Leave it to Jay DeMarcus to expose the Oklahoma redneck behind the rhinestone curtain.

When the Rascal Flatts bassist dropped by the Taste of Country Nights studio recently, he brought more than charm and a polished media answer. He brought Blake Shelton stories. The kind of stories that remind us why Shelton still feels like a beer-drinking neighbor, not just a guy with 30 number-one hits and a Hollywood Hills wife.

“Blake was one of the first people we took out when we started headlining,” DeMarcus said. “I think he toured two years with us.”

Back then, Shelton wasn’t the Voice-judging, tequila-slinging, Gwen-Stefani-marrying icon. He was a lanky, mullet-sporting up-and-comer playing arenas in cowboy boots. And apparently, those boots never came off.

“He used to play basketball in his jeans,” DeMarcus revealed. “I think he still does. The guy won’t wear shorts or athletic wear. He wears like cowboy boots and jeans to play basketball.”

Just picture it. A seven-foot-tall, mop-haired Blake clanking around a court, soaked in denim, trying to sink a free throw while looking like he just walked off a John Deere tractor. It’s the kind of visual that belongs in a Blake Shelton lyric.

DeMarcus wasn’t done. “He’s a knucklehead,” he laughed. “But no matter how famous he got, he stayed the same Blake.”

That might be the truest thing said about Shelton in the last decade. Despite the stadiums, the awards, and the A-list marriage, he still answers calls from Rascal Flatts like they’re his bosses. Literally.

When the Flatts were working on their Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets album, they demanded Shelton come sing “Mayberry.” No please. No when-you-can. Just, “Get your ass to the studio.”

Shelton didn’t hesitate. “Yes sir. Shit, we better get in the studio,” he joked. And of course, they made him sing it in Gary LeVox’s skyscraper vocal key.

“My ears were popping,” Shelton said. “Blood was coming out of my mouth.”

DeMarcus, naturally, called BS. “It’s a lie. It’s a half-step lower. He can’t sing in Gary’s key.”

The jabs go both ways. Shelton questioned if Kelly Clarkson got treated the same, saying, “Maybe they were nice enough to ask her what key she wanted to do it in.” He knows she could sing the entire Flatts catalog while holding a baby and boiling sweet tea.

Still, Shelton admits he loves how “Mayberry” turned out. “It’s a cool record.” And that’s the thing about this crew. They talk trash like brothers, but it’s nothing but love underneath.

DeMarcus said it best. “I love Blake Shelton. He’s turned out to be one of my favorite people on the planet.”

It shows. Because through all the sarcasm and the denim-soaked chaos, Blake has remained the same goofy, loyal guy who’ll still lace up cowboy boots for a pickup game, show up when his friends call, and belt out a harmony line like it’s 2003 again.

So yeah, Jay DeMarcus spilled some stories. But what he really did was remind us why we keep rooting for Blake Shelton. He’s still that guy playing basketball in jeans. Just with 30 number ones behind him now.