From three chicks to two

NPR- Way back before the Dixie Chicks' multiplatinum records — and the arena tours — there were two musical sisters growing up in Dallas: Martie Erwin on fiddle and her younger sister Emily on banjo. They became the instrumental heart of the Dixie Chicks, singing harmony behind lead singer Natalie Maines.

Now, the two sisters have their own band — a side project, without Maines. All Things Considered host Melissa Block recently caught up with them in New York.

Their names are now Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, and they came by NPR's New York studio to play a bit and talk about their new incarnation as Court Yard Hounds. Robison wrote all but one of the songs, and she sings lead.