May 20, 2024 • 24 mins
Standing at over 6ft tall, with wild locks of hair (that hasn’t been cut in over 13 years), Laurence is a monster of a man, with a presence that cannot be ignored. However, his physical features aren’t what get him noticed first, it’s his booming voice…
With a love of trains and Melbourne, and a day job he is keeping hidden, Art is tasked with uncovering what that is.
Check it out on the socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/concealedwithartsimone/
Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@concealedwithartsimone
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Are you ready to do some detective work?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Okay, I'll get it you just click play for a
nice and easy listener. Now you have to do work.
Just kidding, I'm doing the hard work.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm utsimone and very.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Soon I will be introducing you to someone seemingly normal,
but they are concealing something peculiar, weird or a little
freaky from us side. But don't worry, I will uncover
what that is. This is concealed with me artsimone. Time
for the announcement from our guest roll the tape.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hi, my name's Lawrence.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I'm from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. I've lived
in Melbourne for seventeen years. I'm in a Melbourne band.
I'm a staunch union rep. I've had one haircut in
thirteen years and I'm concealing my day job.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Holli, Lawrence, how are you?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I am very well?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You've really throwed me on the one haircut in thirteen years.
To give context, you have a luscious mane in front
of me. It is giving full rock star. So you
are in a band as well? What do you play?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I play guitar, piano and I sing.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You do a lot of their banging, a lot of
head bangs, a lot of momentum in with it.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Do what a bangover is?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Oh? Okay, well, I guess I can assume what a
bangover is.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
The bangover is what happens when you're thirty five and
above and you've been headbanging your favorite band. The next
day you wake over with a very, very very sore neck,
which is not something that happens in your twenties.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So you bangover gets worse. When you hangover gets worse.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Now we know why you're a union rep, because you're like,
you got to stop moving your next you know you
doing that. But now so you're you're sitting but in
front of me, you've got a big, luscious maine. You've
got a big chops. They're called chops.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh, I'm so good.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I haven't been to have facial hair ever since because
I'm am a cross dresser, so the beer doesn't really
go with the look. You know, maybe one day, maybe
one day and we've got cut off flannel. Now I'm
back to the haircut, right, white haircut in thirteen years?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
What are you afraid of?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Oh, I'm afraid of barber's.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
It wasn't a fun experience as a kid, just bitten,
mashed down to the barbers, wanted to have long hair,
and then I turned eighteen, had long hair, and then
never went back.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Look, I can relate to you because I don't have
long hair, but I always wanted to color my hair,
and then sow, I was eighteen and out of high school,
I colored my hair and I've had crazy colors ever since,
and I won't stop. I'm going to do it until
this four hairs left. I'm just going to just going
to die those four. I'm really hoping I go gray
early because I'm sick of bleaching. That'd be amazing. Then
(02:42):
I could just chuck the color on. Would that beautiful?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I was starting to get a little bit self conscious
about turning gray. They're starting to come out the front
because under the on the sideburns they're all like blasting
the gray. And my partners are very excited for the
silver fox period.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Bring it up.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah all right, okay, So I'm going to ask you
three questions, and from the answers to those three questions,
I'm going to try and work out what you were
concealing from me, which you said is your day job?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, mysterious.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
First question for you is what was your favorite TV
show growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Thomas the Tank Engine?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Okay, train. Oh, he's not called the fat Controller anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
But no, he's just like mister Controller or something, you know,
which is which is fine? What was your favorite engine
out of the Thomas and the Tank Engine?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
It was Henry?
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Henry? Was he the angry one?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, the angry on was Gordon?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Are you really?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
God? Am I so good at this?
Speaker 5 (03:41):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Question number two? What physical feature do people recognize first
about you?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
It's not so much a physical feature, it's the it's
my voice.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Your voice.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Oh I thought they'd say, like your hair. No, it
used to be oh so your voice.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
They like you. Okay, they know your voice too. Choo okay, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And the third question I have is what Ozzie landmarks
should be added to the list of Wonders of the world.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Flint the Street Station.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Okay, I think I got this one. I feel like
I got so let's put it together, all right. First
of all, Thomas the Tank Agent. Wonderful choice. We're all
going about trains, and then you say a voice. You
know this, You know this is only one thing that
comes to mind, which kind of comes back to, you know,
talking about the fact control of bat Do you like
announce things on to the platforms? Are you the platform
(04:37):
announce it? Person that goes the three forty two Lily
Dale will now be departing from platform two.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Is it? Good morning and welcome to Flinda Street Station.
My name is Lawrence Houson, or if some of you
know me better as the voice of Flinda Station. I
went viral in November twenty twenty three four making obnoxious
train announcements at Flinda Station, and I've been doing it
ever since.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You just popped up on my instant stories. I swear
like two weeks ago. Ah, it was you. You weren't dressed
like this, so.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
It's very not allowed to be dressed like this. I
got a tip of hair back then.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Well that's that thing too.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I did not reckond go pah. I don't know what
to tell you, but I'm actually really good at this.
Who would have thought after three seasons I got it
right here? Lawrence is that man at the train station.
He's the voice of Linda's Street. Isn't that amazing? What
a good voice. Not as good as mine though. All right,
(05:44):
So we're here with Lawrence, who is the voice of
Flinder's station in my presence. Ah, and what a perfect
format to have you here on we get to listen
to your beautiful tones direct into our ear holes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Isn't that beautiful?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Somewhat more conversational announced and style.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That is true, Actually, that is true.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
You could actually branch out a little bit more, but
I feel like you kind of do that a little
bit within your job. So maybe let's explain if people
don't know exactly what it is you do. You work
at Flint the Street station. Do you just do the announcements?
