BILLY BOB THORNTON

  

The Album
Hobo

The Track
"Orange County Suicide"

The Label
Big Deal Records

Liner Notes
Billy Bob Thornton. An Oscar-winning actor. A solid baseball player (he nearly played for the Kansas City Royals). And, it turns out, not a half-bad musician. Having just tuned 50, Billy Bob has recorded his third album, Hobo. For the record, he actually has two Gold records so far, has performed on the Grammy-winning album The Wind by his late pal Warren Zevon, headlined at SXSW 2004 and been a presenter on the 2005 Grammies. At age 10, Thornton made his first public appearance as a musician at a local PTA meeting performing an instrumental version of the torturous 1965 hit by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler, "The Ballad of the Green Beret." After high school, Billy Bob eventually fronted his own group called Hot 'Lanta. Yeah, he was big on The Allman Brothers Band. (He later would produce a documentary on the band as well as one on Widespread Panic.) In 1995, during the shooting of Slingblade, some old band mates turned up and one jam session led to another. Hobo, co-written and co-produced by Billy Bob and songwriter and guitarist Randy Mitchell, shows a Billy Bob who has honed his musical craft since then. The new record deals with the legendary American pilgrimage to "The Late Great Golden State." Which nicely dovetails with his own scene. Although he obviously stuck around long enough to reap the rewards of a major Hollywood movie career, Billy Bob did have his share of rough times and was nearly destitute at points after coming out West from Arkansas. Hobo's highlights include the funky and catchy "Orange County Suicide," a cool, kicked-back version of Dwight Yoakam's "Late Great Golden State," "Gray Walls" (for the movie execs), and check out my favorite, "El Centro On Five Dollars A Day," sort of a low-rent "Hotel California." (Attention: FCC Advisory here for "Shit" in "El Centro"). Whether he sings, talks or drones, Billy Bob communicates an honest and commanding story. Of course, everybody from Hank Williams to the Eagles have chronicled the "California experience" in song. But there is still plenty room at the bar for Billy Bob's version.

Site
www.billybobmusic.com

On
KCRW Santa Monica-Los Angeles
KMTT Seattle
KGSR Austin
KPRI San Diego
WFPK Louisville
WCBE Columbus
KVMR Nevada City/Sacramento
KPFT Houston
Music Choice
XM/X Country
KBAC Santa Fe
WMNF Tampa
WNCW Spindale-Asheville/Charlotte
KNBT New Braunfels-San Antonio
WERU Blue Hills-Bangor
KUNC Greeley/Ft. Collins
WBZC Pemberton NJ
WDIY Bethlehem PA
KLCC Eugene
KRVM Eugene
KSMF Ashland-Medford OR/Redding CA
WSYC Shippensburg PA
WBCG Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte FL
WGWG Boiling Springs-Charlotte
WSGE Dallas-Charlotte NC
WQNR Auburn AL
WYOU Virginia Beach-Norfolk
WHRV Norfolk
KFAN Fredericksburg TX
KPCW Park City UT
KBUT Crested Butte CO
KDNK Carbondale-Aspen
KOTO Telluride
KSUT Ignacio-Durango
KVNF Paonia CO
KKCR Kauai HI
KMUD Garberville-Humboldt County CA
KZMU Moab UT
KOHO Leavenworth WA
WBSD Burlington WI

What Are Other Artists Saying?
"It's as if, miraculously, Lou Reed's collided with John Prine at a rest-stop somewhere on the interstate to Hitsville in the 'passionately purple' musical mind of Billy Bob. And, it all makes me smile, laugh, listen, and then wanna say, 'yeah, brother, I’m a hobo, too.'"
—Dwight Yoakam

"Billy Bob's music has a style and lean all its own. It can catch you off guard with as much as a word's inflection.”
—Tom Petty

"Billy Bob Thornton's music and songwriting are on par with his directing, screenwriting and acting. It's all imaginative storytelling with a twist."
—John Prine

"Billy Bob has made me jealous one more time."
—Daniel Lanois

Press
"I love HOBO!"
—Denise Aimes, Entertainment Today

Retail
Hobo (Big Deal) is in now in stores as of September 13th.

Contact
Beth Lewis, Big Deal Records/The Music Force Group