Rascal Flatts continues rise to the top of country

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The guys from Rascal Flatts are getting restless after a long day.
They slip on headphones to record yet another radio spot and bass player Jay DeMarcus has trouble hearing the cue.
"I can't hear anything. Hey, hey, hey," he repeats into the microphone, then breaking into song, "... Hey, Jude, I've seen you nude. Don't try to fake it, I've seen you naaakeeed."
The joke breaks up the monotony and, for the moment, the demands of being one of country's hottest acts.
County music's best-selling album last year didn't come from Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Toby Keith or Tim McGraw. It was Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today," yielding three No. 1 hits, including the Grammy-winning "Bless the Broken Road."
Their follow-up, "Me and My Gang," should push them into country music's top tier. Rascal Flatts will be at Post-Gazette Pavilion near Pittsburgh on Saturday.
"We're so confident of that that we have a billboard campaign with Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Keith Urban and Toby Keith and we just did a new version with Rascal Flatts," said Ken Boesen, program director at WPOC in Baltimore. "Three-story high Rascal Flatts' faces are going up all over Baltimore right now."
The first single, "What Hurts the Most," reached No. 1 in 11 weeks -- the fastest-moving song of their career.
The group, which also includes singer Gary LeVox and guitarist Joe Don Rooney, kicked off a new tour in February.
"This is what we've strived to do over the last six years, become a headline act," said Rooney, 30. "Now we've arrived and it feels good."
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