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Billy Bob Thornton
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Podcast Host 'Buz'
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All?
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J.D. Andrew
When we were kids, when we heard a live album, we wanted to hear something that was different from the studio album. Maybe a different guitar solo, maybe they do it in a different key and you'd hear the screw ups in it, you know. But that's okay. Cause it tells you, you know, this is a live record. This is what happened that night. So in other words, if we, if we screw up on stage, you'll hear it.
Podcast Host 'Buz'
Welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast where Your host Buz talks with musicians about the inside story behind their music. On this episode. Our guests are actor, musician Billy Bob Thornton and Grammy award winning engineer, J.D. andrew. Currently on tour, they're the founding members of the band the Boxmasters. The band started in Bellflower, California back in 2007. And two dozen albums later they're still out on the road showcasing their unique brand of music. And here's Billy Bob and JD with buzz on taking a walk.
Podcast Interviewer
Well, congrats Billy Bob and JD on the new album Love and Hate in Desperate Places. And the big tour rolling on one of the dates is, I know, Friday, October 11th at the Pollock Theater in Monmouth, New Jersey. But you've got dates all over the place, guys. I know some city wineries and, and many others and I know your fans can't wait to see you out on the road. So Billy Bob, I'm going to start with you. What does J.D. andrews bring out in you to make you better as a musician?
J.D. Andrew
Well, I think it's the thing we do for each other is we, we leave no stone unturned. So we push each other very hard and the best idea always wins. And you know, we've disagreed very few times over the years but you know, if J.D. thinks I can do something better on a, on a track, whether it's a harmony or plank drums or elite vocal, whatever it is, he doesn't stop until he knows I got the one that's, that's me, you know, and, and plus JD Is our engineer, which a lot of bands don't have a world class engineer who's in the band, you know, who also records the records. So most of the time it's just me and JD in the studio playing everything and singing everything. And so, you know, it's a pretty relaxed atmosphere usually in, so and, and we have the time to do it because we, we bought a studio a few years back almost four years ago and it kind of came with the house, but it's a very, very good studio. For years we've recorded over at A M and it's an amazing studio. We miss going to work in some ways, but in other words, it's so much better. It's a very creative place. Just some places just have a creative vibe and this, this one has it and but yeah, in terms of what JD does for me, he just, he pushes me to be my best.
Podcast Interviewer
And J.D. how about Billy for you?
Billy Bob Thornton
Well, I mean, I think it's kind of the same. I mean, you know, it's, you know, like, you Said the best idea wins, you know, and sometimes I'm just standing there, you know, I've got a bass or a guitar in my hands, and I have no idea what I'm gonna do. You know, Billy will be like, hey, why don't you try this sort of part? And usually we'll. We'll call it out, like doing a Ronnie Wood part. Or, you know, we'll. We don't have a technical name for it. It's like, what would, you know, a Paul McCartney bass line sound like on this? Or a Ronnie Wood guitar part or a Keith guitar part, or a Roger McGuinn part? Kind of like, what would one of those guys, you know, what would our heroes do on one of these songs? We just kind of try to channel those songs that we grew up loving and get kind of the essence of whatever we loved about that thing that we're, you know, kind of using as a touchstone. It's like, how can we put that into this song? And, you know, it generally works out. We get an idea for something and it's like, okay, great. That might change the direction of a song, you know, a little bit. It might just add a little, you know, something special to it. But to each other, you know, we really are, you know, pushing each other. It's like, let's make the best thing, you know, it's. It's. There's. We don't have any reason to only, you know, to half ass it. It's like, you know, we got the time and we've got the plays. We have to do our best, you know, because if. If we don't kind of, what's the point? You know, there's. There's no reason to not do our best. And, you know, thankfully, going into our 18th year, every record that we make now, we feel like this is the best one we've ever made. And we keep pushing each other to do better and better and better. And to us, we're succeeding because we're super proud of what we're doing and we're proud of every record and, you know, we work really hard on them. So it doesn't feel like it's year 18 of this band. It feels like, you know, we're just getting started. We're just hitting the road, playing, you know, new shows for different crowds, and feels like the momentum just always is going up. You know, we just keep doing it and keep plowing away. And if we didn't like it, we wouldn't do it for one. But, you know, we love what we do. And we love making the records, but we love getting to, you know, get our friends together to go on the road with us. And, you know, it's all guys that we've known for, you know, a number of years and we love hanging out with. And when you're stuck with 10 guys in a bus, you better get along.
