You're really breaking the genre mold for country
music. "Not Ready to Make Nice"
could be a gay anthem.
Robison: Yeah, I think there's a certain
defiance to our music. These days--correct me if
I'm wrong--you almost have to be defiant in the
gay and lesbian community just to stand your ground.
That part in "Not Ready To Make
Nice"--where someone writes you a
letter saying "Shut up and sing / Or [your] life
will be over"--gives me the chills.
Maines: People get mad that we're saying
that, but every single word is true. Because of
"the incident," as we like to call it, we
really felt we had something to say. It made us
mature, made us grow as women and people, and inspired
us for this record. Rick Rubin, our producer, had seen
us at the beginning of our career and thought we were really
good but that no one took us seriously. Emily said the
other day, "I don't know if it was the
glitter or what." [Laughs]
I think you've gotten a whole new crowd of gay
fans because you were so outspoken.
Maines: We've wiped the slate clean as to whom we
think our fans are, but we do think we have more
liberals and more gay men behind us. We have a gay
hairdresser and gay makeup artist who are with us every
single day, so they fill us in.
You must see a lot of lesbians at your shows.
Robison: They're usually on Martie's side.
[Laughs] We always tease her that she gets all
the lesbians.
You all had babies since the last album--what are
you going to teach your children about tolerance
and about speaking out?
Maines: When all this was happening, I had a 2-year-old,
and Emily had a baby, and that was one of the things
that crossed my mind. I know a lot of people would
have just said "Sorry." But I had to think
about when my son gets old enough to ask me what they
were talking about. I could never say, "Oh, I
said this thing about the president because I didn't
agree with us going to war, but then I took it back."
I wanted him to know that I stood up for what I know
to be right.
How long do we have to wait for the Dixie Chicks' Chicks?
Robison: The oldest is just 5. We have hunches about a
few of them, but it's hard to tell.
