People: Billy Bob Thornton band cancels Canadian tour

Published 8:51 pm Sunday, April 12, 2009

Billy Bob Thornton’s band has canceled the rest of its Canadian tour after the actor compared the country’s fans to mashed potatoes with no gravy in a testy radio interview.

The Boxmasters opened for Willie Nelson on Thursday in Toronto, where they were booed and met with catcalls of “Here comes the gravy.”

A note posted on Nelson’s Web site Friday said the Boxmasters were canceling the rest of their Canadian dates “due to one band member and several of the crew having the flu.”

“Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved,” he said during a radio appearance last week on CBC radio’s “Q”.

“We tend to play places where people throw things at each other. Here, they just sort of sit there. And it doesn’t matter what you say to ‘em. … It’s mashed potatoes but no gravy.”

Thursday night, Thornton tried to clarify those remarks, saying he loved Canada and his “mashed potatoes” comment had been aimed at the interviewer.

Associated Press