Rob Thomas, who still insists matchbox twenty (or however we’re spelling it this year) is an ongoing enterprise, is ready to be a music mogul. Having already proven that he can write a hook better than any other songwriter this decade, that’s probably a good call for Thomas’ Sony BMG Epic backer.

The new label is called RTel Records, which is too retro for words. The label’s first signing is Garfield Mayor. Remember Garfield’s name. We’ll be profiling him on the main site when he cuts his tracks, but you can listen to some nice low-key alt sounds. The vocal dynamics are reminiscent of Thomas at times, but as Garfield’s page points out, there are a lot of sounds in there, including David Gray, Ben Harper and Paul Simon. All good there and I definitely hear some David Gray, but like Thomas, Garfield apparently can rip into a song, listing Zeppelin and Foo Fighters as well.

Take a listen at his MySpace page for now and enjoy. I’m putting in an advance order with the man himself.

Spinning In The CD
Check out Shop Boyz and Party Like A Rock Star. If anything has summer hit written on it, this may be the one. Go explicit. We double dog dare you.