By Steve Newton
I’m not the biggest Matchbox 20 fan in the world, but when I interviewed 25-year-old frontman Rob Thomas in June of 1997 the band was touring behinds its debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, which would go on to sell over nine-million copies in the U.S. alone.
So what do I know?
I thought it was an impressive debut, but wasn’t expecting it to be a blockbuster. And then two years later Thomas hit the big time as a solo artist via his collaboration with Carlos Santana on the mega-hit “Smooth”.
At one point in the conversation I asked Thomas what it was about Matchbox 20 that set it apart from the thousands of other rock bands that have released their debut albums in the last year.
I wasn’t expecting his response to that, either.
Have a listen:
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