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. That’s a small price to pay for convenience
and good tickets though! Finally, you
may sometimes encounter a Ticketmaster representative who does not know that
they can get you tickets to an out of area show. If this happens, simply ask for a supervisor, who will take care
of the situation for you.
It is possible to get good
tickets by standing in line, but it’s a very risky gamble. First, most large event sales are
pre-planned by the sales outlet, which issues wristbands or other “line
numbers” for a week or so before the sale date. Unfortunately, they rarely publicize this, so unless you start
calling in advance, you will never know.
And if you camp out overnight thinking you will be the first in line the
next morning, you may be seriously disappointed when the people with line
tickets and wristbands show up and move you to the back of the line. And of course, horror stories abound from
people who had a great place at the front of the line, but still couldn’t get
tickets because the computer crashed at that location. Despite all these drawbacks, buying in
person may be your only option if you don’t have a credit card. Therefore…
If you must buy
your tickets in person, find out ahead of time which locations have the
shortest and fastest moving lines!
Usually, these are not going to be at the venue
box offices or at the major Ticketmaster offices. The shortest and fastest lines are usually going to be at the
“satellite” sales outlets set up in places like record stores and department
stores (Sears, Foleys, Kroger, Fiesta, etc...). To find this information out, simply do a little research. Find out the sale date of some popular group
or artist that you don’t want to see.
Then, on the morning those tickets go on sale, drive around to several
sales centers and check out the lines.
Make notes of which ones have the shortest and longest lines. That will help you to wisely choose where to
spend your time in line when you are ready to buy your tickets.
Purchasing tickets online is
certainly convenient, but there are multiple problems commonly reported with
this approach. First, you have no idea
where you are going to end up. The
computer’s definition of “Best Available” may be quite different from what you
want. Secondly, there will be almost as
many people jamming Ticketmaster’s computer lines as there will be jamming
their phone lines. Therefore, your
chances of encountering a slow – or worse yet, NO – connection are
frighteningly significant. Your chances
of getting through quickly are really no better than by calling the local
Ticketmaster office. Clearly, buying
your tickets on the computer is the last choice. And if you have to take the time to register during the sales
process, THOUSANDS of better seats will be sold while you are doing it. So again, register before the day of the
sale.
The bottom line
is, never put all your faith in one single method. Pick the best two options for you and do them both!
Probably the best plan is to find out where the
shortest line is and be in it early.
Then call the out-of-state ticket office to buy by cell phone while you
wait in that line. Or, if you don’t
drive and can’t get to a sales centre, call the out-of-state ticket office
while trying to buy online. Either way,
when the first option comes through for you, you can either quit the other, or
you can continue and get even more tickets.
Take family and friends with you to the show, or sell those extra
tickets on eBay, where you can very well make enough profit to pay for your
entire evening!
Before you buy
tickets, read the Ticketmaster FAQ at http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/faq.html?tm_link=tm_home_i_faq
And, speaking of selling
extra tickets, remember that there will always be extra tickets for sale on
eBay, in the newspaper, on message boards, and through established ticket
brokers and so-called “scalpers”. If you
have the money to pay…
Buying your tickets
from ticket “brokers” or “scalpers” is the BEST way to ensure that you get the
very best seats!!
Don’t let anyone tell you
that there is anything wrong with buying tickets from third parties like the
“scalpers.” These guys provide a great
and valuable service for those fans who for many reasons cannot get good
tickets on their own. Suppose you have
to be at work or in school when tickets go on sale. Don’t you think it is worth it to pay somebody to stand in that
long line for you? That is exactly what
you are doing when you pay a “scalper.”
Those guys are professionals.
Take advantage of their expertise and efforts! The Chicks get their money.
The dealer makes a profit for his time and effort. And you get to impress your friends with the
best seats in the house. Everybody
wins. Nobody gets screwed. And it is the ONLY way to purchase tickets
that allows you to know exactly where you will be sitting. Look up “Ticket Sales” and “Ticket Brokers”
in your Yellow Pages to find professional and established sellers in your
area. You may be surprised how
reasonably you can buy really great tickets for.
NOTE ON TICKETS BOUGHT FROM
THIRD PARTIES: There is always some concern about
counterfeit tickets. However, be
assured that genuine concert tickets would be extremely difficult to
counterfeit, even by a very good print shop.
It is definitely not something that will be done successfully on
somebody’s home computer. But, to
alleviate any concerns you may have, you should familiarize yourself with the
appearance and features of genuine Ticketmaster tickets in order to assure that
you are not taken by a counterfeiter.
Anytime you buy a Ticketmaster ticket for an event, keep that stub for
future reference.
Thousands of
fans win free concert tickets from radio stations on every tour! Why shouldn’t it be you?
Never give in to the attitude that you could
never win anything. YOU CAN WIN! Pay attention to the country radio stations
in your area. Find out what contests
they will be running. Keep your phone
handy at all times. Keep the station’s
phone number programmed in your speed dial list. Stay up very late at night when there are far fewer people
calling into the contests. The best
seats in the house are going to those contest winners. Be one of them!
Remember, floor
seats are not always the best seats!
Especially with "in the round" stage set-up used by the Chicks
in 2003.
The stage was omni-directional in 2003. That means that for at least half of the show,
people in floor seats had a very poor view.
People in the lower level seats are elevated just enough to have a clear
view at all times. That means they will
get to see the whole show. People in
the first few rows of the floor will get closer to the girls for a limited
time, but for most of the show they will be far away and looking at their
backsides. Everybody else on the floor
can probably count on standing and staring at the back of somebody’s head for the
entire show. Never pay more for
floor seats until you find out how far away from the stage they are.
A seating chart and stage layout for the show
you are attending can be found by clicking on the venue name at the tour
schedule on this site.
If you have tickets at all,
you are better off than the thousands of fans who couldn’t get them. But, if you are bold, you can always get a
better seat. “Seat hopping” is a skill
that is refined with practice. Wait a
couple of songs into the show to see which good seats are going unused, then
make your move. The worst that can
happen is that an usher moves you back out of that seat to your own. However, it is definitely not recommended
that you hop from a higher level down to a lower level or to the floor. Not only might you get thrown out of the
concert altogether, you may hurt yourself.
You could pretty well forget about it on the
2003 tour. Due to security concerns,
fans were generally not being allowed any opportunities to obtain backstage
passes. Security is still very much a
concern for the Chicks now in 2006, so the days of passes being handed out
freely are probably over for good. It
all comes down to luck and connections.
