Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Jeff Stevens. It's my eighties show podcast. But this
guy's voice was one of the most powerful voices of
the nineties still is today, celebrating decades with his band
Matchbox twenty big solo tour this summer. It's Rob Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
How's it going, man?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good? Really nice to see you. What's going on? You
having a just a chill morning.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Uh yeah, you know, just a chill morning, zooming away.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Zooming away. Got a chance to see you on your
twenty nineteen tour and in Cincinnati actually got a chance
to say hi before and just a big fan since
Matchbox twenty. I mean, this is uh, where has the
last thirty years gone?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Man? Man?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
I know I sometimes that like everything in here, like
my studio, it's like this little museum to the last
thirty years. But it just, you know, there's certain things
about and I'm sure this happens with a lot in
your career where they think simultaneously feel like a million
years ago in yesterday, all at the same time.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yes, yes, that's so accurate. I would imagine, especially because
I mean we're we're you guys. Matchbox twenty would be
basically like thirty thirtieth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Right next year is.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
The thirtieth anniversary. Wow, this year, twentieth anniversary from my
first solo record.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yes, something to be well. And you know, just looking
back over your career, which we will be all over
the map here by the way, I want to take
a tour of your studio sometimes because that looks pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
This one.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
My wife hates it everything, Like everything that I have
that I bring home from the road, She's like, Oh,
that's going to look great in your studio.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
As long as the living room is it right over there?
That's okay, right exactly, Like I said, got a chance
to see on the on the last solo tour in
twenty nineteen, and just what an amazing career. And when
you stack the Matchbox twenty songs, you've got all these
Matchbox twenty hits. Then you've got all these solo hits too.
And a lot of times, you know, an artist, you know,
steps outside of their band for a little bit and
(01:54):
they don't tend to necessarily have the immediate success that
you did. And so you've got this massive career in
both lands. And I think that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I mean it's I've been really fortunate, and I
think one of the main things, and besides the idea,
you know, of having fans that will allow me to
do that and will let me kind of stretch out
and try different things and come along on that journey
with me.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
You know, I've got patient people.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I've you know, my solo band has been the same
solo band for about basically for the last twenty years.
So now my is my guitar player help. But it
really it requires a lot of patients in the Matchbox
guys because there's you know, that means that there's going
to be a whole this well this summer and this
you know, I'm gonna work on a record, I'm going
to be touring.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
That means that you guys can't do Matchbox this, you know,
during this.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Time, and uh, there was a little growing pains I
think at the beginning of that. But you know, I
don't think I would have been able to do any
of those things if it wasn't for the patients of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And now I've got this.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
This so much fun because if I start to feel
like I'm in a rut and then you know, next year,
I'll be like opening up this package of all these
new Matchbox songs that are you know that I that
I you know, hadn't played in years now, and then
I get to go back and forth, so it always
feels a little fresh.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
That's pretty awesome. Obviously chatting with Rob Thomas. Everybody watching
this knows that that is Rob Thomas and the All
Night Days tour has just been announced. It's just gone
on sale. You've got like like twenty five dates right
August first, So is now rehearsal time or do you
have a little bit of like chill time and then
it's rehearsal time.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Rehearsals are are coming up. They'll come up before I
know it, Like we just got I just picked my bus.
