Rob Thomas announces new album, tour with his son: 'It's not lost on me how lucky I am'
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Rob Thomas might be a member of the 'slacker generation,' but he's better defined as a workaholic.
As the frontman for Matchbox Twenty, which has sold more than 40 million albums in a nearly 30-year span, and the architect of a triumphant solo career that moved about 18 million more with earworms including 'Lonely No More' and 'Her Diamonds,' Thomas has rarely deviated from the cycle of write-record-release-tour.
In 2023, Matchbox Twenty released 'Where the Light Goes,' its first album in more than a decade that was paired with the lengthy Slow Dream Tour. Next year, the band will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Diamond-certified debut, 'Yourself or Someone Like You,' which spawned the ubiquitous 'Real World,' '3AM' and 'Push.'
But before he returns to ringmaster duties, Thomas, 53, will release his sixth solo album, 'All Night Days,' this summer and follow it with a 25-date tour from Aug. 1 in Atlanta through Sept. 6 in Los Angeles, hitting cities including Nashville, Boston, Indianapolis, Detroit, Houston and Las Vegas.
Presale tickets for the run, which also features The Lucky and A Great Big World on certain dates, are available from 10 a.m. May 7 through 10 p.m. May 8 with the general on sale at 10 a.m. May 9 at robthomasmusic.com (all are local time).
Chatting from his home of 20 years in idyllic Bedford, New York, Thomas shared the story behind the name of his new album, his excitement about his son playing guitar on tour and his commitment to rescuing animals.
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Question: We spoke almost exactly two years ago when Matchbox Twenty was preparing for a summer tour. Did that go so well that you couldn't wait to get out there again?
Answer: It's funny, with Matchbox Twenty, every year we get closer and better at what we do. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of Matchbox Twenty so I thought, if I don't get out there now and play solo, I'll miss that window.
What do you remember from that time when ' … Something to Be' came out? The band had huge success with 'More Than You Think You Are' (in 2002) and you were about six years past the huge solo breakout with 'Smooth' (with Carlos Santana).
It was the perfect time. 'Smooth' happened before the second record ('Mad Season') came out in 2000 and the whole video for 'Bent' was the rest of the band beating me up. That was the joke. We wanted to have them beating me up in an alley with a Grammy and you can't do that with a Grammy. We had someone call to check! We were really feeling so creative to do 'More Than You Think You Are' when we really felt we hit our stride. But we had been going since 1996 and (after that album) the band purposely took a break and then it was like, if I'm going to do something solo, this is the time.
You've really had a prolific career.
It's not lost on me how lucky I am that I've been able to go back and forth and have fans be generous and come to both shows. The band, I won't say they love (my solo career), but (Matchbox Twenty drummer) Paul (Doucette) said, 'I can't tell my best friend not to do something that makes him happy because it's inconvenient to me.'
With the new album and tour, where did the title 'All Night Days' come from?
It stemmed from a conversation I was having about when we used to stay out all night and I said, "I thought my all night days were over." I Googled the title because with most great things there's probably another song or book with that title and there wasn't. It felt fortuitous that I stumbled on (a phrase) and made it unique.
The first single 'Hard to Be Happy' is this jaunty tune, but lyrically, there's a lot of rumination going on.
It's a good thing that we're in a time where it's OK to talk about not being OK. You know those commercials for mood inhibitors and people are out there with that fake smiley mask? The music is the fake mask and inside is what people are feeling. No matter where we are with having a mental health conversation, we feel this need to be performative in some way, to try not to burden other people with all of the things distressing you … But it was very intentional to musically have this kind of Harry Nilsson, 'Coconut' kind of vibe.
For the tour, what are you planning production-wise?
We're getting the staging designs together now, but at the end of the day it's about me and the players. Most of the guys in my (eight-piece) solo band have been with me 20 years and on this tour, my lead guitarist is my son Mason.
That has to be a proud moment for you. Has he played with you before?
We've done some charity and private gigs so he's gotten the songs down and he's really ready for the tour. He came to Australia for the Matchbox Twenty tour last year and that was fun because he was just hanging with me and the band.
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When we last spoke, I asked how you stay fit on tour and you joked that I should ask you that at the end of it. So now several months since the end of it, how are you feeling?
My left knee and back, I don't notice anything in the moment, but I do in the aftermath. From a practical standpoint, I miss being on the road because within a week you are in super shape because I'm working out every day and doing a two-hour show every night. You can regiment your meals better. The hard thing now is when you get off the road.
How have things been going with your Sidewalk Angels Foundation?
When my wife (Marisol Maldonado) and I started it, it was important for us to realize we had this vehicle that we could use this platform to help no-kill animals shelters … We just lost our dog, Ollie, last week after 16 years. He was the first mass rescue from The Sato Project and it was us and a few organizations getting dogs from this area called Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. It was putting the dogs on a plane to America and finding no-kill shelters and homes they could go to and we continued to be part of those rescues and other organizations' mission statement. It's been 20 years and millions of dollars raised and we barely let it sit on the shelves, ever.
Do you have any other pets?
Ollie was our last one for a while, but I know one day we're going to be driving down the road and be like, yep, we've got a dog now.
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