Breakfast with The Smiths

In his latest effort to call for an end to animal cruelty, Morrissey has urged clothing company Uniqlo to stop using Australian wool from sheep that have been subjected to a procedure known as “mulesing”. The practice, still widely performed in parts of Australia is a where large knives are used to remove large hunks of skin and flesh from the buttocks of the sheep in an effort to reduce maggot infestation.

He has asked Uniqlo to join with retailers like H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch and The Gap in boycotting wool from suppliers who practice mulesing. Once again, Morrissey speaks out about the cause that he so passionately champions.

Meanwhile, his tour continues and we here in Southern California eagerly await his return in just a few weeks!!

I’d like to thank Julie Hamill @MarriedtotheMoz for her very nice article and interview on her tumblr page. Julie is a young student writer in London and she’s done a series of interviews with Morrissey-related individuals entitled “Fifteen Minutes with…” You can check out the interview she did with me here: http://bit.ly/julham2

Don’t forget to catch my Morrissey/The Smiths tribute band Sweet and Tender Hooligans May 22 at The Mayan for our annual L.A. Morrissey Birthday show. Tickets are available now.

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Iggy had his Stooges, Siouxsie has the Banshees, and Kid Creole, his Coconuts. But what about the gentlemen behind our Morrissey? He’s always informally referred to them as Th’ Lads, but is there a name out there that would suit them? The Mozmen? The Quarries?, The Tormentors? I’m sure we could come up with something clever and befitting for Boz, Jesse, Gustavo and the Walker Bros.

Post your suggestions below, Breakfast Champions and thanks for listening.

–Jose

So many great requests this week. I’m always so impressed when the listenership guides the playlist. You rock, Breakfast Champions.

I’m gonna try to give out AT LEAST one pair of tickets each week to see my Morrissey/The Smiths tribute band Sweet and Tender Hooligans at The Mayan on May 22. That’s our annual L.A. Morrissey Unhappy Birthday show that we’ve held for over 10 straight years.

It’s our biggest show of the year, longest set, guest musicians, and as we do every year, we make a donation from the proceeds of the show to a local animal charity The Lange Foundation, as our gift to Morrissey. Tickets are available through the Mayan website.

Here’s how we’re going to give away the tickets today:

THE FIRST PERSON TO POST A REPLY ON THIS PAGE WITH THE TITLE OF THE 13TH SONG ON TODAY’S BROADCAST WINS THE TICKETS.

SONG NUMBER 13. POST THE TITLE BELOW. GOOD LUCK!

You’re the light heavyweight Breakfast Champion of the World and they are about to announce you as you step into the ring. Or you’re the relief pitcher sent in to close out the 9th inning of the baseball game, the manager has made a call to the bullpen and glove in hand you make your way to the mound. Or you’re a guest on the Tonight Show and Jay Leno is introducing you as the first guest.

What Morrissey/The Smiths song would YOU make your entrance with? Post you comment below by clicking on the title of this caption and I’ll make it your request for next week’s broadcast.

My choice would be “Speedway” just as they fire up the chainsaw.

I’m gonna be quite busy this weekend with my band and a DJ appearance. PLUS, I’m giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Sweet and Tender Hooligans for our annual Morrissey Birthday show Tuesday May 22nd at The Mayan.

Friday April 6th

The House of Blues San Diego with Tiger Army

Saturday April 7th

Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach

Sunday April 8th

The Echo DJ set with me spinning Britpop, Glam Rock and Twisted 80s tunes that you’re not sick of.

5 people who attend BOTH the Hermosa Beach show AND my DJ set at The Echo will win a pair of tickets to see Sweet and Tender Hooligans at The Mayan. Here’s how it works:

Meet me AFTER our performance Saturday night at Saint Rocke and if you let me know you’re coming to my DJ set, I’ll hand you a business card with a number printed on the back. The first 5 people to hand me that card back at The Echo, will get a pair of tickets to see Sweet and Tender Hooligans for our annual Morrissey birthday show Tues May 22nd.

Last week Morrissey and his band wrapped up their South American tour with great applause and fanfare. Everywhere his band played, the audiences showed up with rabid enthusiasm and I’m sure we’ll be hearing a statement from the Mozfather himself via his site. A fact that must have felt very gratifying for our hero. Next up, a month off before the band re-groups for an extensive tour of Japan, South Korea, the Phillipines and Hawaii. In the meantime, Boz Boorer is re-uniting briefly with his old bandmates The Polecats “Make a Circuit” for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly celebration Easter Weekend.

I would like to thank all of you who sent me your words of encouragement for my 10th L.A. Marathon last week. Thanks to your support, you made the 26.2 mile race from Dodgers Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier a treat while I made my personal best finish of 3 hours 43 minutes. You already make something I love doing, listening to Morrissey’s songs, even more enjoyable for me and this is just icing on the cake.

Make sure you keep sending along your song requests, and listening each week.

All the best,

Jose

Hey there, Breakfast Champions. Hopefully, those of you across the Atlantic have caught on that we’ve gone through our Daylight Saving time change here in Los Angeles. So until we’re all caught up, our show will air Sundays & Wednesdays 9am Pacific/7pm UK and Fridays 12:01am Pacific/7am UK –Please make a note of it

I am running the L.A. Marathon for the 10th time this Sunday and will be live-tweeting while running and listening along with you guys. Hoping to beat my all-time best from last year of 3 hours 45 minutes….And….if you’ll be there cheering on friends or family, or maybe doing the run yourself, meet me near the finish line and I’ll tweet a location nearby where I’ll hide a pair of tickets to see my Morrissey/The Smiths tribute band Sweet and Tender Hooligans Saturday April 7th at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach.

Enjoy this week’s set of music. In addition to your GREAT requests, I selected songs that I love to hear on a loooooonnnggg run.

Last weekend, the internet became acquainted with a version of “This Charming Man” done in the style of the theme from the classic video game Super Mario Bros. The instant I saw it, I raced to my twitter and IMMEDIATELY shared with everyone this very creative rendition of The Smiths early single.

Within hours, the SoundCloud page where it was uploaded had over 12,000 hits and everyone on my twitter feed was either thanking me for posting it or asking if I’d seen it.

Well, I’m happy to say that my IN-STUDIO GUEST this week is none other than the brains behind that clever 8-bit tune ALAN PAZ otherwise known as LAZYITIS. We’ll be talking with him about how he came about the idea and how the overwhelming reaction to his sonic offering has landed him the attention of the likes of Chris Hardwick of the Nerdist Podcast and the BBC’s Danny Baker.

He’s new to Twitter and you can follow Alan Paz @LazyitisMusic

Morrissey’s 2012 tour is now underway in South America and it looks he’s being very well received. We were surprised with an announcement that the first show of the tour at the Vina Del Mar Festival in Chile was streamed and we were treated to a great performance with some very enthusiastic fans.

The set list seems to be right where the band left off at the end of last year, so nothing new. And not surprisingly, classics like Everyday is Like Sunday, There is a Light that Never Goes Out, and How Soon is Now? are met with thunderous crowd reaction.

The March 11th show in Sao Paolo, Brazil will also be streamed so this may be a good time to give a free plug (you’re welcome to contact our sales dept.) to a software I use for taping radio shows or internet streams. The Total Recorder from High Criteria allows you to record most audio/video from you computer. I’ve been using it for years and I recommend it.

Keep those emails coming at Jose@SweetandTenderHooligans.com and I’ll put you on the air to get your song request on personally. Or even just to say “hey”. Have a great day, Breakfast Champions.

–Jose