Chick Chat
From the Rockin' DC Ranch
Before they hit the big time -- and one time after -- the Dixie Chicks sent a newsletter to their loyal fans. The irregularly published Chick Chat was a facinating stream-of-conciousness look into the lives of a group of talented young ladies (and gentlemen) struggling with life on the road.
This issue was sent out in December, 1993, and announced the release of their final indie release, Shouldn't A Told You That.
Page 1
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM?
OUR NEW ALBUM IS HERE! FOLKS
The newpapers and music writers are sayin' we're gettin' back to our "country roots" -- when did we ever leave? Then there's talk about Nashville lovin' it. What does all this mean? All we know is that we put our hearts into Shouldn'ta Told You That and came up with ten new songs that we enjoyed playin'... road tested winners!
The look of the new album, designed by nationally reknown Rex Peteet, and beautifully photographed by Carolyn McGovern, reflects our growth in the music business -- Hey! It's our third album! We oughta be gettin' it down right. We got to get all duded-up with fancy makeup artists and lots o'primpin and backgrounds (a far jump from shootin' our pictures against Laura's bedroom wall!). The real kicker is the fact that we now go into the studio with comfortable pillows, bowls of fruit and shoes that don't hurt our feet, rather than cameras and snazzy duds. We know which side of the glass to stand on, and studio hub-bub and fancy mics don't mean zip if the music doesn't sound right. You could call it maturity, but that seems out of place when we look back on all the silly things that happened.
The album is good -- at least people are sayin' so... It won the "Best In Four Prairies" award in Borger, Texas a few weeks ago, presented by Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Bensen!
![[CCS Logo, 8k GIF]](./images/ccsound.gif)
While you're sittin' there listening to Shouldn'ta Told You That (which
you can order right from this newsletter -- hint. Hint! Christmas -- hint, hint!
Emily's car payment -- hint, hint) just realize that it's not just a product, but the
hard work of our producer Steve Fishell / Jackalope Productions; the fine recording
and mixing of Mike Poole, our associate producer; Danny Purcell at Georgetown
Masters and the folks at Crystal Clear Sound... plus a hundred other people
who put up with us for weeks! Anyway, we'll just keep puttin' em out 'til the cows
come home... you know what they say in farming? -- If you're green you grow --
if you're ripe you rot! We hope you love it as much as we do!
AS LEGAL EAGLES WE'RE REGAL BEAGLES!
Puttin' out an album involves a ton of fancy legal stuff and makes Xerox rich... just in case somebody wants to use our song behind some soda pop commercial or some guy in Lapland wants to record our tunes for his reindeer herd. We are so thankful for our big gun volunteer Legal Department headed up by Jennifer Jackson, who herded us through all of the "Notwithstanding, the foregoings, where-to-from-heres, here-to-fores, two-by-fours and insomuchasses" on 8 1/2" x 14" paper that won't fit in a regular envelope... not even a Martian could come to earth and swipe our album!
ALBUM RELEASE PARTY SMASHEROO!
Our release party on November 11 was a smashing success.. we worked and they played. We rented the 1940's Granada Theater in Dallas and performed on the same stage where they used to give away puppies at saturday matinees and Duncan YO YO Champs performed "Walking the dog" and "Baby Cradle". A million people showed up and had a great time while Emily and Martie presented a six-foot sandwich. There were probably a hundred record company scouts out there, but we can only see to the fifth row -- so don't spoil our illusion. We're already planning our next release party in the bed of a pink Big Wheel Truck surrounded by Quarter Horses, chuckwagons filled with fattening food and a hundred rangers and racy wranglers!
Page 2
Trail Dust Ramblin' O' The Road!
'Til now the only books we've been in are High School annuals and the Phone Directory, but YEE-HA! Look for The Cowgirl Companion at your favorite bookstore -- it features funny little chronicles of "Cowgirl life" -- We're funny, we're little, and we're on page 130!
When we were on NASHVILLE NOW recently, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that Emily wears the same shade of pancake makeup as RALPH EMERY!
We finally played Branson, Missouri -- the town that has NYTOL for breakfast. We opened for KENNY ROGERS (he wore Lime Green)! As we rolled out of Branson, we found ourselves pondering the mind boggling question of the ages: "What's the difference between a Jubilee and a Jamboree?"
Our friend Kerry Radford's baby turned one year old and she had an official "Li'l Ol' Cowbaby" Party -- she's now about as old as Laura's jokes! Another pal o' the trail, our redheaded friend Ira was on the TV show Jeopardy -- he lost. You ever wonder why we mention so many of our friends -- people you don't know? Well, this is a "News" (which we cover) -- "Letter" and it's our way of sayin' hi to people we miss while we're on the road. We'd tell 'em the same stuff if we were sittin' over soda pop!
