Copyright ©
2005 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: May 3, 2005.
Rob
Thomas is still kind of surprised that he is a rock star. Somewhere in the
back of his mind, he’s still an Army brat who grew up in such thriving
metropolises as Turbeville, Lake City and Columbia, South Carolina. As a
teen he moved to Orlando, Florida and played in a bunch of local bands with
his buddies, bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette. After a few
years, they formed another group that they called Matchbox Twenty, adding
guitarists Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor.
However even if he sometimes thinks of himself as being just a guy in a
little bar band, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a rock star. As the
lead singer and main composer for Matchbox, he has sold over 25 million
albums. The band has been responsible for nine hit singles. According to
his bio, Matchbox Twenty has earned the
distinction of having had more #1 hits and spending more weeks at #1 on both
the national Modern AC and Adult Top 40 charts than any other artist in
history.
Yet,
for all of his success, sometimes Rob Thomas has trouble being taken
seriously. For one thing, it’s not easy to build a rocking base when
People magazine is naming you one of the “Fifty Sexiest People in the
World.” He is lead singer for a band that has a knack for a catchy hook in
a time when catchiness is sometimes looked at as a sell-out.
However, even if he isn't always the hippest guy in the
room, a whole lot of people love his three albums with his band, and now he
has released a solo album which threatens to be even more huge.
Things weren’t looking quite so bright when the band’s first album,
Yourself or Someone Like You was released in 1996. The album had been
out for a while and seemed to have pretty much run its course when the first
single, “Long Day,” didn’t exactly set the world on fire. The band’s label
released a song called “Push” as the second single, expecting it would be
also be a modest success at best. However the tune caught on and became a
surprise hit.
“The
funny thing about that time is, I remember, when you first get a record
deal, you think you’re a giant rock star, anyway,” Thomas laughs. “So, that
high had just kind of gotten over when 'Push' came out. Then, we had a song
on MTV and on the radio. And it only confirmed the fact that we thought we
were giant rock stars.”
If
“Push” wasn’t enough, Yourself or Someone Like You ended up spawning
three more hit singles, “3 A.M.,” “Real World” and “Back 2 Good.” Thomas
and the band didn’t have much time to let the new stardom go to their heads,
though. The hit singles and constant radio play had put them into a
different arena. Suddenly they were in the big leagues, and it had them
feeling just a little overwhelmed.
“It’s
one thing when you’re the king of the local bands. Then all of the sudden,
you’re doing radio festivals and you’re there with Smashing Pumpkins and
Beck. And you’re just like, ‘oh my fucking God… these guys are great.’
Then you realize that however many records you sell, man, the only thing
that’s going to make you a better band is time. We would get up there with
some of these guys and they would just blow us off the stage. We would just
stand there at the side of the stage, almost in tears, going, ‘well, that’s
not us.’ It never really gets a chance to catch up with you. You think
you’re a rock star when you’re not. By the time you actually have some
success, it puts you in a whole arena where everything that you’ve compared
yourself to is so much better than you.” He chuckles. “You’re like,
(mumbles) ‘Oh, okay, I’m still not a rock star…’”
Soon
after Yourself or Someone Like You was running its course, Thomas’
name was suddenly thrust into
the spotlight without the band in a totally unexpected way. Legendary
guitarist Carlos Santana had left his long-time record label and signed up
with Arista Records. Label head Clive Davis had a vision to resurrect
Santana’s career, by
hooking Carlos up with some upcoming rockers and R&B
artists. It made sense; Santana had always worked with different singers
and songwriters on his album projects. A variety of artists were approached
to appear on Supernatural, including Dave Matthews, Wyclef Jean,
Eagle Eye Cherry, Eric Clapton and Everlast. Thomas was one of the acts approached, and he agreed to do it
immediately.
“I’ve
always been a Carlos fan,” Thomas says. “Like a lot of people, when I
started working on that record, I thought that it was just
going to be another Carlos record. I kind of thought, okay, when it comes
out, I’ll tell all my friends, and make sure they know. I thought
this was going to be something that quietly happened.”
Quiet
was not exactly how it worked out. Thomas wrote and sang a song called
“Smooth” for the project. It was a love song for Thomas’ then-girlfriend
(now wife), model Marisol Maldonado. In interviews, Santana has said that
he was hooked by the song when he heard the line “I could change my life to
better suit your mood.” This was obviously a man who loved a Latin woman,
Santana has always laughed. Thomas wasn’t so sure that his song would make
the cut, though.
“I
had heard the rest of the record, and I was honestly so impressed that I
wasn’t even sure that ‘Smooth’ was going to make it on the record,” Thomas
admits. “To me, the rest of that record was so Carlos. ‘Smooth’ felt like
I was bringing the bastard pop song in. For the longest time, I didn’t even
think that was going to happen.”
