Sixpence None the Richer

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their song "Kiss Me", and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is inspired by a passage from the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.^[1]

Biography

Formation and early years (1992–1996)

Guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum met vocalist Leigh Bingham Nash in the early 1990s. They recorded a demo with bassist TJ Behling (which now circulates as The Original Demos) at Verge Music Works recording studio in Dallas, and eventually an album, The Fatherless and the Widow, for the independent label REX Music in 1993. The record featured Chris Dodds of Slocum's first band (Love Coma) on drums. Shortly after the release of The Fatherless and the Widow, Slocum left Love Coma to pursue Sixpence None the Richer full-time. The band added Tess Wiley (guitar) Joel Bailey (bass) and Dale Baker (drums) to tour in support of The Fatherless and The Widow. On this tour the band criss-crossed the US, opening for the Choir, the newly reformed 10,000 Maniacs, Audio Adrenaline, Pray For Rain, Over The Rhine, and more. In the fall of 1994, the band left for their first tour of Europe. The club and festival tour saw them performing with bands such as the Proclaimers, Newsboys, Julie & Buddy Miller, and many more. The band added J.J. Plasencio (bass) for 1995's This Beautiful Mess. Both albums were produced by Armand John Petri, 10,000 Maniacs and John & Mary, who also managed the band from 1993 to 1997. Shortly after the release of This Beautiful Mess, Wiley left the band.

Into the mainstream (1997–2003)

In 1997, the group signed to Steve Taylor's label Squint Entertainment and released a self-titled album, which slowly began garnering attention from a wider audience in the mainstream industry. Although Placencio played bass on most of the album, he left the band before it was released and was replaced by Justin Carry, who joined the band around the same time as second guitarist Sean Kelly.

In 1998, "Kiss Me" was released as a single, propelling Sixpence None the Richer into the national pop spotlight. That year the song was also featured in the film She's All That as the newly made-over protagonist, Laney Boggs, is revealed, and again at the end, during the film's credits. In 2001 the film Not Another Teen Movie would use the song in a parody of that scene. "Kiss Me" was also played on the WB teen drama Dawson's Creek in episodes #2-06 "The Dance" and #2-18 "The Perfect Wedding," and is found on the show's first soundtrack CD, Songs from Dawson's Creek (Volume 1) and also played at the televised wedding of England's Prince Edward.

In 1999, the band recorded a cover of The La's' "There She Goes", which became their second hit single and propelled them into the limelight again. Sixpence has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and numerous morning talk shows, as well as had their music hit #1 status in 11 countries.

In 2000, Sixpence None the Richer contributed the song "Us" to Today Presents: the Best of Summer Concert Series CD, which raised money for the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. Later that year, the band recorded a Japanese version of "Kiss Me", which was released exclusively in Japan on an EP with numerous versions of the song, as well as remixes of other songs on the self-titled album.

The band had a follow-up album ready to release, but their label Squint Entertainment started to fall apart, leaving the band in limbo for several years. Finally, Squint Entertainment folded and that album, Divine Discontent, was released in October 2002.

Baker left the band before that album's release and was replaced by Rob Mitchell. The album itself differs significantly from the first pre-release version of it that had circulated: the songs "Us," "Deeper," "Don't Pass Me By," "Too Far Gone," "Northern Lights," and "Loser Like Me" were cut, and "Down and Out of Time," "A Million Parachutes," "Tonight," "Waiting on the Sun," and a cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream (It's Over)" were added. All of the unreleased songs were eventually featured on singles or compilations, with the exception of "Deeper".

The break-up (2004)

On February 26, 2004, Matt Slocum announced that the group had disbanded. On July 22, 2004, it was reported that Matt Slocum had started a new band, the Astronaut Pushers, with Lindsay Jamieson (of the band Departure Lounge) and Sam Ashworth (son of influential musician Charlie Peacock). John Davis (of the band Superdrag) joined the band in 2005. The Astronaut Pushers released a self-titled, four-song EP on their own label, Runway Network, in 2005. Sam Ashworth reported via MySpace that he and Slocum had acquired and was operating a recording studio in Nashville in early 2006.

Leigh Nash solo work (2005–2007)

Leigh Nash began work on a solo album titled Blue On Blue with producer Pierre Marchand in the fall of 2005. Nash's first single "My Idea of Heaven" was released on July 14, 2006. The album Blue On Blue was released by Nettwerk Records under Nash's own imprint, One Son Records and the album's official release date was August 15, 2006, she also released a Christmas EP Wishing For This on 14 November 2006. The song "Ocean Size Love" from Blue On Blue seems to be the second single of Blue On Blue, and yet was never promoted.

In 2007, Leigh Nash worked a collaboration with Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Delerium called Fauxliage. Leigh contributed her vocals to the songs "All the World", "Some Day the Wind", "Draw My Life", "Let It Go", "Without You", "Rafe" and "All Alone". The songs "Let It Go" and "All the World" were used in the drama series Moonlight.

The reunion (2008)

In November 2007, Sixpence None the Richer reunited. They released an EP My Dear Machine on the website NoiseTrade in middle 2008; this is the band's first official release in the 4 years since The Best of Sixpence None the Richer in 2004. However, this EP is unavailable since early 2009.
In October 2008, they released their first Christmas album entitled The Dawn of Grace.^[2] Vocalist Leigh Nash commented, "Sixpence fans have been asking for a Christmas album for as long as I can remember. It was something we always wanted to do, but somehow time got away from us. Now that we are back together, we thought a Christmas album would be a nice gift for our long-time supporters. We love it and hope they will too!"

