By Ryan Gueningsman, Staff Writer

The guys from Rascal Flatts – Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, and Jay DeMarcus – sat down with me prior to their Winstock performance to discuss growing up, music, their lives, and everything in between.

DeMarcus and LeVox are second cousins from Columbus, Ohio. They both have always shared a genuine love for music, singing, and performing.

“I grew up in a very musical family, on both my mother’s side and my dad’s side,” said LeVox. “Everybody played instruments. Some of my earliest childhood memories are sitting around the living room with everybody playing an instrument, and if there was something left over, you picked it up and joined in the best you could. So I knew I didn’t have a choice whether or not I was going to be in music.”

“It’s pretty amazing, Jay and Gary being cousins in Ohio, and I grew up in Oklahoma, how our influences paralled each other,” Rooney said. “From bluegrass, to gospel, to country western, rock and roll, and even polka. Than we met up in Nashville, actually we were doing a club gig at the Fiddle and Guitar Bar the same time me and Jay were playing with Chely Wright in 1999, and I hadn’t even met Gary yet.

“Jay called me one night into the club in March of ‘99, and said ‘Man, our guitar player is gone, can you come down and fill in?’ Of course I did. I was looking for a gig in town when I was off the road, so I went down there, met Gary for the first time and sang with him that night.

“As soon as we sang together, there was just a magical blend that happened, just real natural – almost effortless – so they asked me the next day to continue playing with him and one thing led to another – we were really lucky.

“We got our record deal about six months later, and have been very fortunate people ever since,” Rooney said.

Since they scored their record deal in early 2000, Rascal Flatts has had several major hits, including “Prayin’ For Daylight,” “This Everyday Love,” “Long Slow Beautiful Dance,” and most recently “While You Loved Me.”

They were also named the Academy of Country Music’s top new group.

“Our new single (“While You Love Me”” is out right now, I guess it’s at number 16 on the charts. We’re in the studio right now working on a Christmas song, which will be a collaborative event with some other artists on our label like SHeDAISY, and Aaron Tippin,” DeMarcus said.

“We’re going to release one more single off the album now, and we go in in December to start cutting the new one, and we’re looking forward to that, LeVox said.

“We’re going to pick up the fall leg of the tour with Jo Dee Messina (who is on her first major headline tour) and finish out the year with her. That’ll start in September. Last week, we just played in Orlando, Florida, at the Hard Rock for the Lupus Foundation with the Backstreet Boys, the Monkees, and some of the Bradys (from the television series The Brady Bunch) were there too, so we helped them raise some money.”

Rascal Flatts is also hitting the west coast, and will be out in Hollywood, possibly pursing some acting jobs.

“Actually, we possibly might be doing the Drew Carey show – there’s talk of that,” Rooney said. “We do have a few things in the works. We’re working on doing the Hundred Days of Disney, and some other things.

“Somebody said Die Hard Five and Titanic Two, but I’m not sure what that would be,” he said with a laugh. “Acting, and that kind of stuff – we’re definitely interested in it, and would love to do it, so we’ll just see what comes of it.”

“It’s been great, ever since the ACM award, it’s really led us to some great things. It’s been a great ride,” Rooney said. “That was the pinnacle of our lives.”

“We’re just going to keep doing what we do and hopefully, you know . . . we just appreciate radio and everybody getting behind us,” Rooney concluded. “Without them, people can’t hear the music we do. Also, people like you – the press – we really appreciate it.”