They're everywhere, vamping on magazine covers and raising eyebrows at awards shows. In just a few short years, the Dixie Chicks have gone from being a little-known secret to cultural icons, all the while staying true to their Country roots. Their devil-may-care attitude, striking good looks and dead-on musicianship have struck a chord: The Chicks are the kind of women guys dream about-and girls want to invite to a slumber party.

They're also known for saying and doing whatever pops into their heads. "We have a lot of fun, we do a lot of crazy, goofy things," says fiddler Martie Seidel. "That is just us being us, and some people might say, 'Don't do that again!' Sometimes they're right-we shouldn't do it again. But to me, it's just being honest."

Though the fashion spreads tend to focus on their outfits and hairstyles, the Chicks say they don't mind, now that their musical prowess had been established. In fact, their outrageous clothes and sassy attitudes have brought in many teen and preteen fans who have never seen women play traditional instruments before.

"It's so cool," says lead singer Natalie Maines of their young audience who show up in droves wearing "Chicks Rule" t-shirts and feather boas. "Young girls and girls our age were definitely the audience we hoped for. We want young girls to see us on stage being successful, and have the same ambition and drive in whatever it is they want to do. When they see how well Martie and Emily can pick, hopefully it will be an inspiration. We want to encourage women to pick up instruments."

Remember the commercial with the women's basketball team running a full court press in fashionable pumps? That's nothing compared to the workout the Chicks perform onstage, rocking out in high heels and velvet hiphuggers. Of course, when it came time to record their albums, they played all the fiddle, dobro, mandolin, and banjo parts.

The Chicks are clear on the advantages-and pitfalls-of an all-female trinity running the show. "We have a great band, and we've really been able to hand-pick our musicians," says banjoist Emily Erwin Robison. "One of the questions on the band application is, 'Do you have any problem with female authority?'" she laughs. "Our musicians have to be able to hang with girls and understand girls. Because there's three of us, and it's very democratic. And we always want to talk through everything-unlike guys, who say, 'Yeah, whatever, it's cool.' We say, 'Well how would you feel if we did it this way?' Sooner or later we come to a conclusion, but we've got to talk everything through."

The sisters, Martie and Emily, have had some experience with band dynamics; they've been playing since they were kids. Martie started playing fiddle at age five and Emily picked up the banjo at ten, and learned guitar and dobro soon after. They were always a bit of a paradox: two blonde teenage girls who were into the Violent Femmes, Jim Morrison...and bluegrass music. "We had two lives," says Robison. "We loved bluegrass music, and we weren't ashamed of being dorks about it. Every weekend when I was in high school, we went to bluegrass festivals. We had no social life," she laughs. They played in a teen bluegrass band called Blue Night Express before forming the Dixie Chicks nearly 12 years ago, when Martie was just 19 and Emily was 16. They took their name from the Little Feat song "Dixie Chicken," shortened it to Dixie Chicks, and debuted their own version of bluegrass/western swing. At first it was just a way to earn extra money playing on stree corners in Dallas, but after their first "gig" netted $375, the sisters knew they had found their calling.

Natalie Maines, daughter of legendary steel guitarist Lloyd Maines, joined up in 1995, after the band had already released three independent records, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans, Little Ol' Cowgirl, and Shouldn't a Told You That. Maines had been attending the Berklee School of Music on a vocal performance scholarship when she got the call to join the band. At the time, the sisters had parted ways with their old lead singer-and their somewhat dated rhinestone cowgirl look. "After evolving musically and finding some fashion sense, we finally found Natalie," laughs Seidel. They were also ready to broaden their base beyond Texas, and bring their music to a larger audience. When they did Wide Open Spaces, their debut album for a major label, it was a surprise hit and do date has amazingly sold over seven million copies.

Their success startled many in Nashville, because the band had not gone about doing things the "usual way." They resisted being fit into a mold, remaining true to what they knew made them special, including eschewing studio musicaians in order to play on their own record. They also insisted on including banjo, an instrument which, at the time, was rarely heard on Country radio. Since their success, it is now used frequently.

Ready To Run, the band's first single, is from their second album, Fly. "The word 'Fly' conjures up a lot of things for us, as far as our career and our personalities," Maines explains. "It also applies to my divorce, and me flying to find myself again. [Maines recently ended her 18-month marriage to musician Michael Tarabay.] I've just become a lot happier person now that I've done what I wanted to do in my personal life. We want our albums to be sort of a storybook, and represent a time in our lives."

