The frontman of Matchbox Twenty Rob Thomas, released last month his first solo album in six years - The Great Unknown.

In an exclusive interview with the American singer and songwriter, Rob Thomas talked about why he took his time on the LP. "Every couple years, you get to put out 12 songs that represent you," Thomas also said, "You just want them to be the best songs they can be."

In the interview, the 43 year old singer gave a brief statement of his journey from an emerging alternative rock star to a veteran family man.

As Rob Thomas looked back, the frontman said that his band the Matchbox Twenty were caught off-guard by their immediate commercial success, "First record (1996's Yourself or Someone Like You) came out, and people were calling us, going, 'You're selling a million records a week,'" "We were like, 'Is that good?'"

Rob Thomas said that he held closely in his arms the rock stardom, but eventually he learned the importance of staying on the ground, "You're drinking a lot more; you're taking any pill you can get; you're snorting anything you can do." And Thomas added, "And if you're lucky, you come out on the other side of it, and you find a center to look to."

Rob Thomas has recently focused his attention to his wife, Marisol. The wife of Rob was recently diagnosed with a lesion on her brain. Thus, Rob Thomas is obliged to cut off his run of tour dates behind The Great Unknown album.

Despite the difficult situation Thomas' wife is having, Rob Thomas is optimistic about the future. "She's gonna probably always have good days and bad days." "But at least we don't have the fear that we don't know what we're doing."

Also, about the acting career of Rob in Funny or Die and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the singer doesn't plan to shift his career paths directly, Rob said, "I just want to keep trying to make good records."