Billy Bob Thornton, known mostly for his acting, is also a musician. But Jian Ghomeshi on CBC radio, host of "Q," mentioned the acting when introducing the Boxmasters. Ghomeshi didn't ask a single question about the acting, but just mentioning the acting in the intro put Thornton in a less than benevolent mood.
Ghomeshi explained that the intro was meant to place the interest in the band in context. From the interview, he is asking music questions to the band. The other band members give answers, but Thornton's answers were nonsensical.
Describing it doesn't do it justice, see the video at the top.
While Canadians are known for being pretty laid-back, there was the cheap shot Thornton tossed at them.
"Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved," he said. "We tend to play places where people throw things at each other. Here, they just sort of sit there. And it doesn't matter what you say to 'em. … It's mashed potatoes but no gravy."
Other actors who are in bands seem to be able to take all of this within context, e.g., Kevin Bacon and the Bacon Brothers. Heck, the late John Belushi and Canada's Dan Aykroyd combined the two in "Blues Brothers."
Whatever insanity Thornton thought about the host, there wasn't a need to take it out on Canadians who are willing to give the Boxmasters a chance. That is more than Thornton is giving Canadians.
UPDATE: Later, Thornton claimed the "mashed potatoes" remark was about Ghomeshi, but clearly from the original comments, Thornton was referring to Canadians. The Boxmasters have canceled their Canadian dates after the first show, where the band received catcalls about "Here comes the gravy."
In this video clip, Thornton is asked by a female fan to "sign her gravy."
Not that the other band members deserved it, but clearly Thornton got his lumps, gravy or otherwise.
see, Joaquin Phoenix might be able to orchestrate a PR spoof to advance his career, but Billy Bog just isn't cool enough to pull off something like that
Posted by: nomad | April 21, 2009 at 12:08 AM