Jay DeMarcus, who is one-third of the Grammy-winning country music trio Rascal Flatts, recently appeared on Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley to chat about a variety of topics, including his journey through music, the demise of his band, what it takes to be successful, family life, and more.
Rascal Flatts’ Members Are In “Such Different Places” Now
During the nearly 1-hour sit-down conversation, podcast host and reality TV star Savannah Chrisley asked DeMarcus about the fate of Rascal Flatts and whether or not the group would reunite. Giving his answer, Jay DeMarcus noted how the group members, including lead singer Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney, are in “such different places” now and doing well on their own.
“Gary’s out kind of doing his own thing, and I think he’s enjoying being the boss and calling all the shots,” DeMarcus shared. “….It’s hard to be the lead singer. You have to consider other people’s opinions because you have partners. I can’t imagine how liberating that must be for him to do things the way he wants to do them now.”
DeMarcus continued, “But it’s also liberating for me too because there were times in our career that I looked at things, and I would go, ‘I absolutely know this is not the right thing to do.’ But because I’m outvoted, we’re going to do it anyway, and we’re going to crash and burn here because it’s a dumb decision. And so all of us probably shared those frustrations at some point, even though we love each other. And there is no hate or any misgivings. We’re on totally different pages now.”
Watch Jay DeMarcus’ Full Interview With Savannah Chrisley Below
Revealed Joe Don Rooney Is 19 Months Sober
Aside from LeVox’s current state, DeMarcus also noted Don Rooney’s previous battle with alcoholism and shared his excitement over his former bandmate’s journey to sobriety, adding that Don Rooney has been sober for over a year and a half.
“Joe Don went through his very public debacle a couple of years ago, and he’s better than I’ve heard him in 10 years,” DeMarcus said. “He’s 19 months sober. And he’s enjoying some peace. He’s living and learning how to live again without his addiction.”
“[I’m] really, really, really proud of him and where he’s at right now,” he continued. “There are just so many steps that would have to take place in order for us to get back to even talking about [getting back together]. I think the further we get away from it, the harder it is. It’s harder to put it back together.”
Joe Don Rooney Quit Rascal Flatts
Fans will recall before the 2020 World Health Crisis, Don Rooney abruptly quit Rascal Flatts leading to the group’s unfortunate disbandment, according to lead singer Gary LeVox.
“I’ve never been OK with the way that it ended. I was never OK with . . . I wasn’t happy that Joe Don quit. It kind of came out of nowhere,” LeVox told PEOPLE. “It was like, ‘Let me try to wrap my head around this.’”
After exiting Rascal Flatts, Don Rooney was arrested in Tennessee following a motor vehicle crash. He was booked into the Williamson County Jail on a $2,500 bail bond and later pled guilty to charges of a DUI, according to a WKRN report.
Jay DeMarcus Opened Up About Challenges Of Touring In A Well-Known Band
While speaking to Chrisley, DeMarcus, who had been running with Rascal Flatts for over 20 years, opened up about the challenges of touring with a superstar band and being surrounded by drugs and alcohol.
“Once I got into the mainstream pop and country world, obviously, it was everywhere and accessible. But thank God I was not one of those people that had a highly addictive personality and lit their live circle, the toilet after one night’s bad decision. So it was easy for me. I don’t know. I had pretty good self-control,” DeMarcus said. “…. I’ve seen too many people go down that dark rabbit hole of getting addicted to pills and drugs and everything, and it’s not pretty when someone you care about spirals out of control.”
When the 2020 Global Health Crisis turned things on its head. Rascal Flatts, as with many other musical groups, had to cancel their tour. Rascal Flatts’ trek was planned to be their farewell tour. And while they were forced to cancel shows, those dates were never re-scheduled.
Looking back at Rascal Flatts’ journey, which included ten studio album releases, DeMarcus shares: “We had an amazing 20-plus year run. That’s insane. And I think for us, the thing that happened is we burnt the candle at both ends for so long. We toured, we did another record, and we would do press. It was a never-ending cycle. And it’s hard. It did work, but it’s hard to put the machine down or put the brakes on when everything is cruising along and going full speed ahead. And for us, we should have taken a break at some point, just a year off, just to kind of collect ourselves, hit the reset button.”