Backstage passes are mostly reserved for the band’s family members,
close personal friends, and very well connected “VIP” individuals. So unless you are rich, famous, or very well
connected, your chances of getting a backstage pass are almost non-existent.
There have been a couple of instances of the
Chicks recognizing a fan from attending so many shows on the tour that they
invited them backstage after the show.
The fans this happened to usually had attended a dozen or more shows in
the last couple of months, all across the country. This is extremely rare, as most fans cannot afford to attend more
than one or two shows. But it does
occasionally happen. However, quite
honestly, and more often than not, the Chicks are a little freaked out by fans
who attend multiple shows and they will usually try to avoid them. Don't count on stalking the Chicks until
they recognize your face working in your favour. It usually works against you.
While you have essentially no chance of getting
a backstage pass, you do have a chance of meeting the Chicks. Be sure and read "How can I meet the
Chicks?" elsewhere in this FAQ.
The Dixie Chicks do not have a fan club to help
you to get a backstage pass or any other way of meeting the Dixie Chicks. But many artist’s fan clubs do, so check
into that benefit at the website of the artist you are interested in meeting.
On previous tours, the average
fan still had a small chance of getting what is called a “Meet & Greet”
(M&G) pass. It allowed the fan a
brief meeting with the Chicks, usually immediately before the concert. M&G’s are notoriously brief, lasting
less than twenty minutes in most cases.
They are also packed full of people.
This allows the fan little or no one-on-one time with the Chicks. On the Fly tour, M&G pass holders were
escorted into a room to stand beside the Chicks long enough for a photo to be
taken, then were immediately escorted back out of the room again. Each fan was promised a copy of the photo,
but many fans never received them.
Also, the Chicks would not sign autographs in the M&G’s. The same system was used during the 2002
promotional tour. But due to increased
security concerns, there were no meet & greets organized on the 2003 “Top
Of The World Tour.”
Almost all meet
& greet passes on previous tours went to winners of radio station contests.
Never give in to the attitude that you could
never win anything. If there are are
radio contests for passes or tickets, YOU CAN WIN! Pay attention to the country radio stations in your area. Find out what contests they will be running. Keep your phone handy at all times. Keep the station’s phone number programmed
into your speed dial list. Stay up very
late at night when there are far fewer people calling into the contests. The seventy-five fans in the meet &
greet line will be there because they were persistent. If you really want to meet the Chicks, you
will be too!
On previous tours, a few meet
& greet passes were given away as prizes to lucky fans at the concert. Representatives of the tour’s commercial
sponsor (most recently Lipton Tea and CMT) may be doing this on future
tours. When you get to the concert,
look for the sponsor’s booths and representatives and ask questions. You may be a winner!
How do you win these
contests? It varies greatly. Sometimes it’s through a drawing or
sweepstakes. Sometimes all you have to
do is be the correct caller on the telephone.
Sometimes all you have to do is make a fool out of yourself in
public. But usually there is some sort
of quiz involved. The winners will
usually be somebody who knew their Dixie Chicks trivia well, and was able to
answer questions correctly. Do you know
the names of the original four Dixie Chicks?
Can you name the Dixie Chicks first three CD’s? (Hint: It does NOT include Wide Open
Spaces!) Can you recognize a song sung
by the opening act? Do the
research! Learn all you can about the
Dixie Chicks, past and present. Then
you will be ready for any contest!
If you are determined to meet the Chicks, but
are not able to get a backstage pass, be sure to read the “How can I
meet the Chicks?” section of this FAQ.
NEVER take
anybody’s word for whether or not you can take cameras! JUST TAKE YOUR CAMERA!! PERIOD!!
TAKE YOUR CAMERA!!! There is no single official policy that is observed at
all concerts. On the 2003 tour, cameras
were allowed in at most venues. And
even in those arenas where they said they were prohibited, thousands of people
were still taking pictures. A very few
venues prohibited cameras altogether.
Most only prohibit “professional cameras,” changeable lens cameras,
video cameras, and sometimes, digital cameras, since many digital cameras can
record video and sound clips. Natalie
herself has been heard many times encouraging fans to take photographs during
the shows. Confusing the issue,
enforcement policies have varied greatly from city to city, and from usher to
usher. Some have been very strict and
spent the whole show confiscating cameras everytime they see a flash. Most have ignored picture takers, and many
have even been very helpful in assisting fans to get closer to take
photos. At the very same show that a
fan reported security taking up cameras and confiscating film from fans in the
crowd, another fan in another section said that she walked in the door with her
camera in her hand, and a security guard allowed her to walk right up to the
stage to take photos. Policies and
enforcement are completely unpredictable so by all means, TAKE YOUR
CAMERA!!!
Professional
cameras, interchangeable lenses or accessories, video cameras, and tripods will
not be allowed.
This has recently been
expanded to include digital cameras.
They are aware that digital cameras have audio and video recording
capabilities, so the stricter personnel will not be allowing them. But generally speaking, anything small
enough to fit in your pocket or fanny pack isn’t going to be closely inspected
or bothered with. But again, you never
know what they will or will not be allowing!
Here are just a few methods that other fans have found successful in
getting their cameras into the venues:
Do not even ask your friends
who have already been to concerts!! The
truth is NOBODY can tell you for sure what the guard YOU encounter will be
allowing! Enforcement will vary from
door to door, and from security person to security person. And what the guy tells you on the phone is
not always what the people at the door will be going by. They lie, so screw the
policy! Many fans will be taking
pictures at the concerts, regardless of the official policy, so take your
camera! The absolute worst-case
scenario is that cameras will be prohibited and you will be required to go
check it in at a security desk when they see you taking pictures. No problem.
You simply go retrieve it after the show. And by the time it is taken up, you will have already gotten a
couple of photos anyhow, so what have you got to lose? One more time, I repeat, TAKE YOUR
CAMERA!!!
The Dixie Chicks performance usually begins 1½
hours after the time shown on your ticket.
If the time shown is 7:30pm, then the Chicks should take the stage at
9:00pm. But…
This cannot be overstressed! Many people make the disastrous mistake of
planning a late arrival because they are not interested in seeing the opening
act. There is a very good chance you
will regret it until your dying day if you do this! Here’s why:
If you
have car trouble, you are screwed.
If you
hit serious traffic, you are screwed.
If it
takes you an hour to find a parking place and walk/shuttle to the arena, you are
screwed.
If you
forget your tickets at home and have to double back, you are screwed.
If you
forget money and have to go find an ATM, you are screwed.
