I've never met Morrissey. Or seen him perform. Or, when he lived in Los Angeles, run into him at one of his Hollywood "haunts," as Smith's cover band Sweet and Tender Hooligans singer Jose Maldonado puts it. Maldonado is as close as most Angelinos are likely to get to the Mozzer these days. Maldonado is humble and self-effacing in person. He looks a bit like Morrissey, though some of that may be due to his sharp pompadour. On stage in front of a crowd of over a thousand adoring fans — i.e. burly men and tattooed women who cry and wave gladiola stems (an old Morrissey flourish) — at LA's House of Blues, Maldonado transforms into Morrissey. He's got the voice, the posture, the attitude, and the sheer theatricality to pull it off. He's the guy.

For anyone under the age of 35, The Hooligans are likely the only chance you'll have to see The Smiths on stage. Like Joy Division, Hüsker Dü, and My Bloody Valentine (the Pixies, Bauhaus and the New York Dolls would fall into this category as well if not for their recent reunion tours) the Smiths are better known for what they are now than what they were then. Their impact back in the day was intense but isolated: strong reviews, an adoring fan-base, underground street cred, complete radio indifference. And by the time they were ready for the big time, they'd broken up or, in Joy Division's or the Minutemen's case, suffered band-shattering tragedies. The acrimony that drove Steven Morrissey away from Johnny Marr killed The Smiths, but only intensified the legend. The Smiths never got the chance to be mediocre or descend into self-parody. Their catalogue — never remastered, never reissued with bonus tracks — still sells at premium prices twenty years after they threw in the towel.

"These young kids that are coming to see our show — 15, 16 years old — they weren't born when The Smiths were born," Maldonado says backstage at the House of Blues. "It just speaks to what the catalogue is because, you've got to keep in mind that these songs aren't being played on the radio. It literally is word of mouth. It's the situation where a big brother told you 'hey, listen to this' or a friend in class said 'pick up The Queen Is Dead; that's a great album.'"

Morrissey may look like a Mancunian barkeep these days, but to the nearly 1,000 people at the House of Blues, he's still trim and flamboyant in the guise of Jose Maldonado. Maldonado, a Los Angeles County lake lifeguard by day, formed the band in 1991 as an all-originals outfit that did a one-off Smiths/Morrissey set for an annual L.A. fan convention. He claims to have twenty songs waiting for him in his guitar case, but promises not to burst out with surprises during the Hooligans' set. "I don't like to break character," he laughs. The appreciation for the Smiths material during the convention was obvious and soon, as Maldonado's day job became more lucrative and a career pursuing his own songs seemed less likely, "it just became what it is today."

Onstage, the band is tight and lean; David Collett gets the Johnny Marr strum-and-vibe down pat on Smiths chestnuts like "Ask" and "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the recent, guitar-heavy Morrissey singles like "Irish Blood, English Heart" and "You Have Killed Me" off this year's Ringleader Of The Tormentors. Incongruously sweater-vest-clad Joe Escalante — bassist for venerable SoCal punk vets The Vandals (not to mention an entertainment lawyer, record-label owner and the morning drive-time DJ for LA alternative station Indie 103.1) — endures Maldonado's jokes about him looking like Mr. Rogers and gets out his inner Andy Rourke, twisting his fingers around Smiths classics like "This Charming Man" and "Panic" and the more obscure "Rubber Ring." Drummer Danny Garcia's kit is revealed gradually as the show progresses— completely covered with gladiola stems at show's start, the drums appear only after Maldonado liberates the flowers by throwing them to the audience.

But it's Maldonado's performance that roots it all together. He embodies Morrissey without being slavish or turning into a parody or a "routine," tapping into the melodramatic, emotional core at the heart of the songs. It's this passion which clearly touches the audience, much of which is comprised of Latino teenagers and twenty-somethings. When Maldonado sings the touching Morrissey rarity "Lost" — "lyrically, it means so much to me," he says — the song's heartbreak becomes real for the kids in the crowd. There's an emotional current that develops at the show that's hard to pin down— any skepticism you feel (it's a cover band! the Latino angle is a marketing gimmick!) is soon swept aside. The band is that good. When rhythm guitarist Karey DeLeon kicks in with the reverb on the encore of "How Soon Is Now?" it's as if you're there seeing The Smiths back together, not for a reunion gig, but a show being put on by a band in their prime. The concert ends with "There is a Light That Never Goes Out," with each band member exiting the stage, leaving the programmed synth backing track trilling on as the gladdened, exhausted audience drifts out, leaving broken gladiola blossoms behind.

Q&A With JOSE MALDONADO, Lead Singer, Sweet And Tender Hooligans.

Why the Smiths?

Well, probably because they're my most favorite band in the whole wide world! Morrissey is my favorite singer-songwriter of all time and it's just a lot of fun to do. Having a tribute band has also afforded me the ability to meet up with people who are just as die-hard into Morrissey as I am. It's nice— it's almost like a support group when we meet up with each other and compare notes, talk about songs, things like that.

So there are no feuds between you and other Smiths tribute bands?

