Rascal Flatts is arguably one of the most successful bands in country music history, and with 20 years under their belts, they have a lot of wisdom to share with others who might want to follow in their footsteps. “I think the best piece of advice that you could give anybody is don’t suck,” says Jay DeMarcus.
While that’s good advice for anything in life, on a more serious note, Jay says the best advice he can give young artists is, “Be true to yourself, don’t try to follow trends, hone your craft, be as good as you can and don’t be afraid to grow. I think that’s the thing. Even artists that have been around for a while get complacent and set in their ways and think they have it all figured out, and aren’t really open to learning new things and to growing and changing with the times, and opening themselves up to a different way of doing things.”
Whether it’s trying edgier songs or songs that are different than what they normally do, or opening themselves up to collaborating with different, possibly unexpected artists, Jay says one of the pillars of Rascal Flatts’ success has been “just constantly learning and constantly trying to be the best you can be at what you do specifically, I think is the best thing in the world that you can do as an artist.”
Rascal Flatts’ latest song, “How They Remember You,” is a top 30 hit and still climbing, and while they declared 2020 to be their last year as a band, that was all pre-pandemic, so they’re not sure what the future holds, but they’ve definitely got some surprises in store for their fans over the next six months.
Rascal Flatts – advice to aspiring artists :40
Jay DeMarcus – “I think the best piece of advice that you could give anybody is don’t suck. No, for me, it’s be true to yourself, don’t try to follow trends, hone your craft, be as good as you can and don’t be afraid to grow. I think that’s the thing. Even artists that have been around for a while get complacent and set in their ways and think they have it all figured out, and aren’t really open to learning new things and to growing and changing with the times, and opening themselves up to a different way of doing things. You know, it’s okay to collaborate with different people you never thought you’d see yourselves collaborating with. And so, just constantly learning and constantly trying to be the best you can be at what you do specifically, I think is the best thing in the world that you can do as an artist.”