Podcast Interviewer
So if you guys had the ability to be plopped into any year in music history, at any place in time that was, you know, fertile in music history, what year would it. Would it be for, for you guys?
J.D. Andrew
I would say 67 through 70 in there. I JD and I say it all the time. If this band had been around in, in 1967, 68, I think we would have songs in the top 10, 10. I mean, just because that we play that kind of music, it's original music. But we write these records based on our love of those times. I mean, obviously earlier, you know, when the Beatles came along and the Kinks and the Animals and everybody were highly influenced by the British Invasion, but our music is. Isn't quite that old 60s sounding. It's. It's a little more like when it changed from rock and roll to rock in 67. It's when cream and Traffic and all those guys came along. And so I would say, yeah, if we'd be plopped in anywhere, probably 1967 and. And back in those days, labels didn't drop you because your album wasn't a huge success. You had time. I mean, some people would have their first three records floppy and that still be on Columbia or RCA or whoever they were on. And you know, they let bands develop. And now if your first thing. And these days it's single, not necessarily album, we still do albums, but you know, these pop stars, if they have a turkey, you know, next thing you know, you don't see much around see them around much anymore.
Podcast Interviewer
Yeah, that's for sure. But let me ask you back in, in that era, what was so beautiful about that era was the fact that bands, musicians were rewarded for being different. Everything could sound different. And I submit to you, if somebody clicks with something nowadays, you're going to have 25 other people trying to replicate that. Is that unfair of me to say?
J.D. Andrew
That is not unfair for you to say at all.
Billy Bob Thornton
Yeah, we say this thing exactly. You know, the. That was. Billy is. You know, always like. That was the thing. Every band strove to be their themselves and individuals and different from the next one. You know, you wanted to have your own sound. That's how we feel.
J.D. Andrew
We.
Billy Bob Thornton
We sound like ourselves. You know, we have all these influences of all these bands that we loved, but at the end of the day, we have a pretty, you know, specific Boxmaster sound. If you've listened to us from, from the beginning to the end, you know, from album one to 17, there's been a lot of stylistic changes, but at the same time you can tell it's the same band from album one to album 17.
J.D. Andrew
And also we, when we play live, we don't use any gizmos or play to tracks or anything like that. So a lot of people now are. I mean, it used to be like a secret that some bands would do that they tried to keep a secret. Now it's just in the open that now we just go out and play to a track. So I, when, when we were kids, when we heard a live album, we wanted to hear something that was different from the studio album. And so maybe a different guitar solo, maybe they do it in a different key and you'd hear the screw ups in it, you know, but that's okay because it tells you, you know, this, this is a live record. This is what happened that night. So in other words, if we, if we screw up on stage, you'll hear it.
Podcast Interviewer
Well, you just led me perfectly to my next question. It's like you were reading my, my notes here because I feel like with the advent of, you know, technology and with, you know, various software and AI can do that. This notion of allowing imperfection to shine through in a unique way seems to be going away in favor of perfection. Would you guys agree with that?
J.D. Andrew
For sure? Absolutely. Yeah. And that's. Who wants that? I mean, if, if you're going to go see somebody live and you're just going to hear the record, just save your 50 to 500 bucks, whatever it is, for some of the big stars, you know, stay home and listen to the record. Just, you know, go somewhere right around in your car and put your phone into the Bluetooth or whatever and just listen to the record, you know.
Podcast Interviewer
But do you feel like it's happening in studio work as well, where perfection is sort of the ideal scenario rather than allowing some rough edges?
Billy Bob Thornton
Sure, yeah, absolutely. I mean, people have been doing it since the dawn of recording where they try to, you know, make everything absolutely perfect. It used to be a lot harder when you're using a tape machine and a razor blade to, you know, fix timing issues and things like that. These days you just have a computer and if you mess it up, you just hit undo and okay, you're Back to what you had and now you can fix it again. It's so rare that a band or, you know, anybody plays live in the studio, you know, so you don't end up with those imperfections. And, you know, we have our own method of recording because, you know, it is just the two of us that make the records most of the time. So we can't help but, you know, it's like one guy has to press record on the machine and one guy has to go play the part. But the way that we try to do it, to make it feel a little more organic and more live, is we start at the beginning of the song and we play to the end of the song. And so hopefully when you're doing it that way, you have the dynamics of, okay, here's the beginning. I'm pretty hyped up. Oh, the verse, you bring it down a little bit. Chorus, you bring it back up, you know, so we try to bring the songs alive like that when it's just the two of us, but these days, yeah, the. Using a drum machine for everything or, you know, using keyboards to basically do all the parts, you know, it's all very easy to just hit quantize on all of it. So everything is perfectly in time. And then you can tune the vocals until they're basically a flat sine wave of just perfect pitch. You know, that. That's kind of why so few songs have any lasting life to them. They just. There's no. The feeling has been completely washed out of them, so it's. It doesn't. You might enjoy it for a little bit, but then something else comes along and then you forget about that song that you enjoyed for a few minutes just because there's. There's nothing left. There's no meat to it to grasp into. And, you know, if you're not singing about anything other than partying, I don't think you know, that that's not really a lasting equation for a song either.
