By LAURA BROOKHART / Community Columnist

“There comes Billy Bob in the brown cap,” I heard someone say.

“And there’s Mark,” they added. They were not referring to our Mayor Hall, who was also on the scene, but Mark Collie and Billy Bob Thornton who had arrived to film a segment for local newscasts.

Some 700 extras “dressed for a rowdy, roadhouse country show” were recruited to participate in the evening’s further filming at Workplay. The music video called “Raisin’ Cain” was written by Thornton and Collie.

The Boxmasters, musicians Teddy Andreadis, J.D. Andrew, Brad Davis, and Billy Bob Thornton (on vocals and drums), have played around Alabama in the past, and will be featured with Collie in the video.

For those not familiar with The Boxmasters, the group formed in 2007, and “reflects the musical influences of British Invasion Bands and traditional country artists,” a sound sometimes called “modbilly.”

Mid-morning at Helena City Hall, down by the Police Department entrance, a crew from SkyDive Films out of Nashville and director by Zac Adams, already was underway filming a clip for one scene.

Adams shared that the Helena scene was “just a snippet” in the video, that the majority of the music scenes would be filmed in Birmingham and Nashville.

The scene featured real-life Helena police officers escorting the handcuffed character played by actor John Paul Shellnutttoward the jail (and this will not be a spoiler) as he suddenly attempts a getaway.

Also on the scene and standing by as a “possible villain” was Jason Marchant, the MJE contact for casting call questions and acoustic musician who plays at Todd English Pub and other Alabama venues.

The choice of Birmingham (and Helena) for this video was the suggestion of Councilman Mike Jones, as his company, Mike Jones Entertainment partnered with 101 Ranch Records for the production. The video’s expected release is early 2015.