Johnny Marr Too Busy for Smiths Reunion ... for Now

Johnny Marr is a busy man -- when he's not playing with Modest Mouse, he's the veteran guitar gunslinger for the Cribs or spending summer days in New Zealand swapping melodies with members of Wilco or Radiohead.

All of this, he's made it clear in the past, means the diary has very few blank pages for a Smiths reformation. But, in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper, he said while he was too busy for a Morrissey/Joyce/Rourke reunion now, he doesn't necessarily rule it out for the future.

"Supposedly we were offered $10 million to play a handful of Smiths gigs in 2007 and I wasn't remotely tempted. I can't speak for Morrissey, but I know that I'm too busy right now to get the Smiths on the road again. Is that likely to change? Who knows?"

Marr's latest day job, of course, is as a member of the Cribs, who release their new album 'Ignore the Ignorant' on Sept. 7.

Marr also said he didn't want people devaluing his work with bands such as the Cribs or Modest Mouse by describing him as a session musician

"I'm a collaborator. Since leaving the Smiths, my mode has been to keep moving forward, working with people who interest me. It doesn't bother me that people think I've never done anything as iconic as the Smiths. Actually, I like it that way.

"It's not like I had the big love of my life with the Smiths and I've since enjoyed a series of far more casual relationships. I've been as intensely involved with the music I've done since 1987 as I was recording and performing with the Smiths. Hand on heart, this new album with the Cribs is as satisfying as anything I've been involved with -including the best Smiths stuff. "