Podcast Host 'Buz'
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk podcast.
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Sequences shortened and simulated hey everyone, it's Kal Penn.
Kal Penn
I'm the host of Irsay The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast, I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project Hail Mary Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth.
Kal Penn (continued)
I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections and it's like, okay, yo yo yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it.
J.D. Andrew
I was like, no.
Kal Penn (continued)
At this point it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that deeply, emotionally affected me and I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like, oh my God,
Podcast Host 'Buz'
I cried at the end.
Kal Penn (continued)
It's like, yeah dude, me too.
Kal Penn
Listen to Irsay the Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Podcast Host 'Buz'
welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Podcast Interviewer
Well, there's a new song that you guys have called the River's Rising, which has got a lot of heart and soul to it. And I want to ask you, was it influenced in any way by the mess that social media has created?
J.D. Andrew
Yes, it's about all those things. It's about. It's very socio political, I'll put it that way. The song is really about, you know, when you tell somebody, hey, listen, I, I think that boulder up there, it looks, doesn't look. It's kind of precarious. I'm not sure. A thing might fall, they go, oh yeah, it does kind of look like. No, no, no. You understand what I'm saying? You need to get out of the way. You know, it's like, what was the. Not the boy cried wolf, but the other one said the sky was falling. Whatever it was, you know, it's, it's a, it's a song saying, stop sleeping on what's happening. And you know, and, and this is not a, a left or right thing. It's just about the whole mess, you know, of how people are being separated and stuff, and the middle's being kind of killed. Critical thinking is not as important as it used to be. And it's a song that's kind of saying, look, look behind you, the river's rising. We might want to get out of here, you know, because in other words, it's like a groundswell of stuff that when we're comfortable, we don't think about it, but in the meantime, it's all bubbling up around us, you know, and that's, that's really what the song's about. And we have several songs about how social media has. It can be used for good and it can be used for bad, and most of the time the stuff that sticks is on the more on the bad side.
Podcast Interviewer
Do you think social media is more to blame for things or do you think the person that invented the Infinite scroll is the real demon?
J.D. Andrew
I don't know what that.
Billy Bob Thornton
Yeah, I mean, I don't know what
J.D. Andrew
the Infinite scroll is.
Podcast Interviewer
Well, I mean, the ability with, you know, phones, you know, cell phones to be able to continually go like this and be able to look at all your junk and see where people ate for dinner last night and all that stupid stuff.
J.D. Andrew
Yeah. It's just, it's so creepy to us. And the thing about it is, once things are gone and this is all you have, then even people who are not into it or even speak against it get hooked on it. It's like, I have my phone with me all the time because I have a family. JD's the same way. And after a while, you become so dependent on it. I remember when I first moved to LA in 1980, I was. We had a thing called a Thomas Guide, and it was just a map of every street in LA County. And you had to look at this. Yeah, it's like a Sears catalog. And you had to look up where you were going and figure out how to get there. And, you know, I think. I think social media has made people so lazy, and also that life's about the journey, not the. Not the end result. So when everything is at your fingertips, you're not going on a journey to learn. And I think when you learn that way, you don't remember it as well. If you have to work hard to learn something, you remember it.
Podcast Interviewer
Well stated, Bill. You cast John Prine and Daddy and them, and I know he was a friend of yours, J.D. i'm not sure if he was a friend of yours. I would imagine if he was a friend of Billy's, he was a friend of yours.
Billy Bob Thornton
But sadly, John was one of the guys I never got to meet. And I was, yeah, I'm a huge fan of his music. But, yeah, sadly, I never got to meet him.
Podcast Interviewer
Well, he clearly chronicled the journey in such a brilliant way. Can you tell me what the experience for you was like? Certainly knowing him and working with him on Daddy and Them?
