The Boxmasters is an American rock band founded in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

, in 2007 by Academy Award-winning actor

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

and J.D. Andrew. The group has released eleven albums, with another one being released on April 15, 2022 Before he formed the Boxmasters, frontman Thornton had played in bands since middle school, worked as a

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This ca ...

, recorded in 1974 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and in the 2000s released four solo albums. After listening to "Yesterday's Gone" by

Chad & Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following ...

and thinking about covering it in a

hillbilly music Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

, he had the idea of making Americanized version of

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

pop songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

. From mid-2008 to late 2008, the group embarked on a tour across the United States, ending in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. It also played for the March 2009 South by Southwest conference. After opening several tours for Willie Nelson in 2009 & 2010, The Boxmasters ceased touring for five years, which they used to write multiple albums and emerged with a more natural sound, as opposed to their early hillbilly leanings.

History

Beginnings

—credited on the band's material as W. R. Thornton—has said that " enever intended to become a movie star, it happened accidentally. ..Music is what I love." Before his acting career started, he played in

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

s of Creedence Clearwater Revival,

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

, and also worked as a

with

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song " Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greate ...

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...

, the Statler Brothers, and other bands during high school. He also released a record with a band called 'Hot Lanta' in 1974. During his acting career, Thornton released four solo albums from 2001 to 2007. Thornton brought in

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

J. D. Andrew to help with his 2007 album ''Beautiful Door''. After jamming together, they started to record some of their material. Andrew had known Mike Butler "for six or seven years" and called on him to play guitar for them. According to Andrew, after the trio played together, they said "Shoot, this sounds like a band." The three came up with the name "Boxmasters" after a piece of Southern

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...

, which they later described by saying "remember the bad boy in high school who got all the girls and left a trail of broken hearts ... and more?" Thornton had also briefly played in

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

star

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

's similarly titled band 'The Wagonmasters', which he later said had brought chills down his spine.Billy Bob Thornton Crosses Musical Boundaries With Boxmasters
By Calvin Gilbert. CMT.com Published September 3, 2008. Accessed August 28, 2009.

Early career

The band started in

in 2007. During its early days, the band played several live shows in the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

area, as well as in Tecate, Mexico. Their eponymous first album ''The Boxmasters'' was released on June 10, 2008 by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

. It received a mostly poor review from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, which stated that "The Boxmasters might work live because there will be visuals; but merely as a listening exercise, it's best taken in small doses so the novelty doesn't wear off." The review also alleged that "Thornton can't drum to save his life, and he can't sing". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' praised the album, and the paper remarked that listeners will get their money's worth if they enjoy the music even half as much as the band did during the recordings. The group resumed touring in July 2008, adding musicians Bradley Davis on mandolin,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, Teddy Andreadis on harmonica and organ, and Mike Bruce on drums. Their tour across the United States ended on September 7, 2008 when they played at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

. The band released their second album, ''Christmas Cheer'', on November 11, 2008, also through

gave another critical review, calling the music "an acquired taste". ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' music critic Brian Mansfield named it one of his favorite holiday albums. The Boxmasters went on a post-album 12-city tour with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, playing from November 22 in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

to December 6 in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

. They then embarked on a six-city tour of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in March 2009, which included a March 18 appearance at the South by Southwest music conference.Boxmasters Prepare Third Album
CMT.com Published February 26, 2009. The band released ''Modbilly'' on Vanguard on April 21, 2009. ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' praised the album, saying that it "confirms that Billy Bob Thornton's writing talents aren't confined to his

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-winning screenplays."

stated that it "goes on far too long, never changing, never peaking". '' Prefix'' gave a mostly positive review, calling it "for real" and stating that "Thornton’s distinct voice continues to be a nice fit with the material". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' criticized it as "unmemorable". The group has covered

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, and

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

in its unique style. It also plays original songs, mostly written or co-written by Thornton based on the "

white trash White trash is a derogatory racial and class-related slur used in American English to refer to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies a social class inside the white population and especially a ...

" figures he had seen in his

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. ''

The Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' has called his original material "at turns dark and funny, with world-class hooks". The members play while wearing well-dressed ' Mod' outfits such as

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

ed black suits, white shirts, and narrow black neckties. Aside from playing, Thornton has said that he plans on creating comic books based on him and other band members. Plots would involve the band coming to the aid of townspeople as they tour. He said, "We're not sure what our superpowers are going to be yet".

Canadian touring and controversy

In April 2009, the band was scheduled to tour across Canada, opening for

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

veterans

and Ray Price. On April 8, the band appeared on the national

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

program '' Q'', hosted by

Jian Ghomeshi Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a British-born Persian-Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In ...

