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Originally gaining their musical influence from their father, Matt and Scott performed with Jerry Thomas in a band. However after their father decided to retire from music, the boys had to look elsewhere to pursue their musical goals. They soon started Parmalee with their cousin Josh McSwain and a childhood friend Josh McSwain.
They gained the attention of David Bendeth from RCA Records who heard their first EP 'Daylight'. The record label was impressed and invited the band to record their debut album 'Inside' with them, Parmalee then spent almost two years afterwards touring and promoting the release. Another EP entitled 'Complicated' was released in 2008 and the band once again took to the road to test drive the new material. In 2010 the band were involved in a fatal shooting incident after performing in South Carolina. A suspect boarded their tour bus with a hand gun and demanded money from the band. Scott Thomas threatened them with his own gun and the assailant opened fire, shooting Scott in the leg, shoulder and stomach which ended up putting him in a coma for ten days.
It wasn't until 2011 that Scott was fit enough to begin drumming again full time. In 2013 they released their most successful album to date 'Feels Like Carolina' which peaked at #10 on the US Country charts. The single 'Carolina' that was taken from the album remains their biggest success to date, it has charted at #2 on the Country charts and #36 on the US Singles chart.
I don't care what other people say about country music; I love it, and Parmalee is a big reason for my deep love and appreciation for this very under-appreciated and often maligned genre. One thing I love about the band Parmalee is that there's so much camaraderie and common ground between all of the bandmates and each other. This is because they all grew up together, and I really think that this sort of childhood bond ends up making their live performances even better than other country groups.
Brothers Scott and Matt Thomas always do I great job of staying in sync with each other while performing, and Barry, their cousin, and Josh, their friend, do nothing but add to this strong sense of unity and familiarity on stage. This, in my opinion, translates to deeper, more meaningful performances of songs like "Carolina" and "Already Calling You Mine."
You can just tell when watching Parmalee perform that they're up on stage doing what they love and have always wanted to do, and it really makes for an engaging concert. I've also always appreciated the familial nature of the fans as well. I've seen first-timers at Parmalee concerts immediately welcomed by repeat viewers, and I just love that their fanbase is a community that accepts and doesn't ostracize fans, like I think other bands have problems with.
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