After seeing Patti Smith do a Q&A tonight at the Hearst building (more on that this Wednesday!), I left thinking about one quote. When asked what her favorite piece of advice she's been given, her response was to "always keep your name clean" when you're an artist - words from William Burroughs.
While this is an important lesson in branding and career longevity for any musician, it made me think of the recent revival of The Dixie Chicks and their lack of US tour dates. This article entitled "Is Country Music Ready to Forgive the Dixie Chicks?" popped up on my Facebook feed the other day - with several comments saying how much fans want the trio to come back to country.
For a little background info, back in 2003 the lead vocalist of the group, Natalie Maines, made the infamous statement "We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States [George W. Bush] is from Texas" at a concert in London. Immediately following the incident, country music rose up against the group, banning their music and the hatred lead to death threats. The film Shut Up And Sing is a fascinating account of life before and after the London show, detailing the pain felt and the creation of the multi-Grammy winning, rock leaning album that followed.
The Chicks brought the genre to new audiences and sold out arenas. Yet, there are only European dates for their upcoming tour. No talks of a new album as a trio. Overall there seems to be an incredible amount of fan support, as well as many news outlets making optimistic statements about US performances. Given that support, I believe there would be no question US tour dates would be successful and sell out.
However, if they decided to release new country music to radio, that could pose a problem. I'd like to think that country radio would value good music regardless of one statement made 12 years ago, but the ban and hatred was so strong after it happened that's it's difficult to see all of the genre's radio stations taking the high road. Given the recent uproar over "Girl Crush" even slightly suggesting a homosexual relationship (which it wasn't at all if you listen to the lyrics), as well as the entire "tomato" controversy, you can see why I'd have my doubts about country radio's maturity.
Twelve years ago the group might have wanted to hear the "keep your name clean" advice, but their future is still up to them. The Dixie Chicks are set to start their European tour next April - so only time will tell if US dates, new country music, and radio acceptance are in the cards for the talented trio.