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OFFSTAGE: The Band Perry Working With Dixie Chicks Producer

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

I've always thought that The Band Perry's Kimberly Perry had a little bit of a Natalie Maines in her. Not that she sounds exactly like the Dixie Chicks' lead vocalist but almost like they were kindred spirits in the way they approach a song, vocally and lyrically. And as it turns out, I may have been on to something. In this interview with OK! magazine, which is mainly about how often Perry's brothers Neil and Reid shave, Kimberly admits that their next album is in the works with Rick Rubin, who produced the Dixie Chicks' last album, Taking the Long Way. At the time that one was released in 2006, I interviewed Rubin for a story about that album. "We did this in a way that transcends country," Rubin had told me. "We didn't want it to sound like traditional country. We did things like put a steel guitar in where you wouldn't normally hear one." I wonder if he'll do something similar on this new country project. The Perrys said the album is about halfway done, and Reid added, "We're going to go back and finish it up with Rick Rubin." And big sister Kimberly said, "It's exciting, and we certainly feel the responsibilities and the pressure to deliver. So I'll be excited once we finish the record, and we're really proud of it." If there's ever going to be a collaboration between the two country trios, I think Rubin could be the one man who could make it happen.

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