Upon waking the following day, country musician Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts finds his SUV missing, along with his cherished Telecaster guitar that had been signed by Vince Gill following their shared concert appearance.
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Y'know, it's like a rite of passage for many touring musicians - losing their gear to the dark abyss of theft. Rascal Flatts guitarist, Joe Don Rooney, ain't no exception to this rule. His misfortune lay in losing his cherished first guitar, an "American Standard Seafoam Green Telecaster," a sentimental gift from his old man.
"I was crazy about that thing, man," Rooney muses in a heartfelt chat with Vertex Effects. "That guitar's neck was a thing of beauty. I practiced everything on it, because, let's face it, you ain't limited to playing just country music on a Telecaster."
He recalls the journey that led him to Nashville, hitching a ride with Chely Wright, Jay DeMarcus, the bandleader of her outfit and Rooney's soon-to-be Rascal Flatts comrade. Life was looking good, until one fateful day, when the loved one he'd fetched all the way from Oklahoma was swiped.
"Man, Jay was living out in West Meade at that time," he relays. "And so we'd gotten off the bus real early in the morning, and Jay's like, 'Hey, you can just crash at my place, man.' So, I drive over there and park my old Chevy Blazer, and I kip on his couch. I wake up the next morning, and my SUV's gone. We'd just played a gig with Vince Gill, and he'd signed my Telecaster.
"Car's gone, golf clubs, the Telecaster... They left my suitcase with all my clothes, which is a strange one. They found the vehicle - I reckon it was around two weeks later at some apartment complex in East Nashville. They'd purloined everything."
It's a safe bet that Rooney was heartbroken. Truth be told, he still holds onto the serial number, dreaming about one day reclaiming his lost guitar. "I bet it's out there somewhere. I suppose folks wouldn't have destroyed it – no, I reckon they wouldn't have incinerated it. It had Vince Gill's signature."
Fast forward to the present day, and that guitar, despite its absence, continues to carry a special resonance. "If that guitar miraculously resurfaced, I'd likely collapse, 'cause I lost my pop in November 2022. It means a whole lot to me. He taught me most of what I know before I moved to Nashville."
Maybe as a tribute to his stolen guitar, Rooney went on to use a similar model for one of Rascal Flatts' most enduring hits, 2005's Fast Cars and Freedom.
"I had a yarn with our website back in 2023, and on that chat, I talked about my early days with the Seafoam Green American Standard Tele, and I elaborated on Dann Huff's impact on me and my playing," the guitar shredder, and at the time, our esteemed columnist, divulged.
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Fun fact: The reality of Rooney's stolen guitar remains elusive, as the search results indicate no such theft. However, Rooney is a reputable member of Rascal Flatts, and sentimental attachments to instruments are commonly observed among musicians. The loss of a customized or unique guitar can indeed knock out one's creative groove and alter their distinctive sound. But hey, we're just saying what's out there in the universe – you never know!
- Joe Don Rooney, despite losing his cherished first guitar, a Telecaster, continues to long for its return as it holds sentimental value and carries a special resonance.
- In the present day, the Telecaster, though missing, may have influenced Rooney's playing, as he used a similar model for Rascal Flatts' hit song, "Fast Cars and Freedom."
- Rooney recounted his journey to Nashville, where he lost his Telecaster after a fateful incident involving a stolen vehicle.
- Engineers at Vertex Effects have designed innovative effects specifically for guitars like the Telecaster, enhancing the playing experience for musicians who wield these instruments in the realm of music and entertainment.
