[This message is being sent to both the dixiechicks discussion list and to
the All-Inclusive site's update list (originalchicks@yahoogroups.com)]

My KHYI-Fans@yahoogroups.com list doesn't usually see a lot of
traffic. It's just a hundred or so fans of Dallas alt.country station KHYI
95.3 (www.khyi.com), all of whom are especially passionate about the genre
we call "Texas Music" or simply "OKOM" (Our Kind Of Music). With Texas
musicians on the rise on the national scene -- the Dixie Chicks are just
one of many -- we've been a pretty happy bunch.

Until last week.

Most of y'all on dixiechicks@yahoogroups know that Lloyd Maines is
Natalie's dad. Several of you probably also know that he's not just her
occasional steel guitar player -- he's a major force in Texas Music, and
has been since Natalie was in diapers or before. He's produced albums for
virtually every major Texas artist, from Pat Green and Robert Earl Keen to
Terri Hendrix and The Groobees (you know, the ones who originally did "Wide
Open Spaces").

So why is one Texas radio station exec refusing to play Maines' collaborations?

Texas singer-songwriter Kevin Deal (http://www.kevindeal.com/) just
released his fourth album, "The Lawless", and was greatly honored to again
have Lloyd Maines as his producer. He sent promo copies to the Texas
stations that have supported OKOM, and the album quickly hit the top 10 on
the Americana / Alt.Country charts.

It's clearly another excellent effort from one of our rising artists... so
why did one radio station exec send it back unopened?

I got permission from Kim Deal, Kevin's wife, to forward to y'all this
message she sent to KHYI-Fans. We were having a discussion about the
ongoing Dixie Chicks ban in the Dallas market, when she decided she'd
stayed quiet long enough:

> Subject: [khyi] Re: Banned Music
> From: Kim Deal <@yahoo.com>
> Date: Wed, May 28, 2003 7:23 am
> To: khyi-fans <khyi-fans@yahoogroups.com>

Ok.
I've kept quiet long enough.
This banned music thing really irritates me.

On April 25th, we received a letter from a Texas station. He actually said
he was the owner of three stations. He returned Kevin's CD unopened and
said he would no longer be supporting anything produced by Lloyd Maines on
any of his stations.

*Well, that's going to kick him in the rear and pretty much limit his Texas
music selection. But whatever.*

The point is: Kevin paid Lloyd to do a job. Lloyd makes nothing more off of
the record when his job is complete. Kevin on the other hand pretty much
gets limited shots at making it in the music business and I really don't
think it's fair that he's trying to punish us for The Dixie Chicks' comments.

If he thinks he will have some impact on Lloyd's musical career, well, he's
pretty much nuts.

We live in America we have a right to say stupid things. I use that right
on a daily basis.

Yes, he has a right to ban Kevin too. I just think it's down right mean and
unfair. There are a lot more important band wagons in this world to jump onto.

My favorite quote of the month: "dreams come through much activity, and a
fools voice in known by his many words".

I'm off to dream big dreams with much activity and keep my foolish mouth
closed again.

[end of message]


Well, the response to Kim's message has been overwhelming. It's clearly
not about Natalie or the Dixie Chicks at this point -- one list member who
says he's "never heard a Dixie Chicks song he'd listen to voluntarily" says
that this radio station owner is out of his gourd. We've all given Kevin
and Kim our complete support -- if you get a chance, check out
www.kevindeal.com, listen to some sound samples, and see why this whole
situation is like something out of the Twilight Zone.

By the way, Kim has been too polite to reveal the identity of the station
owner who sent back Kevin's disc. But there are a lot of folks out there
beating the bushes trying to flush him/her out! I'll update the list with
anything I hear... meanwhile, I've turned my dixiechicks discussion list
subscription back to "receive all messages" in case y'all hear anything I
should pass on to Kim and the other KHYI-fans.
--
Robert Brooks / robertb@...
http://www.dixie-chicks.com/ -- the complete unauthorized history
Nashville's days are numbered: listen to http://www.khyi.com/

"I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness,
but you are already doing that..." - 2 Cor 11:1