Parmalee's Matt Thomas heard someone knock on the RV's door. It was late at night in 2010, and the band had just finished a show in a bar where they made less than $50. Members wished the paycheck had been bigger, but they had just added a new song, "Carolina," to their set that they were confident would be their breakthrough hit. Parmalee was playing a string of shows to tighten their performance before they left North Carolina to showcase for record labels in Nashville.

When Thomas heard the knock on the door, he hoped the bar owner had made a mistake with their paycheck and was circling back to give them the rest of their money. When he opened the door, two men wearing bandanas pointed a gun at his head.

"They stepped into the RV screaming, 'Give me the cash,'" Matt said. "I said, 'I don't have any cash. I don't have any cash.'"

The robber fired his gun in the RV. Matt shouted for his brother Scott, the band's drummer, who had his carry permit and his pistol tucked under his bunk.

"I walked up to him, and a gunfight ensued," Scott said. "He was shooting at me, and then I was shooting, trying to get both guys."

Scott killed one of the masked men but was shot in the stomach, the chest, and through an artery. Matt miraculously escaped unscathed.  

"So here we are at the highest point of our career, just thinking we're going to get a record deal," Scott said.

"Then this all happens in a flash, and he's on the couch bleeding out," Matt added.

This week, Parmalee's "Girl In Mine" became the band's fourth No. 1 song. The chart-topper is from the band's new album "For You 2," which, at 18 songs deep, is the deluxe version of the band's third studio project, "For You," released in 2021.

The group - comprised of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar/lead vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and life-long friend Josh McSwain (guitar) - has accumulated more than 1 billion on-demand streams and No. 1 hits including their breakthrough hit "Carolina," the Blanco Brown collaboration "Just The Way" and "Take My Name" in addition to "Girl In Mine." "Carolina" was their first. All but "Carolina" are on "For You 2."

Matt co-wrote 17 of the 18 songs on the album. But getting to this point was truly a fight for their lives – especially Scott's.

Following the shooting, Scott was airlifted to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the middle of the night. He received two blood transfusions in transit, and when his bandmates arrived at the hospital, they were told Scott had a five percent chance of survival. The drummer was in a coma for 10 days and endured surgery on the leg he uses for the kick drum to save it from amputation.

"It was pins and needles for 40 days," Matt said. "He shot both the other guys, killed one guy, and the other guy is in prison."

Scott was in the hospital for 40 days and had to learn how to walk again. Five months later, he hobbled on stage to play a showcase with Parmalee for Broken Bow Records – who signed them immediately.

"I mean, it's the end of the world," Scott said. "We're never going to play again. I might not be able to walk again. I might not even live. So that just tells you how things can turn around."

They added: "That is our story. That's the story you're hearing -- what we've been through and sticking it out. Same four guys, too, not nobody else in the band."

The men attribute their longevity to a decade spent playing together with no measurable success. They learned who each other truly was, so they knew who they were standing beside when their dreams became reality in Nashville.

Getting to this point took the near-death experience, a second mortgage on the Thomas brothers' childhood home, and 25 years of grinding it out together. Parmalee formed in 1998, worked day jobs, and toured on the weekends until they signed with Broken Bow Records in 2011.

"We'd play on the weekends, and then we go to work," Knox said. "We just loved to play. We still love to play. We loved to tour. We just loved the live connection. Our dream was just to play music for a living. So, anything more than that is a bonus."

In 2022, the bonus was substantial. Parmalee's hit "Take My Name" was Billboard's Most Played Country Song of the year. The band recently wrapped a 19-city tour with Train, is currently playing their own shows and will be on the road with Kane Brown on his In The Air Tour in 2024.

New songs on "For You 2" include "Boyfriend" and "Gonna Love You," which were thoughtfully chosen to continue the band's strong relationship with country radio and Parmalee fans.

"Boyfriend" is a catchy contemporary promise to treat his love interest better than her current partner.

Lyrics include: "I don't know his name or what the hell he's waiting on, but if I was your boyfriend, I wouldn't be your boyfriend long."

"Gonna Love You" continues the story down the aisle, promising undying commitment reminiscent of some of country music's most celebrated love songs. The production coils and swells, adding drama and emotion to this undeniable serenade that is destined to be a staple wedding song for years to come.

Parmalee tested the new songs on stage before adding them to "For You 2." Because now, just as it was when they started performing together 25 years ago, playing music is what makes them the happiest.

"For 15 years, we just rode around with a band trailer, just dreaming and just having a good time like a bunch of idiots just trying to figure it out," Matt said. "Now we're doing it."

"For You 2" tracklist:

1.“For You” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Justin Wilson)

2. “Just The Way” – (Matt Thomas, Kevin Bard, Nolan Sipe)

3. “Backroad Girl” – (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Blake Bollinger, Brinley Addington)

4. “Take My Name” – (Matt Thomas, Ashley Gorely, David Fanning, Ben Johnson)

5. “I Do” – (Tyler Hubbard, Matt Thomas, Corey Crowder, David Fanning)

6. “Miss You” – (Michael Tyler, Matthew McGinn, David Fanning)

7. “Greatest Hits (feat. Fitz)” – (Matt Thomas, Kevin Bard, Nolan Sipe, Andrew Goldstein, Michael Fitzpatrick)

8. “Better With You” – (Matt Thomas, Ashley Gorely, David Fanning)

9. “Forget You – (feat. Avery Anna)” (Matt Thomas, Shane Minor, David Fanning, Thomas Archer)

10. “Alone Like That” – (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, David Fanning, James McNair)

11. “I See You” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Justin Wilson, Steven McMorran)

12. “I’ll Take The Chevy” – (Matt Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, Zachary Kale, James McNair, Josh Mirenda)

13. “For You”– (Matt Thomas, Barry Knox, Josh McSwain, Scott Thomas, David Fanning)

*14. “Girl In Mine” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Ashley Gorley, Casey Brown, Travis Wood)

*15. “Gonna Love You” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Abram Dean, Andy Sheridan)

*16. “Is It Just Me” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson)

*17. “Boyfriend” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps)

*18. “Wish You Never Loved Me” – (Matt Thomas, David Fanning, Ashley Gorley, Andy Sheridan)