DixieChicks frequently
asked questions
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The Dixie Chicks have very recently changed
management. I do not yet have a new
address for fan mail. Once one is
available, I will post it here immediately.
Both the old Nashville P.O. box address for
"Senior Management" and the Beverly Hills address for "The
Firm" are no longer good. And of
course, the Dallas addresses found in the Wide Open Spaces liner notes
and some old fan club materials have been shut down for years. Mail sent to any of those addresses will be
returned to you.
Writing to or
calling the Chicks or their management is not likely to increase your chances
of meeting them. In fact, they will probably never see it.
If you believe that you are
the first person to write to them and tell them that you are their “biggest
fan,” and that they have changed your life, you are kidding yourself. They get thousands of fan letters per
week, and they all sound alike. So if
you still can’t resist the urge to write to them, at least strive for a little
originality. Unfortunately, they will
probably never see it. But if by some
slim chance they do, you are much more likely to be remembered if you have
something unique to say.
The Dixie Chicks do not
answer their fan mail. They are only
human, and they simply do not have time to read or reply to thousands of
letters per week. Not even mail from
their “biggest fan.” But their office
personnel will sometimes send photographs to fans that request them. Your best chance of a reply is if you
include a stamped and self-addressed 8x10 envelope with your request.
Yes, they do. However, the Dixie Chicks are very
protective of their privacy, and therefore do not share those screen names with
the public. If you should happen to discover
one of them, please do not contact them or give that screen name out to
others. They will not appreciate
the intrusion, and they will quickly change their screen name again.
There is a very simple way to
tell the difference between an impostor and a real Dixie Chick online; If they
contact you, it is not a Dixie Chick!
Plain and simple! The girls
would never contact an unknown fan through IM or a chat room. Never!
If someone contacts you claiming to be a Dixie Chick, do not believe
them. And that includes the sneaky ones
who try to act like they might be a Dixie Chick without ever actually
saying so. People who know a lot more
about the Chicks than you have been fooled.
Do not let these pathetic impostors fool you too. And don't waste your time talking to them
just trying to figure them out. It only
encourages them. Just block them from
your Instant Messenger list and ignore them.
Meeting the Chicks when they
are touring is difficult, at best. The
Dixie Chicks do not have a fan club which offers opportunities for fans to meet
them. On the last tour, there were no
contests offering backstage passes. And
extremely heavy security kept fans well separated from the Chicks. However, we offer you several suggestions to
help you meet them on future tours.
Unfortunately, unless you are
rich, famous, or closely connected with a music business VIP, your chances of
getting a backstage pass are very close to non-existent. The greatly increased security of the 2003
tour necessitated that the Chicks did not have scheduled meet & greet
sessions with fans. The only fans who
have received passes on that tour did so through pre-established
connections. But many fans with solid,
long-time connections were also snubbed.
So, for all practical purposes, there were no backstage passes for
fans. However, some ways that fans have
managed to meet the Chicks are discussed below, including some guerrilla
tactics for the bold.
Most
importantly, be prepared before you meet the Chicks!
Have your camera handy, with
fresh film and batteries. Have the
item(s) that you want signed easily accessible – not at the bottom of a
backpack. Bring your own black Sharpie
pens (avoid any other colour!), because the Chicks don’t usually carry
their own around. And in many cases,
the fan who brings the Sharpie gets to stay around longer while the Chicks
use it to sign for other fans. Also,
have something to say! The girls have
grown tired of the same old “I’m your biggest fan!” And discussing all the details you know
about their private lives just plain scares them. You want them to do the talking, so instead of making
statements, ask questions! It makes
them uncomfortable. Ask them if they
are working on any new songs. Ask them
about their favourite artists. If you
want them to feel comfortable talking to you for a while, avoid asking them about
their families, pets, homes, or other aspects of their personal lives. Most importantly, RELAX! Don’t scream! Don’t cry. Don’t spaz
out. The Chicks are only human. If you act like a friend, they will treat
you like a friend. But overly obsessed
admirers are a seriously scary thing for celebrities. If you come across too intensely, the girls are going to be in a
big hurry to get away from you.
