I Wouldn't Say No

Shamefully multi-talented, Jose Maldonado not only sings but spins your  favorite Morrissey tunes

I continue to keep myself occupied with Morrissey pursuits. Not only do I attend tribute band shows, but I also listen to the radio. In case you hadn't heard, there is an awesome weekly radio show dedicated to Morrissey and The Smiths. Not too shockingly, it is called Breakfast with the Smiths/The World of Morrissey and it airs on Indie1031.com Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

I know you probably think that its kind of unnecessary to listen to radio when you can simply download what you want to listen to on applications such as MOG or Pandora or any other number of resources. 

The difference here is like the difference between going through the self-check-out versus the regular check-out at a supermarket. Do you want to listen to a live, human being or else just hear the cold, metallic programmed playlist of your tunes? 

I am rather old-school so you might guess what I prefer.

Jose Maldonado meticulously arranges the playlist that is generally made up of listener's (otherwise known as Breakfast Champions) requests. He also has personal anecdotes of meeting not only Morrissey, but also former collaborators such as Mikey Farrell and Alain Whyte. In addition, Jose knows quite a lot about the music/recording production and the different versions of particular songs and he will play them as a nice surprise.

One of the things that I find so cool about the show is that I have either "discovered" or "rediscovered" songs that Jose has played on the show. Two songs that have rather grown on me in this manner is the song "Lost" from the Maladusted album and, more recently "The Edges Are No Longer Parallel." I'm sure we all know what its like to dig a song we heard before but had never REALLY listened to. I think on this radio show, the format allows you to finally hear what you may have missed before.

When you listen to the show every week, you get to know the regular listeners. Johnny Lima makes the best requests always and Daisy and Flor (both named for flowers and best friends) often make requests for each other. Jimi James, Clover Dean and Abby are other favorite regulars. We all come together for our favorite program.

There is an app that I use called TuneInPro and it allows you to not only listen to the broadcast on your smartphone or ipad but also record weekly shows right on to your devices. I actually enjoy listening to older shows that I have saved so that I have a nice kind of 'mixed tape" of a playlist created by friends that I listen to in the car while driving kids all over Orange County in my very cool mini van.

Breakfast with the Smiths/The World of Morrissey airs on Indie1031.com at 9 AM Pacific time on Wednesdays and Sundays; 5 PM in the UK and Ireland, and 12 AM Fridays Pacific, 8 PM UK and Ireland. 

Jose Maldonado is also the lead singer of the Smiths/Morrissey tribute band The Sweet and Tender Hooligans. I'd put him at the top five of the nicest people I've ever met.