Rock-a Billy Bob

As if he needed any kind of introduction, Hollywood actor and Academy-Award-winning writer Billy Bob Thornton is busy with the awakening of his latest entertainment endeavor.

And its old-style similarity is uniquely up-to-date with modern music fans.

Wielding the weapon of raging hillbilly rock, Thornton and The Boxmasters combine the '60s pop and rock influences of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and the Animals with Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard for down-to-earth song lyrics - many penned by Thornton himself.

It's a return to Thornton's Southern roots with songs about the lower middle class and the long-time love affair with hillbilly music.

On July 20, Thornton returns to Odessa to play with the Boxmasters. His last appearance was in 2004 for the filming of "Friday Night Lights," in which he played Coach Gary Gaines in a story loosely based on Permian High's 1988 football season.

The Boxmasters consists of Billy Bob Thornton, J.D. Andrew and Mike Wayne Butler.

WANT TO GO?
>> Billy Bob Thornton with The Boxmasters: July 20 at Dos Amigos, 520 W. 47th St.

>> Doors open at 7 p.m.

>> Tickets are $23.50, available at Endless Horizons and Dos Amigos in Odessa, Vision Audio in Midland or online at front gatetickets. com.

>> Call 368-7556.

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOXMASTERS

>> Billy Bob Thornton prefers French Roast coffee, sometimes black and sometimes with soy cream.

>> He released four solo recordings before releasing "The Boxmasters."

>> He was once married to Angelina Jolie.

>> He started playing the drums when he was 9 years old.

>> He was once a roadie for the famed "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band."

>> His hometown is Hot Springs, Ark.

>> He directed and produced the 2000 film "All the Pretty Horses."

>> He has obsessive-compulsive disorder and a phobia of antique furniture.

>> His favorite food is German chocolate cake.

>> His favorite color is silver.

>> He was a cast member on the CBS sitcom "Hearts Afire" with John Ritter and Markie Post from 1992 to 1994.

>> He wrote and starred in the 1996 movie "Sling Blade."

BOXMASTERS SONG TITLES

DISC ONE

>> Poor House.

>> Build Your Own Prison.

>> I'll Give You a Ring.

>> The Last Place They Would Look.

>> S@*! List.

>> I'm Watching the Game.

>> 20 Years Ago.

>> That Mountain.

>> The Work of Art.

>> Two-Bit Grifter.

>> The Girl On the Side.

>> No Whiskey in Heaven.

DISC TWO

>> She's Lookin' Better By the Minute.

>> Some of Shelly's Blues.

>> Memories of You and I.

>> Yesterday's Gone.

>> Knoxville Girl.

>> I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

>> Sawmill.

>> The Original Mixed-Up Kid.

>> House at Pooh Corner.

>> Propinquity.

>> The Kids Are Alright.