Matchbox Twenty in celebration mode for Spokane concert

For the better part of two decades, you couldn’t take a spin around the dial of FM radio without catching a Matchbox Twenty song.

The pop rock band exploded with its 1996 debut album, “Yourself or Someone Like You,” which sold more than 12 million copies off the success of singles like “3 A.M.” and “Push.”

That success continued into the 2000s, and even as lead singer Rob Thomas busied himself with side projects, band members pushed themselves as musicians, even when they were apart.

Paul Doucette, rhythm guitarist and drummer for the band, has focused much of his time recently to composing music for movies.

“You don’t always want to be touring all the time, and it’s a thing where I can be writing music at home,” Doucette told The Press. “I’m still evolving my style, and you sort of have to change it for each film.”

Still, Doucette said his solo efforts feed into the future of the band.

“We’ve been around for more than 20 years, and there is a legacy in there,” Doucette said. “But nobody wants to say, ‘My best days are behind me.’ I feel like I’m a better musician now than any part of my life, and it’s hard to imagine that I wouldn’t continue on to expand that legacy.”

Doucette and Matchbox Twenty perform Wednesday at the Spokane Arena with Counting Crows. It is the first date on a national tour, and the first time the band has toured together since 2013.

“A Brief History of Everything Tour” is intended to be a celebration of past success, Doucette said.

“This tour is so based on our history,” he said. “We’ve never toured without having a new record out.”

He said every album in the band’s history will get a little acknowledgment at the show, and fans shouldn’t worry about the band being complacent about playing hits like “Push.”

“We hold those songs in high regard,” Doucette said.

The band hasn’t released an album of new material since 2012’s “North,” and Doucette said there aren’t immediate plans for studio time after the tour.

“It’s a wait-and-see situation,” Doucette said. “We all have other things that we want to do, but we’re going to be on the road with each other for three to four months. I can’t imagine we won’t be working together making music.”

Doucette said he wants whatever new material to be organic and representative of where they are now as musicians.

“We made (some of those songs) 20 years ago, and now we’re completely different people with children and marriages,” he said. “You have to have a sense of what works. Sort of the ultimate challenge is understanding what’s going to connect with people, not strategically, but inherently.”

Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows perform at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Spokane Arena. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $35-$85, available at the Spokane Arena box office, all TicketsWest outlets, online at TicketsWest.com or by calling (800) 325-SEAT.