He's the beloved guitarist of history-making trio Rascal Flatts, but those killer guitar riffs you hear on earlier songs like 'Prayin for Daylight' and 'Feels Like Today' are not Joe Don Rooney. The musician, who now plays on all the trio's recorded tunes, admits the first few years were a disappointing wake-up call.

"When I look at it, yeah, I was pissed off. Jay [DeMarcus] and I didn't play a lot on those albums," he reveals to the Chicago Tribune. "At the same time, we had some amazing hit songs."

Joe Don says switching to producer Dann Huff for their fourth studio album, 'Me and My Gang,' made all the difference. "Dann was a big proponent of having us play and bring our personalities into the music -- not only our voices, but our personalities," the guitarist acknowledges. "[He] really opened that door and that trust window with Lyric Street to allow us to be the musicians we are. All of a sudden, you hear these songs and they're just a little bit different. You can hear a growth and maturity."

It may have taken some time for the trio to establish creative freedom, but the 35-year-old admits he knew early on they had a unique sound. "The first night I sang with Jay and Gary, we felt it -- that harmony buzz, like, 'What in the world is this?'" he reminisces. "We just locked in. We knew we had something special. I don't know we ever thought it would take us so far."

The only non-relative (and non-Ohioan) in the group, which includes lead singer Gary LeVox and his cousin, keyboardist Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don, who was raised in Oklahoma, says he doesn't feel like the odd man out. "It's like common-law marriage," he jokes. "In the state of Tennessee, after you've sang with two cousins for more than seven years, you're a common-law cousin."

The threesome, who are working on their second album for Big Machine Records, are also traveling across the country this summer as the headliners of the inaugural Flatts Fest, with Sara Evans, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore serving as opening acts. Keep track of their concert schedule here.

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