Did anyone else attend the Boxmasters concert in Huntsville last night? I saw several other Florentines there rubbing elbows with old Billy Bob. He performed one song written by local songwriter, Donnie Fritts. His band is very good. One set was a sort of rockabilly and the last set was totally rocking. My ears are still ringing. BBT is one of the most gracious performers to come to this area. He is always down to earth and quick to sign an autograph and pose for a pic.

The concert was fab and so was the Q&A session beforehand.

I'll post some pics after I get them out of my camera.

Billy Bob is cool. I remember him from the early 70's when he would be in this area and hanging out with Donnie.

I don't think people realize what a great talent Donnie is. He kind of flies under the radar. I'm glad to see that the other Shoals musicians and guys like Terry Pace have honored him and given him the respect he deserves.

We have some fantastic musical talent in the Shoals.

Not only is Donnie a great musician/songwriter, he's a helluva nice guy as well. I worked in a videostore for years and he was one of my favorite customers.

Too cool. I just came from a party. He was there and signed a copy of his latest CD - One Foot In The Groove - for me. Can't wait to listen to it!

hehehe... I was there as well. Just got home. I had on a hat with the Alabama state flag on it.

Thanks for the kind words, BlackCrow -- they're most appreciated!

Anita and I spent the weekend in Huntsville and had a blast at both Boxmasters shows and the Q&A Billy did with Lynn Hoffman. The band really rocked, and we had a chance to spend a lot of quality time with Billy and catch up on a lot of movie and music talk.

During the Q&A with Lynn, I asked Billy about the influence of the classic Hollywood monster films on his work, and he gave me a beautiful (and beautifully detailed) answer praising the role Forry Ackerman, FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine, the old monster movies and especially the performances of Lon Chaney Sr. and Boris Karloff (particularly his title role in FRANKENSTEIN) played in the development of his imagination.

Monday was Billy's birthday, and he invited us to come over to Memphis for a big party and recording session at Sun Studios. In true rock 'n' fashion, it turned out to be an epic, all-night affair. At 5 o'clock the next morning he enlisted us to join the band in the studio to sing backup on the song they were cutting, TWO WEEKS NOTICE.

The band cut their parts for the song one by one throughout the evening, but Billy wanted to wind up the session with a big live version featuring the whole band and all the friends who showed up for the party. The live version will be a bonus cut on the next Boxmasters CD.

Anita and I shared vocal mikes with Billy Bob, his friend Tea Leoni (who hung in with us the whole night), Phoebe Lewis (Jerry Lee's daughter) and members of the tour crew. It was a delightfully psychotronic experience.

Billy told us, "I need all of you to sound like a bunch of drunk people having a great time singing!" -- and I think we truly rose to the occasion, even though I was stone cold sober the whole night.

Thanks to Billy Bob, I've now participated in a recording session at Sun Studios, so I can die a happy man ...

Terry Pace
pillaroffire@bellsouth.net

"God, here and there, makes madness a calling."
-- Ray Bradbury

i just watched mr. woodcoc k with billy bob.
if you haven't seen it, check it out.

Thanks for posting Pillar/Cousin!! Sounds like y'all had a wonderful time. Tea Leoni? Dang! I'm impressed. Was it difficult not to grill her about the X-files?

I heard BBT say he got his inspiration for Carl Childers from Frankenstein's monster.

He is so talented! (As are you!!) Please email me some of the photos you took.

Start a thread on Ray Bradbury and keep us up to date as to what he's up to as well.

Debra

I hear that BBT and Angelina are thinking of doing a movie together again. According to what I have read they are still good friends.
My husband has a huge crush on her. She is beautiful. The work she does as a UN ambassador is commendable.

I wish they would. I liked BBT and Angelina together!! BBT is far cooler than Brad.