. During the first half of the interview, Thornton was "surly and uncooperative", and responded with "I don't know" when asked how long the band had been together. When asked about his musical tastes and influences as a child, he gave his longest answer, but it was about his favorite magazine ''

Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publica ...

''. He also stated that he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask any questions about his career as a screenwriter and actor. The interview is satirized in the Detective Crashmore sketch in Season 2, Episode 3 of I Think You Should Leave. Ghomeshi, in introducing the band, mentioned the acting credentials of Thornton, but never based his questions to Thornton about his show business career. Thornton went on to say that Canadian audiences were generally reserved and that the band was used to playing in places where people move around and throw things at each other. He then added, "it's like

mashed potato Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

es with no

gravy Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt ...

." This caused an outpouring of criticism from across Canada and around the world for the star's behavior.Billy Bob Thornton does a Joaquin Phoenix on Canadian radio

Times Online ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...

. Published April 9, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009. The following night, the band opened for

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

's prestigious

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to sea ...

. A series of boos and catcalls erupted mid-set, with people in the audience yelling "here comes the gravy!" when Thornton tried to explain he liked Canadians but not the CBC radio host. Before the show, when asked about his "gravy" comment, Thornton claimed he was talking about the radio host. Local reviews of Thornton's Toronto performance were not positive. ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' called Thornton's voice a "high, tinny whine" and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' commented that "Nelson could teach Billy Bob Thornton more than a few things".Willie Nelson concert a country feast, with sour notes
''

''. Published April 10, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009. On April 10, The Boxmasters dropped out of the tour early, announcing that they would not be playing with Nelson during subsequent concerts scheduled in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. Thornton said that band members had come down with the

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

. Willie Nelson's publicist had no comment.Billy Bob ends Canadian tour
''

''. Published April 10, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009. The band resumed touring in Stamford, Connecticut on April 14.Thornton’s Band Calls in Sick
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Published April 12, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009. In the aftermath of the controversy, Thornton appeared on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and he said, "The fact that was news was astounding to me... But it gave humpbacked geeks all over the world something to do for a couple of days." He added that he only wants to be perceived as a musician in the context of the band, remarking that "I'm just in their band, I'm just one of those guys".

Touring hiatus

In 2010, The Boxmasters ceased touring for almost five years. During that time

wrote & directed the feature film ''

Jayne Mansfield's Car ''Jayne Mansfield's Car'' is a 2012 drama film directed by Billy Bob Thornton, marking his first fiction directing job since 2000's '' All the Pretty Horses''. Thornton also stars alongside Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Fran ...

''.

Return to album releases and touring

In 2015 the Boxmasters returned with the album ''Somewhere Down The Road'' released by 101 Ranch Records. Rolling Stone said "This sprawling double album, which amazingly doesn't feel ''Use Your Illusion'' bloated, finds him and the ace 'Masters — who play the Grand Ole Opry on August 18th — mixing country noir with bright jangle pop. One disc is all Americana gothic, while the other is ''Nuggets'' by way of Liverpool. "Always Lie," from the twangy half of the project, is Thornton devilishly sharing his trick for dealing with the press and ranks with some of country's most honest songwriting. (Or does it?)" Also in 2015 The Boxmasters released ''Providence'' on their website as a download only album. In 2016 The Boxmasters also released two albums, ''Boys and Girls...& The World'' and ''Tea Surfing'', on NDR Records.

Members

;Current members *J. D. Andrew –

*Kirk McKim– guitar *Raymond Hardy - bass *Nick Davidson - drums *

(credited as "W.R. Thornton") – drums, vocals ;Former members *Micheal Wayne Butler – guitar,

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional a ...

* Brad Davis – guitar, vocals * Daniel Baker – guitar, vocals *Eric Rhoades – drums *Dave Fowler- bass * Teddy Andreadis – organ,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

Discography

*''The Boxmasters'' (Vanguard, 2008) *''Christmas Cheer'' (Vanguard, 2008) *''Modbilly'' (Vanguard, 2009) *''Somewhere Down the Road'' (101 Ranch Records, 2015) *''Providence'' (self-released, exclusively available via theboxmasters.com, 2015) *''Boys and Girls... And the World'' (NDR Records, 2016) *''Tea Surfing'' (NDR Records, 2016) *''In Stereo!'' (NDR Records, 2018) *''Speck'' (KeenTone Records, 2019) *''Light Rays'' (KeenTone Records, 2020) *Christmas On The Road (KeenTone Records, 2021) *Help...I'm Alive (KeenTone Records, Apr 15, 2022)

References

External links

* *
Official instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxmasters, The Rock music groups from California American country rock groups Vanguard Records artists Rockabilly music groups Mod revival groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical quartets 2007 establishments in California Thirty Tigers artists