.WebsiteRobert Kelly Thomas (born February 14, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of band. Thomas also records and performs as a solo artist, with ' released in 2005 becoming his biggest solo chart success.

Thomas received three for co-writing and singing on the 1999 hit ' by.He has been a songwriter for such artists as,. Since 1996, his band has released a string of hit singles to radio including ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', and '.In 2004, the awarded Thomas its first Starlight Award, recognizing young songwriters who have already had a lasting influence in the music industry. Contents.Biography 1972-1992: Early life Thomas was born on February 14, 1972 in, at to Bill Thomas, a sergeant, and his wife Mamie (Born: 1951 — Died: 2007) Thomas has an older half sister, Melissa, from his mother's previous marriage. The family returned to the United States when Thomas was six months old.

I will – Matchbox Twenty. Tonight, looking back on all this life It’s funny how the time goes by And how, sometimes It’s lights away. Time, sliding through the dead of night Shaking ‚till you start to cry Your eyes won’t dry Till light of day. And sleep away Don’t let it go Don’t let fade Your dreams may cave And falling apart. Robert Kelly Thomas (born February 14, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of rock band Matchbox Twenty. Thomas also records and performs as a solo artist, with 'Lonely No More'.

His parents divorced when he was two years old. Thomas lived with his mother and sister. They were poor and moved frequently, often staying with Mamie's mother in. His grandmother was an alcoholic.

She owned a small country store and gas station, where she sold marijuana. She gave Thomas his first marijuana when he was in middle school. He grew up listening to and idolized the 'big stars who lived.

Hard lives', like. Their stories inspired him to be a songwriter.Thomas and his mother and sister moved to, when he was 10, then settled in the area the following year. Around this time, Thomas received his first musical instrument, a Casio keyboard. A friend taught him to play, and Thomas practiced by trying to reproduce the songs he heard on the radio. He also acquired a guitar with no strings, which he used as a prop while he pretended he was in a rock band.His home life was not stable. Thomas describes his mother as an alcoholic who occasionally beat him.

When Thomas was 12, his mother was diagnosed with and given only six months to live. His sister ran away from home to get married, leaving Thomas to care for their mother on his own. She eventually entered remission. Mamie dated a series of men, some of whom beat her, and she loved wild parties. Thomas often woke up to find a dozen strangers sleeping off a hangover on their living room floor.He attended in the Orlando suburb of.

Thomas joined the choir in an unsuccessful attempt to attract the attention of a girl that he liked. His choir teacher told him to keep working, because he saw potential in him. To impress girls at parties, Thomas wrote and played music.A few months before graduation, Thomas dropped out of high school, saying his 'regular life was in such disarray that going seemed ridiculous'. He later earned a.

He was convicted of stealing a and spent two months in county jail when he was 17. For the next two or three years, Thomas was homeless. Occasionally he'd crash for a few days or weeks at the homes of various friends. At other times, he would hitchhike around Florida and South Carolina.Soon after getting out of jail, Thomas connected with several local musicians. He played in a series of cover bands and began writing songs in earnest. Thomas said that 'in songwriting I felt special for the first time.

And all I wanted to do was get out of Florida.' One of his bands, Fair Warning, earned a three-week job playing at a hotel in. They were fired three days into the job, after they were caught stealing beer and candy from the hotel.

Another band, Tidal Wave, played mostly surf tunes.Thomas experimented with drugs. During one, he decided to play with. His hands were burned so badly that doctors initially thought they would require amputation. Thomas's sister recalled that while she was concerned with how Thomas would manage everyday activities, Thomas cried and asked 'how am I going to get these songs in my head out if I can't play them?'

1993–1995: Formation of Matchbox 20 In 1993, Thomas formed the band. Was the group's bass player. Earned a spot as drummer after answering an ad. Guitarists Jay Stanley and John Goff rounded out the band.

The band was popular in the Orlando area, where they played in bars and nightclubs. Most of their songs were written by Thomas, including ' This song, inspired by his time taking care of his mother, was the first that he had ever written and liked. In an effort to recreate that magic, his writing shifted to focus more on emotions inspired from his own life.Producer heard them play and was intrigued.

The band met him for an introductory meeting, but broke up before any contracts were signed. Thomas worried that he'd never get another chance for a recording contract. Thomas, Yale, and Doucette were still interested in working together, and Serletic introduced them to rhythm guitarist and lead guitarist; together, they formed a new band,.