Nice that feeling it's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, I mean it's it's not a super long.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Tour because we're going straight over to Australia like almost
right at the end of it, so everything kind of
bucked up against each other, so you know, that just
makes it more special, you know, and try and squeeze
out as much of it as we can.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah. I'm always curious with again, with the massive success
you've had with Matchbox and as a solo artist, how
do you decide, all right, this is a Rob Thomas song,
but this is I'm gonna hold this for Matchbox or
is it kind of just whatever's whatever you're writing about
at that moment in time.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm I'm that good.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I mean, if I if I'm writing anything that if
it's time for a Matchbox record or time for a
solo record, I'm going to throw that out there if
I think it's good.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Uh. The last Matchbox record there, I.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Think there were three songs on it that were meant
to that would have been on this solo record. Have
we not done a Matchbox record? And then there were
some songs on this record that the guys just didn't
feel fit what we were doing for that record, and
I was like, Okay, I'll hold on to it. There's
one song on this record on the new record called
I Believe It All that we almost had it on
the Matchbox record, but one hold out in the band.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Didn't like the song.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Ah, not only do I have it on my record,
but most of it is the recording of them. I
just hoofed it over it and I had like, and
I put some new stuff on it.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You're not going to call out who didn't like it?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Right, it was Paul. It was totally Paul.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Let's go, Paul. You're under the bus. You're under the
new tour bus that he just picked.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
He does not care at all.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's cool you obviously, I mean you do have to
have an obviously very special relationship with the Matchbox guys
and your your touring and uh, and and that's so
cool that you can really go back and forth. The
new album, the new single is hard to Be Happy.
Can you tell me a little bit about what that's about.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a it's a very
happy song about.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Not feeling okay. Interesting, and I feel.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Like there's a it's a it's a good place that
we're in right now. I think societally is just the
idea that it's okay to talk about the fact that
you don't feel okay and you don't have to put
on that that kind of fake smile.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Everywhere you go.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, and you know, and and and you know, we
were writing the song, me and and and the and
Derek Furman were writing this song, and uh, it was
like it was just a normal session day and we're
trying to figure out you know, we've been writing a
bunch of just sad, melancholy stuff, and you know, let's
do something that's happy.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And then I was like, you know, it's just it's
just hard to be happy.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, and we kind of, you know, the song just
kind of like was born out of that moment of
just realizing that sometimes you got to put a little
effort into it.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You know, you got to meet that, you got meet
the day halfway.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah. Yeah, I like that an upbeat, happy song about
really not being happy. So yeah, so many great songs.
Do you touch on some of the Matchbox stuff on
your solo tours?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Sure, you know there's there's a few Matchbox songs three
Am Unwell, there's songs that I wrote myself that mean
a lot to me that make their way into solo.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They they're slightly reimagined, you.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Know in some way. You know, we have we have
our versions of those things. I think we try and
make it enough where you know, there are some people
out there that I'm in this weird generational spot, Like
I've met people who are like in their early twenties
and are just putting together, Like, oh, Rob Thomas is
that guy from Matchbox as well, you know, like the
(06:43):
whole other thing that for some people, they're two separate
people interesting. And then you know, there's if you're my
age when my first record came out, you're seventy now, rightow.
I think about that when I see those people at
my concert too, because like that's me, and you know,
in twenty years from now, that's me at the My
Morning Jacket show.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Right right right, that's I know that stuff. That's what
kind of starts messing with your mind, especially when you're
about to celebrate a thirtieth anniversary with Matchbox twenty obviously
next year, and.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Dude Smooth is one of the is.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I think it was called the song of the decade
for the two thousands man.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And that's twenty seven years, I think twenty eight years.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, Carlo were just talking about it the other day.
