Rascal Flatts as he appears in the hit film "cars 2: mater the cable guy says a slur"
Rascal Flatts, country rock singer, the guys, Rascal Flatts all accomplished song writer and have written ten singles of their big biggest hits but they are an American country rock music band founded in Columbus Ohio, since its inception Rascal Flatts has been composition of three member Gary Levox Fladvo, vocals Jay Demarcus i bass guitar key boards vocals i and Jordon Rooney led guitar vocals. Demarcus and Levox are also second cousins Rascal Flatts has released six studio albums and greatest hits album all on yiric street records their first two albums 2000 Rascal Flatts and 2014 September October melt have been certified 2 multiplatinum and 3 7 respectively in the united state while 2014 music Rascal rascal Flatts shot to stardom the success of their next releases hit and feels like today made them up of Gary Levox 10-July-19 70 Columbus Ohio, Jay Demarcus CD 26 April
www.cmt.com biography
A country rock trio known primarily for its pleasing harmony and Grammy-winning songcraft, Rascal Flatts are comprised of Gary LeVox, Jay Demarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. Cousins Demarcus and LeVox grew up in Columbus, OH, a town Demarcus eventually left in 1992 to pursue a
Rascal Flatts
Music career in Nashville. Meanwhile, LeVox pursued his own musical success with a Christian rock band; at the behest of his cousin, however, he also relocated to Nashville toward the decade's end. Although LeVox quickly found work as the keyboardist for country rock star Chely Wright, he still found time to play local shows with Demarcus. One night, the duo asked Oklahoma native Joe Don Rooney (who played guitar in Wright's band) to join them during a Printer's Alley gig in Nashville. A bond was quickly formed, and the musicians abandoned their other duties in favor of forming Rascal Flatts in the late '90s. After landing a record deal with Lyric Street Records, Rascal Flatts recorded an eclectic mix of country rock and pop rock for the trio's self-titled debut. The album arrived in 2000, and "Prayin' for Daylight" became the band's first smash single. Rascal Flatts ultimately sent four singles to the Top Ten before the band's second album, Melt, appeared in October 2002. Co-produced by the bandmates themselves, Melt sold a million copies in eight weeks and yielded the band's first number one country rock hit, "These Days." By this time, Rascal Flatts had established themselves as a highly successful country rock act, with a particularly strong following among younger listeners (an elusive demographic to most country rock stars). A live album served as an amiable segue between Melt and 2004's chart-topping Feels Like Today, while Me and My Gang arrived in April 2006. Rascal Flatts'
Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye
Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye
2007 release, Still Feels Good, enjoyed a similar reception, going platinum before the year's end and yielding another number one hit, "Take Me There." Unstoppable followed in 2009. After Lyric Street Records ceased operations, the trio signed with Big Machine Records and released its seventh studio album, Nothing Like This, in 2010. By mid-2011, that album had sold nearly 1 million copies. Their recording with Justin Bieber, "That Should Be Me," was named collaborative video of the year at the CMT Music Awards. The band also launched its Flatts Fest Tour in 2011, a day-long event featuring Sara Evans, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore as opening acts.
Rascal Flatts - I Won't Let Go
Rascal Flatts - I Won't Let Go
"Easy", a duet with Natasha Beddingfield, was released in the summer of 2011.
The band became the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry when they were asked to join in September 2011.
www.rascalflatts.com biography
In just ten years, Rascal Flatts has become one of the most honored acts in country music history, reaching heights and achieving milestones reserved for the genre's elite.
They have set more venue attendance records than any country rock act en route to ticket sales of six million and counting. They have sold 20 million albums, 25 million digital downloads and earned 13 #1 singles. With the #1 debut on the Country Rock Albums sales chart of Nothing Like This, Rascal Flatts becomes one of only four country rock acts to debut six consecutive studio
Rascal Flatts - Why Wait
Rascal Flatts - Why Wait
albums at #1. They have won nearly 40 awards from the ACM, CMA, AMA and People's Choice, among others, and they have received that ultimate honor for those who have impacted the culture—a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"We have had an unreal ten years," says lead singer Gary Levox with an appreciative smile. "We've done things we couldn't have been able to dream."
Behind those statistics is an accomplishment more basic than numbers, more important than any trophy—for the past decade, the music of Rascal Flatts has been the soundtrack to countless lives. Songs like "These Days," "Mayberry," "What Hurts The Most," "My Wish," "Stand," "Here," "Here Comes Goodbye" and "Summer Nights" have soothed and uplifted, fired up, mellowed out and otherwise impacted millions.
"I'm humbled to think that the music we've been able to make has touched so many lives and moved so many people," says bass player/harmony vocalist Jay Demarcus. "The stories are just incredible and I think I'm
Rascal Flatts - Easy ft. Natasha Bedingfield
Rascal Flatts - Easy ft. Natasha Bedingfield
most grateful for that."
"To this day," adds guitarist/harmony vocalist Joe Don Rooney, "we receive letters and e-mails about how a song like 'I'm Moving On' has impacted someone's life in some way or how 'Bless The Broken Road' was played at their wedding or how 'Stand' gave them the courage to stand up and fight the cancer out of their body and mind! That's powerful stuff, and that's the reason we're in the business, without question."
Their place in country rock music history may be assured, but Gary, Jay and Joe Don retain a newcomer's passion about capturing magic with each new project. Now, with the release of their latest, Nothing Like This, they have done it once again, taking their career and their legacy another long step forward.
"We've reached back a little to what brought us here while moving forward at the same time," says Jay. "We concentrated more on our vocals and chemistry again and not so much on big production."