Serletic sent Thomas to vocal coach to learn how to refine his vocal power.The band recorded several demo tapes, with Serletic as their producer. Three radio stations in Orlando and added the songs to their rotations. Executives at noticed that the songs were being requested frequently. Although the band sounded very green, executives thought the songs were good. The band was soon signed to Atlantic subsidiary. 1996–1998: Yourself or Someone Like You Thomas wrote every song on Matchbox 20's debut album,.

It was released in October 1996, on the same day that Lava Records folded. The album sold only 600 copies in its first week. The band toured extensively, trying to attract notice. Radio stations were slow to adopt their first single, '. Thomas and his bandmates were convinced they were soon to be dropped from their contract. Their manager was also worried, and yelled at them to get serious about their performances.Their fears were well-founded. Officials at Atlantic were close to dropping the band when they noticed that sales had spiked in.

There, radio stations had begun playing another track on the album, '. Atlantic released 'Push' as a single, and it soon became a Top 5 hit. Its success led the album to be. Their next single, '3 A.M.' , was hugely popular, and the album went multi-platinum.

', and ' followed.Nearly seven months after its release, the album reached number 99 on the chart. It continued to climb, finally reaching as high as number 5. The album was nominated for a and two. In 1997, readers of named Matchbox 20 the best new band.Thomas enjoyed his success. When travelling, he'd tell customs officials that his occupation was 'rock star', and he often dressed the part, wearing sunglasses and long furry coats. He's described the first few years with Matchbox 20 as a blur, featuring large quantities of alcohol, cocaine, and women.

One of those interludes resulted in a son.The constant partying took a toll on Thomas and the band. Thomas concedes that the shows were beginning to suffer. He gained more than 50 pounds (23 kg). The weight gain earned them their first mention in —an item making fun of Thomas. The band members decided together that they wanted to be more professional and began cleaning themselves up. Cocaine use was no longer tolerated.

In 1998, Thomas was named one of People magazine's. 1999: 'Smooth' In 1999, Latin guitarist began putting together his comeback album, a series of duets. He was looking for one last song to complete the album. Songwriter had given a demo tape to Santana's representatives.

Although they liked the music, they thought the lyrics and melody could be strengthened. One of the executives sent the demo to Thomas, asking him if he'd like to work on it.Thomas had never worked on a song that he didn't intend to perform, and he was interested in the opportunity to try something new. He wrote the song intending for it to be sung by.Thomas wrote the verses to the song that became ', and he and Shur collaborated on the chorus. He was inspired both by his wife, who is half-Spanish and half-Puerto-Rican, and by Santana himself. When he finished the song, he was unsure whether it was any good.

His wife listened to the demo and told him, 'This is going to be huge.' Santana heard the demo and said he couldn't determine at first whether it was a male or female singing. He had no idea who Thomas was, but he liked the voice and asked that Thomas sing on the record. When they first met, Santana asked Thomas if he were married to a Latin woman.The song was recorded live, in three takes.

Thomas was not aware that it was going to be released as a single until he heard it on the radio. It was a massive hit, spending 58 weeks on the chart.

Billboard later named it the number 2 Hot 100 song of all time. It won three Grammy Awards, for Best Record, Best Song, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Its success earned him instant credibility as a songwriter.

Named Thomas its 1999 Pop Songwriter of the Year for 'Smooth' and his Matchbox 20 songs.' Smooth' increased his visibility, and that of Matchbox 20.

The song's video, starring Thomas, was played extensively on. That exposure launched him out of anonymity. A new set of listeners, older than the band's initial fan base, was exposed to, and liked, Thomas's work. Yourself or Someone Like You continued to sell briskly. After winning at the Grammy Awards, Atlantic took out ads in many industry publications to make executives aware that Thomas had written not only 'Smooth', but also all of the songs on the Matchbox 20 album. Ron Shapiro, an executive at Atlantic, said, 'It was our intent to get Rob and this band a substantial amount of credibility.' Thomas says that 'Smooth' 'really opened up the door for me as a songwriter and a solo artist.'

2000–2003: Mad Season and More Than You Think You Are As Matchbox 20 prepared to record their second album, band members had heated discussions over song selection. After flirting with the idea of allowing other band members to provide songs, they chose to record only songs that Thomas had written or co-written. They renamed themselves Matchbox Twenty and, in March 2000, released Mad Season. Its first single, ', reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it remains the band's only number one hit, despite larger commercial success on previous material.

