

“I get to do so much fun stuff. It’s a job where you get to make people happy and where you get to be creative. It’s just what I’ve always wanted to do and I consider myself so incredibly lucky that I’m here.”

Jacob is eternally grateful for the support and guidance of SCA Central Queensland Content Director Adam Roche.

“He’s just been absolutely wonderful in encouraging me,” says Jacob.

“I’ve also been lucky enough to meet incredible announcers in the radio world: Ellie Angel-Mobbs in Brisbane, Jamie Angel, Brad Wood, Nic Kelly. All of these people who’ve helped me out and been kind enough to give up their time and advice to a little guy like me.”

Jacob says he continues to be inspired by radio comedy duos like  Hamish and Andy and Jimmy and Nath.

But it’s his family back home in Perth who continue to be his biggest cheerleaders.

“Mum still gets up every single day to listen to my three hour radio show. And at seven o’clock in Perth! She never misses one.”

“Knowing that kind of support is there helps me so much.”