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Though he cites Van Morrison, Elvis
Costello, and Al Green as musical favorites, Matchbox Twenty's
singer-songwriter Rob Thomas plays music cut from a different cloth.
While he has certainly expressed his inner rage and soul's discontent
via song since M20's first single, "Push," his band works a far meatier
spectrum akin to the grunge bands of previous years (Soundgarden, Pearl
Jam, Nirvana), albeit with a catchier attack. As Thomas grows as a
songwriter and musician (something of which he's clearly capable, given
his hugely successful, Grammy-winning "Smooth" collaboration with Carlos
Santana), it wouldn't be surprising to hear Thomas fronting a very
different band in a few years.
Matchbox Twenty Links
Still a relatively young
group, Matchbox Twenty formed after Thomas played in a series of high
school bands and met drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale. After
a few uneventful years spent learning their craft and touring locally,
the trio then found guitarist Adam Gaynor (who had been working at
Criteria Recording in Miami) and guitarist Kyle Cook (who had been
attending the Atlanta Institute Of Music). The newly formed fivesome
took their Southern sound to producer Matt Serletic, who had had great
success with Collective Soul; the resulting demos caught the ear of
Lava/Atlantic Records, so M20 immediately went back into the studio with
Serletic and cut their multi-multiplatinum 1996 debut, Yourself Or
Someone Like You.
It was four years before the band returned with sophomore album Mad
Season; perhaps to demonstrate how much they'd grown and matured, for
this release they officially changed their name from Matchbox Twenty to
Matchbox Twenty. Despite the lessening in momentum and the potentially
confusing moniker switch, Mad Season was also a success, yielding the
hit singles "Bent" and "If You're Gone." Two years later, Matchbox
Twenty returned with More Than You Think You Are, hoping to pick up
where they left off, both commercially and creatively. |