Their tour took them to 87 cities, and they sold out in 15 minutes.Thomas was inducted into the South Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2001.When Santana prepared to record his follow-up to Supernatural, he sought to collaborate with Thomas again. Instead of providing vocals, Thomas wrote two songs for the album, which were recorded by and Thomas provided songs to other artists as well. Recorded three of Thomas's songs on his 2002 album. One of those, 'Recollection Phoenix', had been in contention for the next Matchbox Twenty album before the other band members had decided it wasn't a good fit.The third Matchbox Twenty album, wasn't complete until four weeks before its release date, November 19, 2002. For the first time, the band recorded a song not written by Thomas. Two other songs were jointly attributed to Thomas, Cook, and Doucette.

As part of the promotion for the album, Thomas and his bandmates were featured on 's. When the tour for More Than You Think You Are ended, Thomas, Cook, Doucette, Yale, and Gaynor decided to take a break to focus on their families.In June 2004, the gave Thomas the inaugural Hal David Starlight Award, which recognizes a young songwriter who has made an outsized impression on the industry. 2004–2007.Something to Be and Exile on Mainstream On April 19, 2005, Thomas began his solo career with the release of which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album included several songs that the other Matchbox Twenty members had rejected, such as 'I Am An Illusion'.

The album was more pop than Thomas's Matchbox Twenty work, adding quirks like. It earned two Grammy nominations, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.His first single from the album, ', reached number six on the U.S. The single debuted in the top 10 of the Australian singles chart on the week of April 4, 2005. The second single, ', went gold in the US and hit the top 50 in Australia.

The third single, ', became a top five Adult Contemporary hit.On October 5, 2005, he started his first solo tour, the. In the summer of 2006, Thomas toured with. In September 2006, Thomas's solo effort received more exposure when started using the song ' in promotional ads for its popular Thursday night lineup. This song was subsequently released as a single.In January 2007, Thomas released a single entitled ' from the soundtrack to the Disney animated feature,. 'Little Wonders' reached No. 5 on the Mediabase Hot Adult Contemporary chart. Thomas was featured on the June 14, 2007 episode of the long-running series.Thomas reunited with his Matchbox Twenty bandmates in 2007.

Gaynor had left the band, leaving only four of them. They decided to release a greatest hits album with a few new songs. They had so much fun collaborating that the new release, included six new songs.

The album released three singles: ', ', and '. The album debuted at number 3. Rob Thomas at a Matchbox Twenty concert in Las Vegas (The Venetian) - IBM Impact 2013-04-30. 2009–2011: Cradlesong On September 15, 2008, Thomas told his second solo album was tentatively called Cradle Songs. Thomas characterized the album as 'the usual mish-mosh of styles, but hopefully just holding true to a bunch of good songs.'

The article also mentioned that the record would nonetheless feature several tracks that 'take a more global, rhythmic direction after working with South American and African percussionists.' Thomas explained one such experiment:We started off with the idea of doing a newer version of (Paul Simon's), and that kinda carried us a long way through. It gave us a whole new bed to work with, like 'How do I get my pop sensibility around this and work it into that?' It was a lot of fun.

But you go through different phases when you're writing; it took a different turn, and I just followed it, too.On March 2, 2009, Clark Collis of interviewed Thomas, where he confirmed he had since shelved his initial efforts to evoke The Rhythm of the Saints, and claimed the album was scheduled for a June 30 release. Having played half the forthcoming album to Entertainment Weekly, it was reported that many of the lyrics on Cradlesong were about troubled relationships, and three more song titles were revealed: 'Meltdown' (described as 'INXS-esque power pop' that stood out as 'a possible first single'), 'Fire on the Mountain' (an 'epic, tribal drum-driven' track inspired by Dave Eggers' book What Is the What) and 'Getting Late' (suggested as the 'set's likely closer' and what Thomas described as 'a little ditty about death.' ).On March 11, 2009, Rob Thomas created his own Twitter account and announced via the social application that ' would be the lead single from Cradlesong.Thomas has also stated via Twitter that had been mastered and featured fourteen tracks culled from the twenty-four songs recorded during the album sessions. All twenty-four tracks were fully mixed and mastered, leaving plenty of material left over for B-sides, iTunes, or EPs.On June 9, 2009, Thomas released ' to the US. Similarly, ' was released on June 16. On June 22, Cradlesong was made available for streaming only on the website, one week ahead of its UK release date.Thomas promoted the album with his 2009/2010 tour,.In March 2010, Thomas announced plans to release a four-song digital-only EP entitled the Someday EP. Featuring three new songs, the EP was released to iTunes on March 30, 2010, and all other digital retailers April 6, 2010.

