Not enough people know that Sixpence None the Richer, whose place in the mainstream came with their runaway success of the lovey-dovey pop tune, “Kiss Me,” is actually a spiritual alternative rock indie band.
After quietly splitting up in 2004, the band has been back and running full steam ahead since 2024, with a new EP called Rosemary Hill, a full tour and over 1 billion streams on Spotify. On July 23, they will be opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket at Cuthbert Amphitheater. In a phone call with Eugene Weekly, lead vocalist and co-founder Leigh Nash discussed the surprising original version of “Kiss Me,” hearing the song in unexpected places, and what she’s learned about life and music in the 20 years since her 20s.
Let’s start at your newest beginning. Tell me about the thoughts and processes that went into getting the band back together last year.
I was asked to fill in for the singer of 10,000 Maniacs a couple years ago, and I did, and Matt Slocum (Sixpence’ lead guitarist and co-founder) came with me and played guitar. It was amazing. Matt and I had already talked about getting back together, but when the Maniac thing came up, it just solidified what we knew we wanted to do, which is doing that with the rest of our band.
The audience was losing their minds because we were doing some Sixpence songs in their set. We were like, “Why are we not treating our own fan base and doing what we love together?” It was a smooth transition for us, and I’m just so thankful that we are on the path that we’re on, for whatever time we’re on. It’s so exciting.
The popularity and relevance of your music has very much transcended into Generation Z. Were you aware of this, and were you expecting to see so many young people at your shows when you began your tour?
There are so many teenagers coming out to our shows, which I’ll never fully understand, but we’re obviously so grateful for that, too. Every night was kind of a crapshoot for the band when the tour started. We would come out, thinking that there were like 10 people there, and we’d walk out and there’s hundreds of people. Half are our age, some are even older — as if we’re that old, I’m in my 40s — but the front rows and a couple of different rows will just be 17 and 18-year-old kids with beaming smiles. It means the world to us.
But no, we did not expect that. I think it’s a combination of things. At first we thought, ‘Well, it’s because of “Kiss Me.”’ But they’re singing along to old songs that were recorded 20 years ago. So I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. Maybe they hear “Kiss Me” and they go down the rabbit hole, or they grew up listening to it, and their parents are fans. Either way, we know we’re just happy they’re finding it. I have a 21 year old son, so it’s really nice to be out on the road while he’s in college, and be able to connect to these young people his age. It’s really, really fun.
Speaking of “Kiss Me,” I recently found out that it started out with very different lyrics than the cute, glittery song that it is now. What was “Kiss Me” originally going to look like?
The lyrics were pretty different in a lot of places, and thankfully, I can’t remember very many of them to tell you or else I would be in trouble. It was always very ethereal, very whimsical. A really significant lyric change is “silver moon sparkling” used to be “cigarettes sparkling.”
The song was inspired by a book of poems by Dylan Thomas. Matt Slocum did not even want it on the record because it didn’t sound like the rest of our music. He described it as “pop fluff,” even though he’s the one who wrote it. He has every right to voice that, of course, but our management and people at the label were like, “No, you’re putting this on the record.” And we, at the time, were really young and fresh faced and definitely not smokers.
Our producer was like, “Matt, maybe take a look at these words.” So he changed a few things, which is not like Matt to do, but he did it and he made it even better.
You’ve talked a few times about how you and your band first heard “Kiss Me” on the radio for the first time, and you guys pulled the van over to listen and celebrate. What about the first time you heard your music in a blockbuster movie!
We were invited to the premiere of She’s All That (1999). It was really cool, and definitely a major turning point for the band. We had been together eight years before we were sitting in that movie theater, so we’re already a really seasoned band, and we consider ourselves an alternative rock band.
Little did we know that we would soon be getting huge attention for this pop music. It’s such a moment, being in that scene in the movie with Rachael Leigh Cook coming down the stairs. We didn’t know we were watching something that would become so iconic. But it was a really adorable movie. I have not seen it again.
Have you ever heard “Kiss Me” out in the wild somewhere that really surprised you?
We did a version of “Kiss Me,” where I sang it in Japanese. There’s this awesome show called Tokyo Vice and they use “Kiss Me” in a scene where they go over this dead body in a bay (season one, episode seven).
It’s so disturbing and I was so into the show that I didn’t even hear it. Plus, it’s in a different language, so I don’t listen to that version a lot. I watched the episode and somebody said, “Did you hear your song in there?” And I was like, “No, that’s one of my favorite episodes!” And I went back and watched, like, “Oh, it’’s a dead body scene.” I was a little distracted.
You guys are frequently cited as a Christian and spiritual band. Have you identified as a Christian band in the past, and do you now?
When we first started getting popular people would ask us all the time if we were a Christian band or if we’re not a Christian band. We were babies and I don’t even know what we believe yet. Certainly, that is a foundation for the band. Saying you’re a Christian these days is very confusing for people, but I’m a very spiritual person, and I grew up Baptist, and I still believe what I believe. I’m a Jesus person, but everybody adheres to whatever they can understand and connect with, and that’s something that’s never left me.
But no, we do not define ourselves as Christian band. But that’s what a lot of fans come for, is there’s comfort in the music for them. That is our work, that was especially at the time, our worldview. It was comforting, because it was rock music, but parents would let them listen to it. It was “safe,” according to the parents. I would agree with that, because our music was very introspective, smart people music, if you really listen to the lyrics. But, you know, you can also just come for the rock and roll. So we don’t define ourselves that way at all.
After a lot of issues with your previous record labels, with your most popular album Divine Discontent getting stuck in development limbo because the company fell apart, and other record companies dragging their feet to release your later work, what has your experience been releasing your newest EP, Rosemary Hill?
Nothing but wonderful. We absolutely stay away from any big or major label. It’s always been trouble for us. We’ve recently signed with an independent record company, Flatiron Recordings. Getting that out absolutely seamless, and recording it was a joy. We’re just having a great time playing new music and trying to incorporate it into our sets with our older music. The history of this band is wonderful and storied, and I’m very thankful.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the 20 years since you’ve disbanded, that you’re taking with you into this second round of Sixpence None The Richer?
I’ve raised my son for a whole 21 years. I learned the most from him. He’s my greatest teacher and the love of my life. I’ve learned a ton of wisdom, and about having your heart just expand to insane sizes when you become a mother. And so that changed me. And Matt is a dad, he’s got two daughters. If you don’t change and grow, then what’s the point? We’ve all changed.
Something that has really been working on me lately is, I heard it somewhere, “it’s not what you think, and it’s not about you.” It sounds so simple, but if you really think about it, all the little things you worry about, wiggle that way into your brain, you can’t get it out. If you put an end to that kind of thinking, it’s pretty amazing. I take that to the stage especially, I find it especially powerful that this is not about you. This is about us, like the communion between the band and us as a band. It’s a really good way to think about things.
Sixpence None the Richer and Toad the Wet Sprocket perform 7:30 pm Wednesday, July 23, at McDonald Theatre, 010 Willamette Street. Doors at 6:30. Tickets start at $56.25 and are available at the door or McDonaldTheatre.com.