He's got a new record that he just finished. He
just sent me it's great, you know, like him and
I just kind of look at it because we watched
that song. It was you know, it came out, it
was mad, bad and dangerous to know and sexy and
hot young girls were dancing to it. And now it's
in every wedding reception in America. It's like it's legally,
illegally has to be played every wedding.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yes, you get a certificate saying that this must be
played at the wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I know the amount of times.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
That my friends that travel on the road and that
they're out will send me a video of like a
bar that they're at, a wedding that they're at or
some function and the band is playing smooth.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And you're like, here we go again. Thank you very much. Well,
I know, Rob, we got to get rolling the All
Night Days tour. We're so excited to have you on
Dayton and I look forward to see you on the
on the road. Congratulations on such an amazing three decades.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah. Thank it's good to see you again, man. I
appreciate you and thanks for the help you too, Rob.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Thank you all right, you too, see y
I'm Jeff Stevens. It's my eighties show podcast. But this
guy's voice was one of the most powerful voices of
the nineties still is today, celebrating decades with his band
Matchbox twenty big solo tour this summer. It's Rob Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
How's it going, man?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good? Really nice to see you. What's going on? You
having a just a chill morning.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Uh yeah, you know, just a chill morning, zooming away.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Zooming away. Got a chance to see you on your
twenty nineteen tour and in Cincinnati actually got a chance
to say hi before and just a big fan since
Matchbox twenty. I mean, this is uh, where has the
last thirty years gone?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Man? Man?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
I know I sometimes that like everything in here, like
my studio, it's like this little museum to the last
thirty years. But it just, you know, there's certain things
about and I'm sure this happens with a lot in
your career where they think simultaneously feel like a million
years ago in yesterday, all at the same time.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yes, yes, that's so accurate. I would imagine, especially because
I mean we're we're you guys. Matchbox twenty would be
basically like thirty thirtieth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Right next year is.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
The thirtieth anniversary. Wow, this year, twentieth anniversary from my
first solo record.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yes, something to be well. And you know, just looking
back over your career, which we will be all over
the map here by the way, I want to take
a tour of your studio sometimes because that looks pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
This one.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
My wife hates it everything, Like everything that I have
that I bring home from the road, She's like, Oh,
that's going to look great in your studio.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
As long as the living room is it right over there?
That's okay, right exactly, Like I said, got a chance
to see on the on the last solo tour in
twenty nineteen, and just what an amazing career. And when
you stack the Matchbox twenty songs, you've got all these
Matchbox twenty hits. Then you've got all these solo hits too.
And a lot of times, you know, an artist, you know,
steps outside of their band for a little bit and
(01:54):
they don't tend to necessarily have the immediate success that
you did. And so you've got this massive career in
both lands. And I think that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I mean it's I've been really fortunate, and I
think one of the main things, and besides the idea,
you know, of having fans that will allow me to
do that and will let me kind of stretch out
and try different things and come along on that journey
with me.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
You know, I've got patient people.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I've you know, my solo band has been the same
solo band for about basically for the last twenty years.
So now my is my guitar player help. But it
really it requires a lot of patients in the Matchbox
guys because there's you know, that means that there's going
to be a whole this well this summer and this
you know, I'm gonna work on a record, I'm going
to be touring.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
That means that you guys can't do Matchbox this, you know,
during this.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Time, and uh, there was a little growing pains I
think at the beginning of that. But you know, I
don't think I would have been able to do any
of those things if it wasn't for the patients of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And now I've got this.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
This so much fun because if I start to feel
like I'm in a rut and then you know, next year,
I'll be like opening up this package of all these
new Matchbox songs that are you know that I that
I you know, hadn't played in years now, and then
I get to go back and forth, so it always
feels a little fresh.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
That's pretty awesome. Obviously chatting with Rob Thomas. Everybody watching
this knows that that is Rob Thomas and the All
Night Days tour has just been announced. It's just gone
on sale. You've got like like twenty five dates right
August first, So is now rehearsal time or do you
have a little bit of like chill time and then
it's rehearsal time.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Rehearsals are are coming up. They'll come up before I
know it, Like we just got I just picked my bus.
Nice that feeling it's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, I mean it's it's not a super long.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Tour because we're going straight over to Australia like almost
right at the end of it, so everything kind of
bucked up against each other, so you know, that just
makes it more special, you know, and try and squeeze
out as much of it as we can.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah. I'm always curious with again, with the massive success
you've had with Matchbox and as a solo artist, how
do you decide, all right, this is a Rob Thomas song,
but this is I'm gonna hold this for Matchbox or
is it kind of just whatever's whatever you're writing about
at that moment in time.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm I'm that good.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I mean, if I if I'm writing anything that if
it's time for a Matchbox record or time for a
solo record, I'm going to throw that out there if
I think it's good.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Uh. The last Matchbox record there, I.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Think there were three songs on it that were meant
to that would have been on this solo record. Have
we not done a Matchbox record? And then there were
some songs on this record that the guys just didn't
feel fit what we were doing for that record, and
I was like, Okay, I'll hold on to it. There's
one song on this record on the new record called
I Believe It All that we almost had it on
the Matchbox record, but one hold out in the band.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Didn't like the song.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Ah, not only do I have it on my record,
but most of it is the recording of them. I
just hoofed it over it and I had like, and
I put some new stuff on it.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You're not going to call out who didn't like it?
