Formed in Florida, Matchbox Twenty entered the world with a blockbuster -- 1996's YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU. The debut set spawned five hit singles -- "Push," "3 am," "Real World," "Long Day" and "Back 2 Good" and snagged an RIAA Diamond Award certification for U.S. sales exceeding more than 12 million to date. Thomas also raised the band's profile by co-writing and singing on Santana's Grammy Award-winning 1999 smash "Smooth." Matchbox Twenty maintained the momentum with MAD SEASON in 2000 and "MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE in 2002, both of which went multi-platinum and continued to spit out hits such as "Bent," "Unwell," "If You're Gone," "Bright Lights" and "Disease."

But after three albums of hard work and equally hard touring, Matchbox Twenty was ready for a break. Thomas released a pair of Top 5 solo albums which contained several #1 singles, Doucette worked with his band The Break and Repair Method and wrote film music, while Cook led the New Left. The hiatus not only renewed Matchbox Twenty as a band but also seasoned the individual members even further as they came back together for 2007's EXILE ON MAINSTREAM, a greatest hits collection that sported six inspired new tracks which were co-written by the band for the first time ever and included their biggest selling single to date “How Far We’ve Come”. 

In addition to more than 30 million records sold worldwide, Matchbox Twenty has also earned countless accolades, including five Grammy nominations, four American Music Award nods, the 2004 People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Musical Group, and they were named “Best New Band” in the 1997 Rolling Stone Readers Poll.

After EXILE ON MAINSTREAM's Top 5 success, Matchbox Twenty continued the collaborative process as it headed towards NORTH. The romantic "Overjoyed," according to both Thomas and Doucette, was "the first time we felt like we had something special”. Kyle Cook took lead vocals on the incredible ballad "The Way," which he and Doucette penned together. "She's So Mean," meanwhile, represents a "storytelling exercise" during which Thomas, Doucette and Cook sat around a microphone free styling lyrics that they eventually sculpted into the cautionary tale about a hard-to-handle woman who Doucette promises bears no similarity to anyone in the group members' real lives. Listening deeper to NORTH reveals even more different nuances, approaches and feels because of the group-writing dynamic.
 
"Matchbox Twenty is pretty all-encompassing," Doucette says. "Once it gets rolling, we just devote all our time and energy to that. I can speak for everybody on this; it's the thing we hold the most dear because it's the thing we built the longest, so we want to give it its due. We don't make records that often anymore, so when we do we want to devote our time and energy to not only doing it; but also bringing that music to the fans."

Staind’s decade-plus career has seen worldwide album sales in excess of 13 million and five #1 singles spanning multiple radio formats. With honest, heartfelt lyrics, resounding guitar chords, and Aaron Lewis’s unmistakable voice, the New England-based band leapt to the forefront of American alternative metal with 2001’s hugely popular Flip/Elektra third album, Break The Cycle. Fueled by the hit singles “Outside” and “It’s Been Awhile,” the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, ultimately going on to five-times RIAA platinum certification and worldwide sales of 7 million.

2003’s 14 Shades of Grey saw Staind continuing to dominate rock radio, spawning the mainstream rock hits, “Price To Play” and “So Far Away” and earning RIAA platinum certification. Released two years later, Chapter V entered the Billboard 200 at #1 – Staind’s third consecutive platinum-certified, chart-topping debut. In 2008, The Illusion of Progress made a top 3 debut on the Billboard 200, driven by the #1 alternative rock song, “Believe.”

In addition to his continuing work with Staind, singer Aaron Lewis is a fervent road warrior, performing solo acoustic versions of classics like “Epiphany” and “Right Here” to sell-out audiences across the country.

For nearly two decades, 10 Years have quietly pushed themselves and modern rock towards evolution.

Papa Roach doesn’t do lanes.

Be it rap-rock, electronic rock, rock ’n’ roll or anything in between, the quartet - vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo - have spent more than 20 years veering across freeways that most bands barely have the nerve to occupy, creating one of the most diverse and fearless discographies in music.


A hard left turn that sees them making their most daring maneuver yet, new single ‘Swerve’ is breathless in its unpredictability. Drawing inspiration from everything from jazz, funk and old-school hip-hop to hard rock and electronica, it’s a white-knuckle ride featuring a blistering array of rock solid beats, thumping bass lines, curveball saxophone licks and crunching guitar grooves, built around a chorus that features a stark warning cry of “Don’t swerve in my lane”, the track displays the fearless ability of its creators to cross as many as they desire.

With Fever 333 frontman Jason Aalon Butler and rap sensation Sueco joining proceedings to create a triple-pronged vocal attack, ‘Swerve’ provides a first glimpse at one of the most varied and compelling periods of the the group’s career. Clear, confident and above all competitive, it sees them challenging perceptions and breaking new ground, tossing the handbrake out of the window in the process.

DJ @ Hardstyle Superhero’s
Bookings - josh@the-core.co

cayden_538 is following