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An exclusive Q&A with Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew
Lots of bands take their inspiration from the ‘60s British Invasion, but The Boxmasters take it to an extreme level of fandom. This quintet of good ol’ boys from Bellflower, California takes it cue from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and a touch of The Beach
Boys and The Byrds and mixes it all up together into a frothy stew of musical excitement that’s just plain fun.
Led by Grammy Award-winning recording engineer J.D. Andrew and some guy you may have heard of named Billy Bob Thornton (though in music mode he goes by the name “Bud”), The Boxmasters play down home and old fashioned (but never creaky) rock-n-roll that stirs the soul. They’re also a prolific band—since their official founding in 2007, the group has released some 20 different albums and a 21st one is on the way this summer.
The Boxmasters will be bringing the flavor to the Valentine Theater on August 5. Toledo City Paper got J.D. and Bud on the phone to talk about rock.
Toledo City Paper: Let’s start with the very basics. What IS a “boxmaster?”
Bud: That’s a long story, but, I’ll just put it this way – we were looking for a name because our band is so influenced by the British invasion and by the Southern California pop records and Memphis and things like that, and so, there was the Box Tops out of Memphis and so we kind of got ‘box’ from that. And remember the old RCA records where it has the dog listening to the gramophone that says his master’s voice?
TCP: Yeah, sure. Nipper the dog.
Bud: Yeah. You put ‘Box Tops’ with ‘Masters’ from that, and that’s it. It’s just got a ‘60s vibe to it and our logo looks very ‘60s like. Most of the stuff we write is really based on our love of music in the 1960s and the mid ‘70s. So, yeah, that’s the story on that, although it also has another meaning, too. We had a member of the band years ago, Mike Bruce, who passed recently and he used to call us the Boxmasters; he was doing that before we even named the band, because “boxmaster” means a different thing in the South. It’s kind of a playboy.
TCP: You both are very busy men with various careers. How do The Boxmasters manage to stay so prolific?
Bud: Well, we’ve got so many personalities, which is not always a good thing. They say a cat has nine lives, we’ve already lived about 12 a piece. So we don’t have a shortage of things to write about. There’s something about when you love songwriting, it’s like you get obsessed with it. If I’m not creating, I think too much and that’s not good for me.
J.D: Yeah, and it’s not good for me either when Billy’s not writing.
TCP: J.D, I have a question for you. I read that you recorded The Rolling Stones in the studio. What album did you work on them with?
J.D.: It was “A Bigger Bang.” I did a few overdubs and helped get it finished. I got to record Mick, and I got to record Keith, but I didn’t get to record everybody at the same time or anything like that. I just got to help out for the last month of the record then I got to hang out at the listening party when it was all done and mixed and hang out and have a champagne toast with Mick and Keith and everybody else that was there. I mean, it was amazing. It was my first freelance gig. I had worked with Don Was before on some other records at the Record Plant and so he knew who I was, and kind of knew what I could do. So I was super fortunate. I got to spend a little bit of time with those guys and then since then, we’ve worked with Chuck Leavell on various things and played a show with him where he sat in with us for the whole show in Washington, D.C. for the Washington Correspondence Jam. I didn’t get to meet Chuck during the record, but then after the fact, it was like, “Hey, we worked together. This is awesome.”
TCP: Hey, Bud, do you remember the first album you bought as a kid that made you want to play music? What was it about that album that changed your life?
Bud: Well, I started very young as a rock and roll fan and my mom listened to a lot of Elvis. She gave me the “King Creole” soundtrack album and that song “King Creole” really struck me in. But then, what really kicked me off, just like anybody my age, was when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I was eight years old and that was really it. So the first thing I actually bought was a 45 of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” which to this day is one of the most perfect pop songs ever. The Beatles were the thing for me. I also listened to a lot of the Dave Clark 5, The Kinks and The Animals. So it was really the British invasion that made me really want to do it.
TCP: What was it like working with Herb Alpert on (The Boxmasters’ recent record) ‘Pepper Tree Hill’?
Bud: Oh, he’s great. We used to record at A&M before we got our own studio, which we’ve had about five years. We recorded over at A&M Studios and we met Herb through Faryal Ganjehei whose been the studio manager for 25 years and they were doing a documentary on Herb and so she was talking to him a lot. The first contact I had with Herb was, I asked (Faryal) if she could get me an album signed by Herb. I said “If you can get me an album signed by Herb, I’ll follow you around like a puppy the rest of my life.” So she got me a signed CD of his Greatest Hits, but I said, “No, no, no, no. It’s got to be ‘Whipped cream and other Delights.’ It’s the LP. I need that one.” Later once I met him I said “You got to sign that record for me.” He goes, “Okay, well, I don’t know if I even got any lay- ing around.” I said, “No, I’ll spring for it. Don’t worry.” But he has actually played on about five
or six songs with us. I mean, the guy’s 91, he’s still touring with the Tijuana Brass. Herb’s playing great, and he’s got this new band. What an honor for us to have him on there. We knew we needed horns and he said, “Yeah, just send it to me. I’m happy to.” So since then he’s done another three or four things with us. It’s not too bad when when Herb Alpert is your horn player.
TCP: Final question, gentlemen. Before a show, do you guys have any kind of pre-show ritual? Like, do you have a smoke? Do you say a prayer? Anything you do before a show every time?
J.D: Wow. It depends. It kind of changes every year. Some years, we’ll have a shot of bourbon, other years, it’d be a shot of vodka. I think last year we all, or at least me and Billy, we had a cup of coffee, and I’m trying to remember if we even had a drink before. I mean, more than likely, something, a little bit to take the nerves off, but you know, we’ve been doing this so long that it’s kind of like, all right, it’s time to go to work.
TCP: Thank you for giving me some of your time.
Bud: Well, thank you very much, Jason. Yeah, we’ve never played Toledo, so we’re looking forward to it. This is gonna be a new one.
The Boxmasters will be performing on Wednesday, August 5 at the Valentine Theatre. Tickets run $58 to $103. For more information, visit valentinetheatre.com.
