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Country Weekly Octber 3, 2000

DIXIE CHICKS SHOW THEY RULE THE ROOST
by Mike Duffy

'Dixie Chicks: On the Fly'

    As the cameras find the giddily fervent fans of the band during "Dixie Chicks: On the Fly," the rollicking NBC concert special goes into girl-power overdrive.
    The celebratory images include young women in "Chicks Rule" T-shirts and cowboy hats.  There are women on their feet, swaying to the music, big smiles on their faces, singing along to the songs during the Dixie Chicks' sold-out two-night concert stand in Washington, D.C., last August.
    "We didn't want to change anything (about our live concerts) for the TV special.  And that particular show, there were lots of girls with leopard-print (cowboy) hats.  There were just so many young girls there," says Martie Seidel, one-third of the phenominally popular country group.
    "I wasn't that self-confident when I was growing up," Seidel recalled during a Dixie Chicks teleconference last week with her sister, Emily Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines.  "It's important for girls to learn to be strong women.  I think girls today seem much more confident.
    "We just try to be real.  Obviously, we've made mistakes.  We go through divorces.  We just want to show that we're real."
    The proof that the Dixie Chicks also are real talented bursts forth in "Dixie Chicks: On the Fly," airing at 8 tonight on NBC, WDIV-TV, Channel 4.  It's one of the most entertaining and free-spirited music specials of recent years.
    The show revolves around the Chicks' high-energy blend of bluegrass and revved-up country music from their two multiplatinum albums, "Wide Open Spaces" and "Fly."
    The most popular songs--like "Sin Wagon," "Cowboy Take Me Away" and the rousing spousal-abuse revenge anthem "Goodbye Earl"--happily mix the modern girl-power ingredients of down-home feminism, sheer romanticism and kick-out-the-jams sexuality.  And, besides their terrific backup band, sisters Seidel and Robison are gifted and versatile musicians whose skills include guitar, dobro, accordian and mandolin.
    "On the Fly" has been superbly and colorfully produced by Joel Gallen, the clever man behind "The MTV Movie Awards" and the Emmy-winning special "A Supernatural Evening with Carlos Santana."
    Gallen and the Chicks also shrewdly brought in comic Andy Dick ("News Radio") for some brief, amusing skits that tie the musical segments together.  The dizzy Dick portrays a network image consultant who supplies the Dixie Chicks with idiot wisdom on how to package themselves and their music.  This non-Nashville cat actually thinks it's called "the Grand Old Oprah."
    "He's hilarious," says Robison of Dick's daft contributions.  "His girlfriend is a big Chicks fan.  And he said she'd never forgive him if he didn't do these skits with us."
    But the comedy is merely a side dish.
    Some fabulous American music, vividly captured in live performance, is the main course.  And "Dixie Chicks: On the Fly" is a marvelously enjoyable eye-candy jamboree that should transform anyone who watches it into a devoted fan.
    Chicks rock!  Chicks rule!

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
by Chris Neal (page 30)

Ray [Benson of Asleep At The Wheel] isn't
practicing his Vocal Group award acceptance speech just yet.  "I wouldn't put any money on us," he says with a chuckle.  "I mean, just look who we're up against!  I would bet at any odds that the Dixie Chicks will win--and should win."
    It wouldn't be the first time--the Chicks won the award in 1998 and 1999, giving them a batting average of 1.000 in the category.  This year they're even more of a force to reckon with, given the overwhelming success of their hits and multiplatinum Fly album.

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
by Gerry Wood (page 34)

    "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel exclaims with a hearty laugh.  He's talking about his band's collaboration with the Dixie Chicks on "Roly Poly" that garnered a Vocal Even nomination and how Asleep At The Wheel and the Chicks are also going head to head in the Vocal Group category.  "Roly Poly" hails from the western swing band's album Ride With Bob, a tribute to Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys.
    "Natalie, Emily and Martie are old friends of mine," notes Ray, "so it's great to get with them on a record.  Natalie's dad, Lloyd, actually played steel guitar on records with us, so it's wonderful."

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
by Douglas Fulmer (page 70)

    The Dixie Chicks' six-million-selling second album, Fly, spent an incredible 33 weeks atop the charts and has spun off five hit singles.
    "I love this album, because they didn't do it the way albums are normally done," comments Brad [Paisley].  "They're playing the instruments themselves--and Natalie really sings her butt off.  They make great albums from the first song to the last.  I'm a huge fan."

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
by Chris Neal (page 72)

    The Dixie Chicks courted controversy with the eye-catching "Goodbye Earl."  The clip, directed by Evan Bernard, faithfully illustrated the song's tale of an abused wife enlisting a friend to help do away with her rotten husband.
    "Goodbye Earl" polarized public opinion, with some decrying it as an endorsement of vigilante justice, others lauding its directness about the issue.  "The song is our attempt to put a Dixie Chicks spin on a serious subject," explained Emily Robison.
    Natalie Maines' then-future husband, Adrian Pasdar, appears as one of the cops who comes looking for the missing Earl.  "We laughed harder at that scene than any other!" recalled Natalie.

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