2012–2014: North After his solo success, many of Thomas's confidants urged him to leave Matchbox Twenty. As Thomas wrapped up his tour for Cradlesong, he began writing songs for consideration for the next Matchbox Twenty album.

He gathered in with his bandmates to narrow down the work he had already done and develop new material. The group members disagreed on which musical direction the new album should take. For three months, they argued and drank, in what Thomas describes as a '$100,000 bender'.

Finally, producer Serletic appeared and told them to stop drinking and get to work. The lecture worked. The result was a true collaboration. For the first time, the band recorded several songs written solely by Doucette and Yale.Matchbox Twenty's next album, was released on September 4, 2012, ten years after their last full-length album of new material. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. 2015–present: The Great Unknown and Chip Tooth Smile Thomas performed several new album tracks in early 2015: 'Hold On Forever', 'Great Unknown', and 'Heaven Help Me'.

Thomas released the first single from The Great Unknown, 'Trust You', on May 25, 2015. The Great Unknown was released on August 21, 2015. He spent two years touring it prior. 'Hold on Forever' was announced as the album's second single on September 28.

The tour for Thomas' album included holographic representations of Thomas produced with technology so that fans could pose for photos with him during the concert.Thomas announced on February 15, 2019, that his fourth studio album—titled —was released on April 26, 2019. The lead single for the album, 'One Less Day (Dying Young)', was released on February 20, 2019. Artistry Music and voice After spending more than 20 years as part of Matchbox Twenty and more than 10 years working on solo material, Thomas has become adept at navigating the 'identity crisis' of two separate musical worlds. Although he does play some Matchbox Twenty songs during his solo tours, they are always reimagined, often as an acoustic version.As a solo artist, Thomas is known for 'emotive radio hits'. His solo albums have a much stronger pop feel. His last album, The Great Unknown, was 'unabashed pop'.His detractors say the music is fluff and too sweet.

Songwriting Thomas writes all of the time, saying 'it's a lot easier to come up with ideas than it is to edit them.' Thomas admits that his songs have 'a radio sensibility'. He writes songs that he hopes people will like and does not strive to follow or set trends. In his opinion, this is the reason that he has maintained his career; the music never sounds dated. Each of his songs can stand alone without special effects; Thomas wants his listeners to feel the message of a song even if he is just playing it by himself on an acoustic guitar.Initially, Thomas tried to write epic love songs, in the vein of. He did not like most of those attempts.

After he finished '3 A.M.' , which was inspired by his mother's battle with cancer, Thomas realized that he ought to focus events in his own life. Many of his later songs are inspired by his wife and her battle with an autoimmune disease.Lisa Rockman, music reviewer for the, wrote, 'There is a reason millions of fans across the world relate to lyrics penned by Rob Thomas. His words come from the heart.' Thomas chooses his words carefully, 'trying to make my phrases more colourful when I'm writing, trying to find the longest way to get to the point that I'm trying to make as opposed to the quickest way.'

As his career has progressed, Thomas has more frequently collaborated with other songwriters in order to 'keep things fresh and not feel like I'm going back to the same well and just writing the same songs over and over and over'. Personal life. Thomas and his wife Marisol at the 2010.A mutual friend introduced him to model Marisol Maldonado at an afterparty in in late 1997. They both claim it was love at first sight. Thomas said that, 'I knew the second I kissed her that I would never, ever kiss another person.'

As he was in the midst of an international tour, their initial courtship was via phone. Maldonado was at first reluctant to date Thomas, unsure if she could handle being the wife of a rock star. When he returned to the United States, they went on their first date, to a music festival in. That night, he told her he would marry her, and a month later he proposed. They were married on October 2, 1999, at manager Michael Lippman's ranch in California. Their wedding was broadcast on 's Celebrity Weddings in Style.Thomas has a son from a previous relationship, Maison Eudy, born on July 10, 1998.Thomas claims that he is sometimes mistaken for television writer, and vice versa.

