The only artist that reached out to me during that time was Michael English. Were there artists in the Christian music industry at that time who called you with some encouraging words? Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus Launching Christian Music Label: Exclusive I want to be a part of that industry, to be part of taking that message to the world in any way I can. I love the message of hope, and the message of Christ in the music, and that’s why I opened up a Christian label. There are still so many things I love about that industry. No, I take responsibility for my actions. Sitting here years later, are you still jaded toward that community? You write that having an entire segment of the music industry turn their back on you so suddenly deeply affected you, bringing with it bouts of depression. The book also recounts how that moment brought an end to your involvement in the Christian music industry at the time. I have the support of, and some others know what I’ve lived through, but it’s no small thing. I have children that are six and eight, they’re too young to understand, but when they get older I will tell them. My wife, my mom and my family were completely supportive of me. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, but I’ve got a really good attorney. It’s so funny that you ask that, as that’s one of the first things I considered, that I would have people knocking on my door.ĭid you discuss the decision of including this story in the book with your family? It’s been hidden for so many years, and to kind of get it out there has felt a little bit free, but I’ve also been very diligent about trying to be respectful of privacy.Īre you prepared for the possibility of multiple would-be scam artists coming forward in the next few weeks, claiming that they are your daughter? It’s one of the biggest things that happened to me in my early life – in my early career – as a young man, so I wanted to at least be transparent with myself about it. It was a catalyst for a lot of things that unfolded after that. There’s no regret in telling my story, because I felt like if I was going to tell my story, it was a big turning point in my life.
Having the conversations about it has made it more difficult than I imagined it to be, writing in the book. Quite honestly, its been painful talking out loud about it. There was some joy in knowing that we were placing her with a family that had tried to conceive for several years, and knowing we had brought them some joy gave me a little more peace, but still…thinking about the fact that I ran the risk of having a child in the world that I would never have a relationship with, it was and has been really painful. We just made the best decision we could, and she made the best decision for her. We talked about getting married, but obviously for all the wrong reasons, and we talked about my mother adopting her at one time. That feeling of being stuck with an impossible decision to make, with the young lady looking to me like, ‘What do we do now?’Ībortion wasn’t an option for us, particularly at the time. It’s been difficult, because the pain is back up to the surface again, remembering just how sad and painful it really was to live through that time. How hard has it been to be so transparent about giving a child up for adoption, especially given that was a moment in your life that wasn’t previously public knowledge? Yes, I’ve been very blessed on the one hand, but there are things that nobody sees that have happened to get me to this point. I didn’t want people to read this book and think, “What in the world does he have to be so depressed about?” I wanted to paint as realistic of a picture as I could. I wanted to try to have a healthy balance, to balance the times that were tough – that were seemingly insurmountable – with the great blessing that I’ve had in my life. Probably it’s the bad days because that’s when you have to dig the deepest to figure out who you are, and how you’re going to make it through. How hard was it to find a balance in sharing the good and the bad? You have stated that writing the book at a certain point became almost a form of therapy.
Billboard sat down with DeMarcus, 48, in Nashville to discuss writing the book and opening himself up so publicly. The segment of Shotgun Angels that has proved to be the biggest headline grabber is DeMarcus’s reveal that in his early 20s, he and his girlfriend made the difficult decision to put their then-unborn child up for adoption, a chapter of his life that only those that he considers extremely close had been privy to until now. Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus Has Faith-Based Memoir in the Works: Exclusive
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