Biography
Soulful vocals, ringing guitars and probing lyrics about people whose lives
are coming apart and their struggle to hold on--these are the elements
that drive the debut album by matchbox20,YOURSELF OR
SOMEONE LIKE YOU (Lava/Atlantic).
It's a record that, in the words of Guitar World, is loaded with guitar-driven
melodic rock tunes and emotionally charged vocals. Hits commented that
the vocals are gutsy and the production by Matt Serletic (Collective Soul)
is impeccable,while critic Shawn Ryan noted in the Birmingham News
that the guitars bite; hooks are large...lyrics are sharp and sincere.
Elsewhere, Microsoft Music Central critic Rod Moody noted: 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
ROB 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.
You can hear their dynamic interplay in songs like "Long Day", the LP's first radio track which charted Top Five,
"Real World", "Argue", "3 AM", "Girl Like That" and "Push",the LP's second radio track. ROB describes
the romantically combative "Push"--whose chorus is highlighted by the lines "I wanna push you around, I will, I
will/I wanna push you down, I will, I will/I wanna take you for granted" --as a song about how I was manipulated
and how I handled it; how I grew to like it and got comfortable with it. I felt that was the only way that you could
have a relationship was if you were being controlled or if you were being manipulated. ROB adds that the
song was actually written from three points of view, including the one of the woman who it's about. ROB
adds, "Some people get the wrong idea and think that it's about physical violence, when it's really about
emotional violence. I usually get my best ideas when I'm walking," responds ROB when asked about his
songwriting approach. "I used to do a lot of hitch-hiking when I was younger, from 17 to 20, and I'd spend a lot of
time at 3:00 in the morning sitting on an off-ramp for hours. You just sit there and
no one is around you. You can scream, you can sing if you want, you could do
whatever you want. I had my little keyboard with me in my backpack and I'd pull it
out and sit there and work on some tunes." During this period of ROB'S life, he
drifted around in an effort to understand his family problems at home.
The characters on YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU compellingly wrestle
with ghosts and demons, and while it's not clear if they'll win their battles, you root for them throughout the
album. The folks who inhabit these songs arebruised ("well I'm surprised that you'd believe/in anything that
comes from me," from "Long Day"), but they're proud, too ("she's got a little bit of something, God it's better
than nothing," from "3 am"). They're dealing with busted-up romances ("and we're all grown now, but we don't
know how to get it back to good," from "Back To Good"), insecurities ("she said I don't know if I've ever been
good enough," from "Push") and fears ("you think this life would make me bolder but I'm running scared is
all...I'm same old trailer trash in new shoes," from "Girl Like That").
ROB -- who 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, ROB was introduced to PAUL and
BRIAN. After playing together for a few years in bands and touring regionally, the
threesome decided to start a new band--what was to become matchbox20. After
recruiting the talents of ADAM from Criteria Recording Studios in Miami and
KYLE from the Atlanta Institute of Music, the line-up was complete. matchbox20
quickly joined forces with producer Matt Serletic, who co-produced the Collective
Soul albums, and began tracking demos. It wasn't long before the band attracted
attention from both coasts, signing with Lava/Atlantic. They wasted no time and
headed back into the studio with Serletic to record
YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU. 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," ROB says. "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." - From http://www.matchbox20.com
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