J.D. Andrew
Well, John and I had met several years before we did that, and we just kind of hit it off. And in terms of where I first met him, when I get asked that about people, I usually don't remember how we met. It's just from being around, you know what I mean? But we were mutual fans of each other, you know, and we just ended up being pals. And I thought, you know, this guy. This guy could play my older brother. I'm telling you, I know he's got it in it because John didn't have the ability to not be who he was, to not be natural. Actually, he has a song that became a famous song of his that I asked him to do. I said, john, can you write a song for the closing credit sequence? And he goes, how do I do that? I said, well, I said, you just kind of. You don't hit the nail on the head, but at the same time make references to the characters in the story somehow. So make it a little more of a. Not a linear storytelling of the movie, but just, you know, get it across, whatever your feeling is. So he ended up writing In Spite of Ourselves, which was the closing credit song, and he did it with Iris Dement, and it became one of his staples, you know, it was awesome.
Podcast Interviewer
Incredible song. My God, what, what a magical use of it. And performance by John and Iris. My God, I love that.
J.D. Andrew
Wonderful. You know. Yeah, yeah.
Podcast Interviewer
Can you take us inside? I know your studio, it's called Pepper Tree Hill, right?
J.D. Andrew
Yes.
Podcast Interviewer
And, and I believe it's even, you know, the, the subject of your next project, which is, you know, down, down the road. Take us inside. What a process for you guys inside the studio is in terms of creating and recording.
J.D. Andrew
Well, first of all, the studio, it doesn't, you know, when somebody says you have a home studio, it's not like a, you know, a bedroom with a pro tools in it and a keyboard and an acoustic guitar. It's like, in other words, if it could be a commercial studio that people would record at. And we have a good sized control room, a really nice big tracking room. It's full of all of our vintage gear that's from our old studio. We still have the same board that I've had since 1999, 2000. It has two lounges, a smaller lounge kind of. We call it the reading lounge. And then it's got a regular lounge. It's like a kitchen and a bathroom. So it's the full setup and it's just, it's got such a creative vibe in there. It's not a place where we sit down to write songs. Usually it's not that one or the other of us doesn't write one in there on our own, but JD and I usually write together by one of us, brings the other one a line and a melody or chord progression or just some words or whatever and say, I think we can make this into something. And so we already have the idea usually when we go into the studio and so we start with what we have and, and at that point it becomes songwriting together in the same room. And during, during the pandemic and everything, when everything was locked down, we did a lot of stuff on FaceTime or the phone, you know, that we'd send back and forth to each other. But this studio here is amazing and like I said, JD's a world class engineer and so we get to experiment with sounds there. We have, we mainly have vintage gear. We take our new gear on the road because we don't want to break all that stuff. But, but we have a lot of really good stuff we've collected over the years. So we have the stuff that we need to get the sounds of the time we were talking about earlier, you know, I mean we've got things like a fuzz face and you know, wawa pedals and I mean, you know, we have a 65 box AC30, you know, and 63 B15 flip top bass amp that we use on almost everything and.
Billy Bob Thornton
Oh yeah, every, every.
J.D. Andrew
So. Yeah, exactly.
Billy Bob Thornton
Um, it's just, it is just a super creative place. And thankfully when Billy bought the place, you know, he bought it from another musician, you know, it was Jason Wade from Lifehouse had the house before and he had bought it from another producer who had initially built it. So it was kind of always set up as a place for people to kind of come and hang out and hide out and record. It was, you know, it's not, it's not in the middle of Hollywood or anything. It's, you know, it's outside of town a bit and you really are kind of on your own little island. It's just the most comfortable place. And you know, it's like when we moved in, there was nothing there. It was just the walls, you know, everything was beautiful, but it was completely empty. And so we were able to just bring all of our stuff, you know, anything that we needed. All of a sudden we had space for it. So it's like we had never had a piano of our own that was in the studio. So we were able to, you know, through a friend get a piano and some other keyboards and things like that that, you know, we had space and the need for. And it's been a very important part of our recording process. When we started out, we wrote every song on guitar, you know, because that's how I played and Billy plays guitar. So all of the songs were, you know, kind of limited by what we knew how to do on a guitar. But as the years have gone by and I break out my 10 year old kids piano lessons and it's like I can, you know, sit there and you know, you just kind of put your hands down on it and all of a sudden it's like, okay, that's a chord that it's a little strange, but we can go from that chord to another chord and you know, it's something different for us, you know, so we're not just using the same, you know, standard chord progressions that you'd play on a guitar. We're, you know, messing around with other, you know, just different voicings and things that make us create, you know, just having an extra weird note in something or Billy will tune a guitar to some random open tuning that we don't know what it Is. But then you put your fingers on the strings in a, you know, spot, and it's like, okay, that sounds neat. How do I go from there to another chord? And how does that become a song? And we're not sitting around just like, oh, let's rip off a Rolling Stones chord progression here. It's like we actively go in there and try to create something that maybe has never been heard. Maybe we come up with a chord progression that is different.