If you
get busted at the door and have to walk all the way back to your car with a
purse, camera,
cellphone, poster, umbrella, pocket knife,
nail
file, handgun, or anything else they randomly decide you shouldn’t have with
you, you are screwed.
If you try to cut it close, and end up missing
the first half hour of the Dixie Chicks, you will never forgive yourself! Don’t do it!
So, what do you do with all that spare time if
you don’t care to watch the opening act?
Plenty of things! Here are some
priority activities for you:
Circle the outside of the arena
looking for the Chicks' busses. That
way, when the show is over, you can go right there
without
having to search through a sea of people in the dark.
Participate
in contests at radio and sponsor booths to win better tickets, CD’s, and other
prizes.
Shop for
your t-shirts and other merchandise. If
you wait until after the show, they will be out of many products, including
probably the exact
size you
were looking for. Besides, after the
show is when you want to get right down to the busses, not waste time looking
for souvenirs that
they are
probably sold out of.
One of
the main reasons that large tours feature an opening act is to assure that all
fans are there and in their seats in time for the main show.
Use this
time to your advantage! Besides, the
opening acts of today are frequently the headliners of tomorrow. If you skip Michelle Branch today,
you will
only kick yourself tomorrow when she is a mega star that you can’t get tickets
to see!
The Dixie Chicks do not often change their
setlist, which is the pre-planned list of songs for each concert. They have always been known to ‘stick to the
script,’ varying only once or twice in an entire tour. Their shows have not been known for
spontaneity since they went big time in 1999.
And the layout of the huge stage on the 2003 tour and the Fly tour
presented problems for them. The shows
had to be closely choreographed, requiring that each Chick be at a specific
spot on the stage for the beginning and ending of each song. That seriously limits their abilities to be
spontaneous with the setlist or banter.
On the North American leg of the 2003 tour, the only change from the
first show was to drop “Godspeed” lower on the setlist.
Goodbye
Earl
Some
Days You Gotta Dance
There's
Your Trouble
Long
Time Gone
Tortured,
Tangled Hearts
Traveling
Soldier
Am I The
Only One (Whose Ever Felt This Way)
Hello
Mr. Heartache
Cold Day
In July
White
Trash Wedding
Lil'
Jack Slade
A Home
Truth
No. 2
If I
Fall You're Going Down With Me
Mississippi (cover of Bob Dylan song. Performed with Sheryl Crow in Central Park, 1999)
Cowboy
Take Me Away
Godspeed
(Sweet Dreams)
Landslide
Ready To
Run
Wide
Open Spaces
---
encore ---
Top Of
The World
Sin
Wagon
Goodbye
Earl
Some
Days You Gotta Dance
There's
Your Trouble
Tortured,
Tangled Hearts
Travelin'
Soldier
Am I The
Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
Hello
Mr. Heartache
White
Trash Wedding
Little
Jack Slade
More
Love
Truth
No. 2
If I
Fall You're Going Down With Me
Mississippi (cover of Bob Dylan song. Performed with Sheryl Crow in Central Park, 1999)
Cowboy
Take Me Away
Godspeed
(Sweet Dreams)
Landslide
Ready To
Run
Wide
Open Spaces
Give It
Up Or Let Me Go
---
encore ---
Top Of
The World
Sin
Wagon
Ready To Run
There's Your Trouble
Hello Mr. Heartache
Don't Waste Your Heart
Without You
If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
I Can Love You Better
You Were Mine
Give It Up Or Let Me Go
Let Him Fly
Heartbreak Town
Strong Enough (from
“Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live in Central Park,” 1999)
Brilliancy and/or Roanoke w/snippet of "Dixie
Chicken"
Let 'Er Rip
Tonight The Heartache's On Me
Cold Day In July
Some Days You Gotta Dance
Cowboy Take Me Away
Sin Wagon
--- encore ---
Goodbye Earl
Wide Open Spaces
Also played on the Fly Tour were, "Loving
Arms," "Truth #2, "Am I The Only One Who's Ever Felt This
Way," and "Merry Christmas From The Family" (final
show only).
Martie Maguire lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Gareth
(pronounced GARth), and twin daughters, Kathleen Emilie and Eva Ruth (born 27
April 2004).
Emily Robison lives with her husband, singer-songwriter Charlie, and their son, Charles
Augustus (born 11 Nov 2002), and twins Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin (born 14
April 2005) near Charlie’s hometown of Bandera, Texas. They also spend much time at a home in Los Angeles,
California.
Natalie Maines lives just outside of Austin, Texas with her husband,
actor Adrian
Pasdar, and their sons Jackson Slade (born 15 March 2001),
and Beckett Finn (born 14 July 2004).
They also have a home in Los Angeles, California.
Co-founding Dixie Chicks'
lead singer-guitar player Robin Lynn Macy lives near Wichita, Kansas
where she teaches high school mathematics and is active in the bluegrass and
folk music community. She can be found
at the annual Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS.
Co-founding Dixie Chicks lead
singer-bass player Laura Lynch lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her
husband, rancher Mac, where she is active in the arts community. She can frequently be seen at the
performances of Texas country music artists.
Contrary to popular misconception, Lloyd Maines
is Natalie’s father, not her husband.
Lloyd is the premiere producer of country music artists in Texas, and a
Texas music legend. He is the Grammy
winning producer of the “Home” CD, and he played pedal steel guitar and various
other instruments on all six of the Dixie Chicks CD’s. Though he occasionally appears with the
Chicks on televised performances and some selected concerts (usually only in
Texas), he is not a regular member of their band. Among the other great artists that Lloyd has produced CD’s for
are Emily’s husband, Charlie
Robison, and Texas favourite Pat Green,
both of whom Natalie has recorded duets with.
Would you like to meet Lloyd? He
lives in Austin, where he is bandleader and producer for Texas
singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix. You will find him performing at any of
Terri's shows, and he is always very happy to meet fans.
The Dixie Chicks do not currently have a fan
club. They had one from their earliest,
pre-Natalie days until their fame exploded in mid 1998. At that time they shut the fan club down and
returned their members’ money. They
explained that their popularity had risen to the point where they could no
longer administrate such a club. They
also explained very admirably that they felt that all of their fans were
equally important to them, so they did not like the concept of treating some
better than others simply for the money.
The loyal core of fans happily accepted that explanation and many banded
together in the eGroup and on the message board to continue to support the
Chicks independent of a fan club.
