10 Years of Rascal Flatts
This year marks Rascal Flatts’ 10th anniversary as a group. During that decade, Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have made an amazing climb from country up-and-comers to established arena-level superstars.
In this online-only exclusive, Joe Don looks back at the group’s beginnings, its present and its collective hopes for the future.
“We started at the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar in Printer’s Alley in Nashville, and some other clubs on Broadway, back in January 1999. That’s where I met Jay. He introduced me to Gary and we started singing together. Ten years have gone by fast, in the blink of an eye.
“We burned up the road for a lot of years. The first six years, we were doing 150 dates a year. That’s a lot of living out of a suitcase. But we always felt like there was a purpose and a direction. We tried to go with that, to go with the gut, go with the heart and cut the best songs we could find—whether somebody else in town wrote it or we got lucky enough to write a good one.
“We have a lot more control over our schedule now that we’re headliners. We don’t have to do as many shows in a year, which frees us up to spend more time with our families. We can have a little downtime, recharge the batteries and be fresh and ready to go at it. And anytime we go somewhere and do something we have a lot more energy, a little more oomph behind us because we’ve got some hits in the bag now.
“I think [the future] is what we want to make of it. If we want to dig in deeper and work harder, I think we can do some even bigger things. It’s all up to us, and it always has been—it’s just taken us until now to realize that, I think. We have goals set for ourselves. We want to win a Grammy, we want to sell out football stadiums, there are plenty of big things to shoot for. The ultimate goal is to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame and maybe be members of the Grand Ole Opry someday. That would be our long-term goals, for sure.
“We’ve been reflecting a lot in the past few months on it being 10 years and how blessed we’ve been. It’s really cool. In a lot of ways I feel like we’re just getting started.”
- October 26, 2009
- story by Chris Neal
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12 Comments
Nancy MacDowell says:
I remember them just starting out and coming to Springfield, Vermont for an outdoor concert. I have a picture of them hanging out by their van as "unknowns" being able to casually greet new fans. I've never been able to get that close to them again. They've earned their success! Best Wishes on many more years of entertaining!
Nov 03, 2009 at 8:19 am ESTjennifer says:
i am a huge fan of rascalflatts and would like to say that thay are my heros becouse i meet thim 1 time in 2004 and one in 2009 and it was july23ed and me and my mom went back stage and it was my birthday the next day and i said will you sing happy birthday to me gay joedon and jay and thay did just that in my eare it was alsome
Nov 03, 2009 at 9:05 am ESTKatlyn says:
Rascal Flatts are amazing!! I Love them!!
Nov 08, 2009 at 1:08 pm ESTBrittany Hunley says:
I absolutely love Rascal Flatts. I have only got to see them once in concert and it was the best show ever!! I would love to see them again and actually meet them. I am a college student and am thinking of changing my major to something that could one day lead me into working with country music and maybe with Rascal Flatts. I love country music with all my heart and would like to be a part of it one day. :)
Nov 11, 2009 at 5:36 pm ESTAmy Miller says:
i love rascalflatts!!! they are my favorite country group in country music!!they are wonderful people!! i am a huge fan of them they are sooo awesome!!!i think there great!
Nov 12, 2009 at ESTwayne austin says:
will rascal flatts ever play in australia
Nov 21, 2009 at 5:55 pm ESTSteve in the UK says:
I know that Rascal have visited the UK so lets hope they tour here very soon.
Nov 26, 2009 at 1:21 pm ESTThey are my Fav Country band. And have turn me to the dark side. He He He
laura m says:
Rascal Flatts...are wonderful artists, their band members are the best! They've come a long way and have worked their tales off to get this far! HERE'S TO YOU RF & another 10 yrs.
Nov 27, 2009 at 8:42 am ESTDoreen Mann says:
Rascal Flatts really work hard at their music. They make music that is fun and they also try to make music that touches your life. In their Unstoppable Album they did a number of songs that I listen to over and over. They have a great message that every one should hear. Their Number One.
Nov 29, 2009 at 7:48 pm ESTmirriah lyn anauo says:
you are great band and my favorite all you songs is so awesome like you. gary levox is so hot and sexy also and jay demarcus is so awesome and great and joe don rooney is so cutie.
Dec 08, 2009 at 4:30 pm ESTLeave a Comment