What else do you do? Like did it just how
that happen? Because people may not know, but usually along
the train line it's just some lady who's like a
(06:23):
computer generated aay, I have.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Avoiced that goes the next station is glen Ferry.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
That is on the internal on the inside of the trains.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, because the drivers have to concentrate on what they're doing,
so they can't make all the announcements all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Sometimes they do, but not all the time.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So I was hired as an LSA or what's known
as a leading station assistant, So we could be on
the barriers, we could be roving, we could be making
platform announcements. I just kind of hinted at work a
lot that I'd like to be on platform announcements because
I've spent more than half my life in front of
a microft.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
What was the position that they already had.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
It used to be an official position, and then it
was absorbed into LSA's in general, so you know, we're
a little bit more flexible in what it is that
we do. But I just sort of let work know, hey,
I'm quite good at this.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Can I do this?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And I'd actually enjoy turning up to work more. And
they were like, if this would make work more enjoyable
for you, then let's make it happen.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And that had it happened, which is nice.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
So the important bit is like just the safety announcements,
making sure that kids aren't you know, running into the
pit or prams are rolling towards the you know, making
sure people aren't skateboarding up and down the platforms. And
then secondarily it's just letting people know when trains are
coming in.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Just listening to you. Now, you'd be really good at
telling people off.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Wouldn't you'd be I'd have a good teacher voice.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I laid into someone today. You know what it is.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
It's this constant bothersome issue that happens on the network
where you've turned up too late for your train, but
you keep sitting there trying to open the door and
hitting the button and the driver can't.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Leave until you step back.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And today I employed what a partner of mine is
called the dad voice get back. It just goes way
deeper and really resonant and really rule and it gives
people that jold and they take a step back in
the train can leave. So I'm starting to employ that
more and more.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
As the days go on.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
You're very qualified.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I usually just hit at them, which usually works well
because I feel like we have a lot in common.
We have to facilitate a lot of things. On a microphone,
you're dealing with a lot more people and a lot
of a variety of people. And you know, Dore, I say, actually,
maybe you know keeping people safe.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I don't tend to do that.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I probably make them unsafe because I but I have
to go higher in my voice the people to pay attention.
You get to do the opposite yes, I do. I
blend in if I.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Got a low, which I won't do today anyway.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So were you just always interested in trains? Are you
just like, oh, I'm I'm just going to pick up
a job there. I've wanted something to do.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
I from a very young age obsessed with trains. That's
not why I went to Metro. I've worked a series
of jobs over the years and I had just left
Australia Post and was looking to do something with a
much more customer facing role, because yeah, I wanted something
a bit more engaged with people, and so I went
to Metro and.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I just wanted to do a customer service role.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Didn't even know that platform announcing was a thing that
you could still be done on a manual level and
then bang found.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
A way in.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
So when did you start to add your own flare
to this? Because I don't I feel like you were
you inditially you just you know as you do the
basics ago, it's the five forty five city loop.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I don't know. I haven't caught a trade in a
long time.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I'd like to say I was that humble at the start,
but I.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Really I no, no, no, no, So you do you
do three weeks at the Metro Academy, which is their
educational facility.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, I know, I graduated from the Metro Academy. You'd be.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's actually like a registered educational facility, like you get
a cert three or four in rail customer service, specifically
rail customer service.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
But I've been a class with seventeen people. Oh nearly.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I haven't finished reparation yet.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know, the training goes for three weeks and then
they do the platform announcement section of the training, and
so someone who's been doing it at Flinder's for sixteen
years comes up and gives you a pep talk and
takes you down to the station. And I'm sitting in
a class of people who you know, very nervous, they
never even heard their voice. Come by and get them
on exactly system before I'm trembling, going let me add it, watch.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Give it to me, give give, and I just dropped straight.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Was like, come to Flinder Street station like I've em
seed weddings, I've seen gigs.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I was just like, you know what, this is where
I live, this is my home.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I want to see you do a football game next.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Something would love to do.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's a whole other art to it, or.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
An auctioneer, which i'd love to give a crack.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yes, well, the whole time we've been talking, I've had
ideas for you because I think also they should let
you do a rock concert on the platform.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I think they should let you do.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
That issues without whatsoever they could use.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
They could use the ballroom upstairs, Yeah they can what
you should let them. You're famous now you're you're Flinder
Street famous in the.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Card Little Be Good, Please go on, go on.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
So maybe rock show or at auction Okay, that's gonna
be fun as well, so many things you do with
your voice. Oh maybe they'll let you re record that
lady on the train. I feel like it's still the
same lady that when I was in high school going
up and down the train line. Maybe I was a
little I.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Was a little our line. Oh no, yeah, I was
a little our line.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
But I got from a real buck to stop before
the little dye, yes, queen, a little lord line. But
now I'm a Geelong girl, so I'm on the very line,
which you know was you don't have to deal with do.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I was on platform six and seven today and go
and Bansdale trains come through.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I don't have to go to something across everyone, right,
which I hate see it.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
But the train brings a little piece of Southern Cross
with it because it pulls up at the platform. It's
just like, smells like Southern Cross. How's that dense stench
of diesel? Fantastic Metro trains don't smell like that, but
Eline trains.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Alright, I'll see how it is. Yeah, but we have
twins on our train and we have water dispenses.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Take that. Yeah, I can't argue with you.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
At least they don't get off the train with black lungs.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
We have a quiet carriage, so that's nice as well.