Meanwhile, the Chicks stated that they felt they could better “reach the
fans” through the Internet than through a costly fan club. However, for the next four years they
neither had a fan club, nor did they make any effort whatsoever to “reach the
fans” through the Internet or otherwise.
To the great disappointment of their most loyal
fans, the Dixie Chicks premiered their “Official Artists Club” on Yahoo on 5
February 2003. It was a completely
Internet based club which cost fans $30 dollars a year (credit card only) to
join. The club offered its members none
of the benefits of traditional fan clubs run by other artists. No backstage passes. No autographs. No photographs. No
opportunities to meet the Chicks. No
address to contact them through. No
newsletter. No sticker. No button.
No t-shirt. Not even a
membership card. It wasn't even run by
the Chicks' organization. It was run
completely by web technicians at Yahoo who knew nothing about the Dixie Chicks. The only benefits offered to fans for
thirty-dollars were access to a members-only message board on the
official website, and the “chance” to buy concert tickets a couple of days
before the general public could. Some
members got very good tickets through that pre-sell. However, many more reported that they either did not get tickets
any better than those sold to the general public, or they got none at all. Basically, the "official artist
club" was a really bad deal for everybody except Yahoo. There was nothing offered there that you
couldn't get elsewhere for free.
In March of 2005, the "Official Artist
Club" suddenly closed without warning or explanation. The announcement of the closure is still up
at the official site. It assures us
that a new website is forthcoming, but there is no mention of a new fan club. The most probable reason for the disbanding
of the Official Artist Club is a lack of membership. The club was provided solely by Yahoo and cost the Dixie Chicks
nothing. Yahoo collected all of the
members' dues and split the profits with the Chicks. But Yahoo would continue to administrate such a club only so long
as there were enough paying members to generate a certain level of profit. With the almost total loss of fan base
suffered by the Chicks following their political involvement in 2003 and 2004,
the number of people renewing their memberships dropped drastically. And with no tour in the immediate future,
there was very little hope of an infusion of new members; therefore Yahoo
apparently terminated their contract with the Chicks, just as they did with The
Eagles a few weeks earlier.
For a flashback to the good old days of the
original Dixie Chicks Fan Club, many of the old “Chick Chat” newsletters
are archived and available to read at the All Inclusive Dixie Chicks site at http://www.Dixie-Chicks.com.
The Chicks' "diaries" are really only
very short messages containing news updates usually written by somebody in the
Chicks’ entourage and signed “The Chicks” which were occasionally posted to the
members-only section of the old website.
Some fan websites also have all of the diary entries posted.
Only a handful of diary entries have been
released since the 2003 tour ended.
Most had to do with the Chicks' pregnancies and politics, and were
posted well after most fans already knew the news.
If you would like to read the previous diary
entries, feel free to e-mail Rob@DixieChicksFAQ.com. I will be happy to send them to you.
The official website is now back at http://www.dixiechicks.com/. The official sites have never been known to
be up-to-date, accurate, or even particularly interesting. For up to date news and
information, accurate biographies and discographies, large photo galleries, and
links to other Dixie Chicks sites, you are much better off visiting the many
great Dixie Chicks Fan Sites.
There are well over fifty Dixie Chicks websites
designed and maintained by the fans.
Many of those fans are members of the eGroup. The sites vary greatly in quality and content, but each has
something to offer you. Check them out.
Nici’s http://www.dixiechicksfans.net/ (formerly
DixeChicksFans.com) is the original, and still the best Dixie Chicks fan
site on the Internet. It features all
the latest news, large photo gallery, many rare sound files
and MIDI’s, and a popular message board and chat room.
Judy’s http://www.DixieChicksHenHouse.com
features up to date news and television schedules, a great lyrics
section, concert reviews, a calendar of past appearances, and transcripts
of many radio interviews, including the Fly and Home CD radio premiere, and
a popular message board.
Chicks Rock!
Chicks Rule!
http://www.ChicksRockChicksRule.com/ The best source for audio and video clips
and captures from television, radio, and online appearances. Also a great source for up to date gossip
and information.
Tessa's Dixie Studio at http://allday.at/dixiestudio complete and always up
to date. Great info regarding
"the comment." Fun stuff
for fans, including a chat room.
The All Inclusive Dixie
Chicks page http://www.Dixie-Chicks.com is the only place to find the complete and
uncensored history of the Dixie Chicks.
It is organized in an easy to follow time line, and gives you all the
history that the Chicks don’t want you to know about! A must read for the serious Dixie Chicks fan.
The most complete and exhaustive list of Dixie
Chicks links available anywhere is at our links page!
The best and most active chat room is at http://www.dixiechicksfans.net/chat.html. Scheduled chat times for get-togethers are
usually posted on the message board at that same site. They are also sometimes posted to the
eGroup. But fans may be there at any
given time, so check it out! There is
also a chat room at Tessa's Dixie Studio at http://allday.at/dixiestudio
Yes!
There are several very active message boards for Dixie Chicks fans. Most cater to a relatively small, close-knit
group of fans who gather for general discussion and friendship. However, three of them are open and
encourage the participation of all fans.
They are great places to meet your fellow fans and share Dixie Chicks
discussion with them.
The most popular and informative Dixie Chicks
message boards are:
Nici’s http://www.DixieChicksFans.net/
is the oldest message board on the Internet, where the Dixie Chicks, their
friends, their families, and their associates have all been known to post in
the past. Many DixieChicksChat.com fans
have also moved here.
Judy's http://www.DixieChicksHenhouse.com is where most fans from the old
DixieChicksChat.com message board have migrated to.
http://www.dixiechicksfanpage.de.vu/
Is a great German Dixie Chicks fan site which features a multi-lingual
message board.
There is a Dixie Chicks message board section
at CMT's website at http://www.country.com/,
however it is populated mostly by non-fans and is very negative. Most serious fans avoid it.
There is one Usenet newsgroup for Dixie
Chicks. It is alt.fan.dixiechicks,
however it has never been very active.
The Dixie Chicks’ fan base is predominantly young and female. Neither of those groups are frequent users
of Usenet newsgroups. Therefore, there
is rarely any activity in that newsgroup.
In the past, any good information posted there was also quickly posted
to the eGroup also. It has since become
a barren wasteland, so you are not missing anything. The eGroup was established to provide all the benefits of a
newsgroup in a much more accessible format, and without the Spam.
