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Rob Thomas was born on a military base in Germany and reared in the southeast-honed his songwriting abilities while fronting in a variety of local bands in his high school years (he lists such artists as Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Al Green and R.E.M. as influences). While enjoying the local scene, Thomas was introduced to matchbox20 drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale. After playing together for a few years in bands and touring regionally, the threesome (Thomas, Doucette, and Yale) decided to start a new band-what was to become matchbox20. After recruiting the talents of Adam Gaynor from Criteria Recording Studios in Miami and Kyle Cook from the Atlanta Institute of Music, the lineup was complete.
The band quickly joined forces with producer Matt Serletic, who co-produced the Collective Soul albums, and began tracking demos. It wasn't long before the project attracted attention from both coasts. And soon matchbox20 found itself added to the Lava/Atlantic roster. The band wasted no time and headed back into the studio with Serletic to record their debut album, Yourself Or Someone Like You.
Rob Thomas is a storyteller whose lyrics focus mainly on personal relationships, and he delivers his lines with a certain intimacy, like two friends sharing a good secret. Yourself Or Someone Like You builds momentum from the strong vocal delivery of principal songwriter Thomas, who doesn't so much sing these songs as bite into them. He's complimented by the background vocals of lead guitarist Kyle Cook and rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor, whose electric and acoustic guitar arrangements are combined with the rhythm section of drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale.
The instinctive union among these five musicians--immediately evident during the band's electrifying live shows--is a reminder of what can be achieved when musicians never lose sight of the fact that the song is the most important thing. "I think we get up there and try as honestly as we can to convey the songs as energetically and heartfelt as we can," says Thomas. "These are our songs and we really feel good about 'em. I don't think we try and put any dramatics into it, but after a show when we're just talking to people, they'll tell us, You know you were so into it, that was so intense to watch.' To us, we were just playing the songs and losing ourselves in them. It's like if you come to a rehearsal, you're gonna see the same thing. It's not something that we can help really."
"mad season by matchbox twenty," the long-awaited second Melisma/Lava/Atlantic release from matchbox twenty, stands as a great leap forward for one of today's most compelling rock n' roll groups. This soul-infused collection of modern classics amply demonstrates the band's remarkably expressive range and power. matchbox twenty has grown into a creative musical machine firing on all cylinders. Thomas's rich vocals have ripened in both strength and maturity, as have Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor's heartfelt harmonies and chiming twin guitar arrangements. Binding these elements together is the inventive, propulsive rhythm section of bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette.
"When we made our first record, we hadn't really been a band for very long," Thomas says. "We hadn't had any really good fights, we hadn't had any really good laughs, we hadn't done much of anything together. But now, so much has happened to us that we've formed a character within ourselves. So this is really the first time we're saying, 'This is matchbox twenty making a record,' because now matchbox twenty is its own entity. This is the first one where we can really say, this is our sound."
Recorded in Atlanta and Nashville during the second half of 1999, "mad season by matchbox twenty" was produced by dual Grammy Award-winner Matt Serletic. "mad season by matchbox twenty" highlights the continuing development of Thomas's gifts as a writer, with songs that focus on the binding elements of our increasingly unconnected world. Where many sophomore records reflect an artist's newly isolated existence - with songs either telling of bus windows and endless highways, of the terrible traumas of fame and fortune - here Thomas spins poignant stories of love and loss, of life and how to live it.
Rob's parents divorced when he was 2. He ran away at 12. Went to high school and slept on park benches and at friends'. A friend taught him to play a piano and started a band that played Richard Marx and U2 covers. Then his career went on the uprise when he joined Tabitha's Secret.
Rob became a father when his son, Maison Avery William Thomas, was born on July 10th 1998 and the mother is Kerry.
Rob is married to Marisol Maldonado. Anyone watched that wedding special?).
Rob is on Santana's CD Supernatural. They perform the song "Smooth" together. That song has earned them both Grammys.
matchbox twenty hits new season high;
"mad season by matchbox twenty" earns riaa triple platinum
as band announces first leg of major north american arena tour;
"if you're gone" single is on the go in "hot 100" top 10
following band's two grammy award nominations
Anticipation for the just-announced matchbox twenty North American arena tour is mounting
as the band's latest album,
"mad season by matchbox twenty," jumps to a new level of RIAA certification. The
second release from the
Melisma/Lava/Atlantic recording group, the 2000 album has been certified triple platinum
by the RIAA for U.S.
sales in excess of 3,000,000 units.
