1. Hi boz how are you? Busy I know as I saw you at the Carid Hall in Dundee what a gig! Thanks for a good night and hope you can come back again.You’re one hell of guitarist keep playing away. I am big fan - look won’t be on the computer soon so is there any adress where I can write to you at. Thanks to you, Morrissey and the rest of the band for a great night and coming to Dundee.

Your scottish fan Alan

hi nice one - the Caird Hall was a fun night. So you wont be near a computer? Well I'm not really home at all at the moment, so there's no point in writing me there!

cheers
bb


2. Hi Boz:
I know about you and the rest of the band of Morrissey not much. Last week, though, I saw the Live in Dallas VHS where, shockingly for me, where you, and almost all the same guys that are currently with Morrissey (except for the drummer I think). My question is, being all of you working with Morrissey on the albums and touring with him as well for more than ten years, isn't it about time that Morrissey became a "band name"? ( I mean, you demonstrated for long to be much more than a studio musician, don't you think you deserve to be in a band with a name, instead of behind a singer's band?)

Thanks for respond.

Isaac

Well there's only Gary Day and I left from that line up now, it has changed rather a lot over the years. But Morrissey is a solo artist and includes whoever may be in his band. He's spent 15 years not being in a band, why go back now!


3. I have always liked Morrissey's pre-concert music. It is very varied stuff but very very fascinating and it has broadened my taste in music. I like the fact that it always seems to be very thought-out whereas some bands just have any old music played before they come on stage. Who chooses it? I've heard that Boz chooses a lot of it. I have managed to find out some of it but some of it seems to be completely unavailable.

Many Thanks, Seb

hi , I was involved in making up the intro tapes for a while, Morrissey gave me all the CDs/ records and I would segue them together. Nowadays in this new computer age it is a lot more simple and I have nothing to do with it, but it has always been Morrissey's choice. Most of the "Under The Influence" CD was at one time or another on an intro music CD.


4. Hi Boz,
Long time fan through the years, especially your work with Moz but were/are any of the acts you worked with before or after you started with Morrissey huge Moz fans? (and were you?)
Thanks hun

Linda

hi, well my web site has a discography which details all the artists I worked with previous to Morrissey - mainly these included my first band The Polecats, the band I had with my wife, The Shillelagh Sisters and tons of others, some of them I do get involved with because of my history with Moz. I was never a big Smiths fan at the time.

5. Is there going to be a US leg of the Morrissey Tour?

Many Thanks,

Dennis

Hopefully we'll be in the States soon, all depends on a lot of things I have no control over!


6. Are there any younger guitarists you rate? (or did they break the mold after they made ya?)

And is there anyone you'd like to work with, but haven't had the chance?

Take care.

Francis W.

Hi there's a few great young guitarists I know, James Whalbourne , Dean Micetich , they both have a great understanding of music. I'd like to work with tons of people, great singers and players mostly.


7. Hello,

First of all, many thanks for an excellent show in Stockholm! Now to the question: how are the scary noises that you can hear at the end of ”Life is a pigsty” done? It sounds like someone is sharpening a big knife or a sword. Brings an eerie feeling to the song which I really like.

Best regards

Henrik

At the end of “pigsty” it's a ‘free for all’ really… sometimes I put on an electric guitar and make scrapy noises, but everyone is making bizarre sounds so it's different every night.


8. How difficult has it been playing the glasses of water during Life is a Pigsty? Did it take long to learn?

Charlie Lockett

Well it didn't take long to work out how to tap them with a piece of metal, but it took a while to work out where to hit them correctly! And that's in the very lower section of the glass, under the grip!


9. Do you ever wish you could rock out more on stage a la the live in Dallas video?

Stevo

Well that was a long time ago and I like to think of my self as a more sedate performer now!


10. Boz, what sorts of new guitars have you added to your stable for the new album?

And Boz, do you think there will ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?

Larry Ballard

2 Gibson firebirds, a Bozcaster Deluxe Double Neck that I had made and an Eastwood Saturn guitar.

And no I don't think so, yet we can all dream….