You would not do well with a quiet.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
And I get a victim from probably just straight me
to the roof instead.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So you were going at it, you were, you were
being vivacious and vibrant from the beginning. How did your
Flinders Station account start?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
It started off with a few people taking videos and
putting them on the TikTok and stuff. But this one
particular girl, Lucy, got really into it and she's worked,
she worked in the city and so she.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Wouldn't even behind it.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
No, No, I didn't, No, No, this this, this popped
up organically. Wow, yeah, I know never thought that's not
the first time I've been stalked either.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And let's well, let's get into We'll finished this and
then go into the stalking after It's all right.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
So Lucy would come to go through the station on
the way to and from work in the city, and
then this captured her imagination and she starts filming it.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I feel like a lot of Peple would have been
filming it regardless, because it's definitely breakout of the norm
that people are used to.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So, I mean, I probably would be like this cap.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
I still like just scroll through Instagram and find like
random recordings of me just popping up everywhere that I
didn't even know about.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
So yeah, lots of people do it, ye.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
She made a concerted effort to document that this is
a tribute to this guy.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
All right.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Wow, So she she's made the account.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Do you feel like you've something's taken away from you,
a bit of ownership over like your own I don't know, identity.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
No, it's like a fan account.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
It's kind of public property, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Like you're out there, I belong to Melbourne, dedicated, I'm
part of furniture now Gallant Gallant.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I guess it's a fan account.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
But in a day, in an age where people want
to pivot off everything to become superstars themselves. Have you
ever wanted to be like, right, how can I use
this to advertise my band?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Or do this or do that?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I have been doing a bit of that recently. Ish.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
She has since stepped back from it. I don't think
she expected it to blow up as big as it did.
It started off as just you know, oh, maybe a
few hundred people like this, not one hundred and ten
thousand people. So she handed it over to one of
my partners who now runs the account and sort of
accepts all of the submissions that come in from people
and uploads them.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Oh great, okay, fabulous. So other time you were talking about.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Right, I came. So it's an era of my life.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I was working at a backpacker hostel on Elizabeth Street,
right next to Flinders Station. In fact, it was called
the Flinders Station Hotel at the time, just above a
bar called the Joint Bar?
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Are you always? Is everything centric around Flinders Street?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I don't know what happened.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
I'm not even from Melbourne, Like, I just moved down
here and all of a sudden, but I feel like
a lot of things like center around the CBD and
in particular Flinders for people like you move here as
an e pat from the country and it's the it's
the first major landmark you've become aware of that and
Urica sky Deck or something, not even Parliament House, like
(15:08):
you just this stationed, this iconic, big yellow bastard of
a thing.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
And then yeah, I don't know, it is kind of sent.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
With the flint the street station steps because I was
a station rat emo when I was a god. I
wasn't one of the really good ones because I was
a nerd anyway, but I just felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I'd just go to Dangerfield across the road.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
But that was a time and place that was Melbourne
right there, Like people used to come into the city
and go check out thee just hang out. You guys
were doing like occupy Wall Street before by Wall Street,
but it was you know, Emo, Pye Flinda.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Street exactly, and it's it's beautiful. I think that's stunning.
Actually I thought it was great. Yeah, I think you
all looked amazing. I think you talking all right.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
So I'm working at this backpack, soscal in the city
and I'm just going about my life, going out with
my friends.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
I turned thirty five years ago and on my thirtieth birthday,
I get this message in my DMS and it's like, Hey,
you don't know me, but it's your birthday and so
on this your birthday. I want to tell you that
for a period of your life from two thousand and
nine to twenty thirteen, there were a group of kids
(16:19):
from Melbourne UNI who used to spot you out in
public and we started a Facebook group where we would
contribute photos of where we would see you out and
about and I want you to have it.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
So they gave me your birthday.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You got a weird digital version of this is your life.
You're like, all right, welcome, Yeah, here's the little time
capsule for you to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yeah it was intense and so they gave me access.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Is that just because you looked too unique?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Like?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I think that was it?
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Yeah, I'm going through this was going for like four
or five years. I'm seeing photos of me with like
ex girlfriends' best maids, people who have It's moved to
the UK and it's all here and they've documented like
this whole period of my life and I'm like, wow, the.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
People want't you.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I've got no idea, that's what That's what I'm getting
from this. The people want you. And I think that's beautiful.
You're a magnet of attraction and you've got to use that,
all right, You've got to use that bit. So speaking
of do people just come to Flinness Street just to
see you do the announcements?
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Do you have a favorite platform? Oh?
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Actually yeah, I do Platform one and Platform four and five.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Better acoustics, just.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
More intense, like a lot busier, Yeah, bigger audience.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
So yeah, well that too. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Like I said, I was on platform six and seven
today and six and seven is the most bone boring
platform in the whole station.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Can't stand it.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Like by the time the trains come through, they've already
done the city loops, so no one gets off and
I'm just sitting there going, oh awesome, another trickle of
six or seven people just got off to the Flinders.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Have an artist, people to see my work.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
And I'm jealously looking at like four and five.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Thousands of people moving across it and I'm just like
this is garbage.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So what has it been like the response from you know,
the upper bubs and your colleagues with the attention and
popularity that you have gained, they've.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
All enjoyed it.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
The upper above like the I got to meet the CEO.
