17.04.12 California Diner- 'Not-So-Grand Finale!'

Tuesday Night Diner

Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you with a title like that--”Not-so-grand finale”. What a horrendous name--I mean that word--”finale”--it sounds so...final. So here’s the scoop. Nearly three years ago, I sent a fan letter to a presenter whose radio show I heard, and really liked. I thought this guy did a bang up job with his show. It was one of the most exciting hours of radio I’d heard in a great while. I just wanted to tell him “thanks, great job”. That presenter turned out to be none other than Jordan Thomas, and he thanked me, and graciously invited me to send him a demo. As in “hey, you wanna be one of us?” Blew me away. I mean, wow--Jordan was giving this American dude from Sacramento, California an opportunity to foul up the British airwaves. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance? Thus began the Tuesday Night Diner, which morphed into the California Diner. I became “Chef Mike”, cooking up musical treats for two hours each Tuesday evening. I tell you all that to tell you this: This week marks the last two hour, Tuesday edition of the California Diner. My choice. I wasn’t asked to leave. And no, I’m not leaving in disgrace, like so many American politicians do, and then cover up with some bogus “I’m stepping back to spend more time with my family lalalalalala...”. I mean hell, I’m not even leaving. But I am taking what the showbiz folks call a “hiatus”, or the educational folks call a “sabbatical”. So what’s that supposed to mean? Well, I’ll be going off the air here at Recharged for several weeks (unless you hear some random replays of my shows). I’ll be back around late May or so, just around the time everybody else goes on their summer vacation. Go figure, I’m always the one to do things backwards. A couple of things came up in life that require my attention--namely, moving house. Yes, you know the drill. Sell some stuff, pack, move, and unpack the rest. Tell folks your new address on a need-to-know basis. It’s a lot. Plus work. Plus my other radio show at Twirl Radio. So what happens after that? Well, I will be back. I’m not sure what form my new show might take. It might even be called something like “The California Diner”. It might have shorter business hours. But I will remain a proud member of Recharged Radio in good standing. I’ll be stepping up and writing articles for our fine publication Sound of the Suburbs. And presenting to you the greatest indie music available today, from California and beyond. So I want to especially single out a few people who have really been of great assistance in getting me going and helping me fit in here at Recharged. Jordan Thomas, our boss of everything. One of the nicest, wittiest guys around, even if he tries to convince you otherwise. Minki Malkin, our 50ft webmistress, staff grammarian, voiceover artist, and presenter. Alex Watson, our musical guru, who hauls in great treasure troves of music and knows more about music than most people will ever learn. “Silent” Dave Chapman, our tech guy who holds it all together, and comes through with the digital rescues from time to time. And all the rest: Caz, Jim, Jamie, Rob, Pete1, Pete2, Rodrigo, Andy1, Andy2, Justin, Jarrod, and geez, who else am I missing? It’s not intentional if I’ve missed someone. And more importantly, thanks to the loyal listeners, without whom, my show would fall on deaf ears. And most importantly of all, a HUGE thanks to all the great musicians (and their PR-type people) who have let me play their music on my shows. Without you guys, my show would essentially be a pretty boring talk show. Dammit, I’m not going away. Why does it sound like I am? So this week, we’ll play a lot of music that has meant the world to me. And when I come back in a month or so, I’ll continue to do so. In the meantime, keep listening to Recharged Radio. Go to the Great Escape if you’re in Brighton, UK on May 10th. And if you’re not--refer to the previous point--because we’ll be broadcasting it live (and podcasting it later), as goes our annual tradition. MN2BDNC. Music needs to be driven, not controlled. Live it. And see you when I get back. Tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC The Taters - Such A Good Day Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude Mad Tea Party - Every Way The Vertigos - Rubix Poplord - World Bends Down The Handcuffs - Miss You on Tuesday Maple Mars - Transcendental Guidance Throwback Suburbia - Sinking Feeling Bud Rogers - Santa Monica Sunshine The Fuegos - Against the World Laurie Biagini - The Heart Of The Song The Whiskey Saints - Every Little Thing Baby Scream - Powerpop Crush Sweet Sweet Concorde - Armadillo Man Peter Daltrey and Damien Youth - Blue Girl Eyes Maxi Dunn - The Neglected Gambit Sound Sessions - Be My Shaper The Scratch - Homely Crackle Skip Heller - Fools Like Me Vegas With Randolph - The Better Part The Corner Laughers - The Perfect Weather Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Who's Got a Light Man or Mouse - Jackson Duncan Faure - Man Of A Thousand Dreams Lindy LaFontaine - Free To Breathe Joe Swidenbank - Coming Up For Air The Big I Am - Right About Now Nushu - Here's To Feeling Free Sal Valentino - Lovin' Fallin' Tom Alford - Wasp Lands On Sunflower