If the Chicks’ band members are
around, don’t forget about them. They
are more than wonderfully talented artists.
They are really great guys, and they enjoy meeting fans. Introduce yourself and ask about them. Get their autographs. Have your picture taken with them. They love it. Sometimes the band members can be great sources of information
too, so take the time to talk with them.
The old fashioned, tried and true method of
simply waiting at the backstage door.
At many arenas, the Chicks’ busses are parked outside of the arena with
a fence or ring of barricades around them.
If you can find those busses, wait outside of the security perimeter
where you can see the Chicks and their entourage coming and going from the
building. At the beginning of the 2003
tour, the Chicks would not meet with any fans.
However, they quickly began to loosen up, and many fans found that they
will go sign autographs and take pictures with the few fans who are committed
enough to wait by the busses. This is
your best chance! On evenings when they
did not meet with the fans, some of their family members and crewmembers
usually took fans' items to the bus to be autographed for them. There, some band members also gave away
guitar picks and autographs themselves. So get to the concert early and take
the time to circle the arena looking for the Chicks' tour busses. Once the show is over, immediately get back
there and wait. You may have to wait
until after 2am. You may be told by
security that the Chicks have already left, so you should go home. Don’t leave until those busses leave! And do not draw attention to yourself. The fewer people waiting with you, the
better the chances the Chicks will come out to meet with you. This is your very best opportunity to
meet the Chicks!!
There were thirteen busses on the 2003 Chicks
tour, so be sure you are waiting near the correct busses! There should be three or four busses with
barricades and security around them, separate from the other busses. Those are the Chicks’ busses, and their
manager’s bus. Many fans and autograph
seekers spend hours waiting outside of the wrong busses. Don't be one of them!
If you have the whole day to
kill, and if you are feeling very lucky, get to the venue very early in
the day. By very early, I mean well
before noon. Before the band, roadies,
equipment, or security have arrived.
Possibly even the day before. If
you see busses and big semi trucks, you are probably too late. If not, stake the place out. Walk around. Find out where the backstage entrance is. If you can walk in, search for the dressing
rooms and stage entrances. Find the
doors that lead from the backstage area to the seating area. If you see roadies setting up the stage and
equipment, and if they are not busy working, make friends. They may be forthcoming with interesting and
valuable information. Don’t get in
their way though, or you will be quickly tossed out. And watch how you dress.
Solid black is good. You want to
blend in with the authorized personnel backstage. A “Chicks Kick Ass!” or “FUTK” t-shirt, a feather boa, an animal
print cowgirl hat, and a big homemade poster might get you a smile from Emily
during the show, but it will only label you as the crazy, obsessed stalker that
you are while wandering around backstage.
Then you end up in jail or juvenile hall while your friends are enjoying
the show. All of this may get you the
opportunity to catch the Chicks when they arrive for sound check. But it will not get you backstage for the
show. The arena will be cleared by
police officers with dogs before the Chicks arrive. You do NOT want to be caught there when that happens! So just lay back and be cool and hope that
you can maybe catch the Chicks for a moment as they enter the arena.
But first, you must be aware that the girls and
their associates greatly value their privacy.
And the political controversy has greatly heightened their security
precautions. They frequently go to
great lengths to avoid public interaction with their fans. Therefore, the way you dress can greatly
affect your chances of catching them.
If they see you coming at them wearing a Dixie Chicks t-shirt, they will
try to avoid you. If you scream and run
towards them, they will scream and run away.
Be cool and put them and their security people at ease.
Some fans have reported
success catching the girls at their hotel before or after the show. Before is much better. And again, if they see you all decked out in
Dixie Chicks garb, they are going to run from you. So try to look ‘normal’ for this quest. If you should actually find their rooms, do not go there. There will be security, and the girls will
not appreciate your intrusion at all.
They won't find your persistence cute, loyal, admirable or
flattering. They will find it annoying
and possibly threatening. Just wait in
the lobby or parking lot or other public area for them.
