Parmalee
Parmalee is an American country music band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (lead vocals, guitar) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and Josh McSwain (guitar), who is a best friend since childhood.
They are signed to the Stoney Creek division of BBR Music Group and have released two studio albums: Feels Like Carolina and 27861. The band has made six entries on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, with two number-one singles on the latter: “Carolina” in 2013, and “Just the Way”, a collaboration with Blanco Brown, in 2021.
Prior to the formation of Parmalee, Matt and Scott performed with their father in a group entitled Jerry Thomas and the Thomas Brothers Band. When their father retired, they wanted to continue playing music so they started Parmalee, consisting of Matt and Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, and Barry Knox.[3] Their first EP was titled Daylight. The band drew attention from producer David Bendeth of RCA.
Bendeth invited them to record three songs at Water Music Studios in Hoboken, New Jersey, which led to a publishing deal with Los Angeles-based Windswept Publishing. Then came an invitation from Bendeth to record the remainder of the 12 songs that comprise the band’s full-length debut album, Inside. Following the release, Parmalee spent nearly 2 years touring and promoting their album.
Parmalee also released a live acoustic album entitled Unplugged and a documentary-style DVD, Inside Live. In 2006, they went to Los Angeles to begin recording with producer Stevo Bruno. They split their time between touring the East Coast and recording in California.
They recorded the majority of the tracks in Los Angeles (Nikki Sixx, bassist of Mötley Crüe, collaborated with Parmalee on several tracks, both writing and producing), then travelled to Nashville to write, produce, and mix the remainder of the record with producer Kevin Beamish. Parmalee released the EP Complicated in 2008.
The band’s next BBR single was 2020’s “Just the Way”, a collaboration with trap artist Blanco Brown. In March 2021, this became both the band’s and Brown’s second number-one single.
