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.
