by BretMiller
Did you forget about them yet? The band that brought you not one, but two ultra-catchy pop songs that just wouldn't go away. Even after you turned off the radio their songs stuck in our heads. The success of the songs was due in no small part to the sweet vocals of Leigh Nash. After two years of touring the band finally took a well-deserved break. They then wrote an album's worth of material. Ready to get on with their careers, Sixpence got stuck in the middle of legal wranglings with their label. Now the band is on Warner Bros. and have added several new songs to the CD. Divine Discontent is the name of the long-awaited album. Leigh Nash explains the meaning behind the title and gets us up to date with Sixpence None the Richer. It's 7:30 am on the West Coast, 9:30 am in Tennessee and we're both waking up.

I'm sure you're excited about finally having your new CD come out.

I couldn't be more excited.

How long has it been?

Since we've had a new album come out? Let's see...since '97, but we were busy from '97 till early 2000 so I guess it's been since then that we've been sitting around.

Were you touring?

No, we haven't done much touring since the first album totally died down. We finished recording this latest album in spring and summer of 2000 and we did some shows that summer, just did some shows here and there but that's about it.

You sang on few albums in the past years.

I did a few other things. I sang on the last album by Los Straightjackets called Sing Along with Los Straightjackets and did one of my favorite songs ever called The End of the World. I think it was originally done by Skeeter Davis and I had a great time doing that. I did a couple of Delerium songs. I contributed a song to their last record and two to their new record. So I've done some things that have kept me going.

It's good that you have such a distinctive voice.

Absolutely. I hope that keeps me working for a long time. Thank you.

Did you use your experiences that you gained from working with the other towards making Divine Discontent?

I think that the experiences gained outside of the band gave me a little bit more confidence than I had before. That's a great thing. I will use that for the betterment of the band.

Will you be on any TV shows to promote the album?

We're booked on Jay Leno on November the 7th and the Wayne Brady show.

Did you have a defining moment when you knew that you would live your life as a singer?

Maybe I did but I was so young that I don't know how defining a moment it was. I started doing the band thing when I was 16 or 17 but then didn't really think it was going to be that serious until I moved to Nashville. Maybe that was the defining moment. When I realized that I was actually going to move my home for this. That was a pretty big moment.

Where did you live before you moved to Nashville.

In Texas. Matt (Slocum, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter) and I both grew up in this town about forty-five minutes from Austin. It's right in between Austin and San Antonio. I got married when I was 19 and moved immediately to Nashville.

That must have been a pretty big step. You were on the Lilith Fair tour. To an outsider I would think all the bands were women, though I know that was not the case. How did you feel being in one of the few bands with men?

It was great. The guys actually had a really good time. We were sad when our little run was over with the Lilith Fair.

Were the other mambers married as well?

At the time only Jerry Dale (McFadden, keyboardist) wasn't married.

So it didn't affect them that they were surrounded by women?

No, they're not those kind of guys. They're all committed to their wives so they didn't care. We all enjoyed the other music. Everybody was so kind.

Who do you think you might be touring with for your new album?

We've got hope for different people but I haven't heard anything solidified. There's a ton of people we'd love to tour with. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Were you surprised about the success of your two singles (Kiss Me and the La's There She Goes) and how long it all lasted?

I was surprised. We were mostly just thankful. We were so happy. We worked so hard it felt great to get some recognition. We'd been together for a long time even then. Now its been 10 or eleven years. It just felt good to have something positive happen.

What does the album title Divine Discontent mean to you?

What our point is is sometimes your pain and the bad things you go through in life can be good if they bring you to a better place, a stronger place in your life. Discontent can be divine.

I was thinking that your band must have so much patience to have to put up with waiting so long between album releases.

It was very frustrating and I would be lying if I said we were fine, that we were patient. I had some very low moments, actually days and weeks, but we did come through it in a better place. I probably have more patience and if anything like this happens again I'll be able to handle it differently and maybe not go quite so low. I was so concerned, and spent a lot of time worrying and being depressed. I won't do that again.

Maybe buy a punching bag.

I had considered that. My mom and I were laughing about that about a year ago because my dad had bought her a punching bag when she was my age. I think it was for when she had temper tantrums, so it's not a bad idea.

The way that you sing suggests that you might have an eternally sunny disposition but now we know that isn't always true.

I'm a chasm of emotions. I think its good. I want my voice to bring something brighter to the table. My voice always comes across bright and happy I guess.

When did you begin singing?

My interest began when I was 12 or 13 and I just started calling this band called The County Line, they played in Texas. I knew they played the local dance halls on the weekends, so I called the singer and asked if I could come out and sing a few songs with thim that weekend. They knew I was thirteen but let me do it. They said for me to learn my favorite country songs and they would play them. I did that a few times just to get my feet wet. This was all self-driven, my parents just found out about it a few days before I was supposed to be at this biker dance hall place. They gladly took me and were so proud. They were great, supportive parents but there was never one ounce of pushing because they didn't know.

What made you want to be a singer?

That feeling I got up on stage. That first night it was filled with bikers and my dad was in the back with these guys and they were huge Harley dudes. I think I sang You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man and they loved it and I loved them loving it. I loved the applause and the feeling I got telling that story on that stage even at that age. Those very first permormances are what got me hooked.

The album comes out October 29th, it feels like so long that I've known about it but its been much longer for you.

It's unbelievable, I'm so glad. I won't believe the album's coming out until I see it. The label has been so amazing. We have such great people behind us and it's all different from last time. Last time we had great people too.

I'm looking forward to seeing you when you come through town and I'll be sure to set the VCR on November 7th. Thanks for getting up early and talking with me.

Well thank you, I know it's even earlier for you. It was nice talking to you.

Be sure to pick up Divine Discontent, a collection of beautifully crafted songs sure to lift your spirits and stick in your mind like the best pop songs should.