A conversation between the two men on this subject led to Thomas agreeing to perform a musical number as himself on the TV show, penned by his namesake. Charity work The Thomas’ are committed animal lovers and supporters of animal charities.

Thomas and his wife have established the P Sidewalk Angels Foundation, a non-profit organization created to help needy people in and around America's big cities by partnering with various charities to assist people who cannot afford medical care, and animals that have been abandoned or abused.Political views Politically, Thomas considers himself a 'fairly guy'. He is a strong supporter of gay rights and wrote a piece in favor of legalizing. He closed the article by writing, 'Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don't affect someone else's ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit.'

In 2007, Thomas was asked his opinions about Michael Vick's sentencing in the. Thomas laughed and responded, 'Did he get the chair?.laughs. Did he get the chair?' Thomas then nonchalantly added, 'They should have just, like,.' Although Thomas is a self-proclaimed liberal, his comments were almost identical to ones made by well-known conservative Fox News figure, who said that Michael Vick should have been executed after the footballer's release from prison.

Thomas did not issue any public apology for his condemning comments.Discography. Retrieved September 3, 2019. ^ Dougherty, Steve (November 6, 2000), People, 54 (19), retrieved April 28, 2017. ^ Hedgegaard, Erik (August 6, 2009), Rolling Stone, retrieved April 27, 2017. ^ Scaggs, Austin (June 2, 2005), Rolling Stone, retrieved April 27, 2017. ^ Edwards, Gavin (July 2000), Spin, pp. 92–98, retrieved April 28, 2017.

^ Scribner, Sara (October 12, 1997). Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. ' – (songwriter) (1981). ' – & (songwriters) (1982). ' –, & (songwriters) (1983). ' – (songwriter) (1984).

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' – & (songwriters) (2000)2001−present.

The Matchbox Twenty frontman survived a reckless childhood, then impossible fame. As he prepares to release a new solo album, he’s now trying to avoid death, embrace the “Smooth” memes and contribute to a rarely considered legacy.leans forward and holds up an Instagram shot of his son cradling a guitar. “He’ll be 21 in July,” he says of Maison Thomas-Eudy, who’s sitting in a chair barefoot in a Rhode Island recording studio in, half-smiling, hair mussed up, his hand contorted into what looks like an F chord as two of his bandmates gaze at him. The photo was posted on the Instagram account of Maison’s band, Hand Made House. When asked what type of music Maison’s band makes, Thomas answers, “Almost like ‘90s alternative music.”He laughs a little, fully aware of the happy accident: the only child of Rob Thomas, frontman, platinum solo artist, alt-rock hero, picking up a guitar to make ‘90s alternative music, a sound that hasn’t been popular for years. Thomas sneaks another glance at the photo of Maison before pocketing his phone.When he was 21 himself, Thomas explains, he was still a year away from signing his first record deal with Matchbox Twenty. At that point, he had already hitchhiked through the southeast to escape his home life in Orlando - his mother drank too much, “and she was abusive, just like her mother was abusive,” he says.

He’d climb into friends’ bedrooms at night to use their showers and sleep in their closets. He couldn’t keep a job, and stole at least one car.

When Thomas started playing in local cover bands - after high school, as all of his friends started going to college and thinking about careers - he realized that he was either going to become a successful musician, or spend his life performing manual labor.Sitting in the basement of his Westchester mansion as a lean 47-year-old, with a Pomeranian named Samy curled up against his black Adidas sweatpants and a sleek hoodie with the words “Be Good To People” scrawled across its center, Thomas is more than half a life removed from the borderline homelessness of his early adulthood. After Matchbox Twenty signed to Atlantic Records in 1994, Thomas spent the majority of his twenties as an inescapable radio presence, harnessing his talent as a pop craftsman to become one of the most successful songwriters of all time. Beginning with Matchbox’s 1996 debut Yourself or Someone Like You, Thomas has sold over 18 million albums as the band’s frontman and as a solo artist, according to Nielsen Music, with more than a dozen Billboard Hot 100 hits.Like any father who begins an anecdote with an eye-roll and a “Back in my day,” Thomas now uses his origin story primarily to wave away whatever mild concerns Maison, a junior at Berklee College of Music in Boston, has about making it as an artist.

