The Official LJ Community For Matchbox Twenty Fans On-Line

Rob Thomas Interview!

2009-07-02T02:15:47Z

Hey, Rob Thomas is giving a new Soundcheck interview for Cradlesong, which came out yesterday btw ftw! Check it out over at http://soundcheck.walmart.com/rob-thomas Here's a preview of the video.

"Her Diamonds" Debuts Today!

2009-04-22T23:15:07Z

Rob's new single "Her Diamonds" debuted today off his album, cradlesong, out June 30. Check it out on robthomasmusic.com!

In the Studio: Rob Thomas

2009-03-07T19:50:56Z

INXS, Tom Petty and...Damn Yankees? The Matchbox Twenty singer has some intriguing influences on his upcoming CD. He gives us an exclusive listen. By Clark Collis (Entertainment Weekly, 03.13.09)

Rob Thomas originally wanted Cradle Song — the singer's second solo album and the follow-up to 2005's chart-topping ...Something to Be — to channel the Latin-infused atmosphere of Paul Simon's 1990 disc The Rhythm of the Saints. The scheme was ambitious and risky — and is almost completely unfulfilled by the half-dozen tracks that Thomas plays EW in a Manhattan recording studio. ''That was our beginning idea, but the songs I was writing just didn't fit that vibe,'' explains the frontman for Matchbox Twenty (who plan to start writing their next album later this month in Nashville). Instead, Cradle Song (due out June 30) features a wide variety of influences, some of them even more unexpected. Possible first single ''Meltdown'' is reminiscent of Kick-era INXS (''That was in our sights without a doubt,'' says Thomas), while power ballad ''Someday'' opens with piano tinkling that the singer jokingly (but accurately) describes as having a ''Damn Yankees sound. Total '80s!'' The epic, drum-driven ''Fire on the Mountain'' (not the Grateful Dead tune) does somewhat evoke Paul Simon's fusions of pop and world music, though Thomas says that the song's principal inspiration was Dave Eggers' 2006 book What Is the What, which concerns the plight of a Sudanese refugee. The most obvious tip of the hat, however, is to Tom Petty on the melancholic country number ''Getting Late,'' a ''little ditty about death'' that's likely to end up as the album's closing track. ''In my heart, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty are it,'' says Thomas. ''I have to make records that I like. But I want to feel like they would like them too.'' Just as long, presumably, as Petty doesn't sue him for plagiarism. ''Well, yeah. That would help!''

mb20 - posters for sale & MSG pix!

2009-01-13T06:08:40Z

Hey guys, I wanted to make a quick little post for anyone who might be interested. I've listed some mb20 posters that I've found from under my bed on eBay. Various little ones from some of the CD single exports and from the LFA VHS and one fanclub poster and some others. If you're interested you can check out the auction here.

And so this isn't totally a spam thread, I got to see mb20 last year when they played in NYC at MSG on Rob's birthday. I was lucky enough to have front row center seats and I was able to get some awesome photos. If you want to check them out you can view them here! There's also a video clip at the end too. This is one of my favorite photos, we totally shared a moment!

- Alix "the Great"

Request

2008-12-13T01:47:58Z

This is an odd request, and please forgive me if it's not allowed here, but we're having a project with the students at work and we're going to work on U2's 'Walk On' lyrics and Matchbox 20's Real World's as well, so could anybody please upload its video in good quality? I'd hate to have to resort to youtube quality... "/

Thanks a bunch!
x-posted P:

matchbox twenty to perform at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet

2008-12-02T16:10:06Z

When matchbox twenty started doing the NASCAR - How Bad Have You Got It? ads with clips from races in a montage set to "How Far We've Come", I was thrilled. I am a major NASCAR fan. But this is even better!!

matchbox twenty is going to perform at this year's Sprint Cup series awards banquet!! It will air at the following times on the following stations:

12/5/2008: Sprint Cup Awards Banquet on ESPN Classic 9:00-12:00pm/et
12/8/2008: Sprint Cup Awards Banquet re-air 2:00 - 4:00pm/et on ESPN2

= D = D = D

Help Save Baxter and Carrie

2008-12-01T20:29:49Z

Rob and Mari posted this note on Rob's site on the 24th, and I thought I'd pass it along here, as it's a situation my horse-lover's heart is following dearly.

