He may have been at Q...because he hosted on Chez106 (Classic Rock) in Ottawa and did drive home...he was really good...

Sad news...RIP 

One of his former PDs posted a great tribute on Facebook

:SIGN OFFDavid Brian Smith (AKA: Brian Scott)October 29th 1962 – March 12th 2019Very sad news today that Brian Scott has passed away after a long fight with Cancer. I had the privilege of working with Brian in Kingston at 98.3 FLY-FM from 2005 – 2010.I had been a long-time fan of Brian’s work. From his time in Ottawa at Energy 1200, to his afternoon run on CHEZ, and then when I finally got the chance to work with him in Kingston at FLY-FM.

Brian was a great morning man. His ratings were always high, and was loved by his radio audience. He was a quiet guy in the hallways, but was loved and respected by his co-workers. Humble to the core, and he was never one to look for the fame and glory that comes with being the top morning man in the market.

Back then we had a really fabulous lineup at FLY-FM, and we were swinging for the fences. Brian had a wealth of experience, and I called on him often to help me with big programming decisions. Our goal was to compete at a very high level, and Brian set the example for the entire air staff. He was a true fan of radio, and we both enjoyed listening to old airchecks and radio jingle packages together. One time when we bought a new jingle package for FLY-FM, the two of us spent hours in a studio one night listening, auditioning and writing the lyrics for them.

Every Christmas Brian would do the voiceover for my NORAD Christmas Eve Santa Tracker reports. At one point we got up to 65 stations coast to coast – his voice announcing to the kids that “Something BIG was about to happen!”

Brian used to tell me the story about how he became “Brian Scott”. When he got to Ottawa for his gig there, he was going by the name “Brian Smith”, but there were already two Brian Smith’s in the local media scene in Ottawa. A third one would not fly – and so, not wanting to use his given name of David Smith on the air, he had to choose a new last name for his “on air name” – and thus became Brian Scott.

I remember in 2006 when Brian called me into the FLY-FM studio one morning, and laid it on the table straight. “I’ve been diagnosed with Cancer”. It hit me like a tonne of bricks. The Cancer was not a great one, but even worse, the surgery that followed would permanently paralyze one side of his face. For a man who spoke for a living, it was a pretty bad outcome, even if he survived the cancer.

Brian never let that stop him. After the Cancer was treated, he spent hours learning how to speak clearly again using one hand to manipulate the side of his face and mouth. He got so good at it, it was to the point where if you didn’t know, you’d never know. Jim Elyot held down the fort for Brian while he was off, but eventually, Brian got back on the air, and had a really good run, running all of the studio equipment essentially one handed.

Some of my best memories with Brian was that we were both big sports fans, and we would often debate sports teams, plays and outcomes. We had the chance on a few occasions to catch the Express VIA Rail train from Kingston to Toronto on weekday afternoons to see Blue Jays games. The ride down was great, but the ride back was always the mail-run train, stopping at every junction and town. We’d be back at 1am some nights, and he’d be on the air for 6am the next day.

I left FLY-FM in 2010 to become a College Professor. We kept in touch, and Brian would do some airchecks for my students.I’m very sad that in the end he was not successful in his fight. I’m very sad that he was not able to live out his golden years behind the mic or with his family. But I’m extremely glad that I had the opportunity to work with him. I learned so much from Brian, and always admired his incredible craftsmanship. Brian was a major market jock and Kingston was very fortunate to have him.I used to love that every day when I came into the radio station I’d shout, “BS” down the hallway, and he’d fire back “DM”…. That was our standard greeting.

From Brian’s very first ever broadcast on the radio to his final sign off earlier this year, those radio waves would have broken through the atmosphere and are at this moment spreading out into the universe at the speed of light, and somewhere, someday, they will be heard again.To Deborah and Logan, and all of Brian’s family, my deepest condolences.

Last edited by RadioAaron (March 13, 2019 9:50 pm)