Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts)

Rascal Flatts guitarists Joe Don Rooney checks in to talk new EP, Summer tour and much more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're on with Mario Lopez. Up, you're on Mario Lopez
joining me right now on the phone. The guitar player
from the Grammy nominated band Rascal Flats Mr Joe Don Rooney.
How's it going, man, Mario? How are you doing great? Buddy?
I'm well, I'm well. Thank you for taking the time
to check in. I know you guys got a new
single climb of the charts called back to Life Love Song.

(00:22):
What's the reaction been from fans? You know what, it's
really cool. It's been good man, after you know, quite
a few years agoing to do this blessedly. So it's
uh amazing to still be able to have a song
or music that it's viable to two people out there
in in the United States and the country round and
the pop realm, and it's it's amazing that, uh, we're

(00:43):
able to find that song. It's actually written by our buddies,
Danna Shay. Really well right now, yeah, we kind of
we kind of made a good joke here a while
back about those guys because they're on tour this last summer.
We said, well, you know what they're gonna if they're
gonna be really inspired by our sound well, gonna start
stealing their songs, they write, there you go. It's a
team effort. And that single is part of a brand

(01:06):
new EP called Jukebox. What can you tell us about
the other songs on that? Yeah? Man, what Jukebox is cool?
We we threw out some really cool old school eighties
tunes that we really love on Spotify and the reaction
has been so cool. We did some Hollow Notes tunes
and in a Foreigner tune and it's just cool, really
cool to go back to some of the old tool

(01:27):
stuff that we're inspired by, in stuff that we really
love and especially uh, I love playing that stuff on guitar.
You know, I'd love to see you guys do some
Foreigner and some Hollow oats. That'd be awesome. And I
know fans are asking about a new full length album,
any word on that? Yeah, you know what was going
on in the studio now? Actually, uh, end of this
month and most have made to start recording and and

(01:49):
the fans and expect some more music, um hopefully, Uh
this summer's go back in life does and how far
it can go? And and I just also pumped about
the live show we're putting out the other right now.
We start our tour in mid May May sixteenth in Cincinnati,
and um, you know, some of this stuff we've been
doing though it's been found the eighties tracks, the covers.

(02:11):
We're gonna throw some stuff in the show too, which
will change up things. Experiences from the past. You know,
quite a quite a feu tour we've done a years past.
So it's it's gonna be a blast for us too.
You know, on the stage sometimes we get a little
bit bored of Rome music, man, believe it or not. Yeah,
you know, you know it's Um, it's fun to throw

(02:31):
some new stuff in there, give us more inspiration and
just have a blast with a well. Rascal Flats about
to hit the road for the Summer Playlist tour with
Lee Bryce and Billy Currington. What can people expect when
they catch on the road. Oh man, it's gonna be
a big party. We we absolutely love nothing more than
anything else we get to do. We love playing for

(02:52):
the fans. We love playing outside and playing the summertime
and being on the road and uh, you know, we
have the wonderful gifts of get to be on the
road and a road life and family life at home.
Back in Nashville. But we we just look so forward
to this summertime and being outside and drinking up the music.
And you know, leebr it's amazing. Billy Tarnton's had just

(03:13):
a ton of hits of the years and that's only
a lot of good energy, a lot of good uh,
a lot of good fun. I know you played at
the Red Rocks Amphitheater a few days ago. That's a
that's an awesome venue. How'd you like playing there? Looked amazing? Man,
it's our first time ever getting to be there and uh,
first one I get to do a show there really
bowing away. Um, pretty incredible to see how they I

(03:34):
mean that place was built by God. You know, it's
unbelievable things. Literally if no one's been there before. If
you're listening to this, go check it out because you'll
never experience a live concert like you will. They're it's
so unique, so different, and the sound is just incredible.
It's absolutely stunning, and uh, you know you might want
to take some oxygen actually, think would be handy being

(03:56):
up that high and help with the buzz. Yeah, heard
sowing in. We're like, what's going on here? Yeah? Where
that you definitely got to get work on your standa
you'd be up to be up there. And obviously you
guys did a super cool version of life as a Highway.
Uh what else are you planning to cover during these
live shows? You know what, we're gonna throw up some

(04:16):
of the the stuff we've been we've done now on Spotify,
but there there's a couple of little, you know, tricks
up our sleeve here here and there that we're gonna
be thrown out. We've we've done some of that in
the past, but some of the stuff are gonna do
this summer is gonna be a last We're just we're
gonna have so much funny, maybe some shock shocked, and
the fans are in our eyes and there's gonna be
so much fun for us with the stuff on. Very cool.

(04:38):
And I know you're married with a few kids. How
they doing? Man? The kiddos are great. And we've gotta
our boys ten Jaggers ten years. I can't believe it's
ten years old. Now there'll be eleven May thirty one,
and uh, what's amazing? And then um, you know we've
got Rocky she's eight year old, and little Devon she's
four years old now. And it's amazing how busy they are.

(05:00):
It's like, you know, when I'm home, I'm when I'm
off the road, I'm I'm home, just some dad and
I'm a husband. I just do my thing, and I start,
like the days start just flying by because they have
so much going on that he's trying to be an
artist and stuff and man, trying to be a kid nowadays.
It's like, wow, they just got there's so much fun
to do and so many things they want to do.

(05:21):
And it's really cool for for Tiff and I to
get to, you know, be along this this journey that's
ride with him. They've already liked. They've taken this place
as we didn't even I think was possible. You know,
It's it's maddening you want to pull your hair out sometimes.
But but but it's also just it's so beautiful to
uh see the day to day gross and cracking the books.

(05:43):
They've got so much homework nowadays, Like what, yeah, that's great.
He's got more homeworks in my head in college. Like
come on, man, I feel you on all those levels
and and this is this is pretty awesome. You guys
are partnering with I Heart Radio for our Red Cross fundraiser.
People can bid on a package to see you guys
live five while hanging out with some of the girls
from ABC is a Bachelor. Do you have any idea

(06:05):
what you have planned for that night? Yeah, you know
that's not a bad deal. That's It's July is the
show shore Land amf Theater, mountainew California. Just an awesome,
awesome venue, one of our favorite venues in the country.
And yeah, that package feels really cool. You know, it
goes back to benefit Direct Cross and uh so you

(06:26):
know on any time you can get back and and
h for any fans out there, they want to get back.
This is a really cool way to do it. And
plus the benefits are beautiful. Getting me girls, you got,
you know, a night with Rascal Flats, some really amazing
tickets need be passes at the hanging back stage for
a little bit and a experience something maybe you not
ever have experienced before. Maybe you never will get to

(06:47):
again with those girls, right, No, man, that's that that
that's a lot of fun. Listen, you can bid on
that prize for charity right now at if only dot
com and you can listen to their new song back
to life right now on I Heart Radio or wherever
you get music, of course, Mr Joe Don Rooney, thanks
for checking in, Mario. Great so good talk to you, buddy. Okay,
you to take care, Bud, appreciate you. Look on with

(07:10):
Mario Lopez