The Chicks will sometimes stop into
the local radio station studios on the morning of, or the morning before the
concert. Listen to the morning shows of
the country radio stations in the town the concert will be in. Call the morning show DJ’s and ask if and
when the Dixie Chicks might be visiting their show. Then, stake out that radio station. With very few other fans there, this is among the very best
chances the average fan has of meeting the Dixie Chicks on tour.
Somewhere between the hotel,
the radio stations, and the venue, there is a good chance that they will stop
to eat somewhere. Again, you do not
want to invade their privacy while they are dining. And if you don’t want a mob scene, you won’t approach them at all
inside the restaurant. Wait until they
are in the parking lot. Sure, it is
just a fleeting moment. It is barely
enough time to get a smile and an autograph. But it is much more than 99.9 percent of the other fans will ever
get.
Sometimes,
people working at the concert venue will have an opportunity to meet the
Chicks.
It sounds easy, but in
actuality it is a long shot. You have a
better chance of winning a radio contest or finding a long lost cousin who
works for Sony. Very few working
personnel have a job that will get them anywhere near the backstage area or the
Chicks. Those that do will usually
encounter two problems; First, they are probably prohibited by policy from
interacting with the artists while working.
And second, they will probably have to work someplace where they won’t
even be able to see the show. Usually,
about the best they can hope for is to be within twenty or so feet of the
Chicks for less than thirty seconds, and probably in the dark. In other words, don’t count on a part-time
job at the arena to be your ticket to meeting the Dixie Chicks.
The Dixie Chicks officially released their new
CD, "Taking The Long Way," in North America on 22 May 2006.
However, many fans report
receiving their pre-ordered copies, and even purchasing them in stores as early
as 19 May. The chicks spent most of
2005 in Los Angeles working on the new CD with a new producer, Rick Rubin, who
is best known for his late work with Johnny Cash and regarded as a "revitaliser"
of careers. The CD was complete, as of
September 2005. Early releases suggest
that it will be a departure from earlier Chicks musical styles, with a more pop
and rock flavour to it. One
collaborating artist described it as being "not really country, but not
really not country."
Thu 06/15 London,
England Shepherd's Bush Empire
Sat 06/17 Middlesex,
England Twickenham Stadium (Opening for The Eagles)
Fri 07/21 Detroit,
MI Joe Louis Arena
Sat 07/22 Pittsburgh,
PA Mellon Arena
Sun 07/23 Columbus,
OH Schottenstein Center
Tue 07/25 Pittsburgh,
PA Wachovia Center
Fri 07/28 Albany,
NY Pepsi Arena
Sat 07/29 Boston,
MA Banknorth Garden
Tue 08/01 New
York, NY Madison Square
Garden
Fri 08/04 Washington,
DC Verizon Center
Sun 08/13 Milwaukee,
WI Bradley Center
Tue 08/15 Chicago,
IL United Center
Fri 08/18 Minneapolis,
MN Target Center
Sun 08/20 Kansas
City, MO Kemper Arena
Tue 08/22 St.
Louis, MO Savvis Center
Wed 08/23 Indianapolis,
IN Conseco Fieldhouse
Thu 08/24 Des
Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
Sat 08/26 Fargo,
ND Fargodome
Sun 09/03 Phoenix,
AZ Glendale Arena
Wed 09/06 Fresno,
CA SaveMart Center
Fri 09/08 Sacremento,
CA ARCO Arena
Sat 09/09 Oakland,
CA Oakland Arena
Thu 09/14 Los
Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sat 09/16 Las
Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay
Sat 09/23 Omaha,
NE Qwest Center
Sun 09/24 Denver,
CO Pepsi
Center
Tue 09/26 Oklahoma,
OK Ford Center
Wed 09/27 Memphis,
TN FedEx Forum
Fri 09/29 Dallas,
TX American Airlines
Center
Sat 09/30 Houston,
TX Toyota Arena
Sun 10/01 Austin,
TX Frank Irwin Center
Tue 10/03 Nashville,
TN Gaylord Entertainment
Center
Thu 10/05 Tampa,
FL St. Pete Times
Forum
Fri 10/06 Jacksonville,
FL Veterans Memorial Arena
Sat 10/07 Ft.