It
most certainly did happen. “Smooth” was released as the single from the
album and became ubiquitous on the radio in 1999. You literally couldn’t go
an hour listening without the song popping up at least once. Thomas filmed
a video for the song with Santana and Marisol, which was quickly on
saturation rotation on MTV and VH1. All of this was wonderful and amazing
for Thomas; however that was not the nicest shock. “I think the thing that
I’m most surprised by has been just the continuing relationship that me and
my wife have with Carlos and Deborah,” Thomas says, proudly, “how much a
part of our lives they’ve become.”
After
this smash hit, a lot of industry observers expected Thomas to test the solo
waters, however he went back into the studio with Matchbox Twenty to record
their follow-up album, Mad Season. This album became an even bigger
hit than Yourself or Someone Like You, giving the band their first
pop chart topper with “Bent” and a huge AC hit with “If You’re Gone.”
Then
Thomas got another chance to work with another one of his idols and he leapt at the
chance, writing three songs for Willie Nelson’s 2001 CD The Great
Divide. “Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)" became a rather big country hit,
but the real stunner there was the heartbreaking ballad “Recollection
Phoenix,” the best song that Jimmy Webb never wrote.
“Those were moments that to me meant the world,” Thomas says. “I went for
two days to write with Willie Nelson, who is my idol. Unequivocally, he’s
it. And then, to sit with him and he wound up playing three songs that I
had written. I can’t imagine a bigger complement in my life than my
favorite songwriter doing three of my songs. These are the things along the
way that, on one hand kind of shape who you’re going to be, and also teach
you so much. And, humble the shit out of you.”
In
2002, Matchbox released their third CD, More Than You Think You Are.
Again the hits came in a rush, the stabbing rock of “Disease,”
the moody mid-tempo “Unwell”
and the gorgeous ballad “Bright Lights” were all quickly radio standards.
After a long time on the road, the band started
talking
about what was to come next. They decided maybe it was time to try
seeing what they could do on their own for a while. It was time
to experiment with some new projects.
“Paul,
our drummer, just finished his record now. And Kyle has a band that he
travels with,” Thomas explains. “We knew that sooner or later there was
going to be a time that we would separate for a little while, to follow
these other roads that we had started on. I think we chose now just because
this is the first time that we went in to make a record that we weren’t just
completely excited… I mean, it’s ten years and we only made three records,
but every time we stepped in to make a record, as soon as we got off the
road we couldn’t wait to get back in. Because we had a new direction, we
had a new idea, we had new songs.
“This
was the first time when we were… not inspired. We thought how awful it
would be if we wound up going into the studio and try to paint-by-numbers a
Matchbox record. We would be guilty of any bad thing any critic has ever
said about us. Because, up until now, our ace in the hole was that we were
earnest. No matter what anybody said about us, we made the music that we
loved and we loved the music that we made. We were making these albums and
speaking from our heart, and so you could never take us down if we were
starting from that point. But, if we went and made a record now, then we
probably would, you know? We’d try and write some Radiohead. It would
sound like a bad Vertical Horizon song.”
So
Thomas started working on some of his own music as well. His first attempt
came with the 2003 holiday single “A New York Christmas.” However that was
just a teaser. Now Thomas’ solo debut album has become a smash out of the
box, debuting at the top of the Billboard album charts. That is a
higher debut than any of his Matchbox Twenty albums. Thomas is very
pleasantly surprised and flattered by the popular acceptance of Something
To Be, though he refuses to allow himself to get a big head about it.
“That
made me feel great. For one week I got to be King Shit. Now [this
interview took place the week after] I’m back down again, because the Boss
is out,” Thomas laughs. “It’s pretty amazing. You know, it’s hard
sometimes, because you want to be humble and you realize that you’re not the
only person in the world to write a good song. You’re not the only person
in the world to sell some records. But, you also have to kind of be good to
yourself and say for that week, nobody else was number one. Throughout
history, for that week I was number one and nobody got to be. My whole new
process of life is trying to remind myself that it’s okay to pat myself on
the back. It doesn’t mean that I become an egotistical dickhead if I say,
hey, good job.”
It
was particularly gratifying because on Something to Be, Thomas was
able to explore musical styles that would not really feel comfortable on a
band album. This is especially noticeable on the first single, the smash
hit “Lonely No More,” a dance-pop jam that sounds more like Justin
Timberlake than Rob Thomas.
“Once
you don’t have two guitar players, a drummer and a bass player,” Thomas
says, “it kind of opens you wide to do whatever you want. A song like
‘Lonely No More’ would have never happened on a Matchbox record. And I
don’t think it should. That’s not what kind of a
band we are. Over the years that has just kind of incorporated itself into
my songwriting, with all the different kinds of people that I work with.
But just because I would write it doesn’t mean Matchbox would play it.”
So
instead, Thomas
called on some musicians that he really respected to work on the album, like
John Mayer, Robert Randolph and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers.