About the only current source for Dixie Chicks
merchandise is from individuals selling on eBay. There are always hundreds of Dixie Chicks related items for sale
on there, offering a much greater variety of items than available from the
official store. These can be easily
found by going to http://www.ebay.com and typing “dixie
chicks” into the search box. You will
find everything from CD’s, to photos, to t-shirts, to posters, to mouse pads
there. Usually at better prices than
you would pay at the concerts!
Also, here are several online sources for Dixie
Chicks posters:
http://www.allposters.com/Galleryc.asp?aid=67484&parentaid=0&search=dixie+chicks
http://www.allwall.com/asp/sp.asp?PD=10027954&RFID=939290&FT=Y
http://www.buymusicposters.com/music-posters-0120.html
http://www.poster-posters-buy-online.co.uk/dixie-chicks-posters.html
IT IS EXTREMELY RARE
THAT YOU WILL FIND REAL DIXIE CHICKS AUTOGRAPHS FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET!! And there is no way that you will be able to
tell the authentic autographs from the counterfeits. Think about this; If the Dixie Chicks themselves are selling fake
autographs, then what do you think the chances are that the anonymous guy on
eBay is selling real autographs? Do not
waste your money! It is not worth the
risk! And be sure to visit the “Autographs” page of
this FAQ for more information on obtaining Dixie Chicks
autographs.
Martie sings the high harmonies (soprano) which
are usually the most audible harmonies in Dixie Chicks songs. Emily sings the low harmonies (alto).
There originally was! The Fly CD went through two early incarnations before becoming
the final product you can now buy in stores.
The first appearance of the Fly CD was a studio
“demo” CD which was recorded on 9 June 1999.
That demo contained fourteen songs.
The list was the same as on the final product, but also included a song
called “Wherever You Are” (WYA). WYA is a upbeat, honky-tonky duet which features Natalie
singing Texas singer-songwriter Deryl
Dodd, and was destined to be a fan favourite. However, an unfortunate set of circumstances
doomed WYA to never be released.
First, the Dixie Chicks were not completely satisfied with the vocal
track on the song and insisted that it be re-recorded before final
release. But before that could be
scheduled, Deryl was hospitalised with a serious, life threatening illness that
left him in critical condition for many months. Producer Blake Chancy suggested that they find another singer to
record the duet with the Chicks so that it could be released on the CD. But Deryl is not just another singer. Deryl is a long time friend of the Chicks
and a fellow Dallasite who played the same local venues as them for years. The Chicks were unwilling to let their
friend simply be replaced.
Subsequently, the difficult decision was made to drop WYA from
the Fly CD altogether. [Note: There are
probably less than twelve people in the world who have a copy of this
recording. You will not find it on
Kazaa, or eBay, or anywhere else.]
The Chicks had bargained hard with Sony to
allow fourteen songs on the Fly CD, so they did not make the decision to drop
back to thirteen easily. Martie and
Emily gave serious consideration to recording “Roanoke” – a fast paced,
bluegrass instrumental favourite from their live shows – as the new song
#14. But ultimately, that was decided
against. Martie says it was because
they felt the feel of “Roanoke” was too similar to that of “Ready To
Run.” And of course, Fly is all
about variety, so they did not want too much of any one particular style on the
CD. It is also widely believed that
they also felt uncomfortable including a song that excluded Natalie at a time
when they were still trying to emphasize her contribution to the group.
About six to eight weeks prior to the
commercial release of the Fly CD, a promotional or “promo” copy was sent to
music industry insiders and journalists for review. This CD had a very different look from the final CD that is sold
in stores. However, it contained the
very same play list, with one notable exception. The final song, “Let Him Fly” was actually numbered with
the number 13. [Note: Unlike the “demo”
CD, there were several hundred copies of the “promo” CD printed up and
distributed worldwide. Occasionally one
will find it’s way to eBay. It doesn’t
contain any unique music, but it is an interesting collectable that is worth a
few bucks if you are a serious collector.]
Sometime during the next month the CD design
was changed, the cover art was chosen, and more thought was given to being
stuck with the superstitiously unlucky number of 13 songs. Nobody wanted to drop any more songs, but it
was much too late to add any more songs either. When word began to spread among the industry that they had
dropped to only thirteen songs, rumours began to circulate that there might be
a hidden “bonus track” included on the final release. Of course, that was not to be, but in a tongue-in-cheek double
joke, a name was given to the thirteenth track, yet it was left blank on the
final CD. In that manner they were able
to avoid having the unlucky number on their CD, while still laying claim to a
fourteen track CD as they had originally planned.
You have probably seen the dedication at the
end of the “Without You” video which reads:
Dedicated to the
memory of
Jackson Miles Ezell
Oct. 7 – Oct. 11, 2000
There is a pregnant actress who is featured in
several scenes of the video. Shortly
after the video was completed, her son, Jackson Miles Ezell, was born. He survived only four days. The Dixie Chicks were extremely saddened,
and determined to be respectful of her loss.
Aware that the video could be a painful memory to her, the Chicks were
prepared to cancel the release of the video and shoot another. However, when they spoke with her, the
mother her desire that the video go on.
The video remains as it was originally produced, but with the Dixie
Chicks expression of sympathy and remembrance attached to the end.
They are all the same CD. Several months after Fly was released, the
sales levelled off. Re-releasing the
same CD with different covers is an old marketing scheme used to boost
sales. You might be amazed just how
many people feel that they must have every cover made, even if the music
is all the same, just to be a "real" fan. They are available in yellow, blue, green, and the original
black.
You may sometimes hear of a "white
cover" copy of the Fly CD, even though it was never publicly released with
a white cover. The "white
cover" is a reference to the super-secret "demo" copies of Fly
produced for the band and the record label executives. It had a plain white cover with simple black
labelling of the song tracks on it, which included the infamous missing thirteenth
song.
Yes!
The Dixie Chicks have been recording music since 1991. They have three more full length,
independent label CD’s that you have probably never seen or heard of. However, serious fans of the Chicks will
want to learn about these early CD’s.
You may be surprised to learn that besides Wide Open Spaces, Fly, Home,
and the original 3 CD’s, the Chicks have released a 45 RPM single with two
rare, unique songs, as well as a long list of collaborations with other artists
like Pat Green, Ricky Skaggs,
Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks,
and Asleep At The Wheel. These are must-haves for serious Chicks
fans. And don’t forget to look for
great CD’s from Emily’s husband, Charlie Robison, with whom Natalie recorded “The
Wedding Song,” and his brother Bruce Robison, who wrote “Travelin’ Soldier.”