A while back authorities seized 17 malnourished and neglected horses from the Black River Stable in Cherry Plain, Rensselaer County, in Albany, NY. Although the horses were in terrible condition, they were still in service for the owners to make money on their trail-riding business.

The Animal Control officers had been to this farm multiple times in the previous year trying to get Thelma and Mary Wadsworth (the owners) to care properly for these animals. The horses were standing in an open pasture with no grass left, no hay or grain. They had no shelter and only a filthy tub that collected water, which was all they had to drink.

Finally, they couldn't tolerate it any more. After trying to get them to cooperate the Animal Control Officers went to court and were granted a warrant for seizure. They spent the day calling all local shelters and begging them to take horses if they could. Pets Alive was able to take two, Baxter and Carrie.

Baxter and Carrie were brought to Pets Alive filled with worms. Their bellies were swollen and their ribs were protruding. They were too emaciated to even stand. Carrie's milk had dried up well before her baby Baxter should have stopped nursing, so he was stunted in his development and malnourished. Baxter's fur was coming out in patches and his skin was showing through. And since they had been forced to live in a filthy environment where they stood knee high in feces, one side of his small body was covered in it. Whats even scarier is that Carrie and Baxter were actually better off than some of the other horses.

At Pets Alive they were cared for, and fed properly, with the staff going out five times a day to feed them. Immediately, Kerry, Matt and all the workers at Pets Alive began caring for the sick pair. Special hay and grain were bought for them. The vet came out to give them shots, vaccinations and de-worming. Carrie's teeth were cleaned and her hooves trimmed and both she and Baxter enjoyed baths for the first time. Within three days Baxter went from dragging his head in the dirt to looking around and walking over to be pet and scratched. Mommy and baby were doing wonderfully.

Then, the most shocking and disturbing thing happened. Friday the case went to court and unbelievably the judges (who it should be noted, although well meaning, are not really judges or even lawyers for that matter, but rather elected officials who do whatever the prosecutors tell them to do) has awarded this woman her choice of six horses to take back.

She has chosen to take Baxter and Carrie back. Pets Alive offered her $2000 (that they frankly can't afford), to buy them, and she countered with almost double the amount! Then, when they offered to pay the $4,000, she took the offer off of the table. WE HAVE SINCE OFFERED HER $10,OOO TO LEAVE THE HORSES WITH PETS ALIVE AND SHE HAS TURNED US DOWN REPEATEDLY. Brad Shear, Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Societys Executive Director, says that he can only suppose that she wont accept the money because of hurt feelings over this situation and bad things written about her on the Internet.

We cant imagine what kind of human being would sit by while this happened to another living creature because of a bruised ego and we cannot allow for these horses to be returned to her. We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of these beautiful creatures, but we need your help.

This kind of abuse must be made known and must be stopped. We must fight to put an end to judges who view animals merely as merchandise and property to make a living from, no matter what their treatment. These precious animals cannot speak for themselves and they need our help.

Please do what you can to help us in this fight. Carrie and Baxter are now so happy and healthy, looking forward to the possibility of good homes rather than going back to the hellish nightmare that they came from with an inhumane proprietor that would not feel an ounce of remorse from starving her animals to death.

If you are as outraged as we are, please let your voices be heard by writing to: www.blackriverstable.com contacting: Judge Rechen of Berlin Town Court.

You can also contact Brad Shear, Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society, Executive Director, 518-434-8128 x203, to find out what, if anything you can do to help.

Thanks for listening,

Marisol Thomas, Founder, President, SIDEWALK ANGELS FOUNDATION Board member, PETS ALIVE

Rob Thomas, Vice President, SIDEWALK ANGELS FOUNDATION

If you have an inclination toward animal causes, too, consider taking the time to pitch in to help save Baxter and Carrie. At the very least, consider buying "A New York Christmas" if you haven't already done so, as all the proceeds go towards the Sidewalk Angels Foundation.

