Submitted by Debi:

VOX POP - by Cathy Maestri

Not only did MORRISSEY make it to San Bernadino to spend a couple of hours at KCXX (103.9 FM), he was great! Judging from how he kept flaking out on concerts a few years back I was a bit skeptical about whether he’d show up. But what a sweet - and charming - man, indeed. He played tracks from his upcoming compilation, "My Early Burglary Years" (which flows so trippingly off the tongue) and answered calls from fans, not a few of whom hyperventilated at the chance.

While I strongly recommended staying home and taping it, people flocked to the station from as far as Arizona. Some stayed out front and listened to radios; others scaled the high wall. "There were hundreds of people in the back," according to music director JOHN DESANTIS, who screened phone calls that night. Afterward, "it took us 20 minutes to get from the door to the car," which was only a few feet away. "It was just like the Beatles," he said. Girls were screaming, guys were crying. DeSantis, two other staffers, a sizable bodyguard and three police officers struggled to get the English singer into the vehicle. "I found myself pulling people off Morrissey. He was just getting pummeled." But of course, in a loving way. The station got so many requests, it replayed the "Sunday Night Music Meeting" the following week. If you missed that, too, check the station’s web site at www.x1039.com/

Hungry for a souvenir? Morrissey signed a KCXX T-shirt that will be up for grabs in a silent charity auction to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Labor Day weekend. Other items include a guitar signed by BEN HARPER and some RANCID goodies; disc jockey PETE FOX will spend the weekend on top of the Ontario Mills mall to raise money for the charity. For more information, call the station at (909) 889-1039.