The album's current single, "If You're Gone," has jumped to #7 (with a bullet)
on the Billboard "Hot 100," while
standing at #5 (with a bullet) on the magazine's "Hot 100 Airplay" chart.
"Bent," the album's debut single, similarly
cracked the chart's top 10 last summer on the way to #1. The "If You're Gone"
companion video can been seen in Extra Large
rotation on VH1, where it is now the station's #1 clip.
As announced, the first leg of the "Mad Season Tour - 2001" kicks off February
27th at the Target Center in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. The coast-to-coast trek - with support from Everclear and Lifehouse - is
highlighted by matchbox twenty's
first-ever show at the venerable Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The tour announcement also comes on the heels of the band and vocalist/songwriter Rob
Thomas each being honored with a
Grammy Award nomination. Already a triple Grammy-winner, Thomas - recently featured on the
covers of American Songwriter
(which named him songwriter of the year) and Performing Songwriter magazines - was
nominated in the Best Rock Song
category for the RIAA gold-certified "Bent." The song's chart-topping
achievement marked the multi-million-selling
band's first #1 record, as well as Thomas's second consecutive chart-topper - following
"Smooth," his mega-hit
collaboration with Santana. The success also earned Thomas the distinction of being placed
atop Billboard's prestigious
"Hot 100 Songwriters" tally for 2000.
In addition, "mad season by matchbox twenty" was tapped in the Best Rock Album
category. In its first week of release,
the album scored a #3 debut on the Billboard 200. The album was produced by dual Grammy
Award winner Matt Serletic.
In addition to being nominated again this year for Producer Of The Year - Non-Classical
honors, Serletic was placed
atop Billboard's high-status "Hot 100 Producers" tally for 2000. Serletic first
worked with matchbox on the quintet's
1996 RIAA Diamond-certified (now 11-times platinum) label debut, "YOURSELF OR SOMEONE
LIKE YOU."
MAD SEASON Tour 2001
Mad Season by matchbox twenty earns riaa triple platinum (u.s. sales in excess of
3,000,000 units).
The band announced a major American tour. The band has been nominated for two grammys-
best rock song and best album.
The current single "If You're Gone" is number 1 at VH-1, and number 7 on the
Bilboard "Hot 100" single.
The debut single "Bent" was number 1 last summer.
the MAD SEASON Tour 2001 with the support from Everclear and lifehouse includes a show at
the Madison Square Garden
and a cool fact:
Matchbox Twenty's Adam Gaynor Gets Stolen Guitar Back
- Matchbox Twenty guitarist Adam Gaynor hass his stolen guitar back in his possession. The
Taylor acoustic guitar was snatched September 18 during a concert in Gainesville, Florida,
and was returned undamaged on Monday (September 25) to nearby Ocala radio station WMOP-AM
at approximately 6 p.m. ET.
A man made an anonymous call to the hotline set up by the band and made arrangements with
the band's publicist to drop off of the guitar at the Central Florida sports/talk radio
station. A middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap placed the guitar by WMOP general sales
manager and program director Craig Baggs' car.
According to the radio station's afternoon co-host, Patrick "The Lobsta"
Gendron, the return of the guitar went down much like a typical hostage exchange in a
feature film. "Some guy came into the station and said that he was here to drop off a
guitar, and the guy said all right and then he signaled for somebody to come over,"
he said. "The guy came over, put it next to a car that was in the parking lot, and
the other guy got into the truck and they took off. Then the program director here went
out, picked it up, and brought it inside."
Gendron added that the guitar was returned along with a note addressed to "Mr.
Gaynor."
"There was actually a note written to Adam, just saying that he was sorry for things
and he knew that it was wrong," Gendron said. "He wasn't sure why he did it, but
he didn't mean any harm by it, and it was just a stupid prank." The note read, in
part, "Please accept this apology. When I took your guitar I was not thinking
clearly, in fact I was not thinking at all."
No questions were asked upon the guitar's return, as Matchbox Twenty's record label had
previously promised in a statement. Matchbox Twenty continues to tour in support of its
latest album, Mad Season By Matchbox Twenty. The band hits the Schottenstein Center in
Columbus, Ohio, tonight (September 26).
-- Jason Gelman, New York Launch.com Music News