‘Not A New Thing’: John Rich Offers Advice For Musicians Having Objects Thrown At Them Onstage

 Country singer John Rich said he’s had things thrown at him on stage and offered a solution for other musicians who have the same experience.

“Yes, I’ve had some of that stuff thrown at me. More jobs than I can count,” Rich said during an interview with Fox News Digital. “Now, I started out with the band Lonestar back in the ’90s, so I’ve dodged beer bottles; I’ve dodged solo cups; I’ve dodged boots… I’ve seen guys pull the boots off and throw ’em at ya. So now that’s not a new thing.”

To avoid getting injured, Rich suggested using fencing to keep any thrown items from reaching the person performing. Performers have been making headlines recently as fans keep throwing things at them, with one star even needing to get stitches after being hit in the face with a cell phone. 

“We used to have bars back in Texas. We call them chicken wire bars where they would actually put a chicken wire fence in front of the stage in case somebody threw something,” the Nashville-based vocalist said.

 

“In the video of my new song, ‘I’m Offended,’ I’m singing on the Redneck Riviera stage with a chicken wire fence in front of me,” he continued. “And of course, everybody’s offended, right? So you better have some chicken wire. And they’re throwing beer bottles and stuff’s smashing everywhere. So yeah, that’s not a new thing.”

Rich was promoting his first single, “I’m Offended,” off his new album, “The Country Truth.” The musician said “I’m Offended” is meant to be a “funny” song poking fun at everyone.

“I look around our country and I don’t see anything funny going on at all. It doesn’t matter where you look. It’s just more bad news and more bad news,” Rich said of the new song. “So I thought, you know what America needs right now? They need something funny. They need something to come out that they can laugh with and put a grin on their face. So I was kind of looking at our culture these days, and I’m guilty of it, too, that everybody’s offended at something all the time.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re Right, Left or in the middle. Everything’s offensive all the time. I mean, nobody can take a joke anymore,” he added. “So I wrote this song that says, ‘I’m offended that you’re offended. Let’s all get offended tonight. I’ll order us a beer. We can sit down right here and scream and yell and cuss and fuss and fight, yeehaw …’ like just mocking the absurdity of how our country is right now because it’s just so ridiculous.”