One of the most exciting new collaborators was guitarist Wendy Melvoin, a
former member of Prince’s Revolution and her own duo with another former
revolutionary Lisa Coleman called Wendy & Lisa.
“Wendy Melvoin was pretty much on every song on the record. Just because
she has a kind of a funk that is not about new hip-hop funk, she is total
old school funk. When I listen to ‘Lonely No More,’ it’s so dancy, but the
thing I love about it is the organic side of it. Using people like Mike
Elizondo playing the bass or Gerald Heyward on the drums and not just
building a track on a drum machine. Then little things like Wendy playing
that guitar part, to me that (mimics guitar line) is what makes the
track to me. I don’t think this record would happen without Wendy. And you
know what, even in the studio, she still looks just as fucking cool when she
plays.”
Not
all of the songs that ended up on Something to Be were things Thomas
never bothered to show his band. Some of the
tunes had been
written for More Than You Think You Are, but his bandmates had passed
on them.
“’I
Am an Illusion’ actually did get turned down by Paul. It’s funny; the
misconception is that Matchbox Twenty is my band. Like that I go in and I
do the songs and the guys are like, ‘oh, thank you for that song!’ But,
no. I wish it were that way. It’s really more like I come in and I play
them ‘I Am an Illusion’ and Paul goes, ‘I don’t buy it,’” Thomas laughs.
“But, also, Paul calls me up and he’s like, he can’t believe that I
didn’t save ‘Now Comes the Night’ for a Matchbox record.”
“Now
Comes the Night” is a gorgeous piano ballad in the vein of really early
Billy Joel and Elton John. Actually, according to Thomas, he was inspired
for the lounge piano sound of the track by some of Tom Wait’s Elektra-era
songs like “Tom Traubert’s Blues.” It might be a tough-sell in the world of
modern radio, but the song would make a lovely single. Thomas admits that
he hopes the song gets that chance. “Wouldn’t that be great, to have a
record [do well enough that] once it’s all over be able to put that out as a
single? That’s definitely a record closer. Oh, I would love that.”
For
now, the follow-up
single is the hard-rockin’ “This Is How a Heart Breaks.” Another potential
single on the horizon is the sweetly melodic mid-tempo track, “Ever the
Same,” although Thomas is holding off on that for a little while.
“I
think ‘Ever the Same’ is a great song,” Thomas explains. “I think it’s
going to be a really big song. But I would hate to come out with that
next. I felt like there was this whole different side of me musically able
to be out publicly. I would hate to kind of go back to ‘Ever the Same,’
which kind of goes back to old territory again.”
The
new territory goes to the marketing of the album as well. Matchbox Twenty
has been famous for not showing the band on the cover. “I don’t like band
covers with people on them,” Thomas admits. “To me it always looks like a
bad local band demo. Or an eighties band record; you know, where they’re
all on the cover? It was to the point that our record company wanted it so
bad with Matchbox that we as a joke put out More Than You Think You Are
with our faces on the cover, with our hands over our faces, just because we
thought it was funny. Okay, now we’re on the cover. There.” He laughs.
He
does appear on the cover of Something to Be, though, front and
center. “In the same breath, most of my favorite solo albums have the
artist on the
cover, whether it’s Peter Gabriel, or Madonna, or Rickie Lee Jones, or
George Michael. I called up Mark Seliger, the photographer, who’s a really
good friend of mine. We sat down and we went through all of our favorite
portraits. I wanted something that wasn’t just a picture. Mark is an
artist, so for him to kind of create the light and the right composition and
create what I thought was hopefully a timeless portrait for an album,
because I won’t do it again with Matchbox.”
Another
thing he probably won’t do again anytime soon is do a tour of small clubs,
like he has done to celebrate the release of the new album, hitting more
atmospheric venues than the sheds he is used to playing with his band.
Instead, he hit clubs like the Irving Plaza in New York, the Electric
Factory in Philadelphia and the Fillmore in San Francisco.
“I’m
enjoying it too much,” Thomas enthuses. “The tour just ended and we were
all just getting started. I’ve got this amazing new band and we’ve all
become really tight and we’re excited about getting back on the road, but
the day after tomorrow I’m headed off to Europe for most of the month. It was so great that now I’m
just like, well, fuck, that’s over.”
The
mini-tour is over, but the road for Something to Be has just begun.
Thomas just loves doing his own shows, but he does plan on going back to his
day job – well, at least relatively soon.
“Well, I’ll go back quickly in the sense that the next thing I do will be
that,” he says. “I’m going to ride this record for as long as it will let
me. And then I’ll probably have to take a break. I haven’t had a vacation
in like three years. But once that’s done I can’t wait. We’re kind of
excited now, because we’re a four-piece unit. That’s new for us. So we’re
kind of excited to see what that’s going to yield.”
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