Over 11 years and 570 episodes, John Rabe and Team Off-Ramp scoured SoCal for the people, places, and ideas whose stories needed to be told, and the show became a love-letter to Los Angeles. Now, John is sharing selections from the Off-Ramp vault to help you explore this imperfect paradise.
Funding provided by:
Something about the opening riff of The Smiths' "This Charming Man," Off-Ramp's song of the week, has a way of making you want to grab a handful of flowers and unbutton your dress shirt just a bit further than normal.
The Sweet and Tender Hooligans - "This Charming Man"
This weekend, famed Smiths cover band the Sweet & Tender Hooligans are teaming up with Pogues's tribute group "Dirty Old Town" for a night of 80's reverie.
The S&TH's may be the greatest Smiths and Morrissey tribute group on the market, and they headline monthly shows throughout LA. Dirty Old Town bills themselves as a "sincere" tribute to the 80's Celtic Punk icons, The Pogues. The group used to do one tribute show a year but garnered so much attention, they began touring as a cover band.
The two groups are coming together Saturday at 8pm at The Observatory in Santa Ana for a night of 1980's reveling.
S&TH frontman Jose Maldonado also hosts SiriusXM show "Breakfast with the Smiths," discussing where the 80's group and Los Angeles culture meet. The band has gone on to satisfy Morrissey purists since their 1992 formation- and even get the big man himself on stage with them!