by LORRAINE CARPENTER

South Gate is a Mexican-American pocket of southeast Los Angeles, a low-income, industrial area not dissimilar to Manchester, England—apart from the constant California sun. This is part of the reason why the Tender Box’s Joey Medina (vocals, guitar), Ric Moon (guitar, keys), Steve Mungarro (bass) and Chuck Gil (drums) latched onto the moody British bands that their older friends and siblings were listening to in the ’80s and ’90s, and they clearly weren’t the only local Latinos to do so. The Score is the band’s debut LP, a record that fuels its vigorous rock songs with transplendent Britpop melodies. The Mirror contacted Medina, recently returned from a smashing six-week U.K. tour, to ask about the Latino Morrissey craze, meeting Manchester’s finest, and countering his community’s expectations.

Mirror: Since you started playing music, has there been pressure from your families and your community to represent your ethnic background?

Joey Medina: Oh yeah, definitely. And not just from our family, but also from the local scene here in L.A. We actually did do a couple of Spanish rock bands, but otherwise there was always that question, “You guys are four Mexicans, why aren’t you playing in Spanish?” We heard it many, many times, but we just stuck to our guns and played what we really were influenced by, and this is where it’s got us.

M: Have you managed to meet any of your idols?

JM: Manny from the Stone Roses came to one of our shows in Manchester, and he did a couple numbers, a Primal Scream song and Stone Roses song. And Manny is one of our bass player’s influences, so that was like the… the “shite,” I should say.

Morrissey’s come to a couple of our shows, and I met Johnny Marr at one of the local clubs in Los Angeles. I also met Andy Rourke right before leaving for the U.K. I actually DJed with him, it was amazing. And we were supposed to meet up with Mike Joyce in Manchester but he wasn’t able to make it at the last minute. And that would have been the last one!

M: I understand there’s a significant Morrissey cult in the Latino community.

JM: It’s scary. You go to these conventions and there are all these clones with pompadours and sideburns and glasses, and it’s like, “Whoa! What did I just walk into?” They’re pretty hardcore. They have tribute bands here in L.A. But I still can’t understand the real reason why. Maybe it relates to growing up with a similar type of community or class [to Manchester].

M: So this fan base extends beyond the gay scene.

JM: Definitely. I remember wearing a Morrissey or a Smiths t-shirt in junior high, and I’d get criticized for it, and then, as the years went by, I started seeing these butchy guys that looked like thugs wearing an “I heart Morrissey” shirt and a Smiths tattoo. It’s so bizarre that he became an icon for this audience. But Morrissey’s actually been quoted as saying he wishes he was Mexican.

With Martin Khouzam and Clocks in Motion at Café Campus on Mon., Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., $10

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