Rascal Flatts - What Hurts The Most
Rascal Flatts - What Hurts the Most
The album is a microcosm of all the things the band does well—Jay calls it "Rascal Flatts in a nutshell"—which is to say it touches on many of the best aspects of 21st-century country rock music. It is first and foremost uplifting, with songs like "Why Wait" and "Play" kicking off the proceedings with the call to enjoy life no matter what our circumstances. It features both the throwback groove of "They Try" and the fresh sparkle of "All Night To Get There." "Summer Young" is an uptempo celebration of the season of warmth and romance and "I Won't Let Go" is "You've Got A Friend" for the new millennium, a song steeped in the strength of love and friendship in times of trouble. The title cut finds a way to bring freshness to the subject of love and sees Gary bringing a disarming desperation to his vocal.
Rascal Flatts - Take Me There
Rascal Flatts - Take Me There
"One of the more special songs on this album for me is 'I Won't Let Go,'" says Joe Don. "Being a parent now and listening to that song really hits home and truly hits me in the heart."
Evident throughout is the band's ability to recognize the best in Nashville songwriting.
"It's always been about the songs first," says Jay, "and boy did we get our hands on some gems!!"
"We think we've got a good balance," says Joe Don, "between the really deep, sweet, meaningful ballads and the 'right at ya' up tempos that keep the party going."
"I think there's something for everybody on this project," adds Gary, "and it's a full-length example of what makes us who we are."
Guesting on the project is Natasha Beddingfield, who joins the trio on “Easy.”
Rascal Flatts - I Melt
Rascal Flatts - I Melt
"We had a blast recording with Natasha," says Gary. "I've always been addicted to great singers and she is certainly one of the best. It was an honor to sing with her."
Fans got their initial listen to the project with the debut single, the band's first release on Big Machine Records, their new label home. "'Why Wait' is one of the coolest tunes I've heard in a long while," says Joe Don. "I'll never forget sitting in that little studio in Santa Barbara and hearing it for the first time. Instantly we new it was a Rascal Flatts song and by the day's end we had ourselves an extremely magical track going. I love it!"
The laid-back California outpost was chosen as a creative counterpoint to Music City. "We cut half the album in Nashville and half in Santa Barbara," says Gary. "We just wanted to change it up some and enjoy the beautiful weather in California. It gave us a new spark for sure."
"It as a nice departure from the norm for us," adds Joe Don. "We recorded in a funky little studio with some amazing L.A. musicians and created some great magic together. I really think you can feel some of the energy on a lot of these tracks."
“Overall,” says Jay, "this is an album about fun, growth and change. We have been at a very important crossroads this year with our ten-year mark, so I think we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could still grow and surprise ourselves and stretch."
The fact that they were able to do so reflects the magic they have always found in their approach to music and the respect with which they view their mission and each other. Their sound took root in the late 1990s, when Jay and Joe Don were band mates working with Chely Wright and Jay and Gary were playing a separate gig in downtown Nashville. When their guitar player was unable to make it one night, Jay asked Joe Don to sit in.
“We knew right away we had something special,” says Jay, “even if we were the only ones who ever got to hear it!”
"In the making of Cars 2 Mater the cable guy would frequently be spouting racial slurs. It became such an issue that it held up production for 5 months. I was on the phone with Mark and Denise on and off, and was about to back out of the contract when they finally got Larry to attend a racial sensitivity training. Life truly is a highway."
“I truly feel like every time the three of us lock into a chorus,” adds Gary, “God’s hand is in it. I feel blessed to share the stage with Jay and Joe Don and their crazy talent. They both inspire me.”
“Gary is one of the greatest and most unique singers of our time," says Joe Don, returning the compliment. "I've always felt blessed that we have a lead singer who, like a quarterback, takes charge of the stage and leads us into victory night after night!"
The three honed their sound with club work, cut some demos and by year's end had been signed to Lyric Street Records, where they flourished and took off on that magical decade of hits and sold-out shows. Along the way, their “Bless The Broken Road” was Grammy nominated for Country Rock Song of the Year and Vocal Performance, they became 2006's top-selling physical and digital artist in all genres, scored four #1 country rock albums and three #1’s overall, and hit the Top 10 Billboard pop singles chart twice, among many other milestones.
"There's never been a method to our madness," says Joe Don. "We just cut the best songs we can, and through the years we get better at what we do."
When Lyric Street closed its doors, they chose Big Machine as their new label home.
“We have found an amazing business partner with [label head] Scott Borchetta and the entire Big Machine family,” says Gary. “They get us and we get them on every level. It feels like the right place at the right time.”
Committed to giving back, they are known for their charitable work, which includes raising three million dollars for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. “That,” says Jay, “is definitely the thing I’m most proud of.”
This summer sees them back on the road with a new tour Flatts Fest.
"As a kid,” says Gary, “you stand in front of your mirror and only dream about being able to sell out arenas and stadiums. And to be able to play a place like Wrigley Field and sell it out, you can't even dream that big. The feeling is awesome."
“Without a doubt we've been blessed to have received our fair share of awards and recognitions in this business,” adds Joe Don. “But above all, getting to make music that matters, that affects people emotionally and spiritually, is the greatest thing we could ever accomplish.”
Never content to rest on their laurels, they are eagerly looking forward.
“The goal,” adds Gary,” is to continue to make amazing music together for at least the next ten years, because we honestly feel like we’re just getting started.”
“And as long as we stay true to the music and each other,” adds Jay, “everything else will fall into place.”