Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas was well on the way to dying from
alcohol and drug abuse, but these days he thanksa beautiful young fan
for saving him from the downward spiral embraced by so many other rock
stars.
"I looked out into the audience one night during a show in Montreal and there was this beautiful girl. I couldn't take my eyes off her", recalls
Rob, who raced into the crowd to catch her as she left. Four months
later, that same girl, a shy, blonde, New York schoolteacher named
Marisol, is snuggled up backstage with Rob wearing a diamond engagement
ring and preparing for a spring wedding.
"God, she was gorgeous. I had to coax her backstage and we got engaged
two months later", he grins. "I can't bear to be apart from her and she
comes everywhere on the road with me.
"At first with Marisol, I was worried about having that extra
responsibility in my life, but now I welcome that. It's a good thing for me and allows me to slow down. Previously, I was just floating around,
but now I have someone to lean on and someone who leans on me".
It's a major turn around for Rob personally, and also for Matchbox 20,
who are described as one fo the biggest bands in the world today. It was
only a few short years ago that Rob was homeless, with only his rock n
roll dreams to keep him going.
That was before the hit singles Push and 3AM propelled his band to the
top of the charts worldwide. But the pressure of performing a dizzying
300-plus shows internatinally saw Rob craving those empty days when
nothing was expected of him. The result was that he buried himself in a
world of booze and drugs.
"I was slowly killing myself", he confesses. "Jack Daniels, pot, acid,
speed and cocaine. The only thing I didn't try was heroin. I don't
remember too much about the past couple of years".
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