I mean what, I'd worked there two months and the
CEO came down to say hi, and you know, that
was a really nice chat. And my managers have been
very supportive and yeah, actually, like you know, it's still
a valued skill.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I'm getting deployed now.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I get deployments like I'm going to wind up an
Adelaide station or Perth at some point making a guest appear.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
That I do a tour.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, who would have thought? It's not the music that's
going to get you touring. You're going to be doing
from station to station?
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Did I slog my guts out in a rock bend
for ten years? I could have just joined Metro?
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Oh well that's okay.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
You know, you live in your learn, So when you're
putting together one of your announcements, what is a little
bit of extra info that you like to throw in?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Is their rules?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Is there dos and don't to the things? No, there's
the basics you have to follow yet, which is what train?
It's safety and what time?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Tray trag jo give me trade that too, Definitely safety pose.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
It's just like, you know, make sure everyone's doing the
right thing, staying behind the yellow line, you know, not writing, Yeah,
don't do anything, don't start bouncing up and down, gym up.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And down the yep ye your dad's step, Yeah, beautiful
step number one.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And then it's just what the train needs, the schedule
when it's leaving, and then you know, letting people know
if there's delays and stuff. It's pretty bread and butter stuff.
That's I think that's why I jazz it up.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
How do you do get any info? You just literally
look at the screens radio.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Yeah, it's like a play by play of what's going on.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
As soon as it starts crackling, it's just like pause
what you're doing, listen in.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, I've just got intel, spoken to big brother and
we're going to have a three minute delay. Sorry everyone,
but thirty seven degrees today? How do you all feel
about it?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yeah, well that's it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So I just start dropping in weather reports. I start
you know, making comments like you know, when poies are
in town. Like, hope you guys have a cracking time
at Fooies tonight.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Do you have bored talking to yourself? What do you
get to kind of I'm.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Talking about all my friends on the platform, the hundreds
and thousands.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Of because of the conversation, you're still kind of like
it is.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
A bit one sided.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
It's another train surprise, it's a train today.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
It's a challenge to get the reaction out of people.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Yeah, So sometimes, like you know, everyone's had a bit
of a dead day from time to time. They file
into a platform, one glue to their phones. It's when
you say the thing that gets them to look up,
or you watch that crack in the in the edge
of someone's face as they begin to smile.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It's like, gotcha, So you know you're a star. Now
you're you know, you're famous. Is there any situations where
people like come up to you and like do the voice?
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Do the voice? Do it? Do it?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yeah, show me a comedian in this city.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Who hasn't someone come up and going, you know, oh,
you're a comedian, say something funny, tell us a joke,
and it's like, you know, the worst one is when
I've just clocked on maybe I've run open mic night
the night before. Maybe i was at banm Brackets till
eleven pm. Maybe I'm running on fumes a rock up
at five minutes past seven and I get onto the
platform and someone comes up and going, you're the guy
from Tiktoks say something funny like they got yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
You're I can't, I'm incapable.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
Well you do you say something funny?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Get away from the line. That's your safety.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Now, how'd you like that?
Speaker 1 (21:40):
For human? But the same thing.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
People come to me when I'm out of drag and
they're like, oh, You're not very exciting, are you.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I'm like, no, I'm not working. God, they're not.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
It's not a twenty four hour job. I'm human too,
I'm a yuman.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
It's what we do now.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I I've actually got a lot of training in this position,
because one, I've caught a train before. Two I used
to work at cafscene run the drive through. So so
I think I'm very qualified. And you've already given me
a bit of the format. So we've got your dad's safety,
then we've got your train time, and then we've got
fun fact essentially. Yeah, I'll say fun fact could be
(22:22):
boring fact, like I'm thirty one. What I try to
get is I want to do a platform announcement. So
what platform am I on?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Tell me?
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You're on platform one?
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Platform one? What no?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
No, no, no, no.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
No, we're gonna we're going into your origin story. You're
on platform two and three?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Oh yes, Can I have a lilard our line?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
You are on the lid line.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I hated Belgrave because I had to change it ring
good and it was a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Oh okay, So what platform I're on? Two and three?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Correct?
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Loward a line? Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But outside of that, I think I need a good intro.
So can you give me a tip for a good
intro at Flindustreet Station.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
You've got to make it personable.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
It's got to be you like say hi to people
like someone elnces just crack straight into the next train
to arrive is like no, no, no. Welcome them to where
they are, Welcome them to these hallowed halls. So greet
them like when they get off the train, wish them
a good day. But do it as you so.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
You sing ye ma'am, good morning Flinders Stream, Hello to all.
I'm fabulous to see extinguished gets coming off the train.
Don't you look beautiful here on this hallowed morning here
at Flinna's Threat station. Now I want to let you
know that you better have a good day and you've
had a wonderful Trivin.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
But this train's about to leave, all.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Right, so make sure you're back away from the doors
and they're closing because this one is going back to
Ludale at am.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, so have a good day.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
It's actually gonna be thirty three degrees part the cloudy,
and I'm just shining because I see all your beautiful
faces here.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Okay, bye, that was beautiful, Thank you lovers.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Lawrence the voice of Flinders Street. Ah, what amazing talent.