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Right, it was Paul. It was totally Paul.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Let's go, Paul. You're under the bus. You're under the
new tour bus that he just picked.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
He does not care at all.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's cool you obviously, I mean you do have to
have an obviously very special relationship with the Matchbox guys
and your your touring and uh, and and that's so
cool that you can really go back and forth. The
new album, the new single is hard to Be Happy.
Can you tell me a little bit about what that's about.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a it's a very
happy song about.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Not feeling okay. Interesting, and I feel.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Like there's a it's a it's a good place that
we're in right now. I think societally is just the
idea that it's okay to talk about the fact that
you don't feel okay and you don't have to put
on that that kind of fake smile.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Everywhere you go.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, and you know, and and and you know, we
were writing the song, me and and and the and
Derek Furman were writing this song, and uh, it was
like it was just a normal session day and we're
trying to figure out you know, we've been writing a
bunch of just sad, melancholy stuff, and you know, let's
do something that's happy.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And then I was like, you know, it's just it's
just hard to be happy.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, and we kind of, you know, the song just
kind of like was born out of that moment of
just realizing that sometimes you got to put a little
effort into it.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You know, you got to meet that, you got meet
the day halfway.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah. Yeah, I like that an upbeat, happy song about
really not being happy. So yeah, so many great songs.
Do you touch on some of the Matchbox stuff on
your solo tours?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Sure, you know there's there's a few Matchbox songs three
Am Unwell, there's songs that I wrote myself that mean
a lot to me that make their way into solo.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They they're slightly reimagined, you.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Know in some way. You know, we have we have
our versions of those things. I think we try and
make it enough where you know, there are some people
out there that I'm in this weird generational spot, Like
I've met people who are like in their early twenties
and are just putting together, Like, oh, Rob Thomas is
that guy from Matchbox as well, you know, like the
(06:43):
whole other thing that for some people, they're two separate
people interesting. And then you know, there's if you're my
age when my first record came out, you're seventy now, rightow.
I think about that when I see those people at
my concert too, because like that's me, and you know,
in twenty years from now, that's me at the My
Morning Jacket show.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Right right right, that's I know that stuff. That's what
kind of starts messing with your mind, especially when you're
about to celebrate a thirtieth anniversary with Matchbox twenty obviously
next year, and.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Dude Smooth is one of the is.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I think it was called the song of the decade
for the two thousands man.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And that's twenty seven years, I think twenty eight years.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, Carlo were just talking about it the other day.
He's got a new record that he just finished. He
just sent me it's great, you know, like him and
I just kind of look at it because we watched
that song. It was you know, it came out, it
was mad, bad and dangerous to know and sexy and
hot young girls were dancing to it. And now it's
in every wedding reception in America. It's like it's legally,
illegally has to be played every wedding.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yes, you get a certificate saying that this must be
played at the wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I know the amount of times.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
That my friends that travel on the road and that
they're out will send me a video of like a
bar that they're at, a wedding that they're at or
some function and the band is playing smooth.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And you're like, here we go again. Thank you very much. Well,
I know, Rob, we got to get rolling the All
Night Days tour. We're so excited to have you on
Dayton and I look forward to see you on the
on the road. Congratulations on such an amazing three decades.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah. Thank it's good to see you again, man. I
appreciate you and thanks for the help you too, Rob.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Thank you all right, you too, see y
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