There's old country. There's new country. Then there are the Dixie Chicks.

Natalie Maines, Martie Seidel and Emily Robison have taken the Texas-bred sound of a fiddle, banjo, dobro and crystal-clear vocal harmonies into whole new territory. They are the rare act that comes along a few times in a generation that is destined to shake things up, rewrite the rules and become the new musical trendsetters.

The public has certainly noticed. The Dixie Chicks' first Monument album Wide Open Spaces has become the biggest selling album ever by a country duo or group - racking up some 6 million sales by the time their second album, Fly, was completed. The tremendous sales only demonstrates that while the Dixie Chicks have established themselves as a true country music act, they have also won over audiences outside the country genre. In a music field routinely known for selling to the conservative 30 and over crowd, more than 60% of the Dixie Chicks sales have been to consumers under the age of 25. Their concert audience is as likely to be comprised of entire rows of young women in their early teens and twenties as it is to include middle age couples and entire families

plete with pre-teen girls dressed like their musical idols and singing every Dixie Chicks' song word for word.

The press has certainly noticed. Publications from Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and People to Harper's Bazaar, In Style, Seventeen and TV Guide have documented how the Dixie Chicks are bending the music world to their will and making country music more 'hip' than ever. With the wrap-up of 1998, numerous national publications named them the "Breakout Act of the Year" and recognized Wide Open Spaces as one of the "Best Of" albums of the year. USA Today credited the Chicks with single-handedly returning the banjo to country radio and Rolling Stone summed it up when they called them "the badass queenpins of country." At a time when much of the press on country music has lamented the 'sameness' of the sound and the artists, no less than the Los Angeles Times conceded that "the Dixie Chicks are the perfect antidote."

The music industry has certainly noticed. The Dixie Chicks' fellow musicians and industry peers, in particular, have overwhelmingly acknowledged their contribution. In a year's time, they have been honored with two Grammy Awards (Best Country Album and Best Country Vocal Performance Duo/Group), two Country Music Association Awards (Group of the Year and the Horizon Award), plus three Academy of Country Music Awards (including Album of the Year), one American Music Award and two TNN Music Awards. On Nashville's Music Row, where the unspoken business strategy often seems to be "if we can make it work once, we can beat it to death," the music industry has obviously been taking notes. It's likely not a coincidence that almost every record label in Nashville has signed a female trio since the Dixie Chicks exploded on to the scene. But clearly what makes this act work is not just that they are a female trio. The difference is this: There simply is no other act in any musical format that sounds like the Dixie Chicks


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The Dixie Chicks came out of the chute with enough sass and confidence to adopt slogans like "Chicks Rule" and "Chicks Kick Ass." Months later, with chicken foot tattoos on their feet signifying their No. 1 singles and gold and platinum successes as well as a vast array of awards, it appears that

9;s time, they have been honored with two Grammy Awards (Best Country Album and Best Country Vocal Performance Duo/Group), two Country Music Association Awards (Group of the Year and the Horizon Award), plus three Academy of Country Music Awards (including Album of the Year), one American Music Award and two TNN Music Awards. On Nashville's Music Row, where the unspoken business strategy often seems to be "if we can make it work once, we can beat it to death," the music industry has obviously been taking notes. It's likely not a coincidence that almost every record label in Nashville has signed a female trio since the Dixie Chicks exploded on to the scene. But clearly what makes this act work is not just that they are a female trio. The difference is this: There simply is no other act in any musical format that sounds like the Dixie Chicks


.

The Dixie Chicks came out of the chute with enough sass and confidence to adopt slogans like "Chicks Rule" and "Chicks Kick Ass." Months later, with chicken foot tattoos on their feet signifying their No. 1 singles and gold and platinum successes as well as a vast array of awards, it appears that they were right from the beginning.

So how do the Dixie Chicks follow up? The obvious temptation would be to stick with what's worked and produce more of the same. But that safe approach to their art just wouldn't be what made the trio unique in the first place. When the three got together to plan their second Monument album, Fly, following the status quo is exactly what they did not want to do. This time, instead of contributing one song on their album, the Dixie Chicks wrote or co-wrote five new tracks. But more than that, they were determined to push the envelope and themselves as far as they could go in terms of instrumentation, production, vocals and - above all - spirit. The end result is an album that shines with artistic growth on every level.

"We didn't want to remake Wide Open Spaces," says Emily, "so we had to go back to that nothing-to-lose feeling. I definitely think we've grown. It's been a couple of years since we recorded Wide Open Spaces and I think that shows. We're not as scared to let the harmonies come through or take extra time to have an awesome solo. The only rule this time around was that there were 'No rules'."

Natalie agrees, "We didn't want to be afraid to try something different. So we didn't go into it scared. We went into it thinking that we're just going to make the album we want to make and if people like it, great. If they don't, we wouldn't be happy about that, but at least we made the album we wanted to make. The three of us sound better together and have become even better friends and that makes for better music. We grew as writers and all of our abilities just grew from playing so much and being around each other so much."

You can hear the band's confidence from the opening bars of the album. It doesn't start with a guitar lick or even a vocal hook, but with an Irish jig, played by Martie's fiddle, which melds into the first track and the first single "Ready To Run." And then, within a few lines, you can hear something else, the sound of personal independence that is a constant theme throughout the album.

The songs on Fly are all about women defining themselves their way. While they long for and cherish true love, they will look for it on their own terms, thank you very much. Stand By