Billy Bob Thornton is Not a Morning Person
Today on CBC Radio's Q, actor Billy Bob Thornton and his band the Boxmasters were very awkwardly interviewed by host Jian Ghomeshi. Mostly because Billy Bob is not a morning person who carries drums around.
Recorded at an early time this morning (around 6am, it would seem), it becomes obvious rather quickly that lead vocalist Billy Bob had gotten out of the wrong side of the bed, then realized that someone had shit in his cornflakes, and then ended up with a huge pickle up his ass when he sat in the Q studio chair.
Ghomeshi handles it well, all things considered. From Thornton's nonsensical ramblings, to his cursing, to his awkward (and kinda evil) eying, Jian appears only mildly fazed and wavers only slightly before attempting to declare a truce and get back to the interview. But it's painful to watch.
In some ways, Jian's ordeal reminds me of the infamous interview of crankypants Sigur Ros on NPR, except in Jian's case his questions were apparently too relevant rather than piss poor.
Billy Bob: You are not Tom Petty. And I'm filing this one in film. Even though it probably should be in the music category. You're a better actor than you are musician or interviewee, that's for sure.
The Boxmasters play Toronto at Massey Hall tonight and tomorrow night, opening for the legendary Willie Nelson. Hopefully Billy Bob is well rested and in good spirits for the band's performances.
UPDATE: April 11th:
Here's what Billy Bob had to say to the audience at Massey Hall, about the incident on CBC radio. He calls Ghomeshi an asshole and claims that he doesn't like sensationalism, and his little rant is met with as much booing as cheers.
Comments (50)
oh, billy bob. you just all bitter because angelina's saving babies and doing it with a younger, bigger celeb.
Dear pretentious bands: Stop it. Why are a good deal of mainstream musicians so high and mighty? They sound the same as the rest of us low level bands, but due to fame or luck they are successful. I really think Ghomeshi should of just been forward after the third time Billy Bob gave him a bullshit answer and just outright asked him if there was a problem. Or just advoid talking to him at all; although, the rest of the band was pretty boring.
As an added bonus, Billy Bob insulted his entire Canadian audience, too. Something about potatoes with no gravy?
If I had ever had any interest in this diva, it would have disappeared with that interview.
I like the part where Billy Bob goes on about how Canadians don't have any spirit during concerts. That they don't go nuts and throw stuff around. The Jian just points out that they've been performing in theatres....so no, you wouldn't likely see that kind of stuff happening.
Wow, BBT is a major egotistical dink. If I was his bandmates, I'd kick him out. How embarrassing for them. He just turned a bunch of people off the band. Oh, and by the way, a band called Luthor Wright and the Wrongs (from Victoria BC I think) did a full-on hillbilly version of Pink Floyd's The Wall a few years ago and it was oncredibly intelligent and entertaining. British Invasion meets Hillbilly has already been done, BBT, so you're not as original as you might think.
Correcting some spelling and info (made mistakes in the passion of posting about BBT's dinkiness):
- Luther Wright & the Wrongs
- from Kingston, Ontario
- "incredibly" intelligent and entertaining.
More info on Luther Wright & the Wrongs: http://www.lutherwright.com/thewall.php
Maybe Billy Bob is trying to rile us Torontonians into getting rowdy and throwing stuff at him when he's on stage. Maybe we should equip ourselves with buckets of gravy to soak up this dry potato of a "musician."
the interviewer was specifically asked not to refer to BBT's previous career beforehand and it looks like he {ghomeshi} ignored that and went ahead anyway ... I think that if he just stuck to the music part the interview would have been okay but now at least a good part of the world knows who Jian Ghomeshi is but people who can clearly see both sides will think the interviewer was unprofessional
at least BBT does not give a cookie cutter interview
To be fair to Jian, his -producer- was told and it seems that there was some miscommunication along the way and Jian was under the impression that he wasn't supposed to ask -questions- about his acting career, and not completely ignore that Billy Bob may have ever done something other than music.