J.D. Andrew
And these days, as a matter of fact, we start on piano more often than we do guitar. And because writing on piano is a completely different type of writing. They just sound different. You can listen to our songs, or we can listen to them and we can know, yeah, that one was written on piano. This one was written on guitar. And like JD Said, sometimes with some of the strange tunings, sometimes I write songs and I'm using chords that I don't even know what they are. And we have to. And JD doesn't either. And we have to call. We have a buddy named Brad Davis who taught for Berkeley College of Music and all that. And we just called Brad, get on FaceTime with him and say, brad, what is this? And he goes, oh, that's a. You know, D9 with A, you know, with an added C. You know, we're like. Which, thank you very much, that still
Billy Bob Thornton
doesn't mean anything to us. So thank you for your help. Better. You know, it's like when I'm making charts for the band, I've got a website bookmarked that, you know, you can just put. Put a dot where your fingers are, and it'll tell you what the chord name is. So sometimes I have to do that. But we're not music theory guys. We're just rock and roll guys. We just, you know, play stuff. Does it sound good? Then that's it. That's. That's what we go with. If it doesn't sound right, we'll keep working until we find a chord that works.
J.D. Andrew
Yeah, we. We grew up as guys who played G, C and D and E and F and everything. And the next thing you know, we're using chords that. Like, yes and Emerson. Like.
Podcast Interviewer
Yeah, I love that. Obviously, we have a delivery here, because my dogs are freaking out. Welcome to the world of. Of 2024. But I just want to close with the fact that, you know, music is about joy. We know that. And you guys are bringing joy to your fans and to the world with the music. But what's so cool is I just see the connection and the joy that you two have working together and it is contagious. And I want to just tell you how much I appreciate it and appreciate spending the time with you. Folks should go to boxmasters.com to check out the many tour dates and other little tidbits that are going on.
Billy Bob Thornton
There is the show dates with ticket links. The store is kind of down. You can download, you know, our past records. Well, and the new one, you can download those for, you know, five bucks. Once we get off the road, I'll put the store back up and we'll have our T shirts and records and everything signed and available for purchase again. But, you know, we do it all ourselves, so it's very time consuming. So to try to be your own website and your store and write the songs and everything, you know, it's. It's a difficult process. So hopefully people will be patient with me and, you know, when we get back home, I'll turn the store back on and people can order if they're not able to make it to a show.
J.D. Andrew
Yeah, because at the shows we have all the stuff. Yeah, everything's there and all of our records and CDs are signed by, by the band and stuff. So we, we have the records and the T shirts and all the gizmos out there on tour. And you were speaking of Monmouth before we let you go the last time we played there. And you know, we'd always heard of Monmouth University because, you know, we, you know, we watch basketball, so. And so when we got there was a Sunday and school wasn't in session, it was drizzling rain, and the promoter was very nice to us and we were like, wow, they're certainly happy for people that only sold, you know, 98 tickets or whatever it was. And so we couldn't believe it when the agent had that on the schedule again. We're like, they're having us back because we had an empty house. He goes, well, yeah, we talked to him and school will be in session this time. So hopefully, hopefully some Monmouth University students will come out there and see us.
Podcast Interviewer
That's awesome, guys. Great time on the road. Great time having you on. Taking a walk. Thanks so much.
Billy Bob Thornton
Thank you.
Podcast Host 'Buz'
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Introducing the all new Mazda CX5 featuring more connection. Hey, Google, where's the nearest Pilates class safety that has your back, more discovery on the scenic routes, more passion in the details and more control in changing weather. The all new Mazda CX5 more to move every side of you see it in five films@mazdausa.com Fivesides Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Sequences shortened and simulated hey everyone, it's Kalpen.
Kal Penn
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J.D. Andrew
an EV can take you on one charge? Well, most people drive about 40 miles a day, which means you can do all daily stuff no problem. Go to work, grab the kids at school, get the groceries and still have enough charge to visit your in laws in the next county.
