Our people. Our stories. Our history: DJ Skooby

Known to the Red Army as DJ Skooby, Jay Leonard has spent years spinning the tunes for Perth Wildcats home games.

From his position behind the decks at RAC Arena, Skooby has his eyes and ears on every facet of the game night experience.

He’s built a reputation as one of the best in the game at setting the tone by reading the flow of the contest, the mood of the crowd and even down to the momentum of the players, always searching for the right track to ignite The Jungle.

His connection to the Wildcats began decades before he joined the game-night team. Skooby’s earliest memory of the club came in the 1980s, when his father surprised him with two tickets to watch Perth face the Sydney Kings.

The atmosphere immediately caught his attention, as did the physical nature of a contest featuring Wildcats star Cal Bruton and Sydney brothers Mark and Brad Dalton.

“I just remember the atmosphere was electric,” Skooby said.

“Being such a young kid, I was thrilled by everything. They were very physical games back then, but that’s my earliest memory.”

Skooby remained close to the club as a supporter and was a Wildcats member when the team returned to the city to play at the newly opened RAC Arena.

His opportunity to be involved behind the scenes came through an email seeking singers to perform the national anthem. Skooby can't sing to save his life, but he saw another way he could contribute.

“I emailed them back and said, ‘Look, I’m no singer, but I’m a DJ. I’d love to get involved,’” he said.

The reply led to a meeting with the Wildcats, who were looking to broaden the entertainment surrounding home games at the new venue.

Skooby had already spent 15 years DJing, but moving into basketball required him to understand the club’s vision, its audience and the role music can play within the wider production.

“For me, it was right place, right time, right question and right answer,” he said.

The Wildcats wanted to create a family-friendly experience that could appeal to longtime members, young supporters and people attending their first game.

That meant choosing music for a broad audience while ensuring the presentation remained connected to the identity of the club. It also meant recognising that the basketball had to remain at the centre of everything.

“Our philosophy is that we need to accentuate what’s happening on the court,” Skooby said.

“The show isn't about us. The show is about the players.”

There's no fixed playlist capable of accounting for everything that can happen during a Wildcats game.

A scoring run can transform the arena within seconds. A timeout can halt momentum. A difficult stretch might leave the crowd waiting for a reason to re-enter the contest. Skooby’s job is to recognise those shifts and respond.

He views the game-night environment as a relationship between the players, the supporters and the production surrounding them. When one part drops, the others can help raise it.

If Perth is struggling, the right music can draw the Red Army back into the game and send energy towards the court. When the Wildcats are rolling and the crowd is already on their feet, the production team can build on the moment without trying to take control of it.

The role is less about playing the biggest song available and more about knowing when it belongs.

“Music is such an emotional thing,” Skooby said.

“When we need to get people up, we can play some big tracks and fans get up and about and get behind the team.”

The Red Army is the backbone of everything we do, we can’t do what we do without them.”

Keeping that relationship fresh requires the production team to continue moving with its audience.

Skooby pays attention to the songs and pop-culture moments people are discussing outside basketball, looking for ideas that can be folded naturally into a Wildcats game.

Not every trend is the right fit, but the right reference can immediately connect with part of the crowd or give a first-timer another way into the experience.

“That’s what we try to do, look for ways to add stuff in that’s going to engage people in a different way than it did last week or last game?” he said.

His years with the Wildcats have also produced close friendships across the game-night team. Skooby’s partnership with longtime Wildcats court announcer Neil Barnard is one of the clearest examples.

The two have worked alongside each other for long enough that a glance or hand signal can communicate what is about to happen. Skooby can indicate which piece of music is coming next, while Barnard can signal that he is preparing to speak on the mic.

“Neil is one of my best mates. I’ll know what he’s going to do before he does it, and he’ll know what I’m going to do before I do it.”

The understanding between them has been built over years of home games, finals and nights when the arena has offered little room for error.

Few tested the production team quite like Game Two of the Wildcats’ 2020 Grand Final series against the Sydney Kings.

Perth had won the opening game in Sydney before Covid began rapidly changing sporting events around the world. Game Two was scheduled to be played in Perth, but messages throughout the day left the game-night team unsure whether it would go ahead. 

Confirmation eventually came in that the game would proceed, although the circumstances would be unlike anything they had experienced. No supporters would be allowed inside the arena.

The Wildcats’ production team was instructed to run the game as usual. The music still played, announcements were still delivered, all despite thousands of empty seats.

“It was incredible to be part of, but super surreal at the same time.”

For someone whose role depends on reading the crowd, the silence made the value of the Red Army unmistakable.

The production could continue and the basketball could be played, but the atmosphere normally created by the exchange between the players and supporters couldn't be manufactured.

The game provided a stark reminder of what Skooby and the wider team are working to support each time the Wildcats take the floor at RAC Arena.

Game night will always continue to evolve and DJ Skooby is the best in the league at being at the forefront of it.