It also seems that he's more pissed at Jian for suggesting that music was his 'first love'. When Jian asks 'is it because I mentioned you were an actor'. Billy Bob says, yeah, that too. I'm still not really sure why this is something to be angry about.
Painful to watch...feel for Jian, but I think he handled it well.
There's many, many more interesting and more talented bands out there to interview.
shitty music and he hasnt made a good movie since slingblade, but holy crow folks, it was 6 am....cut the man some slack, who the heck wants to talk at that hr .
Re: "Jian appears only mildly phased and wavers only slightly before attempting to declare a truce and get back to the interview."
It should be "fazed," not "phased."
What is I meant to say that he went from solid interviewer, to partially liquid in his need to react to the lame responses from Billy Bob? ;)
The interview would have been much more interesting, insightful, etc., had Willie Nelson been interviewed instead. He's an established musician and richly deserves his recognition instead of his warm up band.
Billy Bob and his band would be playing CCR covers in some dingy bar somewhere without a record deal if it weren't for the fact that he's a movie star, I'm sure his band knows this and its the only reason anyone wants to listen to him interviewed on Q . He should acknowledge the fact that he creatively wrote, directed and starred in an oscar award winning movie and he's applying those talents to music. We already have a Tom Petty that we know and love, please don't try and be him.
He didn't talk about his acting career. He mentioned while introducing him that among many things he is an actor.
Meanwhile it looks like the pussy Bill Bob wants a cookie cutter interview where only approved questions get asked. He may as well write the questions. No question about acting were asked, it was all music. He just wants advertising. He could have talked about music all this time.
Ironically the only reason we know who he is is because of his acting. The other guys seemed, nice, although very embarrassed.
Did you not see the part where Jian talks about context?
I thought Jian did a great job. 6am or not, the band's getting free publicity. They could have easily declined the interview if they didn't want to get up so early.
I suppose he can now be known as good actor, mediocre musician, AND a Diva with illusions of being as reputable as Tom Petty...
Jian was providing context. No one would care about this band, let alone give them a record deal, had they not know who billy bob was and what he is most commonly know for. Is he still relevant?
Jian was providing context for his audience and did a great job overall. No one would care about this band, let alone give them a record deal, had they not know who billy bob was and what he is most commonly know for. My question is: Is he still relevant?
Billy Bob could have picked a better musician to aspire to than Tom Petty. Even Willie Nelson. I think it was telling how they (BBT and Nelson) haven't even spoken to each other on this entire tour. Billy Bob comes off as a hostile prick in this interview. I think Jian Ghomeshi handled him (and himself) well.
Did anyone attend the Massey Hall shows? I'm curious if there was any backlash during the set?
Oh, and Jian commented on "Q" this morning that the interview was live to air beginning at 10am EST, not 6am as our friend BBT commented.
Hey, at least some great publicity for the CBC!
I think might have just said that he never met Willie Nelson just to be difficult in the interview, much like how he kept answering questions with "I don't know what you're talking about"
FYI, the Toronto Star just published their blow-by-blow of the Ghomeshi-Billy Bob Thornton interview.
The YouTube video now has over 400,000 views and close to 5,000 comments. You can't buy publicity like this. Maybe BBT knew what he was doing all along?
Yeah I thought this was hilarious and if I had been interviewing him for my show, my mind would be racing with thoughts of youtube hits and link love... congrats Q!
Too bad Bobbilly from Arkansas didn't have his Banjo and his pet gator with him at least he could of been a sideshow
Bobbilly is his brothers name, get it right would ya. Ands his pet gator gots made inta boots after a whorable caw aceedent.
The Star just published a piece about the ordeal, mentioning some of the audience reaction at the Massey Hall show, along with some quotes from Ghomeshi.
BBT has a fear of antique furniture and midgets. I'll just let those points hang in the air.
