Natalie Maines

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Natalie Maines

Natalie Louise Maines (born on October 14, 1974 in Lubbock, Texas) is an American country music singer and songwriter, who achieved success as the lead singer for the successful female country group, the Dixie Chicks.

Personal life

She is a 1992 graduate of Lubbock High School. Natalie is the daughter of country musician Lloyd Maines. She is married to actor Adrian Pasdar; they have two children, Jackson Slade Pasdar (born March 15, 2001) and Beckett Finn Pasdar (born July 14, 2004).

Natalie joined the all-female country music group Dixie Chicks in 1995, at the age of 21. The group had been performing since 1989. She is the lead singer in the group and also plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, papoose and omnichord.

Public statements

One of Maines' first encounters with an unsupportive audience came in 1998, the year that the Dixie Chicks' first major-studio album became a surprise hit. Natalie appeared as a guest on Bill Maher's TV show Politically Incorrect. The topic of the May 15 show was legislation passed in California legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Natalie spoke against legalization and debated the issue with, among others, Woody Harrelson, actor and outspoken advocate of legalization. [1]

In 2002, Maines publicly criticized fellow country music star Toby Keith's chart-topping country hit, "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)" starting a public feud between the two. Maines is quoted as saying, "I hate it. It's ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant. It targets an entire culture - and not just the bad people who did bad things. You've got to have some tact. Anybody can write, 'We'll put a boot in your ass.' But a lot of people agree with it. The kinds of songs I prefer on the subject are like Bruce Springsteen's new songs." [2] Keith responded by belittling Maines' songwriting skills.

In March of 2003, Natalie Maines provoked controversy and anger from country music fans by saying, during a concert in London, that she was ashamed that President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. The Dixie Chicks were subsequently denounced by Bush supporters, and at a demonstration in Texas a large pile of their CDs were destroyed. Natalie and her bandmates describe this seminal event as "The Incident".

Maines later issued an apology: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American." Some of her fans remained supportive, while others were disappointed in her political stance.

Toby Keith's 2003 "Shock'n Y'all" tour included the showing of a doctored photo of Maines with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Maines struck back on May 21, 2003, when she wore a T-shirt with the letters FUTK on the front at the Academy of Country Music Awards. [3] While a spokesperson for the Dixie Chicks said that the acronym stood for "Friends United in Truth and Kindness", many including host Vince Gill took it to be a shot at Keith (presumably seeing the acronym as standing for Fuck You Toby Keith). In August 2003, Keith publicly declared he was done feuding with Maines, explaining, "You know, a best friend of mine, the guy that started the first band I was ever in, he lost a two-year-old daughter to cancer - this was just a couple of weeks ago. A few days after I found she didn't have long to live, I saw a picture on the cover of COUNTRY WEEKLY with a picture of me and Natalie and it said, 'Fight to the Death' or something. It seemed so insignificant. I said, 'Enough is enough'." [4]

On May 21, 2006, while promoting the release of the album Taking the Long Way, Maines reconsidered her 2003 apology, saying, "I don't feel he [Bush] is owed any respect whatsoever." [5]

On May 25, 2006, Natalie Maines claimed on the Howard Stern Show that she doesn't wear panties.[6]

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on June 15, 2006, Maines again stirred up controversy by stating "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism; Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country... I don't see why people care about patriotism." [7]

Guest appearances

• Natalie's first commercially released work was background vocals on Pat Green's debut album, Dancehall Dreamer, produced by her father Lloyd Maines. This album was released in late 1995, shortly before Natalie joined the Dixie Chicks in place of founding lead singer Laura Lynch.

• On Pat Green's second album, George's Bar (1997), Natalie sings backup on two songs, including a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Snowing on Raton".

• Natalie sings a duet called "The Wedding Song" with Charlie Robison on his 2001 album Step Right Up.

• She sings a duet called "Too Far From Texas" with Stevie Nicks from Nicks' 2001 album Trouble in Shangri-La.

• Natalie can also be heard singing background vocals on "Abilene" for Sheryl Crow's 2002 album C'mon C'mon.

• She also sings background vocals on "El Cerrito Place" from Charlie Robison's 2004 album Good Times.

• Natalie sings with Patty Griffin on "Mary" from the 2005 benefit album Songs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South Asia.

• Natalie contributed backing vocals to the 2006 Yellowcard album, Lights and Sounds. Her voice is heard on the song "How I Go".

• She also sings on Pete Yorn's third album, 2006's Nightcrawler, on the song "The Man".

External links

• Natalie Maines at IMDb
• Dixie Chicks Photo Gallery
• Liberal Country Fan Covers Natalie's music and activism