The Smiths Tribute Band The Smiths Indeed questions

On Sunday 22 June 2008, The Smiths Indeed were featured in an article in the Irish newspaper Sunday Tribune. These were our off-the-cuff answers to the testing questions set by Gavin Corbett.

1) You're from Liverpool, yet you're dedicated to the music of Manchester's finest. Do you think your band helps to bridge the M62 divide?

Personally, I choose not to see a divide. I think the North West region as a whole has an incredibly rich musical history. It's wonderful to live here and make a small contribution.

2) In as far as it's possible to answer such a question, what does Morrissey's music mean to you?

It's impossible to explain an infatuation. The Smiths made music that pleases all the senses; Morrissey is still doing so. It reflects my life & enriches it.

4) Youpay a lot of attention to detail in your shows. Do your audience show asimilar attention to detail? Do you get showered withgladioli/daffodils?

Our audience have a wicked sense of drama as well as a good sense of humour. They appreciate our efforts to recreate an authentic Smiths gig & reciprocate in kind. We look out on a sea of Smiths t-shirts, flowers, spectacular spectacles & glowing faces.

5) Did you always sound like Morrissey when you sang, or did you have to practise at it?

I don't have to 'put on' a Morrissey voice. I must have developed a voice similar to his from singing along to the songs in my teens. Also, when I was younger I was extremely self-conscious & did not dare to sing loudly for fear of being overheard. Hence, I think, the soft voice.

6) How much attention do you pay to replicating not just Morrissey'svocals, but his movements, his between-song banter, his 'manner', etc?

It comes quite naturally. I am ridiculously well-informed on his every movement and utterance. I try not to repeat the original between-song-banter verbatim though, but say something in-the-style-of. I don't have to learn anything by heart. It's still me reacting to a live audience, not Morrissey.

7) How do you keep your quiff upright? What do you ask for in the hairdressers?

For those dreaded visits to the hairdressers, I carry 'Peepholism' (Jo Slee's book of Morrissey photographs), I point to the pictures, I close my eyes & hope for the best. At home, I use hairspray, hairdryer, mirror & practice. And Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits.

8) Do you buy over-size blouses in Evans/ Simply Be, like Morrissey used to?

No, but thanks for the tip.

9) Which of Morrissey's 'looks' do you like the best? (ie - which era:early waif-aesthete / mid 90s snooker-hall bouncer/ etc, etc, etc?)

Looks-wise, I am most drawn to the Smiths era Morrissey. He's aged most gracefully though.

9) Do you, like Morrissey, 'wish Mike Joyce the very worst in life'?

No. I have no reason to.

10) What was your defining Morrissey moment? For instance, some people saythe moment they saw Morrissey on TOTP doing 'This Charming Man', theirlives were changed forever. Can you remember having a moment when youthought: this is the band/artist I will follow for the rest of my life?

Being suddenly exposed to 'Sweet And Tender Hooligan' during a school trip. A friend passed me some headphones, said 'listen' & took them off me again after the song. I was pulled in.

11) Where do you stand on Morrissey's recent alleged pronouncements onimmigration? If he were to say something really indefensible on thesubject, would it put you in a difficult position?

Yes, it would, but my faith remains unshaken. Nothing Morrissey has ever done or said has suggested to me he supports discrimination of any kind. Quite the opposite.

12) Are you ever approached by Moz 'groupies'?

We do talk to fans and they are very nice to us. I meet people who I used to see at Morrissey gigs in the early 90s, but there are a large amount of very young fans too. The most interesting people to talk to are those who witnessed an actual Smiths gig. When they compliment us, it means a lot.

13) Have you ever tried to pull someone while being 'Morrissey'?

I have never tried to pull.

14) Do you find it difficult to de-Mozify yourself, or do you find a part of you always stays in character?

It's nice to feel you resemble someone you admire in some small way and so I don't find it necessary to de-Mozify myself. I am still overwhelmingly myself.

15) If Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce approached you to join a reformed Smiths, would you be tempted?

Of course. We can dream. But it wouldn't be a reformed Smiths. And it won't happen. Will it?

16) How did you come to be in, or form, The Smiths Indeed? Is it your full-time job?

Someone stuck a notice on a cafe wall. I saw it. It is a full-time pastime, for now. I'm also writing & recording with my original band, Maudlin Rich.

17) Is there any Morrissey/Smiths song in particular that you find hard to sing/play?

'Accept Yourself'. Quite tricky to remember all the right words in all the right places.

18) Has having to deconstruct Morrissey's music de-mystified it in any wayfor you? For instance - do you just see Morrissey songs now for theircomponents, their chord progressions, etc?

Yes, to an extent, but I've always been fascinated by how beautiful things are created. Yet you can analyze and understand the component parts all you like, it doesn't help you to explain why you're still moved to tears when they are brought together, at a live concert for example.

19) Have you ever played the Shetland Islands, or Letterkenny, as the Smiths did, or have you any intention of doing so?

No, but we would like to. Ask me, ask me, ask me. THE SFX City Theatre in Dublin is another. It was The Smiths' first gig outside England on 9 December 1983, and they returned there a few times in 1984. We almost secured a date at the Markthalle in Hamburg where The Smiths famously played in 1984.

20) Is there a rivalry among the UK's Smiths/Moz tribute bands?

No, let the music of The Smiths be sung all over the land. By us.

21) Your name is German. Are you German?

No. I was born in Antwerp in Belgium. A charming place to leave.

22) Finally - Liverpool or Everton? Or indeed Tranmere Rovers?

As a Morrissey fan, you'll never walk alone.