"We tried a lot of different things on this album," she continues. "We didn't want to play it safe with songs that sounded like the ones on the first record. But we also didn't want to overthink it. Martie and Emily are picking even more on this record and we've recorded five original songs, where we only had one[ the hit ballad You Were Mine] on the first album."

"Most of all we tried to pick songs that relate to our life, and not sing about things that we haven't been through, or we don't know about. We try to be honest in the music and the way we deal with business, and I think that's why we've been successful. Especially in country music the audiences are underestimated a lot of times. But people see through phoniness. When you're not playing the music you want to play, and you are just out to be a star, people can sense that about you."

Because of the success of Wide Open Spaces, there was added pressure when it came time to record the followup, but the Chicks took it in stride. "We wouldn't let ourselves get scared, because then there's nothing you can control, and the fear doesn't make it any better," say Maines. "We actually had more fun with this record. We were more relaxed and we know [producers] Paul [Worley] and Blake [Chancey] better, so we communicate better in the studio with them.

"When we hear people say we can't top the first record, that doesn't make us scared, that makes us determined!" Maines smiles. "It just makes us want to prove them wrong."

Their latest challenge has been bringing their music to two different stages-the Lilith Fair and the audiences of Europe. When Lility Fair, organizer Sarah McLachlan asked the Chicks to co-headline 17 dates along with her and Sheryl Crow, they jumped at the chance, and fit the dates while on tour with Tim McGraw this summer. In June, they headed overseas to debut their music to European audiences. Though country music is often a hard sell on the other side of the Atlantic, the Chicks were excited by the challenge. "We love the feeling of stepping on to a new stage and facing a new audience," says Maines. "Luckily, we have the press first. Over here, we were pounding the pavement for years."

When they start their current tour, they'll be sticking to a new rule: no more signing body parts. The girls have had to stop autographing people's skin after fans have showed up with their signatures tattooed on their arms and chest. "It scares us that someone would go and get our names tattooed on them, so now when someone asks us to sign their arm, we usually try to sign their shirt instead," says Maines. As with any "Chicks Rule," however, there are exceptions. "We might sign a bald head. If they go get their bald head tattooed, then they're crazy anyway."

Another troubling side effect of success has been the persistent rumors about the girls; that they are constantly fighting, can't even stand to stay in the same hotel, and are on the verge or breaking up. "It's hard to get used to, when people start believing those rumors," sighs Maines. "As much as everyone knows the tabloids aren't true, you'd think they wouldn't believe it. But, at least they are really easy rumors to disprove," she brightens. "If we were breaking up, would we be on tour and making a new record?"

"The three of us are tighter than we've ever been--on a personal level and on a musical level," she continues. "We've always gotten along, but I'm realizing now that we've all sort of meshed into sisters. My sense of humor has definitely gotten more warped from being out on the road with them!"

In typical Chicks fashion, they have found a way to fight back--by starting their own rumors. "We tell people, 'Don't believe anything you hear, because you never know if we made it up!" laughs Maines. "We start rumors as a joke just to see if they get back to us, and it takes about two weeks." Of course, the Chicks are not telling which ones they've concocted, so be forewarned. The next time you hear about Natalie dating Mark McGwire, or the sisters checking into rehab for clothes addiction, you'll know you've been had.

Girl Talk with Natalie Maines

Country Song Roundup: If you could go to any period in time, where would you go?
Natalie Maines: The 60's. Emily says it would be the 40's and earlier for her, because everything was so romantic, and you were definitely courted. I can imagine that too, but I just love the music of the 60's. I would love to be able to be a free spirit like that, and not have any of the fears that we have today.
CSR: Is there one event that you would go to?
NM: I would have loved to have been at Woodstock. I would have been active in the 60's, not just a hippie dancing around. I would have been a real protester.
CSR: If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
NM: I would go to the White House and the FBI and find out all the secrets.
CSR: What's the best advice you've ever received?
NM: My parents telling me to stay true to myself, to do what I want to do and have passion about whatever it is I'm doing. They were definitely supportive of the music industry, as were Martie and Emily's parents, who started them on lessons early and drove them to all those bluegrass festivals.
CSR: If you had to pick the person who was going to play you in the Dixie Chicks movie, who would it be?
NM: Drew Barrymore. People tell me I look like her all the time. I love her personality, and I think she could definitely play me.
CSR: Does it ever intimidate you to play in front of Martie and Emily, who are such great musicians?
NM: Yes, but we all know our strengths. Neither of them would want to be up front, singing lead. I think that's another reason we'll stick together. There's no one trying to hog the spotlight, or go outside of their territory. I'm never gonna pick up the banjo!