But what chitis Lawrence? Because someone may be coming to
take over a platform two and three now me, you've
been listening to an iHeart Australia production Conceal It with artsimone.
Listen to more of what you love on iHeart and
check out two people who definitely had the comment talks
(24:25):
a bit too much on their report.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Check out the socials
Are you ready to do some detective work?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Okay, I'll get it you just click play for a
nice and easy listener. Now you have to do work.
Just kidding, I'm doing the hard work.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm utsimone and very.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Soon I will be introducing you to someone seemingly normal,
but they are concealing something peculiar, weird or a little
freaky from us side. But don't worry, I will uncover
what that is. This is concealed with me artsimone. Time
for the announcement from our guest roll the tape.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hi, my name's Lawrence.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I'm from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. I've lived
in Melbourne for seventeen years. I'm in a Melbourne band.
I'm a staunch union rep. I've had one haircut in
thirteen years and I'm concealing my day job.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Holli, Lawrence, how are you?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
I am very well?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You've really throwed me on the one haircut in thirteen years.
To give context, you have a luscious mane in front
of me. It is giving full rock star. So you
are in a band as well? What do you play?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I play guitar, piano and I sing.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You do a lot of their banging, a lot of
head bangs, a lot of momentum in with it.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Do what a bangover is?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Oh? Okay, well, I guess I can assume what a
bangover is.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
The bangover is what happens when you're thirty five and
above and you've been headbanging your favorite band. The next
day you wake over with a very, very very sore neck,
which is not something that happens in your twenties.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So you bangover gets worse. When you hangover gets worse.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Now we know why you're a union rep, because you're like,
you got to stop moving your next you know you
doing that. But now so you're you're sitting but in
front of me, you've got a big, luscious maine. You've
got a big chops. They're called chops.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh, I'm so good.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I haven't been to have facial hair ever since because
I'm am a cross dresser, so the beer doesn't really
go with the look. You know, maybe one day, maybe
one day and we've got cut off flannel. Now I'm
back to the haircut, right, white haircut in thirteen years?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
What are you afraid of?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Oh, I'm afraid of barber's.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
It wasn't a fun experience as a kid, just bitten,
mashed down to the barbers, wanted to have long hair,
and then I turned eighteen, had long hair, and then
never went back.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Look, I can relate to you because I don't have
long hair, but I always wanted to color my hair,
and then sow, I was eighteen and out of high school,
I colored my hair and I've had crazy colors ever since,
and I won't stop. I'm going to do it until
this four hairs left. I'm just going to just going
to die those four. I'm really hoping I go gray
early because I'm sick of bleaching. That'd be amazing. Then
(02:42):
I could just chuck the color on. Would that beautiful?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I was starting to get a little bit self conscious
about turning gray. They're starting to come out the front
because under the on the sideburns they're all like blasting
the gray. And my partners are very excited for the
silver fox period.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Bring it up.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah all right, okay, So I'm going to ask you
three questions, and from the answers to those three questions,
I'm going to try and work out what you were
concealing from me, which you said is your day job?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, mysterious.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
First question for you is what was your favorite TV
show growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Thomas the Tank Engine?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Okay, train. Oh, he's not called the fat Controller anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
But no, he's just like mister Controller or something, you know,
which is which is fine? What was your favorite engine
out of the Thomas and the Tank Engine?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
It was Henry?
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Henry? Was he the angry one?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, the angry on was Gordon?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Are you really?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
God? Am I so good at this?
Speaker 5 (03:41):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Question number two? What physical feature do people recognize first
about you?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
It's not so much a physical feature, it's the it's
my voice.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Your voice.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Oh I thought they'd say, like your hair. No, it
used to be oh so your voice.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
They like you. Okay, they know your voice too. Choo okay, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And the third question I have is what Ozzie landmarks
should be added to the list of Wonders of the world.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Flint the Street Station.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Okay, I think I got this one. I feel like
I got so let's put it together, all right. First
of all, Thomas the Tank Agent. Wonderful choice. We're all
going about trains, and then you say a voice. You
know this, You know this is only one thing that
comes to mind, which kind of comes back to, you know,
talking about the fact control of bat Do you like
announce things on to the platforms? Are you the platform
(04:37):
announce it? Person that goes the three forty two Lily
Dale will now be departing from platform two.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Is it? Good morning and welcome to Flinda Street Station.
My name is Lawrence Houson, or if some of you
know me better as the voice of Flinda Station. I
went viral in November twenty twenty three four making obnoxious
train announcements at Flinda Station, and I've been doing it
ever since.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You just popped up on my instant stories. I swear
like two weeks ago. Ah, it was you. You weren't dressed
like this, so.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
It's very not allowed to be dressed like this. I
got a tip of hair back then.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Well that's that thing too.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I did not reckond go pah. I don't know what
to tell you, but I'm actually really good at this.
Who would have thought after three seasons I got it
right here? Lawrence is that man at the train station.
He's the voice of Linda's Street. Isn't that amazing? What
a good voice. Not as good as mine though. All right,
(05:44):
So we're here with Lawrence, who is the voice of
Flinder's station in my presence. Ah, and what a perfect
format to have you here on we get to listen
to your beautiful tones direct into our ear holes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Isn't that beautiful?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Somewhat more conversational announced and style.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That is true, Actually, that is true.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
You could actually branch out a little bit more, but
I feel like you kind of do that a little
bit within your job. So maybe let's explain if people
don't know exactly what it is you do. You work
at Flint the Street station. Do you just do the announcements?
