at least billy bob made you forget about joaquin phoenix for a minute.

I'm sure there's a way to quantify buzz for movies, music, products, etc. I just don't happen to know those metrics. Nevertheless, I'm going to hazard a guess that The Boxmasters have a pretty high buzz quotient these days, thanks to a rather testy and sometimes unintelligible interview on Toronto radio featuring members of the band. Oh yeah, did I mention the drummer is Billy Bob Thornton? I'd like to tell you about his distinguished acting career, but he might get pissed.

Here's the interview you've been reading about:


VERDICT: Ugly PR, but effective...and then ugly again
Yes, this interview was uncomfortable. And I mostly sympathize with the interviewer here. He's got a job to do and it's a bit silly, from his perspective, to not give context.

But I get Billy Bob's point here. Mostly, I'm guessing, he's trying to show respect to his band by not making it about himself. The irony, of course, is Billy Bob ended up making it ALL about himself!

In a perfect world, I would've counseled Billy Bob to simply smile and say "thanks" to any passing reference to his acting career. That clears the elephant out of the room and allows you to engage your audience in the Boxmasters. Instead, the testy and ill-mannered responses alienated your band, your host and your audience. All we got was a moment of schadenfreude as Billy Bob squares off with a Toronto radio DJ.

Having said all that, though, I can't deny Billy Bob's less-than-gracious actions have led to more attention in the Boxmasters than ever before. That YouTube video alone as 1.5 million hits.

So, while the end may not exactly justify the means, I have no choice but to say the interview exceeded all expectations.

Unfortunately, Billy Bob did some real damage by condescending to his Canadian audience, calling them mashed potatoes with no gravy. I can forgive a testy interview with a DJ (let's face it, these guys are used to difficult interviews with half-brained musicians), but it's never a good idea to insult your audience.

Ever.