Big Bidness Babes
Held our first official Bored of Directors meetin' and get-together in our swanky board room that we share with the refrigerator. There has been a rise in "net earnings and nerve endings" according to the little "number thing" you push the buttons on and it spits out a little roll of paper tape, before being paper-clipped to some paper, and stored somewhere. 'Til that meeting, the only thing we'd ever done on our (kinda) oak conference table was lay out barbeque buns, chinese food containers and cowboy shirts!We also made important decisions on office interior design like them big guns do. There at the Rockin' DC Ranch Bunk House and headquarters, high atop the Meletio skyscraper (overlooking 5:00 traffic jams) we made the Chez European design choice of wall décor using our fan mail for wallpaper -- in respect to the economic message derived at the prior-mentioned Board Meeting previously heretofore, in-so-much-as mentioned in the first part above -- do we have it down, or not!
[Photo: Laura, Emily, and Martie with George W. Bush and (probably) his wife]
Who's Who In The Zoo Fame Roundup
Since we last visited with you we've met some new "Famers":
KENNY ROGERS,
GEORGE BUSH, JR
MERLE HAGGARD,
NOLAN RYAN
FT WORTH MAYOR KAY GRANGER
Another Year Older And Deeper In Debt
Since our last Chick Chat we've all had birthdays -- Old Emily's hit 21. She is woman and we heard her roar -- now she can frame her fake ID. Martie's big day was October 12 when she turned 24 -- still a long way from 25 and Laura just turned on November 18 -- went around begging for Eau de Eckerd's stink water. The kid doesn't know the meaning of the word "sparingly" and the air was so thick it'd coat your teeth -- maybe it ain't so dumb as you could hear mosquitoes hit their brakes!
Page 3
Dixie Chicks Show Dates
[Highlights include:]- November 4: Shouldn't A Told You That hits stores
- March 1 through 15: The Dixie Chicks tour Europe!
Page 4
Chocolate, Cheese & Watches!
Them Swiss Alps are gonna ring to Texas Yodelin' -- looks like we're going to Zurich, Switzerland in March of '94 on our Euro-pean tour that also includes Brussels, Belgium -- actually the tour only includes Zurich and Brussels, but who cares with all that cheese full of holes, Coo Coo Clocks for Emily and Brussel sprouts for Martie. Both places are known for big-time chocolate delights, and of course those snazzy waffles -- don't worry, we'll burn up the extra calories as we become "Swiss Misses" on our big mountain climb up to the official Yodel Point where they keep those big mountain horns and make echos -- Yodel-lady -- who-who-who!Santa If You're Listenin'
It's hard to tell where our chimney'll be when Santa comes 'round -- probably in the RV between Beenthere, NC and Gethere, GA. A poll of band members created a wishlist (there's so many things to discuss here on the road). The guys in the band were so practical: MATT wants disposable socks, TOM wants a cymbal endorsement and an RV driver, JEFF wants a wife & kids (a life), case of NODOZE, backbrace and Every Man's Guide to Understanding Women. EMILY wants a new dobro, fuzzy slippers and, since she's been accused of being a "Barbie" she'd like a life size "Ken" as a stocking stuffer. MARTIE wants a killer hot nail polish that'll take the paint off a park bench and a pound of bow resin, and LAURA wants a Good joke, a house bigger'n than her schoolbox room and a month off in El Paso to be with ASIA. Everybody wants the world to love their new album and RV tires that never go flat!The Dixie Chicks
[Photo: the cover photo from "Shouldn't A Told You That"]
Page 5
Chicks Boutique
Page 6
[No articles, just a picture of the Chicks in front of a diner named "Ten Pound Buns" and a talk bubble that says, "Callin' All Fans! Callin' All Fans! Call your local radio stations a tell 'em you want Dixie Chicks!"]
![[Old CD, 13k GIF, from Crystal Clear]](./images/toldthat.gif)
Editors Notes:
On January 22, 1998, the "new look" Dixie Chicks previewed their fourth album, "Wide Open Spaces" at Cowboy's Red River in Dallas. I wasn't able to make it, so I don't know if it was like the party they'd planned four years earlier. From what I've heard, it was a big party nonetheless! But I don't think the Quarter Horses were able to make it.
The Dixie Chicks Cowgirl Band that created "Shouldn't A Told You That" consisted of:
Laura Lynch, Emily Erwin, and Martie Erwin
![[Original Chick Logo]](./images/circlogo.gif)
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Transcribed by Robert Brooks. Grammar and structure are from the original, but typos and misspellings are probably my own fault.
Original Chick Chat copyright note:
(c) Copyright 1993 Dixie Chicks, Dallas, TX 75230
Last update: 01/11/1999 by Robert Brooks
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