What else do you do? Like did it just how
that happen? Because people may not know, but usually along
the train line it's just some lady who's like a
(06:23):
computer generated aay, I have.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Avoiced that goes the next station is glen Ferry.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
That is on the internal on the inside of the trains.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, because the drivers have to concentrate on what they're doing,
so they can't make all the announcements all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Sometimes they do, but not all the time.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So I was hired as an LSA or what's known
as a leading station assistant, So we could be on
the barriers, we could be roving, we could be making
platform announcements. I just kind of hinted at work a
lot that I'd like to be on platform announcements because
I've spent more than half my life in front of
a microft.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
What was the position that they already had.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
It used to be an official position, and then it
was absorbed into LSA's in general, so you know, we're
a little bit more flexible in what it is that
we do. But I just sort of let work know, hey,
I'm quite good at this.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Can I do this?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And I'd actually enjoy turning up to work more. And
they were like, if this would make work more enjoyable
for you, then let's make it happen.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And that had it happened, which is nice.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
So the important bit is like just the safety announcements,
making sure that kids aren't you know, running into the
pit or prams are rolling towards the you know, making
sure people aren't skateboarding up and down the platforms. And
then secondarily it's just letting people know when trains are
coming in.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Just listening to you. Now, you'd be really good at
telling people off.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Wouldn't you'd be I'd have a good teacher voice.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I laid into someone today. You know what it is.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
It's this constant bothersome issue that happens on the network
where you've turned up too late for your train, but
you keep sitting there trying to open the door and
hitting the button and the driver can't.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Leave until you step back.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And today I employed what a partner of mine is
called the dad voice get back. It just goes way
deeper and really resonant and really rule and it gives
people that jold and they take a step back in
the train can leave. So I'm starting to employ that
more and more.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
As the days go on.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
You're very qualified.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I usually just hit at them, which usually works well
because I feel like we have a lot in common.
We have to facilitate a lot of things. On a microphone,
you're dealing with a lot more people and a lot
of a variety of people. And you know, Dore, I say, actually,
maybe you know keeping people safe.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I don't tend to do that.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I probably make them unsafe because I but I have
to go higher in my voice the people to pay attention.
You get to do the opposite yes, I do. I
blend in if I.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Got a low, which I won't do today anyway.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So were you just always interested in trains? Are you
just like, oh, I'm I'm just going to pick up
a job there. I've wanted something to do.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
I from a very young age obsessed with trains. That's
not why I went to Metro. I've worked a series
of jobs over the years and I had just left
Australia Post and was looking to do something with a
much more customer facing role, because yeah, I wanted something
a bit more engaged with people, and so I went
to Metro and.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I just wanted to do a customer service role.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Didn't even know that platform announcing was a thing that
you could still be done on a manual level and
then bang found.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
A way in.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
So when did you start to add your own flare
to this? Because I don't I feel like you were
you inditially you just you know as you do the
basics ago, it's the five forty five city loop.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I don't know. I haven't caught a trade in a
long time.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I'd like to say I was that humble at the start,
but I.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Really I no, no, no, no, So you do you
do three weeks at the Metro Academy, which is their
educational facility.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, I know, I graduated from the Metro Academy. You'd be.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's actually like a registered educational facility, like you get
a cert three or four in rail customer service, specifically
rail customer service.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
But I've been a class with seventeen people. Oh nearly.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I haven't finished reparation yet.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know, the training goes for three weeks and then
they do the platform announcement section of the training, and
so someone who's been doing it at Flinder's for sixteen
years comes up and gives you a pep talk and
takes you down to the station. And I'm sitting in
a class of people who you know, very nervous, they
never even heard their voice. Come by and get them
on exactly system before I'm trembling, going let me add it, watch.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Give it to me, give give, and I just dropped straight.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Was like, come to Flinder Street station like I've em
seed weddings, I've seen gigs.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I was just like, you know what, this is where
I live, this is my home.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I want to see you do a football game next.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Something would love to do.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's a whole other art to it, or.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
An auctioneer, which i'd love to give a crack.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yes, well, the whole time we've been talking, I've had
ideas for you because I think also they should let
you do a rock concert on the platform.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I think they should let you do.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
That issues without whatsoever they could use.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
They could use the ballroom upstairs, Yeah they can what
you should let them. You're famous now you're you're Flinder
Street famous in the.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Card Little Be Good, Please go on, go on.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
So maybe rock show or at auction Okay, that's gonna
be fun as well, so many things you do with
your voice. Oh maybe they'll let you re record that
lady on the train. I feel like it's still the
same lady that when I was in high school going
up and down the train line. Maybe I was a
little I.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Was a little our line. Oh no, yeah, I was
a little our line.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
But I got from a real buck to stop before
the little dye, yes, queen, a little lord line. But
now I'm a Geelong girl, so I'm on the very line,
which you know was you don't have to deal with do.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I was on platform six and seven today and go
and Bansdale trains come through.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I don't have to go to something across everyone, right,
which I hate see it.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
But the train brings a little piece of Southern Cross
with it because it pulls up at the platform. It's
just like, smells like Southern Cross. How's that dense stench
of diesel? Fantastic Metro trains don't smell like that, but
Eline trains.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Alright, I'll see how it is. Yeah, but we have
twins on our train and we have water dispenses.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Take that. Yeah, I can't argue with you.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
At least they don't get off the train with black lungs.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
We have a quiet carriage, so that's nice as well.