Lauderdale, FL BankAtlantic
Center
Tue 10/17 Atlanta,
GA Phillips Arena
Fri 10/20 Knoxville,
TN Thompson-Boling Arena
Sun 10/22 Greensboro,
NC Greensboro Coliseum
Fri 10/27 Ottawa,
Ontario Scotiabank Place
Sat 10/28 Toronto,
Ontario Air Canada Centre
Wed 11/04 Edmonton,
Alberta Rexall Place
Thu 11/05 Calgary,
Alberta Saddledome
Wed 11/08 Vancouver,
BC GM Place
Thu 11/09 Portland,
OR Rose Garden
Sat 11/11 Tacoma,
WA Tacoma Dome
The
Dixie Chicks performed at these seven concerts in 2004 to raise money to defeat
President George W. Bush:
Fri 10/01 Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania w/James Taylor
Sat 10/02 Cleveland, Ohio w/James Taylor
Sun 10/03 Detroit, Michigan w/James Taylor
Tue 10/05 Cedar
Rapids, Iowa w/James Taylor
Wed 10/06 St. Louis, Missouri w/James Taylor
Fri 10/08 Tampa Bay, Florida w/James Taylor
Mon 10/11 Washington,
DC (Finale featuring the Dixie Chicks,
Bonnie, Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Jackson Browne, James
Taylor, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Jurassic 5, Keb Mo, Kenneth
"Babyface" Edmonds, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M.)
The Dixie Chicks performed at these
benefit concerts in 2003:
Fri 10/10 Charlotte,
NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (For "Honor The Earth," featuring
the Indigo Girls, Ben Folds.)
Sun 10/12 Washington,
DC MCI Center (For the "Recording Artists Coalition," featuring The
Eagles.
These were the
dates of the 2003 "Top Of The World Tour":
The first show of the "Top Of The World
Tour" took place on Monday, 10 March 2003 at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in
London, England, where the infamous "incident" occurred. Several eGroups members were in attendance,
and show reviews can be found in the eGroup archives.
First Half (Joan Osborne opened)
Thu 5/1 Greenville,
SC Bi Lo Center
Sat 5/3 Orlando,
FL TD Warehouse
Sun 5/4 Sunrise,
FL Office Depot Center
Mon 5/5 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Wed 5/7 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling
Thu 5/8 Indianapolis,
IN Conseco Fieldhouse
Sat 5/10 Kansas
City, KS Kemper Arena
Sun 5/11 St.
Louis, MO Savvis Center
Tue 5/13 Ames,
IA Hilton Coliseum
Wed 5/14 Moline,
IL Mark Of The Quad
Cities
Fri 5/16 Birmingham,
AL Jefferson County Arena
Sat 5/17 Greensboro,
NC Greensboro Coliseum
Sun 5/18 Louisville,
KY Freedom Hall
Tue 5/20 Oklahoma
City, OK Ford Center
Wed 5/21 Austin,
TX Frank Erwin Center
Fri 5/30 Chicago,
IL United Center
Sun 6/1 Cleveland, OH Gund Arena
CANCELLED (Natalie sick)
Mon 6/2 Auburn
Hills, MI The Palace of Auburn
Hills
Tue 6/3 Auburn
Hills, MI The Palace of Auburn
Hills
Thu 6/5 Milwaukee,
WI Bradley Center
Fri 6/6 St.
Paul, MN Xcel Energy
Center
Mon 6/9 Cincinnati,
OH US Bank Arena
Tue 6/10 Columbus,
OH Nationwide Arena
Wed 6/11 Cleveland,
OH Gund Arena Make up show from 6/1.