A few icons

2008-09-29T23:10:54Z

Somewhat old, but still good~
Check them out, if you're interested.

+

Theres a few more over here @ caramel_icons

PBS's Soundstage

2008-08-01T02:10:17Z

I know it's late notice (Thanks matchboxtwenty.com newsletters, /end sarcasm.), but PBS's "Soundstage" episode featuring the guys is pretty damn phenomenal. Makes me jealous they didn't come near me this tour! I don't know about your area, but the episode is re-airing twice more for me. Check your local listings of course.

And, apparently, at the very same time on the Sundance Channel you can see them on "Live From Abbey Road." Wow, I guess Robert Redford wanted to stick it to public programming, eh?

Putting Up the Wallpaper

2008-07-17T06:29:52Z

Can you believe we're nearing our SEVENTH birthday? Come November, it'll be true! Be proud, fans! And as the first and oldest Matchbox community on LiveJournal, your ever-loving mod finally got her ass in gear and polished up our look. We've gone from the mishmash of god-knows-what that was in 2001 to the svelteness of creamy olive for '08. An all-new info page will follow within the day.

Again, fans, pat yourselves on the back. The past seven years have been outrageously awesome together and I think you all certainly deserve a huge thanks for keeping our community going!

Cleaning Out the Prize Closet!

2008-07-13T01:12:35Z

We are going way back for this one!

I recently found an extra set of Matchbox Twenty Ice Box Poetry, an item that was up for sale after the release of Mad Season. This baby is quite rare now! (And still hermetically sealed!) Two sheets of multiple magnetic words for you to play with and make your own lyrical creations are up for grabs if you, yes you, can answer this very obscure fan-related trivia question:

View Poll: Ice Box Poetry Contest

First one to answer correctly will win. If you're really lucky, I may just throw in a t-shirt.

mb20gders @ 2008-04-03T09:09:00

2008-04-03T16:09:41Z

new video for These Hard Times on YouTube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zMCx9Pu3rKY

yay!!

set list

2008-03-06T20:12:35Z

I am going to the show on March 12th in San Jose, so for anyone going to the dates before this, could you post a set list?

Video for ’These Hard Times’ on iTunes

2008-02-06T00:19:41Z

The video for 'These Hard Times' is now available only in the iTunes store.

Starting on Thursday, February 7th, you can also view the video on VH1.com. For special 'Behind the Video' footage, be sure to check out music.aol.com this Friday!

mb20gders @ 2008-01-22T21:32:00

2008-01-23T05:33:50Z

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/music_matchbox_twenty_mutemath_alanis/Content?oid=263361

New Album 09?
Anybody know any more about Rob's next album?

mb20gders @ 2008-01-12T13:51:00

2008-01-12T20:52:52Z

matchbox twenty featured on Walmart's Soundcheck

Get On It!

2008-01-12T18:29:49Z

Click

Grammy Commercial

2008-01-09T04:57:49Z

Rob at 0:46

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U17JADJdX_g

mb20gders @ 2007-10-29T19:49:00

2007-10-29T23:49:22Z

Test Your Skills With the
Matchbox Puzzle Game: www.howfarwevecome.net

Matchbox 20 Bloopers!!!

This was just posted by Matchbox Twenty on Myspace..

2007-10-23T20:20:14Z

I saw this on myspace. Matchbox Twenty posted it on the bulletin board. I'm glad I don't live in Charlotte. The DJs there sound like jerks.

