Billy Bob Thornton’s band, The Boxmasters, was forced to cancel the rest of their Canadian tour.  You may remember that during Thornton’s radio hissy fit he compared Canadian fans to “mashed potatoes with no gravy,” whatever the f*ck that means.

The Boxmasters opened for Willie Nelson on Thursday in Toronto, where they reportedly 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.”

And if you believe that, I’ve got a dick-shaped microphone into which you might be interested in speaking.

“Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved,” Thornton had told interviewer Rian Ghomeshi. “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.”  Before his Thursday night gig, Thornton tried to clarify those remarks, saying he loved Canada and his “mashed potatoes” comment had been aimed at Ghomeshi. [Yahoo]

He also clarified that by “places where people throw things at each other,” he meant his bassist’s kitchen, the only venue they played stateside.  As it turns out, the kids hate peas.  And crappy music.