In December 2008 Sixpence joined the "Love Come Down Christmas 2008 Tour" to play songs from The Dawn of Grace, along with Jars of Clay, Leeland and Sara Groves.

New project (2009)

Sixpence has recently signed to Credential Recordings. After Greenbelt Festival the band returned to the studio to record a new album expected in early 2010.

Band members

Current members

• Matt Slocum – guitar, cello
• Leigh Nash – vocals
• Justin Cary – bass (1997–2004, 2008–)

Former members

• TJ Behling - bass (1990–1994)
• Joel Bailey - bass (1994–1995)
• Dale Baker – drums (1995–2001)
• Tess Wiley – guitar (1995–1996) also in Sixpence None the Richer 2008 European Tour
• J.J. Plasencio – bass (1995–1996)
• Sean Kelly – guitar (1997–2004)
• Rob Mitchell – drums (2001–2004)
• Jerry Dale McFadden – keyboard (2001–2004)

Discography

Albums

Compilation Albums

EPs

• Notes:

1. Sixpence None the Richer were no longer eligible to appear on the U.S. Heatseekers chart after the Sixpence None the Richer album appeared in the Top 100 of the Billboard 200.

Singles

Leigh Nash Releases

• 2000 – Need to Be Next to You
• 2006 – Blue on Blue
• 2006 – Wishing for This
• 2008 – Stars in My Eyes

Contributions

Along with their albums, Sixpence has recorded a number of songs for others' compilation albums. The following is a list of these songs. The letter "r" denotes a remake of another artist's song, followed by the name of that artist. The letter "i" denotes that the song is identical to one found on an earlier Sixpence album.

• A Steve Taylor Tribute: I Predict a Clone (1994, label unknown) - "Bouqet" (r, Steve Taylor) [1]
• Never Say Dinosaur (1996, Starsong / EMD) - "Road to Zion" (r, Petra) [2]
• Christmas in Heaven - Flying Tart Records Presents (1996; Flying Tart Records) - "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (r) [3]
• Exodus (1998, Rocketown Records) - "Brighten My Heart"
• Dick (motion picture soundtrack) (Virgin Records, 1999) - "Dancing Queen" - (r, ABBA) [4]
• Songs From the Book (1999, Word Entertainment) - "Trust 99"
• Streams (1999, Word Entertainment) - "Breathe"
• City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise (2000, Essential Records) - "With Every Breath", "You're Here"
• Mercy Streets Soundtrack (2000, NSoul Records) - "Love [Remix]"
• One Silent Night (2000, Word Entertainment) - "Babe In The Straw" (Leigh Nash only)
• One (2000, Word Entertainment) - "Love [Ben Grosse Remix]"
• Roaring Lambs (2000, Squint) - "The Ground You Shook"
• Here on Earth (motion picture soundtrack) (Mar. 2000, Sony) "I Need Love" (r, Sam Phillips)
• City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time (2002, Essential Records) - "Silent Night"
• For the Kids (2002, Nettwerk) - "Goodnight Children Everywhere" (r, Vera Lynn)
• Making God Smile: An Artists' Tribute to the Songs of Beach Boy Brian Wilson - "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" (r, The Beach Boys
• City On A Hill: The Gathering (2003, Essential Records) - "Beautiful Scandalous Night (with Bebo Norman)" (r, The Choir)
• Lynne Me Your Ears - A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne (2003, Not Lame Recordings) - "On the Run" (r, Electric Light Orchestra) [5]
• Maybe This Christmas Too? (2003, Nettwerk) - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (r, traditional)
• A Winter's Night (2003, Nettwerk) - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (r, i)
• In the Name of Love: Artists United For Africa (2004, Sparrow Records) - "Love is Blindness" (r, U2)
• Smallville: The Talon Mix (Original Soundtrack) (2005, Elektra) - "Don't Dream it's Over" (r, Crowded House, i)
• "Every Heartbeat" (album, year and label unknown) (r, Amy Grant)
• Christmas Present - New Holiday Traditions (2006; Warner Music) - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (r, i)
• CrossCuts: Top Pop Hits Performed By Your Favorite Christian Artists (2008, Word Entertainment) - "Don't Dream it's Over" (r, i)
• "Christmastime Is Here" (album, year and label unknown) (r, Vince Guaraldi)

Covers

In addition to the remakes (covers) listed in the above section, Sixpence None the Richer has covered others' songs on their own albums, including:

• "Love Letters in the Sand" (Patsy Cline, Pat Boone and others) - Tickets for a Prayer Wheel
• "Carry You" (Sam Phillips) - Tickets for a Prayer Wheel
• "There She Goes" (The La's) - Sixpence None the Richer (album)
• "Don't Dream It's Over" (Crowded House) - Divine Discontent, also appeared on others' compilations

The album The Dawn of Grace also features covers of many Christmas songs.

References

External links

• Official Site (Controlled by Word Records)
• The Vine (Sixpence Discussion Group)
• Methnen's Mess (Sixpence News and Media)
• Sixpence None the Richer Radio (Pandora Internet Radio)
• Sixpence None the Richer Radio & info (Last. Fm radio)
• dalebakerdrummer.com (Dale Baker Drummer Web Site)
• Sirens of Song: Leigh Nash
• JJ Plasencio Website (JJ Plasencio Bassist Website)
• Currey Ingram Academy (School where former band member Sean Kelly teaches math and music to children with learning disabilities)