You would not do well with a quiet.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
And I get a victim from probably just straight me
to the roof instead.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So you were going at it, you were, you were
being vivacious and vibrant from the beginning. How did your
Flinders Station account start?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
It started off with a few people taking videos and
putting them on the TikTok and stuff. But this one
particular girl, Lucy, got really into it and she's worked,
she worked in the city and so she.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Wouldn't even behind it.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
No, No, I didn't, No, No, this this, this popped
up organically. Wow, yeah, I know never thought that's not
the first time I've been stalked either.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And let's well, let's get into We'll finished this and
then go into the stalking after It's all right.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
So Lucy would come to go through the station on
the way to and from work in the city, and
then this captured her imagination and she starts filming it.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I feel like a lot of Peple would have been
filming it regardless, because it's definitely breakout of the norm
that people are used to.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So, I mean, I probably would be like this cap.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
I still like just scroll through Instagram and find like
random recordings of me just popping up everywhere that I
didn't even know about.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
So yeah, lots of people do it, ye.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
She made a concerted effort to document that this is
a tribute to this guy.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
All right.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Wow, So she she's made the account.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Do you feel like you've something's taken away from you,
a bit of ownership over like your own I don't know, identity.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
No, it's like a fan account.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
It's kind of public property, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Like you're out there, I belong to Melbourne, dedicated, I'm
part of furniture now Gallant Gallant.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I guess it's a fan account.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
But in a day, in an age where people want
to pivot off everything to become superstars themselves. Have you
ever wanted to be like, right, how can I use
this to advertise my band?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Or do this or do that?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I have been doing a bit of that recently. Ish.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
She has since stepped back from it. I don't think
she expected it to blow up as big as it did.
It started off as just you know, oh, maybe a
few hundred people like this, not one hundred and ten
thousand people. So she handed it over to one of
my partners who now runs the account and sort of
accepts all of the submissions that come in from people
and uploads them.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Oh great, okay, fabulous. So other time you were talking about.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Right, I came. So it's an era of my life.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I was working at a backpacker hostel on Elizabeth Street,
right next to Flinders Station. In fact, it was called
the Flinders Station Hotel at the time, just above a
bar called the Joint Bar?
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Are you always? Is everything centric around Flinders Street?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I don't know what happened.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
I'm not even from Melbourne, Like, I just moved down
here and all of a sudden, but I feel like
a lot of things like center around the CBD and
in particular Flinders for people like you move here as
an e pat from the country and it's the it's
the first major landmark you've become aware of that and
Urica sky Deck or something, not even Parliament House, like
(15:08):
you just this stationed, this iconic, big yellow bastard of
a thing.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
And then yeah, I don't know, it is kind of sent.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
With the flint the street station steps because I was
a station rat emo when I was a god. I
wasn't one of the really good ones because I was
a nerd anyway, but I just felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I'd just go to Dangerfield across the road.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
But that was a time and place that was Melbourne
right there, Like people used to come into the city
and go check out thee just hang out. You guys
were doing like occupy Wall Street before by Wall Street,
but it was you know, Emo, Pye Flinda.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Street exactly, and it's it's beautiful. I think that's stunning.
Actually I thought it was great. Yeah, I think you
all looked amazing. I think you talking all right.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
So I'm working at this backpack, soscal in the city
and I'm just going about my life, going out with
my friends.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
I turned thirty five years ago and on my thirtieth birthday,
I get this message in my DMS and it's like, Hey,
you don't know me, but it's your birthday and so
on this your birthday. I want to tell you that
for a period of your life from two thousand and
nine to twenty thirteen, there were a group of kids
(16:19):
from Melbourne UNI who used to spot you out in
public and we started a Facebook group where we would
contribute photos of where we would see you out and
about and I want you to have it.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
So they gave me your birthday.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You got a weird digital version of this is your life.
You're like, all right, welcome, Yeah, here's the little time
capsule for you to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yeah it was intense and so they gave me access.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Is that just because you looked too unique?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Like?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I think that was it?
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Yeah, I'm going through this was going for like four
or five years. I'm seeing photos of me with like
ex girlfriends' best maids, people who have It's moved to
the UK and it's all here and they've documented like
this whole period of my life and I'm like, wow, the.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
People want't you.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I've got no idea, that's what That's what I'm getting
from this. The people want you. And I think that's beautiful.
You're a magnet of attraction and you've got to use that,
all right, You've got to use that bit. So speaking
of do people just come to Flinness Street just to
see you do the announcements?
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Do you have a favorite platform? Oh?
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Actually yeah, I do Platform one and Platform four and five.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Better acoustics, just.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
More intense, like a lot busier, Yeah, bigger audience.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
So yeah, well that too. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Like I said, I was on platform six and seven
today and six and seven is the most bone boring
platform in the whole station.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Can't stand it.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Like by the time the trains come through, they've already
done the city loops, so no one gets off and
I'm just sitting there going, oh awesome, another trickle of
six or seven people just got off to the Flinders.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Have an artist, people to see my work.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
And I'm jealously looking at like four and five.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Thousands of people moving across it and I'm just like
this is garbage.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So what has it been like the response from you know,
the upper bubs and your colleagues with the attention and
popularity that you have gained, they've.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
All enjoyed it.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
The upper above like the I got to meet the CEO.