His son’s a good guitarist, Thomas insists, much better than he was at his age. “I just don’t think he’s found the songs just yet,” Thomas shrugs - and that’s okay, because he’s got the skills, and the infrastructure. “I’ll be like, ‘Son, I just want you to remember that when I was your age, I was sleeping in a car, or on a park bench. Whatever you’re doing now, you’re winning.’”.It’s in this basement that Thomas recorded much of Chip Tooth Smile, his fourth solo album, out April 26 on Atlantic Records; there’s a full band setup tucked away near the door, where Thomas can stumble downstairs to record vocals or work through a piano line.

A narrower room adjacent to the main basement area is brimming with prized memorabilia - Grammy awards, framed gold records, magazine covers, live show posters - that Thomas says will remind him what he’s capable of whenever he gets stuck on a song. There’s a photo of Thomas posing in between Barack and Michelle Obama, and another where he’s side-by-side with Mick Jagger. Thomas laments how ugly his shirts are in both snapshots, even though they look ordinary enough.The erratic first part of his life, and the whirlwind international success that almost immediately followed, have given way to a calm, well-adjusted forties for Thomas.

During an extended conversation at his home on a late March afternoon, he grows most excited when discussing his son’s first attempts at music; or his wife of 20 years, Marisol, and the new songs that she’s inspired; or his other dog, a skittish one-eyed terrier-dachshund named Ollie, who Thomas rescued from Puerto Rico. Thomas’ eyes widen when he talks about the “Threat Level Midnight” episode of The Office, of which he has a framed poster, and the vegetable soup at his favorite local diner. Thomas understands that he is not cool, and that, by extension, his music is not cool. He brings this up on multiple occasions, unprompted. “This is just what I do, and it’s never been hip, cool or cutting-edge,” he asserts at one point about his songwriting. Later, he says, “If you ever followed Matchbox Twenty, we were obviously never too concerned about being cool.

We were just never cool. But even less so, now.”Yet this self-awareness has provided a sense of peace.

Thomas’ ability to write sturdy pop-rock sing-alongs made Matchbox Twenty one of the most consistent groups of the alternative boom of the 90’s back half, and his penchant for sizable hooks and sentimental lyrics resulted in crossovers to Top 40 and adult contemporary radio audiences. “Smooth,” his world-conquering Latin-pop smash alongside Carlos Santana in 1999, later paved the way for Thomas’ solo career, which began with the 2005 hit “Lonely No More” and has produced three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 albums chart.None of these accomplishments have ever earned Thomas’ music any type of critical acclaim, or even proper critical evaluation. He’s been a commercial giant and radio mainstay, but none of his albums, either on his own or with Matchbox Twenty, are considered particularly influential, outside of the PG-rated rock groups - OneRepublic, Train, The Fray - that followed in his adult-contemporary footsteps.

He’s won three Grammys, all for “Smooth” in 2000, but that song became so ubiquitous during its 12-week run atop the Hot 100 that even Thomas understands why people got sick of it. “When it came out, it was a kind of fun summer jam,” he says. “And then there was a period where everyone was like, ‘I never want to hear this fucking song ever again!’”Thomas grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel and Elton John on FM radio in the late 70s and early 80s; his favorite artists weren’t considered cool in their own time, but they were reliable hitmakers - which is what Thomas admired, and ultimately what he discovered he could become with Matchbox Twenty.“I think we’re a fucking great band, and I think I’m a really good songwriter,” he says.

“I think there are certain other people out there whose job is to move the needle in a certain way. And that was never our designation.”.Thomas admits that his last solo album, 2015’s The Great Unknown, was the first time that he felt like he was bending his songwriting formula to modern trends.

