They guide morning drivers through roadway gridlock, provide comfort in times of natural disasters and reunite hundreds of motorists with their cars that had been reported stolen.

For 25 years, Michael W. Perry and Larry Price - of KSSK Radio's fabled "Perry on the left, Price on the right" - have set the tempo for day with their news, comments, posse tips and kokua. When tragedy strikes, they go into overdrive - becoming masters of disaster and titans of talk - pulling the community together.

"They're all about Hawai'i - always keeping people informed," said Chuck Cotton, general manager of Clear Channel Hawaii, the media conglomerate that owns and operates KSSK FM and AM, where Perry and Price have been sharing morning prime time with listeners for exactly 25 years Saturday.

"They're selfless, thinking of their listeners and fellow employees before they think of themselves. They're there for their listeners, especially in a time of need."

And they're No. 1 again, in just-released spring Arbitron radio ratings. Since 1983, the pair has dominated the survey's morning drive ratings. (Michael Qseng drew higher ratings in one survey.)

A 25th anniversary brunch - at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Coral Ballroom on Satuday - will celebrate their colorful career together. We asked Perry and Price - separately - to reflect on their silver anniversary:

MICHAEL W. PERRY

• On their 25 years together: "I see Larry more than my wife. The Smothers Brothers, Tommy and Dick, were just like us, and they told us: A partnership is like a marriage, but no sex. It's work, but it's still fun."

• On how to get over the dissent: "We both have a finely tuned sense of humor; we just get over it. We know what we do is not rocket science, keeping people company in their cars."

• On what they've learned about this place, through their listeners: "We as a state have gotten more conservative. We have gotten more concerned about some things that still don't show up in the Legislature; these people would love if we start passing laws that judges enforce.

"There's an intense distrust of government, especially the politicians; and yet there is silent apathy. That's why nothing ever happens. We're ticked, but we don't do anything. Yet we're optimistic; we're alive and well, and we're still in a very special place."

• On a get-up-early work schedule and how they do it: "We read the morning paper at Zippy's. Thanks to the Internet and Road Runner, we have access to a lot of stuff that doesn't make the (news) wire. But it's interactive. Comments from readers are like blogs.

"People (who listen) get confused, if they're listening to AM or FM; on AM, we're delayed 10 seconds; on FM, more like 15 seconds ... because it's digital; Aku (J. Aku Pupule, aka Hal Lewis) did it from the Jurassic era of delay, in case Aku said something slanderous, and the only time we ever use the button (to halt programming) is when we screw up. I don't know if other stations are on delay."

• On being the masters of disaster: "Yes, Perry and Price are the voices of disaster - that's one we can't mess up. It's why we're here. On the last (earthquake), I was standing on my lanai, in my BVDs, getting on radio via cell phone. People want to know what's going on; we never intended to be the voices of disaster, but in emergencies we have to be there."

• On how radio has changed: "It's a learning curve; I started in the era of records and turntables; we actually played records. Then there was tape; all tape; but we bypassed the CD era and instead went directly to hard drive; a mouse click brings commercials, songs, sound effects and everything else. There are two computers and screens in front of us, and it's much better - for two old guys learning the new stuff, it's brutal; it's guerrilla media, really."

• On the worst aspect of the job: "Getting up at 3:30 a.m. every morning sucks for a few minutes - which is why I go to bed at 9:30, with an occasional nap in-between."

LARRY PRICE

• On their 25 years together: "Doesn't seem like that long at all; time flies when you're having fun. If you're not having fun, it would feel like forever."

• On those years when he had health issues: "My doctor told me, get back to your schedule as soon as you feel up to it; Mike made it easy, since he's an authority on rehab. I have a problem with one of my lungs, but I'm much healthier than I was six years ago."

• On his man-with-many-hats career as sportsman, speaker, teacher, broadcaster: "Radio is my primary base of concern; I've done a lot of things, but I never left the radio biz. Getting up at 3:30 a.m. and going on till 10 or 11 a.m., I can go on and do other things. And I do."

• On the just-like-marriage partnership: "Yes, it's marriage without the sex. Mike's a real nice guy, talented and smart, with a great family - and I feel like I'm part of the Perry family. That's special."

• On surviving the ongoing changes in media: "Business changes so quickly, and a lot of the changes are not good, and unintended consequences are often unholy. That is what happens in Hawai'i when you have absentee (media) owners. It's a tough road; one thing constant is that changes occur; over here, we've had 12 owners in 25 years. So, we've had new people coming in from all over, from Boston to Texas. But we've been fortunate; the managers we have now are pretty reliable; they believe in community. If you only believe in the bottom line (money), more than your employees, you're in trouble. You gotta believe in your people, your workers."

• On the memory that lingers most: "The toughest thing for me is when I have to announce that one of my friends has died. (Astronaut) Ellison Onizuka was a good friend; we had it arranged that he would call us from the Challenger, 30 minutes after lift-off, and we were going to do a live interview; when the thing exploded ... it was terrible. But it showed the immediacy of radio."

• On what defines what they do: "The posse is great; they keep us going. That's when you know you have good listeners; they're loyal, too. That's where we're one call away from greatness."