The most complete Dixie Chicks discography is
at http://www.DixieChicksHenhouse.com. Also, Robert Brooks’ http://www.Dixie-Chicks.com is an invaluable source on
information about the early CD’s, as well as the CD’s released by original Dixie
Chicks lead singer, Robin Macy, since leaving the band.
1. It’s
a song that the Chicks recorded on a compilation, or on another artist’s CD.
* Northern Rail – Bluegrass tune
featuring all 4 original Chicks on the "KERA Sound Sessions" CD, 1993.
* White Women’s Clothes – Natalie on
“Charlie Goodnight: His life in poetry and song” by Andy Wilkinson, 94.
* Stand By Your Man – from “Tribute To
Tradition” by various artists. 1998.
* You Can’t Hurry Love – from “Runaway Bride
Soundtrack. 1999.
* Roly Poly -- from “Ride With Bob” by Asleep At
The Wheel. 1999.
* Merry Christmas From The Family – from
“Another Rosie Christmas.” 2000.
* I Wanna Be Your Man Forever – from the self
titled CD, “Keith Urban.” Martie and
Emily on backup vocals.
2. It’s
a song that the Chicks never recorded, but have performed live in concert.
* Roanoke – instrumental performed from the
earliest days through the present. Was
considered for Fly.
* Far Cry From Goodbye – performed circa 1995
– 1997.
* Country Roads – John Denver song performed
circa 1995 – 1997.
* Til I See You Again – performed circa 1997.
* Hey Dixie – performed live from the early
Natalie days until 1998. Was considered
for the WOS CD.
* Love Me Like A Man – performed on Austin
City Limits (Public Television), 1998.
* The Price I Pay – performed from the early
Natalie days through 1999. Was
considered for the WOS CD.
* Mississippi – Bob Dylan song performed with Sheryl Crow in Central Park, 1999, and
is on the Double Live CD.
* Tombstone Blues – performed with Sheryl Crow in Central Park, 1999.
* Abilene – duet with Natalie and Sheryl Crow,
1999.
* Bloody Mary Morning – performed with Willie Nelson on the Fly tour, 1999.
* That Lonesome Road – performed on Austin
City Limits (Public Television), 2001.
* That’s Alright Mama – performed on “Divas
Live”, 2001.
* Amazing Grace – Natalie solo for the TV
series, “Mysterious Ways”, starring her husband, Adrian
Pasdar.
* At Last – duet with Natalie and Mary J. Blige on “Women Of Rock” special, 2001.
* Heartbreaker – performed on “Women Of Rock”
special, 2001.
* Honky Tonk Women – performed on “Women Of
Rock” special, 2001.
* It Don’t Hurt – performed on “Women Of Rock”
special, 2001.
* Mary – performed on “Women Of Rock” special,
2001.
* Take It To The Limit – performed on “Women
Of Rock” special, 2001.
* That’s Alright Mama – from “Diva’s Las
Vegas”, 2001.
* There’s No Better Letter Than B – from
Sesame Street appearance, 2002.
* Sing – from Sesame Street appearance, 2002.
* Roses In The Snow – performed with Emmylou Harris on a Willie Nelson Special.
* Shower The People – performed with James Taylor for “CMT Crossroads,” 2002.
* Carolina In My Mind – performed with James Taylor for “CMT Crossroads,” 2002.
* Sweet Baby James – performed with James Taylor for “CMT Crossroads,” 2002.
* October Road – performed with James Taylor for “CMT Crossroads,” 2002.
* Star Spangled Banner (National Anthem) – performed at Super Bowl,
2003. The song was lip-synched to a
recording made shortly after September 11, 2001 and formerly available at the
dixiechicks.com website. It is
currently available for listening or download at http://www.dixiechicksfans.net/audio.html (RealAudio).
3. It’s
another artist’s song that the Chicks only played or sang backup/duet on.
* Dancehall Dreamer – Natalie duet with Pat Green from his “Dancehall Dreamer”
CD, 1995.
* Take Me Down To The River – Natalie duet
with Pat Green from his “Dancehall Dreamer”
CD, 1995.
* John Wayne And Jesus – Natalie duet with Pat Green from his “George’s Bar” CD,
1997.
* Snowin’ On Raton – Natalie duet with Pat Green from his “George’s Bar” CD,
1997.
* Strong Enough – Natalie duet with Sheryl Crow from “Sheryl Crow and
Friends: Live in Central Park,” 1999.
* Walk Softly – with Ricky Skaggs
on “Big Mon: The Songs Of Bill Monroe”, 2000.
* The Wedding Song – Natalie duet with Charlie Robison from his “Step Right
Up” CD, 2001.
* Too Far From Texas – Natalie duet with Stevie Nicks from her “Trouble In
Shangri-La” CD, 2001.
4. It’s
a song that was recorded for promotional or demo purposes, but never officially
released for sale.
* Til I See You Again – recorded for Wide Open
Spaces and found on a promotional cassette, but not released.
* Wherever You Are – duet with Natalie and Deryl Dodd recorded for Fly, but never
released.
5. It’s
a song that was recorded before Natalie joined in 1995, and can be found on one
of the pre-WOS CD’s.
* A complete discography of the Dixie Chicks,
including a track list from each pre-Natalie CD can be found at http://www.dixiechickshenhouse.com. It includes three full length CD’s and a two
track single for a total forty songs.
Many of the “live only” and pre-Wide Open
Spaces songs listed above can be found being traded among fans and on various download
services like Kazaa. The first place
you should look for most hard to find songs is http://www.dixiechicksfans.net/audio.html,
where many mp3’s are posted for immediate listening and download. We also encourage you to check out http://www.reuthebuch.de/dixiechicks
where a fan maintains the most complete list of live and rare Dixie Chicks
recordings, which are traded by “burning trees.” He also maintains an eGroup where fans can discuss collecting and
trading rare Chicks music.
Of course it’s possible that the song you are
looking for is not a Dixie Chicks song at all.
Many songs are commonly found on Kazaa and other download programs that
are mislabelled with the wrong artist’s name.
If the song is not on the above list, or not on one of the three
pre-Wide Open Spaces CD’s, it is probably not a Chicks song.
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: The above information is provided
strictly for informational purposes.
The author of this FAQ does not condone, encourage, recommend, or even
personally participate in the sharing, trading, exchanging, downloading,
copying, burning, or other illegal duplication of copyrighted music. No matter what urban legend you may have
heard from the persons who do it, it is positively against U.S. federal and
international law. Period. It does not matter that you are not charging
money or making a profit from it. It is
still a crime. People are being busted
and jailed for it everyday. If a song
is worth risking your life for, that is your decision alone to make. But again, the author of this FAQ does not
recommend it.