Studio whizzes like Ryan Tedder and Ricky Reed contributed to the production, along with longtime collaborator Matt Serletic, but the party-pop of lead single “Trust You” and anthemic stomping of “One Shot” sounded too cloying to cross over, and the album became the first in Thomas’ career not to register a song on the Hot 100. “I wasn’t happy with it,” he says, “and it didn’t quite land in the way that I’m used to.”For its follow-up, Thomas made a few choices that put him back in his comfort zone, starting with calling longtime friend Butch Walker to produce the entire project. Walker, a veteran singer-songwriter who recently contributed to full-lengths by Weezer and Fall Out Boy, worked on the album from his Santa Monica studio, with Thomas FaceTiming him from his basement studio in New York and sending him demos over GarageBand, in between the occasional in-person session on either coast.“I didn’t want this to be a midlife crisis record for him or anything,” says the 49-year-old Walker. He knows that, for an aging radio fixture like Thomas, unspoken pressure - from a label, or management, or the industry at large - can result in overreaching in an effort to mine new hits. “They want you to keep delivering pop singles, hit after hit after hit,” he says. “And I don’t think that a lot of stuff that’s on pop radio really sits where Rob came from and what he is.”Walker is right: Top 40 radio, increasingly dominated by hip-hop and rhythmic pop, no longer makes room for the alternative rock that Thomas rode to fame in the 90s. It’s a reality that Thomas has faced before - “When Matchbox Twenty had 2003 hit ‘Unwell,’ everything else on the charts was like, Nelly and Ludacris,” he says with a laugh - and accepts today.

To that end, Thomas led Chip Tooth Smile with “One Less Day (Dying Young),” a single about the least youth-friendly subject imaginable: appreciating life as you gracefully age.Reflective, unflinching and unabashedly earnest, “One Less Day (Dying Young)” is one of the boldest singles released so far this year, simply for committing so completely to its lyrical bent. As the drums beneath him chug forward and the backing vocals swell into a chest-thumping cry, Thomas sings about praying to have the chance to see tomorrow, losing friends in their prime and fearing that he might be next to join them in the unknown of death. “I’m not afraid of getting older,” goes the first line of the chorus. “One Less Day” has reached No. 14 on the Adult Top 40 chart, but hasn’t cracked the Hot 100 yet, and likely never will. Thomas couldn’t be more proud of it.“There are a lot of songs about being young forever, or never wanting to grow old,” he explains. “When I was in my 20s, I simultaneously thought that I was going to live forever, and I wasn’t going to make it past 25 - somehow, both of those things made sense to me.

It was this very romantic idea, not getting older. “Matchbox Twenty had just had all of that success with the first record,” Thomas explains, his tone becoming more serious. “And we were on the road for three years. Then we get off the bus, and we were not the same people that we were when we got on it.

When we got on it, we were opening for bands that would play to 10 people in these shitty little clubs. And we had just got off of a worldwide arena tour, and now you gotta take this whole new life that you just acquired and figure out how you put it into real life. How does this work for the way that you spend your days? Who the fuck are you as a real person, now?“Carlos taught me the difference between being a successful musician and being a celebrity, and that being a celebrity means nothing at all,” he continues. “He says three things define you: your motive, your intention, and your purpose. Those are the only three things that you can control, and those are the things you hope that people see when they see you.

Just keep your head down, do your fucking work and try to write good music.”.Thomas will always keep writing new music and attempting to add to his legacy — he’s already working on new songs that he might send to Matchbox drummer Paul Doucette and guitarist Kyle Cook, for the band’s first project since 2012’s North. But he’s also aware that that legacy, as the voice that you hear when you’re out shopping somewhere, may very well be set in stone already.“Smooth” is one of Thomas’ songs that plays the most often when he’s at the grocery store - he describes his casually surreal experience of pushing a shopping cart, hearing that guitar solo and having another shopper bestow a knowing nod as they pass by in the aisle. His gravelly tone reverberates in a way that is both inspiring and inoffensive, making songs like “If You’re Gone,” “Her Diamonds,” “Disease” and “Bent” pristine for completing tasks in a retail environment. “If you go into a CVS, at some point, you’re gonna hear one of my songs,” Thomas deadpans.And really, he’s okay with that. When Thomas was a young songwriter scooping up part-time jobs in southern Florida, he’d pray that his music would get heard, that he could turn his passion into a life. Now that he has, Thomas wants his music to endure, whether it’s as something “important” or as background noise, as long as it produces a spark of happiness.

Does he hope that Matchbox Twenty and his solo music are someday reevaluated within the pop canon? But as Santana would tell him, those are interpretations he can’t control. It’s what he tries to teach his son about breaking into music. It’s what he tells himself about his own career.“When people make their Top 10 lists of songs, albums, whatever, we usually don’t show up in those,” Thomas acknowledges. Star defender 3 full game. “But most of those people, if you said ‘What about Matchbox,’ they’d go, ‘Oh yeah, they’re good, I like them.’“Being a part of that fabric, of music out in the world — that, to me, is a legacy. People are still listening to your music, 20 years later.

That’s more than most people could even want to ask for.”.