OPEN LETTER TO MATT AND RAMONA FROM WLNK, CHARLOTTE:

After years of support from your show, and building what we thought to be a strong relationship between us and your station, I’m sad to have to write this letter.
On the North Carolina leg of our radio promo tour, I came down with food poisoning. Not that I have to, but let me give you a peek into what was my morning.
At 4am, I woke up, and began vomiting. This lasted for 5 hours straight, until 9am, causing us to miss our first radio appointment. Then, I made my next stop, but was too sick to sing so we signed for over 150 very understanding fans, after which I was sick again. We then made it to our next station after an hour stuck in traffic on a two-lane road. We were very late but managed to squeak out 3 songs.
At this time, Paul and I were still planning to make it to your station, when our record company informed us that time would no longer allow and we had to move on to our next non-radio event that was scheduled. (I’m sure you know that we are not hovered over our computers making our own routing and schedules) We were concerned about missing our appointment with you, but were assured by our record company that they had explained it to you and we would make it up.
After doing this for years with some level of success, this is not the first time that we have had to cancel a station. In the past, we make a plan with the station that we missed and ALWAYS follow through and make good. Actually, I was in the middle of scheduling a 5:30am flight in November to Charlotte to do the make up gig, when we saw on our website that you had completely jumped the gun and started to speak out on the air about how you weren’t going to play our music until we apologize in person to you. Even though this is the first time a DJ has ever publicly blackmailed us, we have pretty thick skin and would have still found a way to work something out with your station. The final straw for us was that you chose to read and make fun of letters that fans sent you, trying to defend us. To make great radio stations, you need DJs, the bands they play and, most importantly, the fans who listen. It’s our belief that you have left out two of those three things.
We are not precious; far from it, but we have worked hard over the last 15 years (always respectful of radio and all it’s given us,) and refuse to be publicly blackmailed. We would like to give the 12 fans who we missed that day free tickets and passes to our show at the beginning of next year and after that, we respect if your decision is to not play anymore MATCHBOX or Rob Thomas records. We thank you for the years of support and are sorry it has to come to an end, but there is no way we will ever apologize after being threatened on the air.

Sincerely,
Rob Thomas & MATCHBOX TWENTY

P.S.

The “thanks to Matt and Ramona” on the CD credit was to Matt and Ramona Serletic, not you.

Ticket pre-sale

2007-10-06T15:45:30Z

So, did anyone buy their CD at Target? I did because you're supposed to get early access to tickets to their concerts.
Whenever I check the site, it tells me that there are no tour dates available for the pre-sale yet. I've been checking this since the day the CD came out.
Anyone else have this problem?

A Lot More Paul

2007-10-06T05:21:54Z

Is it just me, or are they focusing a lot more on Paul - first on Leno and then on Kimmel? Maybe it just seems that way, because he's not hiding behind the drumset. He's so animated! It's great to see him right up there with Pookie, Rob, and Kyle! I LOVE how the four of them sing the chorus of "How Far We've Come" together!

I do miss Adam, but at the same time, I'm enjoying the band's new dynamic. I like how all the new songs on Exile On Mainstream say "written by matchbox twenty" rather than written by various individuals.

SOOOO thrilled that they're back!!!

&hearts

2007-10-06T05:11:09Z

I just got back from the taping of the jimmy kimmel show .. WATCH THE SHOW TONIGHT.

Matchbox Twenty put in sucha a great show .. you will not be disappointed.

Jimmy Kimmel @ Midnight on ABC 7 (or whatever your local station is)

pe@ce

It's A Matchbox Blitzkrieg!

2007-10-03T08:48:19Z

Lots of Matchbox coming up on the tube soon! All times are listed as Eastern and subject to change:

Thursday, Oct. 4: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 11:35 p.m. on NBC
Saturday, Oct. 6: Jimmy Kimmel Live, 12:05 a.m. on ABC
Monday, Oct. 8: Today, 7 a.m. on NBC
Monday, Oct. 8: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, syndicated

Be there or be square!

Exclusive Live Matchbox Twenty Show!

2007-10-02T23:53:22Z

Have you been waiting five long years for the new Matchbox Twenty album? Well the time has come! Fans can check out AT&T blue room to watch an exclusive live show from Matchbox Twenty featuring songs off their new album, Exile on Mainstream and the new single “How Far We’ve Come.”
The show begins Tuesday, October 2nd at 7 PM EST.
If you miss the performance, you can watch it exclusively in the blue room for the next 2 days!
Plus, enter to win the chance to really see them live- on tour- with exclusive access to their sound check and great seats at the show.
It’s all at AT&T blue room music!