Sixpence None the Richer

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Sixpence None the Richer
Origin New Braunfels, Texas, U.S.
Genres Pop rock, Adult Alternative
Years active 1992–2004
2008–present
Labels R.E.X. Music (1993-1995)
Flying Tart (1995-1996)
Squint Entertainment (1997-2001)
Reprise Records(2001-2004)
Nettwerk(2008-2009)
Credential Recordings(2009-)
Website http://sixpence-ntr.com
Members
Leigh Nash
Matt Slocum
Justin Cary
Former members
Dale Baker
Sean Kelly
Tess Wiley
Rob Mitchell
Jerry Dale McFadden
J.J. Plasencio
TJ Behling

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]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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".

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Current members

[edit] 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)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album U.S. U.S. Heatseekers U.S. Christian UK Albums Chart[3] RIAA Certification
1994 The Fatherless & the Widow — — — —
1995 This Beautiful Mess — — — —
1997 Sixpence None the Richer 89 1 1 27 Platinum
2002 Divine Discontent 154 — 9 — Gold
2008 The Dawn of Grace — — 47 —

[edit] Compilation Albums

Year Album
1993 The Original Demos
2002 Mega 3 Collection
2004 The Best of Sixpence None the Richer
2005 The Early Years
2009 Greatest Hits

[edit] EPs

Year Album
1996 Tickets for a Prayer Wheel
2008 My Dear Machine
  • 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.

[edit] Singles

Year Single Album U.S. U.S. AC U.S. Adult Top 40 UK Singles Chart[3] AUS RIAA Certification
1998/1999 "Kiss Me" Sixpence None the Richer 2 2 2 4 1 Gold
1999 "There She Goes" Sixpence None the Richer 32 19 7 14 47
2000 "I Can't Catch You" Sixpence None the Richer — — — — —
2002 "Breathe Your Name" Divine Discontent — — 18 — —
2003 "Don't Dream It's Over" Divine Discontent 78 12 9 — —

[edit] Leigh Nash Releases

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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:

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Leigh Nash (with Sixpence None the Richer) on Letterman". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJDldjmb_04. 
  2. ^ NoiseTrade.com
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 504. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Sixpence None the Richer
Leigh Nash · Matt Slocum · Sean Kelly · Justin Carry · Jerry Dale McFadden · Dale Baker · Rob Mitchell
Tess Wiley · J.J. Plasencio · TJ Behling
Studio albums
EPs
Compilation albums
The Original Demos · Mega 3 Collection · The Best of Sixpence None the Richer · The Early Years · Greatest Hits
Leigh Nash releases
Blue on Blue · Wishing for This · Stars In My Eyes
Singles
Related articles
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