I mean what, I'd worked there two months and the
CEO came down to say hi, and you know, that
was a really nice chat. And my managers have been
very supportive and yeah, actually, like you know, it's still
a valued skill.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I'm getting deployed now.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I get deployments like I'm going to wind up an
Adelaide station or Perth at some point making a guest appear.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
That I do a tour.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, who would have thought? It's not the music that's
going to get you touring. You're going to be doing
from station to station?
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Did I slog my guts out in a rock bend
for ten years? I could have just joined Metro?
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Oh well that's okay.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
You know, you live in your learn, So when you're
putting together one of your announcements, what is a little
bit of extra info that you like to throw in?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Is their rules?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Is there dos and don't to the things? No, there's
the basics you have to follow yet, which is what train?
It's safety and what time?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Tray trag jo give me trade that too, Definitely safety pose.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
It's just like, you know, make sure everyone's doing the
right thing, staying behind the yellow line, you know, not writing, Yeah,
don't do anything, don't start bouncing up and down, gym up.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And down the yep ye your dad's step, Yeah, beautiful
step number one.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And then it's just what the train needs, the schedule
when it's leaving, and then you know, letting people know
if there's delays and stuff. It's pretty bread and butter stuff.
That's I think that's why I jazz it up.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
How do you do get any info? You just literally
look at the screens radio.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Yeah, it's like a play by play of what's going on.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
As soon as it starts crackling, it's just like pause
what you're doing, listen in.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, I've just got intel, spoken to big brother and
we're going to have a three minute delay. Sorry everyone,
but thirty seven degrees today? How do you all feel
about it?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yeah, well that's it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So I just start dropping in weather reports. I start
you know, making comments like you know, when poies are
in town. Like, hope you guys have a cracking time
at Fooies tonight.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Do you have bored talking to yourself? What do you
get to kind of I'm.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Talking about all my friends on the platform, the hundreds
and thousands.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Of because of the conversation, you're still kind of like
it is.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
A bit one sided.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
It's another train surprise, it's a train today.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
It's a challenge to get the reaction out of people.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Yeah, So sometimes, like you know, everyone's had a bit
of a dead day from time to time. They file
into a platform, one glue to their phones. It's when
you say the thing that gets them to look up,
or you watch that crack in the in the edge
of someone's face as they begin to smile.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It's like, gotcha, So you know you're a star. Now
you're you know, you're famous. Is there any situations where
people like come up to you and like do the voice?
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Do the voice? Do it? Do it?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yeah, show me a comedian in this city.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Who hasn't someone come up and going, you know, oh,
you're a comedian, say something funny, tell us a joke,
and it's like, you know, the worst one is when
I've just clocked on maybe I've run open mic night
the night before. Maybe i was at banm Brackets till
eleven pm. Maybe I'm running on fumes a rock up
at five minutes past seven and I get onto the
platform and someone comes up and going, you're the guy
from Tiktoks say something funny like they got yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
You're I can't, I'm incapable.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
Well you do you say something funny?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Get away from the line. That's your safety.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Now, how'd you like that?
Speaker 1 (21:40):
For human? But the same thing.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
People come to me when I'm out of drag and
they're like, oh, You're not very exciting, are you.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I'm like, no, I'm not working. God, they're not.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
It's not a twenty four hour job. I'm human too,
I'm a yuman.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
It's what we do now.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I I've actually got a lot of training in this position,
because one, I've caught a train before. Two I used
to work at cafscene run the drive through. So so
I think I'm very qualified. And you've already given me
a bit of the format. So we've got your dad's safety,
then we've got your train time, and then we've got
fun fact essentially. Yeah, I'll say fun fact could be
(22:22):
boring fact, like I'm thirty one. What I try to
get is I want to do a platform announcement. So
what platform am I on?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Tell me?
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You're on platform one?
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Platform one? What no?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
No, no, no, no.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
No, we're gonna we're going into your origin story. You're
on platform two and three?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Oh yes, Can I have a lilard our line?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
You are on the lid line.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I hated Belgrave because I had to change it ring
good and it was a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Oh okay, So what platform I're on? Two and three?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Correct?
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Loward a line? Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But outside of that, I think I need a good intro.
So can you give me a tip for a good
intro at Flindustreet Station.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
You've got to make it personable.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
It's got to be you like say hi to people
like someone elnces just crack straight into the next train
to arrive is like no, no, no. Welcome them to where
they are, Welcome them to these hallowed halls. So greet
them like when they get off the train, wish them
a good day. But do it as you so.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
You sing ye ma'am, good morning Flinders Stream, Hello to all.
I'm fabulous to see extinguished gets coming off the train.
Don't you look beautiful here on this hallowed morning here
at Flinna's Threat station. Now I want to let you
know that you better have a good day and you've
had a wonderful Trivin.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
But this train's about to leave, all.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Right, so make sure you're back away from the doors
and they're closing because this one is going back to
Ludale at am.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, so have a good day.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
It's actually gonna be thirty three degrees part the cloudy,
and I'm just shining because I see all your beautiful
faces here.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Okay, bye, that was beautiful, Thank you lovers.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Lawrence the voice of Flinders Street. Ah, what amazing talent.
But what chitis Lawrence? Because someone may be coming to
take over a platform two and three now me, you've
been listening to an iHeart Australia production Conceal It with artsimone.
Listen to more of what you love on iHeart and
check out two people who definitely had the comment talks
(24:25):
a bit too much on their report.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Check out the socials
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