Discovering MODBILLY

Billy Bob and the BMI party....

by Ilene Marder, January 27, 2009

I must say I didn't see as many celebrities as in the past.  This was my fourth trip to Sundance and usually Main Street is a sure thing for frequent celeb sightings.... but  they seemed to be hiding out this year.

We did spot Paul Giamatti stopping in for a take-out coffee (he was great in Cold Souls), Jeff Daniels was enjoying himself inconspicuously at the Gen-Art Party (Miramax giant Harvey Weinstein walked into that sardine-stuffed gathering, stopped in his tracks, said hello to no one and walked right back out...but hey, at least the hosts could say he was there...). I'm told Robert Redford walked past us twice on Main Street, but I somehow missed him this time around (btw...he is much shorter in person than he appears on screen, but it doesn't matter...he is fabulous!!!!).

I got a chance to talk for a few minutes with Justin Kirk, the very talented up and comer perhaps best known as the errant brother on Showtime's Weeds (he was featured at Sundance in Against The Current), and I congratulated Michelle Trachtenberg on her very sexy turn in the same film. I did see quite a bit of good friend Melissa Leo - now nominated for an Oscar for best actress for Frozen River (you go girl !!!!!!)- and our favorite Boiceville-based actor/director Larry Fessenden, who has something really big coming up....but it was really pretty quiet, bold-faced name wise,..until the BMI party Monday night!

A longtime sponsor and good friend of the Woodstock Film Festival, BMI always has GREAT parties, thanks in large part to the hospitable generosity of Doreen Ringer-Ross. It was a very small gathering at the BMI condo overlooking Main St. There were maybe twenty guests - composers involved in film, producers, music agents, filmmakers and BMI friends.

I was having a grand old time having found composer Rolfe Kent (Sideways), who loves Argentine Tango music (my other life), and then Billy Bob Thornton walked in. He was there, not so much as Billy Bob the Academy-award winning actor, but Billy Bob the musician-- Steeped in music from childhood, he now leads THE BOXMASTERS,  a super cool trio who describe their music as Modbilly - rooted in rock-a-billy,  but dressed a la Carnaby Street circa 1965 (.... ok, they do have a terrific version of As Tears Go By...).

Now, I am a Carnaby St type person....growing up in the sixties I subscribed to Mod Magazine (all the way from London !!) and obsessed all about mods and rockers.... so  I was knocked out to see Billy Bob in a perfect, slim, form fitting, satin stripe down the pegged leg, high button, narrow lapel, long pointy collar, knock 'em dead black suit...wow. Direct from Liverpool, he pointed out. With shiny black high heeled boots. (The other two Boxmasters were also super sharp.... dressed impeccably in similar black suits, six feet tall each, with MadMen early '60's hair and Buddy Holly glasses....definitely not interested in the Sundance casual style du jour.)

This was not the Billy Bob I expected.
He is much more delicate ...refined, in person.  Beautiful in fact...I could see him as the young fair-haired boy, charming all the ladies growing up in Arkansas, with charm, intelligence, humor and oh... such mischief.

I won't go into details about our conversation, but we did hit it off (OK, he kept telling people around us..."this gal is really cool....", and I will take that as a compliment from a kindred spirit...). He loves Woodstock...has been here a few times to play with Levon Helm at those great Midnight Rambles, and we just might be able to get him back to Woodstock for the next WFF. We're working on it.

The Boxmasters CD was playing throughout the party, and as the gathering was winding down, we were talking about the music and Billy Bob decided to have a contest.  He dared anyone to guess the origin of a particular song on the cd...he would only say it was from an old folkie. He looked at me and said..."I know you'll know who it is"...  oh yeah...talk about pressure....

So we put on the tune...everyone listened... one or two people approached him with the answer but they were wrong. I did know the song, I could sing along with it, but couldn't remember the title or artist.... DRAT!  But then, towards the very end of the song I found myself yelling out  TOM!...He looked at me and said YES! YES... eyes imploring me to get the rest---  Tom, Tom --  Tom who??...

and well, that was it...I couldn't quite get those synapses working under deadline. The song ended and he announced it was ...TOM RUSH!!  Ok...I had to settle for being close...what the heck. He knew i knew and it was fun. I know if we can get him to come to the Woodstock Film Festival this fall, and we stage the same contest, there sure will be lots of Woodstockers who know the right answer.