The only place that “Thank Heavens For Dale
Evans,” “Little Ol’ Cowgril,” and “Shouldn’t A Told You That” can be
found consistently is at online auctions like eBay. The originals usually sell for between $80 and $200 dollars each. However, beware…
There is no way you will know the difference
before you have spent your money. There
simply were never very many of these CD's made in the first place. Certainly not as many as are found on
eBay. All three of the CD’s have been
out of print for many years, and there is absolutely no chance of them ever
being re-released. The last known stockpiles
of them around Dallas went dry in the Summer of 1999. Occasionally someone will discover a copy or two of LOC or SATYT
in a record store somewhere. If we are
lucky, they are an eGroup member who will share the information with the
group. But usually they just buy them
up cheap and sell them on eBay for a huge profit. Currently you can find many of the songs on many music download
sites. That is your best chance of
hearing them.
There is currently no biography featured at the
official website, www.dixiechicks.com. And the last one they featured was
especially incomplete and inaccurate.
Most bios found make no mention of the ten years of Dixie Chicks history
prior to the release of the Wide Open Spaces CD in 1998. Unfortunately, this leaves a great many fans
with a very poor sense of where the Chicks came from, their influences, and how
they developed into what they are today.
We urge the serious Dixie Chicks fan to take the time to do some
research and learn the real, complete history of the Dixie Chicks.
The very best source of information is Robert
Brooks’ “All Inclusive Dixie Chicks Page” at http://www.Dixie-Chicks.com. It is arranged in a very easy to follow
timeline format which takes you all the way back to Martie and Emily’s teenaged
years of playing in bluegrass festivals prior to forming the Dixie Chicks. It is due for a Home era update soon, but the
site stays relatively current, including keeping up with the post-Dixie Chicks
careers of former lead singers, Robin Lynn Macy and Laura Lynch.
The next best place to find the history of the Dixie
Chicks is in the book, “Dixie Chicks: Down-Home and Backstage”
written by James L. Dickerson. It is
the most accurate accounting of the Dixie Chicks history to be found in
print. It was painstakingly researched
over a two-year period, and includes interviews with founding Dixie Chick lead
singer, Laura Lynch-Tull, as well as many other current and former associates
of the Dixie Chicks. It includes many
exclusive photographs of the early Dixie Chicks. And for eGroup members, you will find the stories and quotes of
several of your fellow fans there.
There are at least three other paperback books
that were hastily published about the Dixie Chicks around late 1999. “All About The Dixie Chicks” by Ace
Collins, and “Chicks Rule!” by Scott Gray are two of them. However, none of them even come close to the
completeness of Dickerson’s book. They
are in fact quite full of errors. And
one of them appears to be nothing more than a blatant rip-off of Robert’s
website.
Natalie plays Gibson Blues King acoustic
guitars exclusively.
http://montana.gibson.com/guitars/L-Series/bluesking.html
Natalie plays several Fernandes Native-X model
electric guitars without tremolo (no longer available).
http://www.fernandesguitars.com
Natalie was most recently seen playing a custom
made, twin Humbucker Telecaster electric guitar on the "Vote For
Change" tour.
Photo courtesy of Angela Marchetti/Mid-Atlantic Media
Natalie was also seen playing a Gibson Les Paul
SG Standard electric guitar on the "Top Of The World" tour.
http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/sg/SGStandard.html
Natalie plays a Modulus Vintage J model electric
bass guitar, usually only during "Goodbye Earl."
http://www.modulusguitars.com/
Natalie previously played Gibson Montana CL-20
and CL-35 dreadnaught guitars, which are seen in many pre-2002 photos.
http://www.gibson.com/products/montana/1998/cl20-cl30.html
http://www.gibson.com/products/montana/1998/cl35-cl45.html
Emily's primary acoustic banjo is a mahogany
Nechville Classic fully customized with Texas themed and Chicks feet inlays.
http://www.nechville.com/instock_texas.html
Photo Courtesy of Angela Marchetti/Mid-Atlantic Media
Emily also plays two different Gibson acoustic
banjos in concert. An RB-4 and occasionally
an RB-250.
http://www.gibson.com/products/oai/banjos/RB-4.html
http://www.gibson.com/products/oai/banjos/RB-250.html
Emily plays a custom made Nechville Meteor
electric banjo. She previously played a
white faced "Shooting Star" Meteor also.
http://www.nechville.com/electric_meteor.htm
http://dixiechicksfaq.homestead.com/files/EmBanjo4a.jpg
Emily previously played a Deering Crossfire,
natural finish electric banjo, which appears in many pre-2000 photographs.
Emily primarily plays a custom crafted Tim
Scheerhorn squareneck resophonic guitar or "Dobro."
Emily also plays a customized Gibson 60-D
squareneck Dobro.
http://www.gibson.com/products/oai/dobro/60dcl.html
Emily plays mostly Taylor acoustic guitars,
including an 810 dreadnaught and a 714ce.
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/model.aspx?model=810
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/models/models.asp?id=714ce
Emily also plays Gibson J-45 dreadnaught
guitars.
http://montana.gibson.com/guitars/J-45/j-45.html
Emily and Natalie both sometimes play a Tacoma
P1 Papoose guitar.
Martie plays three different violins:
Martie primarily plays a German
Stradavarius style violin crafted in 1920.
Martie also plays a late teens or
early 1920's model German Stainer violin.
Martie recently acquired a Guarneri
style violin custom crafted by Townsend
Violins in Austin, Texas.
Martie primarily plays a Gibson F-5 Master
acoustic mandolin.
http://www.gibson.com/products/oai/mandolins/F-5master.html
Martie also plays a custom electric, solid body
mandolin of unknown make.
Click here to see Martie's electric mandolin.
Several different websites feature a
comprehensive assortment of tabs for Dixie Chicks music, as well as the music
of most other popular artists. They can
be found at:
http://www.roughstock.com/cowpie/
http://www.dreamscape.com/esmith/dansm
Also, most of the Chicks’ popular songs have
been published in “PVG” (piano/vocal/guitar) music books. They can be readily found at most better
music stores, as well as on eBay. If
you are unable to locate the tabs you are looking for, feel free to ask the
eGroup members if they may have them.
Plenty of our eGroup members are musicians.
Unfortunately, we have yet to find a source for
violin or banjo tablature or sheet music.
If you find any, let us know!
