Costco Connection - October 2007

Crossing the line

arts &
entertainment

’94, so I love Nirvana and Metallica and groups like that, too. I love all kinds of music.

We’ve always just tried to sing the songs the way we felt like we should. Gary just opens his mouth and he sings how he sings: He’s got a little bit of pop-tunes sensibility, but he also has that country slant from his raising. Jay and I are the same way. I think we’ve just tried to be true to that and to our roots.

In terms of the crossover thing … we’ve had a couple of songs get some pop air. “What Hurts the Most” was a big pop air song. But that kind of stuff you just can’t figure out or plan for. Those things grow legs of their own.

CC : As a band, you’re hitting the seven-year itch. How are you different now compared to when you first started playing together?

Rascal Flatts brings a little

country into the mainstream

CHAPMAN BAEHLER

JDR: I think we’ve come to a place where we know who Rascal Flatts is. And I think now we finally can really start stretching our wings out a little bit further and take some chances, where maybe we couldn’t in the past. I think that’s a really, really cool thing, and I think you’ll hear that on the Still Feels Good project.

CC : You guys still like to travel, perform live? Is it still a thrill?

By Tim Talevich

JDR: Yeah, that’s how we got the song Gary wrote that became the title track. It does still feel good after all these years, all this relentless touring. I don’t know how many times these wheels and tires on these buses have turned, but it’s pretty remarkable.

POP MUSIC FANS typically don’t pay much attention to country music. But that’s not the case with Rascal Flatts, a country band that’s finding a lot of fans across the board. With a sound that blends fiddles and mandolins with pop arrangements, backed with catchy and sometimes soulful lyrics, the Nashville-based band has sold more than 14 million albums since their debut in 1999. Gary LeVox, his cousin Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have rolled out a series of award-winning hits, including “What Hurts the Most,” “My Wish” and “Life Is a Highway” (written by the late country legend Chris LeDoux), recorded for the hit movie C ars. The Connection caught up with lead guitarist Rooney while the band was on tour for their new album, Still Feels Good.

CC: What’s next for Rascal Flatts?

The Costco Connection: Tell us about the new release. How does it compare to your past works?

Joe Don Rooney: I feel like we’ve put a lot more time and energy into this project. There’s always pressure in this business, but we put pressure on ourselves to try to better ourselves with each project. With this one, I think we just felt like we had a lot to prove because we’ve had success, obviously. But now it’s like “OK, are these guys going to be a mainstay, going to try to be here a lot longer, or are they done?”

A lot of artists get to this place where it’s real easy to get complacent and feel like you can relax a bit and just chill, but luckily we’re not cut from that mold. We’re more of the

school of “just keeping working hard, keep trying to get better.” You always got a little better in ya.

CC : Mention Rascal Flatts and many people think “crossover band—mostly country, with their toes dipped in pop music.” How did this nice mix come about?

JDR: We feel like in a way we’re just getting started. In this business, to get to a successful place, there are a lot of hills to climb. Early on, there are a lot of shows you gotta do, you’re touring 200- plus shows a year, 200-plus days a year, and it takes a lot to get to a place like this. Now we have some long-term goals. We wanna leave behind a legacy, much like Alabama left. We wanna be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame one day. We wanna get some accolades we haven’t gotten yet. It’s really fun, where we’re at now. It’s like “game on, man!” We’re looking forward to the future. C

JDR: We were definitely raised on country music, all three of us. But we were also raised as ’80s children—we love rock and roll, we love the kind of pop music [produced] in the ’80s and ’90s. I graduated from high school in