Press Release: MATCHBOX TWENTY RETURNS TO THE STUDIO

STEVE LILLYWHITE PRODUCING NEW TRACKS FOR UPCOMING RETROSPECTIVE HITS SET, "EXILE ON MAINSTREAM"


Melisma/Atlantic recording group matchbox twenty have returned to the studio to record their first new material in five years. Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite is overseeing the sessions in L.A., marking the band's first work with the renowned producer - whose credits include the likes of U2, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, and many others. The new matchbox twenty tracks - which also mark their first recordings as a foursome - will be included on a retrospective hits collection, "EXILE ON MAINSTREAM," slated for release on October 2nd.

"For the first time, we're all writing as a band," says the band's Grammy-winning lead singer Rob Thomas. "In the past, I would write all the songs and the guys would write all their parts. Now it's a band in the hand. We all fight it out... we fight over melodies and lyrics. It's completely unique from anything we've done before."

matchbox twenty's last studio album, the RIAA double platinum "MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE," was released in November 2002 and earned the band two Grammy nominations and two American Music Award nominations. The group ranked as the #1 Adult Top 40 Artist and #1 Modern AC Artist for 2003, according to Billboard magazine. During their 2003 world tour, matchbox twenty played sold-out concerts at three of the world's premier venues - New York's Madison Square Garden, London's Wembley Arena, and Los Angeles' Staples Center. The band reunited at the end of 2005 to play two special New Year's shows in Las Vegas.

matchbox twenty's three albums to date have sold more than 28 million copies worldwide. They made their recording debut in 1996 with "YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU," followed by "MAD SEASON BY MATCHBOX TWENTY" (2000), and "MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE" (2002). The band has logged an extraordinary string of hit singles, including such chart-toppers as "Push," "3AM," "Real World," "Back 2 Good," "If You're Gone," "Mad Season," "Bent," "Disease," "Unwell," and "Bright Lights."

matchbox twenty is: Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cook and Brian Yale.