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Cat shit on a rat box >>
The musical side of Billy Bob Thornton
Mirror:
Is it a relief to finally talk about music instead of movies? Billy Bob Thornton:
It’s a huge relief to talk about music because I actually believe
I have something to say about it. I don’t really have any influences
as an actor and in music I do, so it’s easier for me to talk about
music and where it came from. There are people in music who are far
better singers and songwriters than I would ever hope to be, but I still
know about as much about the history of music as anybody. I really respect
music and always have. M: A lot
of people don’t realize that you were a musician way before you
became an actor. When did the music bug bite? BBT: The
first stuff I remember hearing was all of the stuff on Sun Records.
My mother was a huge music fan so I heard all that stuff. When I was
three was the first time I was conscious of music and that’s when
I wrote my first song, called “Cat Shit on a Rat Box.” It
only had that one line and I would bang my Roy Rogers guitar. M: When
did you start seeking out your own influences? BBT: I will
have to admit I didn’t get an interest in George Jones and Merle
Haggard until I was 16. When I was a kid, we didn’t want to listen
to George Jones because that’s what the old guys listened to. Of
course, when I was older I realized, “Damn, they’re geniuses.”
Anyway, it was the British Invasion that really gave me the urge to
be in a band. M: Was it
the famous Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan? BBT: Largely, yeah. I saw that. I was watching it laying on my stomach, right there on the black and white Zenith, it was like, “Look at that.”
Weenies and
Wayne M: Which
Beatle did you want to be? BBT: Ringo, initially,
but once my mind developed a bit more, I wanted to be John Lennon. I’m
still a Lennon guy. He is the only guy I can say without embarrassment
that I am obsessed with and a fan of. I was with Gary Puckett from the
Union Gap at a Wayne Newton concert— M: Are you
sure you want it in print that you were at a Wayne Newton concert? BBT: Oh,
yeah, absolutely! I love him. See, here’s the thing, I have an
appreciation for a lot of things that people think are crap. I also
really love Tom Jones and I like game shows. I know a lot of people
watch the game show channel to make fun of ’70s clothing but I
think those people are genius. M: Is music
an influence on your acting or writing? BBT: Definitely.
When I wrote Sling Blade, the only thing I listened to, over and over
again, was “Burnt Weeny Sandwich” by the Mothers of Invention. M: They
say every musician wants to be an actor and vice versa. Which are you? BBT: I always wanted to be a musician and ended up being an actor. Acting is just something I grew to love. It sucks that people will slam you for doing one or the other. If a musician wants to be in a movie and he’s good and respects it, I’m not going to shut people out. I just did a movie with Sean Combs and he was great. There are actors who suck and are just actors and musicians who suck and are just musicians. I don’t like big, stupid-ass, commercial-like movies and I don’t care who’s in them, they just stink. Music is the same thing. As long as you respect something and treat it with honesty, it’s going to be okay. People can slam my record all day long and I don’t care because I know every word and note of it is honest. : At Cabaret
on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 9pm (sold out) and 11:30pm, $20
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Okay,
here’s the real facts you need to know. Billy Bob put out a record,
Private Radio, a couple of months back and it’s no vanity project.
It’s the real deal. If you are looking for quotes about wearing
his wife’s underwear or his famous phobias, go directly to the
rags at the checkout line and skip this. Thornton’s lesser known
side shows a wealth of knowledge and deep love for American music and
he plays it with talent and conviction. Another fact: He is probably
the nicest guy residing in the 90210 zip code.