It’s been over 20 years since any of the guys in Rascal Flatts had to take any job they could find to pay their bills, but even after all that time, they haven’t forgotten how challenging and humbling some of those jobs were. Bass player Joe Don Rooney says, “I grew up in kind of a country outdoorsy kind of environment. My dad was always an electrician though by trade, so I did a lot of work with him the summertime.”
A couple of other unique jobs that Joe Don had that were pretty demanding included working in an ice plant, bagging and then delivering bags of ice to stores and gas stations. He also says, “I worked for a floor cleaning business. My first year in college I did it on opposite nights that I didn’t have school the next day. And so that was a crazy gig because I went into like a Wal-Mart that was closed at like 10 o’clock and I’d start at midnight and we’d wrap up by 7am, whenever they started getting ready to open. I did that for about eight months. It was humbling for sure.”
It’s those humbling and tiring jobs that make Joe Don and all the members of Rascal Flatts grateful for their current careers, making great music, like their latest song, “Back to Life,” and being able to travel the world performing that music for their fans.
Rascal Flatts – job before music :39
Joe Don Rooney – “I grew up in kind of a country outdoorsy kind of environment. My dad was always an electrician though by trade, so I did a lot of work with him the summertime. One of my first gigs though, was the Oklahoma ice plant, baggin’ up ice and puttin’ it on pallets and puttin’ ‘em on trucks and takin’ out on weekends and taking the gas stations and loading up the ice bins for the summertime. That was a good gig. Then I worked for a floor cleaning business. My first year in college I did it on opposite nights that I didn’t have school the next day. And so that was a crazy gig because I went into like a Wal-Mart that was closed at like 10 o’clock and I’d start at midnight and we’d wrap up by 7am, whenever they started getting ready to open. I did that for about eight months. It was humbling for sure.”