Thu 6/12 Toronto, ON Air Canada Center
RESCHEDULED to Wednesday, 6 August (SARS)
Fri 6/13 Buffalo,
NY HSBC Arena
Sat 6/14 Pittsburgh,
PA Mellon Arena
Mon 6/16 Philadelphia,
PA First Union Center
Second Half (Michelle
Branch opened)
Thu 6/19 Boston,
MA Fleet Center
Fri 6/20 New
York, NY Madison Square
Garden
Sat 6/21 New
York, NY Madison Square
Garden
Mon 6/23 Uniondale,
NY Nassau Coliseum
Wed 6/25 Washington,
DC MCI Center
Fri 6/27 Albany,
NY Pepsi Arena
Sun 7/6 Dallas,
TX American Airlines
Center
Tue 7/8 Denver,
CO Pepsi Center
Wed 7/9 Salt
Lake City, UT Delta Arena
Fri 7/11 Vancouver,
BC General Motors Place
Sat 7/12 Seattle,
WA Key Arena
Sun 7/13 Portland,
OR Rose Garden
Tue 7/15 Oakland,
CA Oakland Arena
Wed 7/16 San
Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San
Jose
Thu 7/17 Sacramento,
CA Arco Arena
Sat 7/19 Los
Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sun
7/20 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead
Pond
Mon 7/21 Anaheim,
CA Arrowhead Pond
Wed 7/23 San
Diego, CA Cox Arena
Fri 7/25 Phoenix,
AZ America West
Arena
Sat 7/26 Las
Vegas, NV MGM
Sun 7/27 Las Vegas, NV MGM
Tue 7/29 San
Antonio, TX SBC Center
Wed 7/30 Houston,
TX Compaq Center
Fri 8/1 Little
Rock, AR Alltel Center
Sat 8/2 Memphis,
TN The Pyramid Arena
Sun 8/3 Atlanta,
GA Philips Arena
Mon 8/4 Nashville,
TN Gaylord Center
Canadian Leg (Jann Arden
opened)
Wed 8/6 Toronto,
ON Air Canada
Centre Make up show from 6/12
Thu 8/7 Ottawa,
ON Corel Centre
Fri 8/8 Hamilton,
ON Copps Coliseum
Tue 8/12 Edmonton,
AB Skyreach Centre
Wed 8/13 Calgary,
AB Pengrowth Saddledome
European
and Australian Leg (The Thorns
opened)
9/6 Stockholm, Sweden Annexet
9/8 Hamburg,
Germany Congress Centrum
9/10 Birmingham,
England NIA Academy
9/11 Manchester, England Apollo
9/14 London,
England Royal Albert Hall
9/15 London, England Royal Albert Hall
9/18 Dublin,
Ireland The Point
9/19 Glasgow,
Scotland Scottish Exhibition and
Conference Centre
9/21 Munich,
Germany Olympiahalle
9/22 Frankfurt,
Germany Jahrhunderthalle
9/28 Melbourne Park, Victoria, Australia Rod Laver Arena
9/29 Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia
10/1 Boondall,
Queensland, Australia Brisbane
Entertainment Centre
10/2 Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia
10/4 Sydney,
Australia Superdome
10/5 Sydney,
Australia Sydney
Entertainment Centre
Bangkok, Thailand, Amsterdam,
Holland, and Paris, France were also originally listed, but never subsequently
confirmed.
The very best
way to find new Dixie Chicks’ Tour Dates is by visiting either of the top two Dixie Chicks fan websites.
They are always the first to
post new tour dates, usually even before the official website posts them. If the dates are not found on this site, or
at the top two fan sites, they are not yet available. Period. And of course,
any new tour dates will be posted to the eGroup mailing list as soon as they
are found. Be sure to sign up!
You can also keep up with the
Dixie Chicks – as well as most other artists’ – tour schedules by searching
them at http://www.pollstar.com. You can register at Pollstar to have an
e-mail notification sent to you anytime your favourite artists add or delete
shows from their schedules too. Another
great site much like Pollstar is http://www.musi-cal.com. It is not quite as complete, but it will
sometimes find shows that are not listed at Pollstar, so don’t forget to check
it out! Between these two sites, you
can easily keep up with the tour schedules of almost any musical artist – even
some of the “secret” shows that are not announced to the public.