Jian should have said, 'Nobody *really* gives a shit about your music, you did one good movie and went on to fuck your movie career, and screwed up your relationship with the hottest woman on the planet. Jian then should have thrown his ass out of the studio.
looks like Billy Bob doesn't like being in Canada anymore:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090411/ap_on_en_mu/canada_people_billy_bob_thornton
What is clear from watching his body movements and facial expressions (especially during the intro to the interview) is that BBT is drunk, stoned, or both. His bandmates are clearly uncomfortable and embarrassed by his behaviour. Jian was faced with a dilemma, though. Filling up 6 or 7 minutes of airtime on the fly is tricky had he thrown BBT's ass out of the studio (which he should have done right after the story about the monster magazine).
But what do you expect from an ignorant, self-important, marginally talented, drunk hillbilly like BBT?
I like how Bad Boy Billy Bob so earnestly admits that the producers were _told_ not to talk about certain subjects. Maybe A list artists can get away with that, but even if they do get away with it, they certainly don't admit that they are doing it to begin with. That is why BBBB is, and always will be, a b-list artist.
I've read Billy Bob Thornton described now in various ways, and I've got to say, they're all his own doing:
Silly Bob Thornton
Billy Knob Thornton
Billy Boob Thornton
Perez Hilton preferred the term "complete douche."
Personally, I think he just had a drumstick up his arse. I wonder how George Strombo would've reacted had he tried to pull this stunt on The Hour? Maybe it would've ended in fisticuffs. I'd put my money on Strombo.
The only reason anyone would throw anything during a Boxmaster concert would in an effort to ping BBT in the face with the hope of ridding him of the worst case overbite this world has ever seen. OHHHHHHHH ANGELINAAAAAAAA...
Haha - the repercussion of Billy Bob's interview has hit iTunes. You should see the comments being made about their albums by iTunes users. This is a great place to hit em back where it hurts but be sure to do it in the iTunes American store, not just the Canadian store.
Jian could have easily vamped for another 5 or so minutes but given that it's not exactly a confrontational radio format and he was being as nice as possible, it's good he didn't throw him out as it heightened the effect of nice guy vs asshole.
The Boxmasters sound like a decent enough band but BBT is like a poor man's Tom Petty and practically talks his way through those mediocre songs.
I just recently learned that Jian Ghomeshi is a CBC broadcaster and a well-known personality because of that. But I had known his name for a long time because his old band, Moxy Fruvous, played Fort Smith, Arkansas, when I was in my mid teens and he signed a CD for me. I loved that band. And if I were him I would be thinking the whole time, "Damn I'm well-established too, dickweed. And my band rocked your home state back when nobody from Arkansas even gave a shit who you were."
Hillbilly-blended-with-British-Invasion is one of the most recycled garbage concepts I've ever heard. Even if BBT weren't a dickweed his bandmates do a superb job of saying, in so many words, "Pass us by, please! We really are the same old shit." If it weren't for BBT's acting/writing career no one would care about his band (just as I don't really like his solo album, Private Radio, but bought it anyway years ago), and since he starts digging this on-air grave all by himself, no interviewer can help but nail him from that angle.
Fuck Billy Bob Thornton. He's Hollywood, not Hillbilly. I'm from Arkansas. I'm in a band. I wouldn't be caught dead talking or playing like that. Fuck Billy Bob Thornton.
A look at BBT's concert rider from his previous tour is telling.
Maybe he was still working through his two cases of Bud Light or the bottle of Jack Daniels before the Q interview?
This video shows Billy Boob Thornton about to enter by the stage door at Massey Hall prior to his last concert in Canada (possibly ever).
Canadians are generally nice and polite. Those are good attributes. but those things make them look very boring at the same time (I guess you can't have it all in this life). So from Billy's point of view, I completely understand what he is saying (mash potato without gravy lol, poor yet hilarious choice of words, but it got the point across). I have been to many concerts in Vancouver and Toronto, I also have seen the same bands in Bay area (California). I could definitley say, the crowd in the US was much much much more vibrant and fun. and it made the whole experience 100X better for me.
Also, If we can't take some unkind words from an irrelevant celebrity then maybe he should have called us 'pussies' too on top of everything else he said.
Yeah we got you some gravy on a T-shirt - check out the Billy Bob T-shirt response T-shirt. http://www.artik.com/bob/
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
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