ARE THE DIXIE CHICKS DEAD?

I've always said that the damage the Dixie Chicks did to themselves when they bad-mouthed Bush in Enland was a LONG TERM kind of damage.

Oh yeah, to be sure - there were plenty on the left who ran to their defense after they dis'd Bush - people who didn't even know what country music was, and had never been a fan of it. I remember seeing blogs and exclamations from such liberals saying -- "They're Great!" and "We'll buy their music if the Neo-Cons won't".

Well, where are THOSE fans now?

Appears to me the Chicks are ... DEAD.

Don't believe me? Check out their official website ...

R.I.P.


First of all - if you're a top scoring recording artist - YOU HAVE TO HAVE A WEB PRESENCE.

And it's gotta be good. The Chicks had such a presence at one time - not only that - they charged for a subscription to their website! That's how refined the web operation was.

But a quick review of their site now reveals the following ...

1. All subscriptions TERMINATED - you'll get a refund for any time remaining on your subscription.

2. The subscriptions were terminated under the "guise" that the Chicks were "retooling" their website - well, you can retool without cancelling subscriptions but ... I'll accept that for the sake of argument for a moment. What I won't accept is that this supposedly "hot" "million dollar" act has taken over FIVE months to retool. That's unacceptable for a supposedly "big act".

3. And just what about that "retooling"? See for yourself. Five months and the majority of the links are DEAD. Last post I can find on the site is April 22nd - four months ago. No new news, nothing for fans, no tour dates, no "diary", no "cool stuff".

This is not the way a happy, smiling, money-making band behaves folks. And you can't explain this away with a simple ... "they're having their private time" comment. Real bands don't take breaks like this - by practically shutting down their website. You take a break - your organization doesn't. They keep things running while you're having your "private time".

We may have seen the demise of the Dixie Chicks here (please give me a second as I wipe the tears from my keyboard).

Either that or the Chicks plan to lay low - as in "Will the Beatles ever get back together again?" low. Perhaps they figure they can make a big comeback if they ditch the act for awhile.

We shall see - but the lesson here is clear. They HAD millions of dedicated country fans and were the darlings of all of country music. Then they stupidly squandered a career and a loyal following of fans that would have blessed them for more than another decade. All for the purposes of scoring a cheap shot against the President.

Art and politics don't mix. Paul Stanley of KISS knows this. When asked about his politics ... Paul always says ...

"Politics? Who would care about our opinion on anything political? We're idiots"

Paul's my man! And he's absolutely correct. A musician knows no more about politics than a cab driver or a plumber does - and they often know more than a musician!

Shut up and play - that's what I say.