Matchbox Twenty. Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine
Rob Thomas, the lead singer of the acclaimed rock band Matchbox Twenty, chatted about their new music and tour dates.
The late four-star U.S. Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” An individual who is the epitome of this quotation is Rob Thomas, the frontman of the rock group Matchbox Twenty.
Over the last 27 years, Matchbox Twenty has truly changed the contemporary pop-rock music landscape. The group has sold over 40 million records worldwide, dominated the Billboard charts, garnered four Grammy nominations, and played to millions of fans in arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums all over the globe.
Their smash hit singles include “Real World,” “Back 2 Good,” “Push Up,” “3AM,” “Bent,” “Unwell,” and “If You’re Gone.”
New single: ‘Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)’
A multi-platinum and hitmaking group, Matchbox Twenty recently released their single “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream),” which marks their first new music in over a decade.
On the idea for their new single, Thomas said, “Initially, it was a track that Paul was working on. It inspired some other images in my head, so we combined some of his lyrics and melody with mine. It had a sense of vitality that reminded us of the best parts of being young.”
Music and songwriting inspirations
Regarding his music and songwriting inspirations, Thomas shared, “I think anything that inspires anyone to feel a certain way could inspire a song. Most of my favorite songs are just snapshots of real life just reexamined.”
Tour
Aside from Rob Thomas on lead vocals, acoustic and rhythm guitar, the band Matchbox Twenty is comprised of bassist Brian Yale, drummer Paul Doucette, and lead guitarist Kyle Cook. They will be hitting the road this May as part of their “Slow Dream Tour.”
This tour is produced by Live Nation and it will kick off on May 16 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, and it will wrap up on Sunday, August 6, at Chicago’s Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. It will feature singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson and chart-topping musician and producer Ben Rector as their special musical guests.
This outing is the band’s first tour since their 2017 “A Brief History of Everything” tour, which marked the 20th anniversary of their diamond-certified debut studio album “Yourself or Someone Like You.”
Jones Beach concert in New York
Speaking of the tour, on July 18, Matchbox Twenty will be performing at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh on Long Island, New York.
“Matchbox is and always has been a ‘live’ band,” Thomas admitted. “It doesn’t feel complete until it’s played live, and we take pride in our shows. On top of that, Jones Beach is, as a New Yorker is one of my favorite places to play and see a show, so I don’t feel like we’ve had a bad night there.”
Album
This announcement coincides with the band’s forthcoming fifth studio album, “Where The Light Goes,” which will be released on May 26 via Atlantic Records. It was produced by Gregg Wattenberg with Paul Doucette and Kyle Cook, the album finds the band surging with energy for another great batch of real, relevant, and relatable songs.
Their forthcoming collection “Where The Light Goes” benefits from the musicians’ respective solo journeys.
The new Matchbox Twenty studio album “Where The Light Goes” is available for pre-order on digital service providers by clicking here.
The digital age
On being a singer-songwriter and artist in the digital age, Thomas explained, “There’s a part of me that can only see it from the point of view of someone who came up when things were done so differently. But looking at it as if I were a young music lover today, I would be excited about the access I had to my favorite artists and all the ways I had to experience music and shows.”
Solo careers
Rob Thomas has proven one of the most highly decorated artists of our time. He released five solo albums and earned three Grammy Awards, 11 BMI Awards, the first-ever Songwriters Hall of Fame “Hal David Starlight Award,” two Billboard “Songwriter of the Year” honors, and Top 5 placement on Billboard’s Top 20 Hot 100 Songwriters from 2000 to 2011.
Band member Paul Doucette has scored and contributed original music to film and television series such as “Utopia,” and “For All Mankind,” among others.
Advice for young and aspiring artists
For young and aspiring artists, Thomas remarked, “The music business landscape is so vastly different from when we started that I’m not sure what practical business advice I could impact on anyone. I can only say that the best reason to play music is because you feel like you couldn’t survive if you didn’t.”
Favorite song in their catalog
When asked about his favorite song in their music catalog, Thomas responded, “That’s an impossible question to answer. Songs are special for different reasons. They all scratch a different itch. Some you like for different musical reasons. Some for what they represent in your personal life. It’s been almost 30 years of writing. A lot of life lived.”
Dream collaboration choices in music
Thomas noted that he feels fulfilled in the dream collaboration choices department. “I’ve been really fortunate to work with my heroes. Mick Jagger and Willie Nelson are just two of them and if they were the only ones I had worked with I would have felt like it was greedy to ask for anything more. Throw in my brother, Carlos [Santana] and that’s tenfold,” Thomas acknowledged.
Performing on ‘The View’ with Darlene Love
This past December, Thomas was the special musical guest of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Darlene Love, and they performed her seminal holiday classic song “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” on the ABC talk show “The View.” “I’m a Christmas geek, and Darlene is the original ‘Queen of Christmas,’ so it was an honor to share a little of the holiday with such a legend,” Thomas recalled.
Success
Thomas furnished his definition of the word success. “To me, success is about longevity in the game. Ups and downs and peaks and valleys are a part of the journey the whole way but sitting here 27 years after the first Matchbox album talking about the newest one feels like something concrete to be proud of,” Thomas said.
Closing thoughts on their new single
“Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
“It is a song about all the misfits out there that felt like they didn’t belong until they found other misfits like them and created their own misfit family,” Thomas concluded about their latest radio single.
American track and field legend Steve Prefontaine once said: “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.”
Rob Thomas embodies this insightful quote; he is a versatile singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose work in the music industry transcended multiple genres such as pop, rock, alternative, post-grunge, and even adult contemporary.
For more information on Matchbox Twenty, check out their official website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
To learn more about Rob Thomas, follow him on Instagram.