11. You've written and produced some great songs with Morrissey in different musical styles and with varied instrumentation and rhythms. The instrumentation to other songs is more straightforward and similar, often following a four chord, 4/4 pattern, bass tracing the guitar, blues riff over the top (for e.g., much of Maladjusted, some of Ringleader and Vauxhall), with the chord pattern sometimes repeated (for e.g., the intro to "I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero" is the same as "I Am Two People"). How do you decide how much production a song needs, and is there any concern that some of the more straightforward songs (whether written by you, Alain, Jesse, etc.) give credence to the NYTimes view that Morrissey is "a great singer who doesn't always give himself the music he deserves"?

Sunil

Hi well I never really scrutinise it that much, and I leave production to the producer. I always try and write interestingly different songs “teachers" is one, “I like you” and “I'm not sorry” being another couple. I suppose with such a huge catalogue there may be inevitably duplication in a few areas!


12. Who is the better guitarist George Harrison or Johnny Marr?

What is the most difficult smiths song to play?

How often do you and Morrissey speak when you’re not in studio/on tour?

Name your line up for a Supergroup of dead musicians.

Had he lived, what would Marc Bolan be doing now?

Chuck Berry or Gene Vincent?


Jmcl

Well, different generations, incomparable to me, but both masters at their craft.

”Headmaster” was a bit of a head scratch!

Speak most days.

Supergroup? Does that mean they all have to be famous? I'd rather see some mixture of people, some of which may not be the most famous, I think to say Elvis, Hendrix, Keith Moon, Sid Viscious a tad boring!
Mind you not that many great dead bass players!

Marc? Probably producing my last record!

Chuck or Gene? Love em both, different styles, great innovators the pair of em - couldn't choose……


13. Hi there,

Howdy to you et al.

I’ve been a big Moz fan for the past 15 years and took to Boz straight away (as soon as I saw his performance on the Live In Dallas video!) and I’m looking forward to seeing the boys at Gateshead, Liverpool and London over the next few weeks; pleased to hear that Boz is playing a more prominent role as far as stage presence is concerned (just like the video I mentioned!).

I have a few questions:
Does Boz ever feel “peed” at how little attention he and the other band members receive from the press?
Does he feel “peed” at the stupid and lazy criticisms relating to “time for Moz to get some new song-writing partners”?
Why-oh-why did he not have any song-writing credits for Ringleader?
Was the song-writing process for Ringleader different to previous albums?
What’s his favourite song he’s written (doesn’t have to be Moz!)?
What non-Morrissey Boz cd would he recommend as a starting point in his back catalogue for someone like me?
What’s been his favourite gig over the years? (Or his favourite country/town to play?)
Does he have a favourite song to play?
How does he feel playing Smiths songs? Under pressure or increased scrutiny?
How are the set-lists decided on Morrissey tours? Is it one-mans decision or does Boz, as Musical Director, have an input?
What is his preferred song-writing process; lock himself in a room, with some lyrics or do tunes just hit him in inspirational moments etc?
What’s his alcoholic preferred drink?
Does he get nervous before gigs and what’s his preferred routine afterwards?

Many thanks and take care,

Martin

Hi, well press attention is never something I crave, though the recognition I do get is nice when it comes. I have no problems with it, it ain't the Boz Boorer show!
New song writing partners? Well he just found another 2!
Unfortunately the songs I wrote either didn't fit in with the rest of album or were surpassed by other stronger songs.
Fave song I've written? “More you ignore me” always springs to mind.
Boz cd? Try the recently issued on cd “Boz and the Bozmen” , good mixture of glam and rockabilly recorded in the 80s.
Smiths songs are great to play, bring em on, only hope I can add to em
Mostly Moz's pick on the set list front
Well I send him songs with no tune and he creates the rest
I like beer, port and grey goose vodka and tonic, most wines, and cider, sake, the list is endless!
Nervous? Nah I suppose I've done it for long enough not to get phased. Afterwards I get changed and have a drink, sometimes not in that order!


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