Podcast Host 'Buz'
But they don't need to know that. And the best part? You won't have to buy gas at all. The way forward is electric.
J.D. Andrew
Explore EVs that fit your life@electricforall.org.
Episode: Buzz Knight Chats with Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrews: Embracing Imperfections in Music and Life’s Journey (Encore)
Date: May 30, 2026
Guests: Billy Bob Thornton & J.D. Andrew of The Boxmasters
Host: Buzz Knight
In this episode of Takin’ A Walk, host Buzz Knight sits down with Billy Bob Thornton—renowned actor, musician—and J.D. Andrew, Grammy-winning engineer, both founding members of The Boxmasters. They dive into their creative partnership, the band's philosophy about imperfection in music, and the broader changes in the music industry brought by technology, social media, and shifting cultural values. The conversation also explores the joys and realities of touring, their songwriting process, studio setup, and the influence of classic eras and legendary musicians.
[04:04–08:33]
Mutual Support & Pushing Each Other
“If J.D. thinks I can do something better ... he doesn’t stop until he knows I got the one that’s me.”
Influence on Each Other
Touring Realities
[08:33–10:59]
Ideal Music Era: 1967-1970
“If this band had been around in 1967, 68, I think we would have songs in the Top 10 ... we write these records based on our love of those times.”
Industry then vs. now
Celebrating Originality
“Every band strove to be themselves and individuals and different from the next one ... That’s how we feel.”
[11:45–15:58]
Live vs. Studio Experiences
“If we screw up on stage, you’ll hear it.”
Perfectionism in the Digital Age
“You can tune the vocals until they’re basically a flat sine wave of just perfect pitch ... the feeling has been completely washed out.”
What Makes Songs Last
[19:16–22:51]
New Song: "The River’s Rising"
“It’s a song saying, stop sleeping on what's happening ... it’s about the whole mess ... critical thinking is not as important as it used to be.”
Technology’s Double-Edged Sword
“Life's about the journey, not the end result. So when everything is at your fingertips, you’re not going on a journey to learn.”
[23:06–25:14]
John Prine’s Influence
Collaborative Creation
[25:14–32:17]
Not Just a 'Home Studio'
“When somebody says you have a home studio, it’s not like a bedroom with Pro Tools ... if it could be a commercial studio that people would record at.”
Collaborative Songwriting
Vintage Gear & Sound
Creative Process & Craft Over Theory
“We’re not music theory guys, we’re just rock and roll guys ... does it sound good? Then that’s it.”
[32:28–35:01]
Joy in Music and Partnership
“Music is about joy ... what’s so cool is I just see the connection and the joy you two have working together—and it is contagious.”
Tour Life & Merch
“We do it all ourselves, so it’s very time consuming ... hopefully people will be patient when we get back home, I’ll turn the store back on.”
Monmouth University Anecdote
On pushing each other:
“If J.D. thinks I can do something better ... he doesn’t stop until he knows I got the one that’s me.”
— Billy Bob Thornton [04:04]
On musical touchstones:
“What would one of those guys—our heroes—do on one of these songs? We try to channel those songs that we grew up loving.”
— J.D. Andrew [05:49]
On originality in the '60s:
“Every band strove to be themselves and individuals and different ... That’s how we feel.”
— Billy Bob Thornton [11:02]
On live performance authenticity:
“If we screw up on stage, you’ll hear it.”
— J.D. Andrew [02:26, 11:45]
On overproduced music:
“You can tune the vocals until they’re basically a flat sine wave ... the feeling has been completely washed out.”
— Billy Bob Thornton [13:41]
On “The River’s Rising”:
“It’s a song saying—stop sleeping on what’s happening ... Critical thinking is not as important as it used to be.”
— J.D. Andrew [19:34]
On the journey of learning:
“Life’s about the journey, not the end result. So when everything is at your fingertips, you’re not going on a journey to learn.”
— Billy Bob Thornton [22:51]
On their studio’s vibe:
“It’s just a super creative place ... it’s the most comfortable place ... you’re on your own little island.”
— J.D. Andrew [28:08, 28:11]
On musical intuition:
“We’re not music theory guys ... does it sound good? Then that’s it.”
— Billy Bob Thornton [31:44]
This episode is a heartfelt dialogue about artistry, authenticity, and the importance of embracing imperfections both in music and life. Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew’s partnership is rooted in mutual respect, a nostalgic love of music’s golden era, and a self-sufficient, joyful approach to creativity. For fans of genuine stories and true music lovers, this is a must-listen conversation.