Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty)

0:00Hello Hey mark Matt Matt sorry about that. Okay. Hey, I've got Rob for you. You ready? Yeah, Rob. You're on with Matt Oh, how much man? How are you? Oh, yes, we home. Yeah, I get to be home for the next like a two-week session Everything we're planning in New York Oh, that's nice. That's that's a change Right my dog just got it got off the bus and got a chance to run around the house for the first time they're freaking out

0:47I was you know, it's funny though I was gonna bring up the dogs is how you tweet some pictures of bringing the dog on the road that must be different Canada and I've got a walk in the last idea walking my dog in the freezing cold But there's nothing cooler in the world man. They're just open the door and they're just having their smile on it yet You know, it's pretty great. Do they sing my dog? That's amazing

1:40You should you should YouTube that stuff. I feel like there's money in that somehow Shut up Thomas's voice tortures dogs. That's hilarious Exactly. Yeah, I've been torturing people for years. Why not my dog? Talking about torturing people live. I mean, what's what's a set list like what? How are you guys? I mean with that many hits and the new record obviously you want to play the new tunes like how do you guys Choose a set list every night or new stuff, you know, um all the singles

2:33We divided up like the singles is about half the set You know, I could be playing corporate show. He's like, okay That's just like all the straps in the past but then so like now we realize that like we have like the song I'm gonna be record called but we could do that one night

3:22But then we could do refiner the times to make we're we're we're learning our tone We use snuff on his phone play that some were live so that we can watch it and we learn how to play our own song That's crazy What about what about having Stacy in the bed now? How has that changed the dynamic? I mean he's an amazing drummer That's the best like He's my favorite drummer to play with since we had Paul playing drums I mean he's so dynamic. He's a show man. It's really a but you have a space to

4:16You know getting older and doing this for a talented as good as we sound right and that's Every night, you know Yeah, you said something in there that I want to touch him But I want to kind of want to hold off on that for a second I just wanted to talk about just the change in the drummers and Paul moving to guitar and and actually coming back to drumming on this record Cuz I know he didn't drum on the exile record. So how did that? How was that you saw him doing a live show as well? Okay, so he still he still has the desire to play Right, right. I always found it interesting that he that he smokes while playing drums. I've tried that And I it always I always end up getting burned. I cannot pull that off

5:04Oh That's great, that's so rock and roll. It's amazing But also bad for your health, but so how is how is your How is your approach to songwriting changed? I mean You've obviously written with a lot of people over the years the band is writing together a lot more How have you evolved as a songwriter when it when it comes to I guess the confidence of putting your ideas down on paper? You know, I mean I don't know if you know

5:51inspiration And then you know what you kind of get that in that inspiration and you suck everything you can out of the views Then you go to craft but changes and it evolves But not the way that you do it like the only thing that changes like when I did my first And you get doing more of them on the second solo all by myself You know, I mean not having to have an engineer there You know the ability to do some keyboards and kind of do an idea like this is and I helped a lot

6:38Do songs typically start in a piano or a guitar for you like where do you when you when you when you think you have an idea? Where do you see you know? I mean they started my head and I'd have to kind of flush out a little bit of it in my head and it really depends on my much better Yeah Good reasoning and what about when you bring it to the band like how does how did that change because I You know, but by the way now now a lot changes because I might have an idea And I might just like start with the drum beat and then I like the way that beat down I'm gonna core progression over that beat and then I'll start writing the melody to the track that I'm kind of building

7:25So that's better than you like and you wouldn't you wouldn't have done that before? No, because I didn't have the technology kind of learning how to run well talk talk about technology just on the other aspect of it the the whole like when you when you put out that first record There was still that mystique to rock and roll you couldn't connect with with with the band if you wanted to you know But now I mean you're on Twitter all the time. So how have how have you I don't know? I don't really know where my question's going but like Are you happy with the way things have gone that now you're you don't need to be connected But you choose to be so connected with the fan base as opposed to you know Zeppelin would not have been able to be Zeppelin They've been connected like it's not even it's not an issue anymore of happy or not happier except

8:14It's not a sudden this is kind of what it and if you're 17 years old now You will know any other way other than this kind of access to you to these artists And you feel like if you don't have it then that person's not really playing along with the whole the game You know what I mean? Then I mean there's something really really great like if I were if I were 17 years older If I was 20 years old now and somebody came to me and said You know a state of music that maybe wouldn't have existed full format

9:16So maybe like I don't know that at Montfort in Sun's seven years ago would have sold people people that can find them We're you know when they're looking where do you find new music? Where do you listen to stuff? Okay everywhere, you know like I I Go on for a you haven't check our new band or check out like Jules Holland You know because you'll tell and always had like two with family love to with me I've never heard of that I want But you know sometimes I'll spend the afternoon on iTunes You know going to this and would you like this and you like this and just kind of you know, well, let me hear that

10:05Let me check that out So I mean I'd like that the idea turned on me because it really changed too much I just find it interesting because everyone nowadays finds music in different ways everyone has their own website or has their own You know niche place to to fine tunes and I just think I find that so interesting yeah a lot of things are website They're the ones they call we are hunted They've been every genre and I've been a lot of time on there just kind of check and then would you like Would you would you maybe find something that you dig and then maybe want to write with these people like is that something that's ever crossed your mind? Like hey, I should write a tune with these kids. It's funny because I do get a lot of like

10:54Like I'll have I'll hear a song for the first time you know go online and I'll say you know you know, I really like this song and this is my song a day or something and Then like somebody's not being able to eat me back I'd be like, oh my god. That's so nice. Thank you so much. What are you guys up? And you know and then you wind up with this kind of a Twitter friendship with these bands You know that you you never really met but you have a shared experience So kind of you can see you kind of fall in and we don't have too much time here And I do want to talk about acting a little bit because I watched the the smooth the series on funnier day this morning It's it's hilarious So I actually you know, that was always a big funnier dice man

11:44You know I was in LA and you know I'm an artist and you're called about that Hey, we want to come talk to you about doing something and we sat in the office and kind of flushed that out with What's one of the writers that was there? Where there's like a bunch of ideas and I'm kind of stuck out I wasn't sure at first that the band was gonna be into it It kind of like all the the parts about that that made that funny. Well for the reasons Why was funny that they did it and they saw that too, you know, is it like an in joke within the band or was that just something One of the writers came up. Oh, yeah, okay. Oh, yeah, I mean, you know, I can't back and play like everything in the band is You know like oh, yeah, we have a player. Oh, Rob. That must have been your solo record. Did you get a solo record? I didn't realize you just solo record. Oh, okay, you know Or is that like it's somebody thumbs up like this inevitably, you know at least once every couple weeks somebody in a mean

12:32We will come to like Kyle and tell them how much they love smooth Great, I didn't have anything to do that, but I'll let Rob know. Thank you. I like it too great Do you play that live is that come out in the set list? No, no that comes out when I do solo tours, okay Before I let you go we do something called five questions five quick questions one word answers Road or studio Leonard McCartney when you hear a song what usually hits you first lyrics melody or rhythm song you've written you're most proud of and in one word matchbox 20

13:32Thank you so much, man, I really appreciate it Thanks for your time, man, I appreciate having you. Yeah, you too