Rascal Flatts is releasing their new album, Rewind, on Tuesday, and they say when it came to picking the songs for this project, it was all about songs that moved them, that they believed in and that made them feel something. “We cut songs that touch us because if they don’t touch us first, there’s no way in the world we’re going to be able to sell those songs to somebody else,” explains Jay. He also adds, “Gary is a terrible, terrible faker. If he gets in the booth and he doesn’t whole-heartedly believe in a song, he’s gonna have tough time deliverin’ it, and that’s not to slight him as a singer, but he’s gotta feel it in his soul before he delivers it.”

Jay also explains that they took a different approach with the production on this album. “We also made a conscious effort to make it more about the song and more about the harmonies and the presentation than about the production. So, as opposed to like puttin’ a track together where something’s happening every single second and filling every hole, we really kinda stripped it away and only put the parts in the tracks that mattered most.”

The guys will celebrate the release of Rewind with a unique launch party in Los Angeles, where they will perform an acoustic set, while those in attendance enjoy wines that have been specially chosen to pair with the songs. Jay admits, “I haven’t for a second thought about what song would be paired with what wine. First of all, I’m not a really big wine enthusiast.” But Joe Don enjoys good wine and he says, “I’ve got some ideas … I think light wines, like a little Merlot might be good for like ‘Memphis,’ something that’s a little lighter. But then you get something bold that’s got a blended, like a Sauvignon, like maybe a Chardonnay or something like that that’s mixed, I don’t know. Maybe some reds and some whites and just throw ‘em in a box and see who can drink it down first.” Jay jokes that he’d love to see a boxed wine at the event, which is being hosted exclusively for CITI card members on Rewind’s release day, May 13th.

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Rascal Flatts – album release event :35

Jay – “I haven’t for a second thought about what song would be paired with what wine. First of all, I’m not a really big wine enthusiast.

Joe Don – “I’ve got some ideas. I like wine (You do?) and I think light wines, like a little Merlot might be good for like ‘Memphis,’ something that’s a little lighter. But then you get something bold that’s got a blended, like a Sauvignon, like maybe a Chardonnay or something like that that’s mixed, I don’t know. Maybe some reds and some whites and just throw ‘em in a box and see who can drink it down first.”

Jay – “I’d like to see a boxed wine for something like maybe ‘Honeysuckle Lazy,’ just right out of the spigot.”

Joe Don – “Just pour it real slow.”

Gary – “Bring the family.”

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Rascal Flatts – what looking for with new songs :45

“It’s interesting, because we get asked a lot, ‘what were you thinking of the theme for this record would be, and the common thread’ and everything, and we’d never approached a project that way. We’ve just cut the songs that we felt like we wanted to sing at that moment and we followed our guts. It’s never been a thing of like goin’, well we wanna say this because we’ve said this and then we need to say this after this because it’s gonna tie everything together. We cut songs that touch us because if they don’t touch us first, there’s no way in the world we’re going to be able to sell those songs to somebody else. Gary is a terrible, terrible faker. If he gets in the booth and he doesn’t whole-heartedly believe in a song, he’s gonna have tough time deliverin’ it, and that’s not to slight him as a singer, but he’s gotta feel it in his soul before he delivers it.”

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Rascal Flatts – how grew on new album :51
Gary – “I think a lot of the way that we kinda stretched and grew was we used different tones on Joe Don’s guitars and the way that our vocals were recorded were different, a lot more compression. Songs that we wouldn’t have cut years prior, we would cut this time. So I think with us being more hands-on with this project, and the three of us just getting in that studio and just creating together is how we really pushed each other and I think we captured all of it on the ‘Rewind’ album.

Jay – “We also made a conscious effort to make it more about the song and more about the harmonies and the presentation than about the production. So, as opposed to like puttin’ a track together where something’s happening every single second and filling every hole, we really kinda stripped it away and only put the parts in the tracks that mattered most.”