Florida Georgia Line are in rare air, the kind where they can easily snag millions of downloads while dealing with a cacophony of rage from genre purists.
If that reminds you of, say, Nickelback, well, that's no accident. FGL producer Joey Moi welcomes the hard rock comparison.
"I like that," he told Billboard. "You definitely hear an active-rock flavor from five or six years ago in their music -- more aggressive guitar tones, a more aggressive drum presentation."
From the magazine's most recent cover story:
[Moi] cites three hard-rock bands as references for the FGL sound: Three Days Grace, Shinedown and Nickelback. There's so much Nickelback in Florida Georgia Line, you may as well call it Nickelbanjo.
Florida Georgia Line — the duo of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley — released their debut digital EP It'z Just What We in 2012, and the smash hit "Cruise" led the way to a deal with Republic Nashville/Big Machine Label Group.
There's a point near the end of the Billboard feature — a somewhat insightful piece during which the reader might feel a twinge of empathy for two bro-country kingpins — where the journalist notes drug paraphernalia and asks Hubbard if they "smoke?"
"Yeah, oh yes," he replied. "We're professional partiers."
That party begins tonight (Oct. 10), as FGL are set to embark on a headlining tour in support of new album Anything Goes. Check out the dates:
10/10-11: Detroit, MI @ The Palace at Auburn Hills
10/16: Gainesville, FL @ Stephen C. O'Connell Center at UF
10/17: Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/18: West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
10/23: Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/24: San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
10/25: Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
10/31: Jacksonville, FL @ The Shipyards
11/08: Miami, FL @ This is How We Cruise
01/15: Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
01/16: Dayton, OH @ Ervin J. Nutter Center
01/17: Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
01/22: Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum
01/23: Lafayette, LA @ Cajundome
01/24: Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
02/12: Sioux City, IA @ Tyson Center
02/13: Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
02/14: Moline, IL @ iWireless Center
02/18: Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena
02/19: Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
02/20: Kingston, ON @ Rogers K-Rock Centre
02/21: Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
02/25: New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
02/21: Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf
02/30: Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
05/01: Charleston, WV @ Charleston Civic Center Coliseum
05/02: Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium/ Giant Stadium
05/03: Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Mohegan Sun Arena
05/07: Providence, RI @ Dunkin Donuts Center
05/08: Atlantic City, NJ @ Atlantic City Boardwalk
05/31: Salem, VA @ Blue Ridge Music Festival