The belt buckles were originally sold at the
"Official Store" at www.DixieChicks.com,
as well as at Dixie Chicks concerts for $65 dollars. However, they have now closed the official store, and it is not
expected that they will again be available on the next tour, considering the
radical change in musical style and fan base that is occurring. Many fans have had them custom made for themselves. It costs between $125 and $250 dollars to
have such a buckle custom made by hand, depending upon the metals used. Most fans are not willing to pay that kind
of money for a buckle they will only scratch up or get tired of. But if you want a buckle of higher quality,
with custom engraving, metals, or jewels, you will want to have one custom
made. Do a web search for custom belt buckle makers and e-mail the photo to a
few of them for a quote and pick a custom silversmith to make it for you. Or, you can visit most any western wear
store, where they usually do business with a custom buckle maker who can help
you out.
One buckle maker that fans have used and been
very happy with is http://www.bucklesetc.com/index.htm
Shortly after Wide Open Spaces was released,
the Chicks made a pact with each other to get chick feet tattooed on their own feet
to commemorate each gold record or #1 place on the Billboard Charts. As their success became phenomenal beyond
anyone’s expectations, they quickly realized that they could not keep up with
the original pact without soon being covered in tattoos from head to toe. So, they amended the terms of their pact to
get tattoos only for platinum albums, gold singles, and #1 songs. Right now they are behind, having not gotten
any new tattoos since 1999. They have
earned sixteen (16), but currently they only have nine (9) chick feet
each. Those nine tattoos represent the
following:
There’s
Your Trouble -- #1 Single
Wide
Open Spaces -- #1 Single
You Were
Mine -- #1 Single
Wide
Open Spaces -- #1 Album
Wide
Open Spaces – Gold Certification
Wide
Open Spaces – Platinum Certification
Fly -- #
1 Album
Fly –
Gold Certification
Fly –
Platinum Certification
Last I heard, they were still overdue for at
least seven (7) more tattoos for:
Cowboy
Take Me Away -- #1 Single
Goodbye
Earl – Gold Certification
Without
You -- #1 Single
Home --
#1 Album
Home –
Gold Certification
Home --
Platinum Certification
Landslide
-- #1 Single (adult contemporary chart)
Natalie also has a tattoo on her right ankle
that shows a world globe with the Latin word for peace, “PAX” written above it,
which she got while in college.
While performing on stage in Austin, Texas on
21 May 2003, Natalie wore a custom emblazoned shirt with the inscription, “F.U.T.K.”
across the chest in five inch high letters.
This performance was simulcast by satellite to the live audience of the
Academy Of Country Music Awards show.
There was no comment made by Natalie about the shirt during the
performance. However, there were at
least five different explanations quickly circulated by various people:
1. The initials stand for “F*ck You Toby
Keith.” Natalie has been involved in a
back and forth dispute with country artist Toby Keith since 2002. She started the affair by publicly attacking
him and his song, “Courtesy Of The Red White And Blue” in the media. She referred to the song as ignorant,
“redneck,” and racist. Toby responded
when asked by the media by saying that he was not interested in her opinion of
his song, which he wrote as a tribute to his deceased father. Both him and Natalie have kept the
controversy alive through continuing public comment.
2. The initials stand for “Freedom
Understanding Tolerance Knowledge.”
This explanation is widely circulated among fans and is believed to have
originated from someone close to the Dixie Chicks, or within their
organization. The Chicks’ publicist has
now begun giving this explanation also.
3. The initials stand for “Friends United in
Truth and Kindness.” This is the story
now being given by representatives at the Dixie Chicks’ record label, Sony
Nashville, in response to calls to their offices.
4. The initials stand for “Freedom Unity
Tolerance and Knowledge.” Natalie
herself gave this definition to a group of fans immediately after the Austin
show where she wore it. This
explanation does not appear to be sincere, as Natalie appeared to be making up
those words as she spoke them, and spoke them with a giggle and a smile.
5. The initials represent the name of a new
clothing line which may supposedly be introduced by Natalie.
The shirt can be clearly seen in a photo at http://dixiechicksfaq.homestead.com/files/FUTK.JPG
Once a closely guarded secret, it was publicly
revealed in March of 2003 that “the Aardvark” is a comical nickname the Chicks
use to refer to their manager, Simon Renshaw.
On their March 11 appearance on Britain’s “So Graham Norton” television
show, the girls explained the origin of the nickname in this interview:
Norton: And, what’s... your kind of ‘break through’ album was the Wide
Open Spaces album. And on there, you
thank “The Aardvark”?
(silence as Norton looks inquisitively at Chicks. Natalie laughs)
Emily: (quietly) Do you know what an aardvark is? (smiles)
Norton: I’m hoping you’ll tell me (cheeky grin) (Martie laughs)
Natalie: I think you’re probably an aardvark yourself! (cheekily)
Norton: D’you think I’m an aardvark? (Chicks laughing and grinning)
Martie: Maybe you can figure it out (motions at audience) everybody here
is probably an aardvark, but if this was a show in America…
Natalie: Every MAN.
Martie: Yeah… (shaking hands) every man would be an aardvark, but if
this was a show in America, the men would not be aardvarks.
Norton: Okay... (audience laughs) are you following it now? (laugh
again) No? Oh, you need to sleep with
more Americans, guys!
Get out there! Do the work!
(Chicks and audience laugh again)
Natalie: It’s the ole snip snip (does scissor motion) in America.
Audience: Ohhhh!
Norton: Good, they’re “ohhhhh”!
So what are they?
Emily: Yeah, what are they?
Natalie: And we think it looks like an aardvark.
Norton: They’re regular, we’re aardvarks?
Martie: They’re purple helmets...(laughter, Emily and Natalie put their
hands to their heads, all laughing)
Norton: You’ve only seen them in one state. (laughter again)
Emily: Well, unfortunately -- not unfortunately -- we have a lot of
British people who work for us...
Natalie: Unfortunately?!
(laughing)
Emily: (laughing) We have a lot of British people who work for us, but
unfortunately we’ve seen our manager naked on a few occasions.
(Chicks laughing) Just because....I don’t know why! (audience laugh) (Norton looks shocked)
Martie: We had this thing with wedgies for a while, for a while we were
pulling wedgies on everybody, for some reason, his...pants came
down at the same time and we saw “the aardvark.” (laughter)
Norton: And this looks like an aardvark?
Emily: And that’s how it came about...
Martie: Well, a baby aardvark. (loud laughter) (Martie fakes a shocked
face with her hands to her mouth)
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