Young Guns

Spencer Patterson

Friday, May 13, 2005 | 5:51 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

May 14 - 15, 2005

What: "Academy of Country Music Awards."

When: 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Tickets: $100, $150, $300.

Information: 632-7777.

What: "Academy of Country Music 40th Anniversary Special."

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Tickets: $50, $100.

Information: 632-7777.

Rascal Flatts didn't have to wait long to taste success at the "Academy of Country Music Awards."

The young country trio earned the 2001 New Vocal Group award, then followed that up with a Song of the Year trophy in 2003 and back-to-back Top Vocal Group wins in 2003 and '04.

No wonder the group is so happy to be headed back to Las Vegas for the 2005 ACMAs, which take place Tuesday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"We cannot wait to get out there," Rascal Flatts vocalist and guitarist Joe Don Rooney said Thursday. "I think Vegas has done wonders for the ACMAs, and we're excited to see all of our fans and our buddies in country music. It's like a country music family reunion."

Rascal Flatts is up for three ACM awards this year: Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year -- both for "Bless the Broken Road," a No. 1 country single in 2004 -- and another shot at Top Vocal Group.

The trio, who also includes cousins Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, will perform latest single, "Fast Cars and Freedom," on Tuesday night's show, which airs live on the East Coast and will be tape delayed for broadcast locally at 8 p.m. on KLAS Channel 8 (CBS).

Additionally, Rascal Flatts will pay tribute to duo Brooks & Dunn at Wednesday's "Academy of Country Music Awards 40th Anniversary Special" at Mandalay Bay, which will be recorded for broadcast in December.

Rascal Flatts will also be back at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 16, headlining a show with opening act Blake Shelton.

Rooney, 29, broke away from studio sessions for his band's upcoming fourth album for a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn.

Las Vegas Sun: You guys just released an album in late September. You're already working on the next one?

Joe Don Rooney: Yeah, we're just figuring out when we want to put it out. That's the difficult thing.

We're gonna meet in the next couple of weeks to talk about whether we want to put out a new single off the new album and go with a fall release or wait until next year and go with a fourth single off (2004's) "Feels Like the Day."

Sun: "Feels Like the Day" debuted at No. 1, not just on the country chart, but on the Billboard 200 album chart. Was that a surprise?

JDR: It was a total shock, to be honest. That's when the chart gods are just in your favor and Eminem's not coming out with a record. Timing is everything on those charts.

But it shows, hopefully, a steady growth in the career, with each album selling more and more. That's definitely the most sales we've had for any given week. Our single went in the top five and we had that No. 1 album. It was really, really cool.

Sun: Early on, you guys were often referred to as country "boy band," even though you were all in your 20s when Rascal Flatts got started. What did you make of that?

JDR: We definitely had a lot of critics saying that, but I don't think a lot of them meant it in a derogatory way. Some took a negative skew on it, but I think for the most part they were saying, "Hey, here's this new country band that's young and kind of hip. They're not the normal country thing."

We knew there was a George Strait out there already. There's already been a Restless Heart, an Alabama, a Diamond Rio ... We just wanted to do our own thing, whether it worked or not. And lo and behold, it found a niche somehow.

Sun: Are the crowds at your shows still younger than the typical country music audiences?

JDR: Absolutely. It's a college-age crowd when we do our shows. And there's parents that come with their kids, and grandparents that come with their kids and their grandkids. It's a wonderful thing, man.

Sun: How important are awards to you and your bandmates?

JDR: I think they're important. I don't think they make or break a career. But anytime you're recognized by your peers like that, it's just wonderful. And we have been blessed to win quite a few awards in what some people call pretty early fashion in our careers.

Sun: Which of the three awards you'll be up for next Tuesday would mean the most to you?

JDR: Top Vocal Group is a biggie. We would love to win that again. And "Bless the Broken Road" has been huge for us, so it would be a great ode to the songwriters and to a fabulous song to win those. It would be really nice to take them all home.

One of these days we'd like to be up for Entertainer of the Year. That's what we're pushing for. We've got a big headlining tour on tap for this summer, and we're just gonna try to keep building our career and see where it takes us and how many fans we can win over.

Sun: If you do win Entertainer of the Year at some point you would also receive the Academy of Country Music's newly created Merle Haggard Award, given to acts that have also won their new artist and existing artist categories. Only Haggard, Mickey Gilley, Barbara Mandrell, Brooks & Dunn and the Dixie Chicks have done that.

JDR: Wow, I didn't know that. That would be cool. Anytime you're in a category with Merle Haggard, that's pretty special. So that's something else to shoot for.

Sun: How did your upcoming tribute to Brooks & Dunn come about?

JDR: They asked us if we wanted to be part of the (Wednesday) show, and they gave us a list of people we could sing a tribute song to. We picked Brooks & Dunn because we love those guys. We have a good relationship with them. They put us on (their) tour a few years back, and it really opened up a big door for us.

Whenever we've had questions about the business or just about life, for that matter, we go to them. They've been genuine and sweet to us since the beginning, so it's a good way to give back to them.

Sun: Which song of theirs will you perform?

JDR: We're gonna do "Brand New Man," their first single, which they both wrote together.

Sun: Have you played it before?

JDR: This will be a first. We've been in the studio working on it, getting it right and doing kind of our own little version of it, a Rascal Flatts version of Brooks & Dunn. We were gonna do an exact copy, but we decided to do our own thing and show how they've influenced us.

Sun: How much has your life changed in the six years you've been in Rascal Flatts?

JDR: Your life changes with the success for sure. We've all been very fortunate to be secure financially, which is a wonderful thing.

But it's a blessing and a curse. Building your career takes a lot of time, and you're missing your family. You don't get to be with your loved ones near as much as you'd like, so there's a price to be paid for sure, for anybody that's successful in this business.

Maybe we can retire young and spend a lot of time with our families later on.