Sixpence Strikes Gold
By Russell Hall
Sixpence None the Richer's rise to fame has been so swift and so
spectacular, it's difficult to think of the group as a veteran band.
Formed in Texas seven years ago (lead singer Leigh Nash was 13 at
the time; main songwriter Matt Slocum, a wizened 16) the group
released its debut, The Fatherless and the Widow, in 1993.
Though that album -- and its follow-up, This Beautiful
Mess -- fared well with critics, it took a
new producer (Steve Taylor), a new record company (the
Christian-oriented Squint Entertainment), and a move to a new
city (Nashville) to help the band perfect a commercially
appealing pop sound. Little did they know how successful they
would be in that effort.
Released in 1997, the self-titled Sixpence None the Richer
proved to be the sort of breakthrough artists dream about. On the
strength of the number-one smash hit "Kiss Me" (which was
recently broadcast to an audience of 200 million during the
international telecast of the wedding between Britain's Prince
Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones) the album reached
gold status (500,000 in sales) in June.
With that milestone achieved, on June 29 the band released a
winsome cover of the La's 1991 classic "There She Goes."
Already the song has become a staple of MTV, and currently it
sits high atop the pop charts.
CDNOW: How did the two of you meet?
Leigh Nash: We met in our hometown of New Braunfels, Texas,
where we went to the same school. Matt was a senior at the
time, and I was a freshman. He heard me sing in talent shows,
and in church and stuff, and really liked my voice. So we started
working together about seven years ago.
Were the two of you in bands at that time?
Nash: Not me. I was so young that, when we first started
working together, I hadn't played with anyone before. I was
really into country music at the time. Matt was in another band,
though, called Love Coma.
"I'm not real comfortable singing, playing, and
performing live. That scares me. I'm not used to
that at all." -- Nash
[To Matt] When did you start playing cello?
Matt Slocum: I started when I went to college. I was studying
to be a communications major and sort of planning to get into
the whole film bit. I had to take an "arts" elective, and on a
whim, I started taking cello lessons. As it turned out, my
professor was one of the foremost cellists in the world. I really
fell in love with the instrument, and I decided that's what I
wanted to do. Then the band started really taking off, so I
dropped out. But it's great getting the opportunity to utilize the
cello in our music.
[To Nash] Do you play an instrument?
Nash: I play guitar well enough to get around and to write some
of my own stuff. But I'm not real comfortable singing, playing,
and performing live. That scares me. I'm not used to that at all.
What music did you listen to growing up?
Nash: I love old country music, like Hank Williams Sr., Patsy
Cline, and Connie Smith. I also like Anne Murray and George
Jones. As far as modern artists go, I'm really into Radiohead and
Julie and Buddy Miller. And a band called Drug Store. It's a pretty
diverse bunch that I'm into.
Slocum: I went through some embarrassing phases. I listened to
some pretty cheesy rock for a while, like Van Halen -- that kind
of stuff. But then I discovered the Sundays. That sort of led me
to a lot of female-fronted groups, like Innocence Mission and a
band called Over the Rhine.
Where do you think your sense of melody comes from?
Slocum: Well, obviously, lots of bands are gonna say the
Beatles influenced them. But I really think it does come from
listening to stuff like that, where the melodies are so strong
they sort of get into your subconscious. I was really into
British pop bands, like XTC and Crowded
House -- bands that wrote really good songs. But living in
Nashville has rubbed off on me as well. I've been getting into the
whole alternative country scene.
Do you write your lyrics with Leigh in mind?
Slocum: I definitely do. But it's weird. Obviously I'm going to
write from a male point of view, but then I have to be careful,
because for Leigh to be able to sing something, she has to
believe it and identify with it. So I always have that in mind. It's
really a gift, I think, that we have the ability to mesh like we do,
because I think in a lot of other [similar] situations there would
be some conflict and argument.
[To Nash] Do you ever veto Matt's lyrics or suggest
changes to them?
Nash: No. I've never done that. Honestly, everything he's
brought to the table has been really great. In my mind, I've been
ready to sing it right away. He's a fantastic lyricist.
"We are Christians, but that's simply our faith. It's
such a large part of our lives; it obviously comes out
in the lyrics and in the music. But I don't really think
that necessarily defines our music as 'Christian.'" --
Slocum
The two of you are Christians, but you don't proselytize.
Was that a conscious decision, to avoid doing that?
Slocum: Well, we are Christians, but that's simply our faith. It's
such a large part of our lives; it obviously comes out in the lyrics
and in the music. But I don't really think that necessarily defines
our music as "Christian." We just want to be in an arena where
we can do the music we like and not be categorized particularly
in that way. None of us really like much Christian music, as a
genre, although we obviously have a lot of background there,
and a lot of fans and people who've supported us [are Christian].
I think we'd like to explore the same route that someone like
[once Christian, now secular artist] Sam Phillips has taken, but
without the anger.
--
gender is just an excuse, relationship shouldn't just be an excuse,
love is often an excuse, although sometimes these excuses are all
we have to hold onto,
death is the reason and living is the celebration
- Beth Orton
--
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