(Laughs) That would be absurd. If you really wanted to put someone else up to the challenge— I mean, we've been doing since 1992. We've toured in more cities and more countries throughout the world. The band has appeared in over seven documentaries about The Smiths and Morrissey. I myself have played Morrissey in a feature film called My Life With Morrissey. I've met Morrissey a few times; he's actually seen us perform.

What was Morrissey's initial reaction to the band?

He told us he liked us! He said it was great. He found it a curiosity that an artist like himself would have an impersonator, because when you think of artists that have impersonators, you think of Elvis and Cher, people like that. For him to be in that company of artists that have impersonators out there— from what I gathered what he was saying was that kind of a treat.

Did you ever run into Morrissey when he used to live here in LA?

Yes. The most recent time I ran into him was doing the video for "Irish Blood, English Heart." I was fortunate enough to be a background extra in that video. Here's a little known fact about that video— it was filmed on a set for a movie called The Ladykillers. By then I had already met Morrissey a few times and I'd already said everything I'd ever want to say to him. I wasn't going to bother him. He was at work. Everything I'd ever hoped for has come true already, so I don't need to say anything to Morrissey at this point. But lo and behold, he actually noticed me first and walked up to me and said hello. That was terrific. The first words out of his mouth were "how's the band?"

Probably the coolest thing was when he was performing at The Wiltern and he announced to the audience, "Hello, we're the Sweet and Tender Hooligans." I was at that show and thinking I was dreaming. He knows we're out there and I gather he approves. I hope so.

The Latino community's affinity for The Smiths and Morrissey is well known. What is the draw?

There are a couple of theories. The Sexy Theory (laughs) is that we're a very passionate people, so naturally, Morrissey being the passionate guy that he is — of course! — we gained Morrissey. Some of the lyrics in Morrissey's songs are very melodramatic and over-sensitive and not unlike Spanish-language music. The lyrics to "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" — "to die by your side, what a heavenly way to die" — you find those themes in Spanish-language music.

There's another theory. Whenever you talk about any artist and why people gravitate to that artist, it's because you somehow relate to that person or you relate to the persona that the person represents. We knew Morrissey grew up in Northern England from Irish parents. That experience, I'm told, is not unlike the experience growing up Mexican-American. Both of those cultures are similar— the Catholic upbringing, the love for boxing and soccer, the close-knit families, the working-class parents. Going to public school and feeling like an outsider because you're not quite with the cool kids because you're from someplace else. So even though he doesn't necessarily sing about those things, somehow we relate to that guy who had a similar upbringing to what we did.

What was the response in the UK?

I always go back to the very first time we ever played Manchester, which is where the Smiths originated. I remember just being petrified. I remember being, "well, here we are from Los Angeles and we have to perform for Manchester, England, so we better have our A-game on." It showed in their faces because, before we even went on, they were there with their arms crossed, with that look that said "let's see what you've got." But within the first three minutes of our first song, they were just as enthusiastic and as rowdy as any show we do out here. To gain that acceptance was very important to us.

How did Joe Escalante — erstwhile Vandals bassist, entertainment lawyer and current LA drive-time indie-rock radio deejay — become part of the Hooligans? His punk viewpoint would seem to be diametrically opposed to that of the Smiths.

You would think. I can't say enough about how we are blessed that he came into our lives. We found ourselves in the need of a new bass player last year and not 24 hours after we made that announcement, Joe Escalante contacted us. It wasn't that we sought out Joe; he found us. We didn't know him beforehand— I thought someone was playing a joke on us. Joe was looking to "improve as a bass player," he said, and he was envious of the kind of fun shows we've been doing and he wanted to be a part of that. We didn't hesitate— he was in the band from the moment he asked. And yet he still felt that he needed to audition to prove himself. He's more than done that. He's a diamond of a human being, a wonderful person — and a good Catholic — and just a very nice guy to be around.

Have you been happy with the last couple of Morrissey records?

I am the most biased person you're ever going to meet. It's so difficult for me now to know whether if it's blind following or if it really is just great because I gotta tell you it's always great. What I've enjoyed most about Morrissey's recent albums is that there's a mature person doing it. As he's matured, his music has matured. And as I've matured, I guess my taste has matured along with him. I can recall back in 1995, he covered "Moon River," an old standard. And I was just at the right age to hear him sing "Moon River." And I'd love it if he'd do a whole album of standards like that. I know he's got it in him and I suspect he secretly desires to do something like that, something different than the rock show that he's been doing. In my eyes, he can do no wrong.

Will Morrissey ever return to Los Angeles?

I sure hope so. We took for granted the fact that he was here. And we'd run into him at his local haunts. And then one day he was gone. I sure do hope he comes back. But he seems to be very happy in Italy and who can say? I hope he does.

The band's success certainly transcends the concept of just being a "tribute band," of which there are many in LA. But even the best of these bands don't have the kind of following you do nor are selling out the House of Blues.

Believe me, that doesn't get past me. I'm still shocked by all this. I'm often times asked "You know you're not The Smiths, right?" (Laughs.)

--Photo by Mark Cappelletty.

Mark Cappelletty
December 5, 2006