Rascal Flatts member and singer-songwriter Jay DeMarcus recently released a beautiful and emotional tribute in his new track “Music Man,” expressing how much his late father meant to him and the influence he had over his life.
The vulnerable song was written shortly after the singer’s father passed away last October, with the instruments used in the track being either owned by or given to DeMarcus by his father who also made a living as a musician.
View this post on Instagram
DeMarcus opened up and shared with Celeb Secrets Country about the complex relationship the two had and the influence it has over him when it comes to raising his own young children.
“There’s a lot that I didn’t take from how my dad raised me. He taught me a lot about what not to do,” he laughed. “My dad was a little rough around the edges but there was one thing that I did take from him which was unconditional love. He loved me no matter what, in spite of my flaws, my mistakes, the times that I disappointed him. He gave me really tough love and I had a healthy dose of fear about my father, so it kept me from a lot of other things that I probably would’ve gotten into that wouldn’t have been good decisions.” .
“I really really love that my father instilled in me a great work ethic, self discipline, a drive to achieve things and to never take no for an answer and that has really been a foundation of my entire life and career,” he continued, “so I’m so grateful to be able and try to instill those same qualities into my own children as they grow up and start to achieve their hopes and dreams and goals.”
While DeMarcus’ father may have been a little tough and rough around the edges at times, the singer still has an entire memory bank of special and fond moments spent with him like the times the “music man” would go out in the freezing cold to practice football.
“I was obsessed with football as a kid and I was pretty good at it. I had pretty good hands and I was fast. He wanted me to be a wide receiver and I know that he wanted it almost as bad as I did. My dad would go out in the freezing winter cold snow of Ohio in our front yard and throw passes with me until the sun went down.” DeMarcus said. “He would do this everyday and he made up own own plays. So if he said lets run Number 1, I knew what Number 1 was, if he said Number 2, I knew it was a go around. It was just really really special to me to look back on that now and realize how much time and dedication my dad put into teaching me the game of football. Little things like that pop into my mind when I start to go through the memory bank of the things that meant the most to me about the time that I spent with him.”
View this post on Instagram
Due to the pandemic putting a pause on touring and much of the entertainment industry, DeMarcus has taken up a new hobby — wood working with his son and making memories together.
“I’ve been doing some wood working with my son out in the garage and many moons ago my grandfather taught me how to work with my hands and build things. So he had this idea that he wanted do a project together and we started this project and all of the things are still in the garage unfinished because I can’t get him to commit to finishing the rest of the work.” DeMarcus joked.
“I enjoyed it, it was therapeutic and it was great to work with hammers and drills and saws again. It’s a really great outlet to just forget about things and be in a peaceful place for a minute. So thats all I’ve really been doing. And trying to figure out a way to make money now that I don’t have a job.You might see me at the Home Depot sawing up boards for you someday. My wife costs a lot of money guys, that’s what I’m trying to say. She’s very expensive.”
Be sure to give Jay DeMarcus’ special new song “Music Man” a listen and be on the lookout for Jay in upcoming show dates, livestreams, or at your local Home Depot!
