There is no denying that Billy Bob Thornton is a great actor. But we’ve seen some pretty good train wrecks when great actors try to be rock stars: Keanu Reeves, Kevin Costner and Leonard Nimoy immediately come to mind. But Billy Bob, who goes by the name of W.R. “Bud” Thornton when playing music, is a remarkable exception to the norm.

Music was actually Thornton’s first love, getting his first drum set at the age of nine, and playing in a string of bands in high school and beyond. Back in the ‘70s, he was in a ZZ Top cover band called Tres Hombres that reached the heights of opening for Hank Williams Jr. and released a mildly successful album called “Gunslinger.” While playing, he was also a roadie for several bands, most notably the Canadian band Lighthouse on a couple of US tours.

At some point, he turned his attention to acting and writing, but music was never too far from his mind. After he found massive success in his film career, Billy Bob returned to music, releasing a pair of fine albums, “Hobo” in 2005, and “Beautiful Door” in 2007. Hooking up with bassist J.D. Andrews and guitarist Mike Butler, he formed The Boxmasters and released their first album “The Boxmasters” in 2008, and followed it with a Christmas album the same year. Not a band to rest on their collective laurels, they released “Modbilly” in 2009, a 2-CD set containing an astounding 24 songs, and not a clunker in the bunch.

The Boxmasters are pure rock ‘n’ roll, influenced by roots, country, blues and rockabilly with a punk sensibility that runs throughout their music and lyrics.
Disc one on “Modbilly” is a collection of 12 original tunes, dubbed “Ours,” each with a distinct musicality and some laced with wry humor. Disc two, titled “Theirs,” is a disc of covers, featuring a wild array of tunes from artists like the Stones, The Turtles, Roger Miller, John Hartford and Kenny Loggins, to name a few.

“Modbilly” establishes definitively that The Boxmasters are a band to reckon with, and are the vehicle that Billy Bob Thornton has been looking for ever since he got that first drum set.