Other sources of tour
schedule information include:
Fans are already getting good
tickets through the pre-sale. To
participate, all you need to do is purchase the "Taking The Long
Way" CD at a Target store.
Inside the CD will be a special pass code that allows you to purchase up
to four tickets for the upcoming tour.
The best place to learn of
upcoming sale dates is by watching the news releases at the top five Dixie Chicks fan websites. Usually, if
they don't know, nobody knows. They
tend to have such information even before the official Dixie Chicks website
posts it.
You can get e-mail
notification from http://www.ticketmaster.com
if you sign up for the “notify me” feature at their website. Another place to find sale dates is at http://www.livedaily.com/news/alert,
where you should search by state, not by artist. If you hear of a ticket sale date, please share that information
with the eGroup. But PLEASE do
not ask the eGroup members for sale dates until you have looked for
yourself. You could be the first one to
find them for us!
Remember,
buying your "Taking The Long Way" CD at Target gets you a
special passcode enabling you to buy tickets early!
Never give
up! Tickets are abundantly available on
eBay and in your local newspaper ads.
Many fans stuck with extra tickets will always be selling them
very cheaply or even giving them away at any show! Look for them!
If the day of
the concert arrives and you still don’t have a ticket, DON’T GIVE UP!! You WILL still get in! JUST GO!!!
There are always plenty of
fans that show up to the concert with extra tickets that they won’t need. Many people sell them at face value or
less! Many others simply give them away
just to assure that they aren’t wasted.
I have both done this, and seen it done myself many times. And many very good seats are put up for sale
at the box office the day of the concert too.
They are VIP seats which were being held back until the VIP list was
confirmed. Yes, you can get better
seats than everybody else – sometimes even front row seats -- even if you wait
until the day of the show!! Get to the
venue box office by noon and ask for them.
It’s that easy! So, tickets or
not, GO TO THE SHOW!! The
worst-case scenario is that you end up paying face value, but you still get to
see the show. Even bad seats are better
than listening to your friends tell you what a great show you missed the next
day!
Remember, as stated above, great front section
floor seats are being released for sale at the box office on the day of the
shows. Get there by noon and ask for
them! You can buy them, or possibly
even exchange your nosebleed seats for them.
But even better, you can get your seats upgraded to front row for
free! In almost all cities, the local
country radio station will have a booth set up outside the arena promoting the
Chicks and the radio station. Most of
those stations have front row tickets for winners of on-site contests. Be prepared to embarrass yourself to win
them. Some of the different contests
that have been reported are Chicks Karaoke, dance contests, loud screaming
contests, and Chicks’ trivia contests.
Somebody is going to win. Why
shouldn’t it be you?
We have plenty of helpful
hints, which will assist you in getting great tickets to future tours, or the
concerts of other artists. First things
first -- long lines are for chumps!
Camping out overnight in front of the ticket office will very rarely
result in you getting good tickets. And
trying frantically to get through the busy signals to buy by phone is silly
too. There are several very good
methods of beating the crowds to get great tickets that don’t involve camping
in long lines or busy signals. Read on!
First, there is a big secret
that the scalpers don’t want you to know…
You do not have
to buy your tickets from the Ticketmaster office that is in the city of the
concert.
Instead of calling the local
Ticketmaster office, you should be calling an office FAR AWAY from the city
that the concert will be in, even in another nearby state. While everybody in your town is listening to
busy signals, you will get right through!
But do your homework first. Call
Ticketmaster and find out these facts well before the day of sale:
Of course there are a few drawbacks to this system. On the 2003 tour, all dates went on sale at the same time, so finding a sales location that is not in the immediate area of a scheduled concert would take some research. But don’t let that discourage you. Also, you must have a credit card to buy tickets by phone. And third, you may incur some long distance phone charges by calling out of state.