|
After a brief hiatus, Matchbox Twenty are back on the music  scene, bigger and better than ever.
Last year they returned with the release of their ‘retrospective’ album Exile on Mainstream (check out Liselle’s review here). You’re bound to have had the first single, 'How Far We’ve Come' drilled into your little ears by now, as it was blasted on radio stations all summer! They are even bringing their Exile on Mainstream Tour to New Zealand, playing at Vector Arena on April 8. We are so excited about their upcoming concert, that we’re giving away a double pass to one very lucky nzgirl! Read on to find out how you could win the rock experience of a lifetime…  We spoke to lead guitarist Kyle Cook and poked a few extra nosey questions his way. Lead singer Rob Thomas may be the face of the band, but he’s definitely not the only personality! Kyle is one super busy guy; on top of all his Matchbox Twenty commitments he’s also pursued a solo career and has a wife and two young daughters. From groupies, the dodgy eye at New Zealand customs and hidden wine bottles in the beach, we find out more about the guitarist of this hugely successful rock band (they’ve sold about 44 million records worldwide!)... You’ve been to New Zealand before – what did you think? I loved New Zealand, [apart from] the fact that New Zealand customs don’t seem to like me very much. Every time we’ve gone to New Zealand the entire band gets through but me – they give me a crazy look like I’m on acid of something! I always get detained! But other than that, I love it. It’s a beautiful country. I'm really excited to be coming back! So you’re in Matchbox Twenty, you have a solo career and you have a family – how do you juggle everything?
It’s interesting… My solo project is kinda really no more – so I don’t have to attend to that. I’ve just been writing and producing a lot in Nashville (Ramarea's note: where Kyle now lives). But it is all quite hard! I haven’t seen my family for a month and a half, it’s hard to balance travel and work, but that’s just part of it. I could have brought them out on the road with me, but my kids are nine and five, and they’ve got their own lives now!  How do you handle being away from your family?I drink a lot to get over missing them (laughs)! Well really, four years ago when we were doing these kinda tours, technology was quite different. Now we’ve got things like iChat – a real time visual and audio discussion – that’s kinda a new element to this whole being apart thing and it helps a lot.
How has the tour gone so far? Any rock'n'roll antics? I wish there was - I really should’ve come up with something before you called! Other than some technical problems in Atlanta, everything has been pretty un-rock star. Groupies are there, but we’re all good little boys! What kind of things do you ask for backstage? Are you high maintenance? Not really. We do get a lot of stuff backstage and sometimes I feel bad because a lot of stuff goes to waste. You know, like the standard fruit and stuff- the cellophane usually never even gets peeled back from the plate.  Matchbox Twenty has been together for a while now, what’s the secret to not getting sick of each other?Drinking! It also helps that each one of us has our own tour bus, and we don’t make eye contact with each other at all. No, of course I’m joking! We’ve been away for four years, and we really needed that break. It’s kinda like a marriage, and we all know that we only have room for one marriage in our lives, and that’s with our wives! Our break came at the perfect time.
It’s good because we’re at the point where we can really tour the way we want to, and have a little space and privacy. But overall we have a lot of common interest and good communication in this band – we talk about our feelings! What’s your secret to maintaining a successful marriage, especially with the musician lifestyle? That’s tough too. It certainly takes a delicate balance. At times you wanna go ‘alright, screw this!’, but you have to want to continue to try. When I met my wife the band was all part of it, so she knew what she was integrating her life into. But she definitely gives a lot more than she takes.  What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done?Hmm, well I guess it was back when I was courting my wife, right at the very beginning. It was intended to be romantic but ended up as one of those ‘I’m a f***en idiot' moments. I went to a beach ahead of time and planted a bottle of wine the sand. I brought her back to that particular location, but I couldn’t find the bottle anywhere! So I had to give up and tell her - everything was ruined. But she thought it was sweet, and a few weeks later we went back and found it! You’ve got two daughters, what do you want for them when they grow up? That they get a fantastic education, that they want to learn about the world around them, both politically and environmentally. I also want them to be confident individuals, and respectful people. I just want them to pursue whatever interests they want… And I’m here to provide them with any support they may need!
Ramarea
|
.jpg){kind=small}