{"id":924,"date":"2011-12-08T19:00:37","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/wholenotes\/?p=924"},"modified":"2011-12-09T19:15:33","modified_gmt":"2011-12-10T00:15:33","slug":"a-conversation-with-sixpence-none-the-richer-lead-singer-and-solo-artist-leigh-nash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/2011\/12\/a-conversation-with-sixpence-none-the-richer-lead-singer-and-solo-artist-leigh-nash.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with Sixpence None The Richer lead singer and solo artist Leigh Nash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leigh Nash has one of the most distinctive voices in modern pop music history. Those breathy, whimsical pipes helped Sixpence None The Richer become one of the biggest buzz bands of the early 2000’s with hit songs like “Kiss Me,” “There She Goes” and the Crowded House cover “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”<\/p>\n

These days, Nash is enjoying the simple life with her son Henry and husband Stephen Wilson. But music fans will be glad to know that her relative silence over the past seven years is about to be broken with a new hymns album and next year’s anticipated Sixpence release.<\/p>\n

In this Whole Notes interview, Nash talks about how her fondest memories of the Sixpence craze, how motherhood has changed her, how a collection of obscure hymns have challenged her and what we can expect in the near future:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: How often do you reflect back to those early days with Sixpence None The Richer?<\/p>\n

Leigh Nash: I started in the band when I was 13 and nothing really happened until I was in my early 20’s, so we had a really long run of just touring and working really hard, making records. There was a lot of struggle in there that I recall pretty well but I think a lot of it, your youth makes you forget because you\u2019re young and you\u2019ve got tons of energy. But yeah, I look back at memories of those times and I can\u2019t believe we stuck with it as long as we did. And then \u201cKiss Me\u201d and all that stuff started to happen around \u201999 and 2000 and things started to pay off or take off and it was a really great time. I\u2019m glad that we have those memories and that we got to do all that great stuff together. It was amazing.<\/p>\n

Bonham: During those early years, you seemed very shy both on and off the stage. Have you completely come out of that shell or is there still a certain level of discomfort for you when you perform?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sixpence None The Richer's debut album The Fatherless and the Widow released in 1994.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nash: I am naturally pretty shy. I\u2019ve come out of it a pretty good bit because I\u2019m kind of a strange combination of being really shy and also being a born entertainer. I\u2019ve got both in me and I guess it depends on my surroundings as to what\u2019s going to come out more prominently. But I\u2019m definitely really shy on some level. But on another level, I\u2019m all entertainer. It\u2019s a strange dichotomy, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

Bonham: So early on as a teenage performer, you weren\u2019t as nervous on stage?<\/p>\n

Nash: Oh no I was really nervous on stage. I still get nervous on stage. Off the stage, I have a pretty bold personality, but I have to know the person before that comes out.<\/p>\n

Bonham: There have been a lot of descriptions and comparisons made in regards to your very distinctive voice. But what do you<\/em> think of when you hear your own voice?<\/p>\n

Nash: It\u2019s probably different from what other people or a fan might hear. I do appreciate it very much. I\u2019m really thankful for it. I love my voice. But I\u2019d be the first one to make a criticism of it, so I\u2019m not the best person to critique because I\u2019m pretty hard on myself.<\/p>\n

Bonham: When things were going crazy between 1999 and the early 2000’s, was there a point where your head started to spin and you couldn\u2019t believe what was happening?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nash: It was so gradual, everything that happened. We had been together for so long. I felt prepared. I had really good people around me, so it never felt like that much of a whirlwind. Some of the travel was pretty overwhelming. We were doing a lot of flying. For some reason, my brain decided to be paranoid about flying during those years. That\u2019s the one thing I wish I could back and try to get a handle on. I really did try at the time, just not successfully. I worried about flying every single day and I ruined a lot of great times for myself because of that. That really stinks. But I had a really good time otherwise. We enjoyed each other. The band, we laughed a lot. We had a ball, other than the fear of flying. But we never got full of ourselves about fame or anything like that. We were luckily always the kind of band that could go through the airport at the height of everything and not make a big spectacle. We were a pretty calm, pretty tame bunch of folks.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Any surreal moments you\u2019ll tell your son about when he gets older?<\/p>\n

Nash: Yeah, definitely. Henry, my son, is seven and he doesn\u2019t really care that much. He loves it when I perform. He really enjoys that. But when we\u2019re in the grocery store and we hear one of our songs, I\u2019ll say, \u201cHey that\u2019s mommy.\u201d And I\u2019ve gotten to where I don\u2019t tell him because he just kind of looks at me like, \u201cSo?\u201d He\u2019s not impressed. But he\u2019s great. He\u2019ll be interested one day maybe.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Other than humility, what are some other things that motherhood has brought to your life?<\/p>\n

Nash: Everything. He is the greatest thing ever. I can\u2019t imagine what I was ever doing when I didn\u2019t have him. It\u2019s been life changing. I had him in 2004 and that\u2019s kind of when I put the brakes on everything and went into mommy mode. That\u2019s what I\u2019m still doing but I\u2019m so thankful to be making records again. I live on some land outside of Nashville. We\u2019ve got chickens. It\u2019s wonderful. I\u2019m really happy and peaceful. It\u2019s a good time in my life right now.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What other things take up your time and interest these days?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nash: I\u2019ve been teaching vocal lessons, which is nothing I\u2019ve ever dreamed of doing or aspired to do. But I have a friend that works for Brent Manning who is a really famous and brilliant vocal coach. This was about a year ago and I something I thought I could because I don\u2019t tour that much and I could make my own schedule and do it at my own pace. I\u2019ve been doing that. It just entails me learning some new vocal techniques and some piano skills, which is interesting because I don\u2019t play piano. I can play the heck out of scales now (laughs). But I\u2019ve been doing that and I think it\u2019s been a very humbling and great experience for me to try to teach. I\u2019ve had some great experiences and I\u2019ve learned as much from (the students) as they\u2019ve learned from me. That\u2019s been a challenge and something that\u2019s very different for me. It\u2019s stretched me, but if it\u2019s a little bit comfortable, I feel like you should keep doing it.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What\u2019s the latest on potential new music from you and Matt Slocum under the Sixpence None The Richer banner?<\/p>\n

Nash: We made a record that we\u2019re anticipating will come out in March.<\/p>\n

Bonham: I don\u2019t get the sense that you want to go full scale with the band anytime soon, so what is your game plan for how you\u2019ll promote the record and how often you might perform together again?<\/p>\n

Nash: We definitely want to promote it. We\u2019re going to self-release this for the most part. That wasn\u2019t the original plan. We\u2019re trying to figure out what we want to do, but we have great management and good guidance because we want to do it right. We want to make it known as much as we possibly can that our record is coming out. We\u2019ll tour. We want to do shows. But we just want it to make sense because we both have kids. I\u2019m really excited. I love this record very much. I\u2019m looking forward to people hearing it.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What led you to sign with Kingsway and to do this hymns project?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nash: They approached me with the idea of doing it. It was something that I always wanted to do but I just wouldn\u2019t have done it alone. They approached me almost a year ago about doing this and it just really excited me. I thought it would be a good time to do this. I was in a really place and a really good mindset to do something like this. The more I found out what they were all about, the more intrigued I was. They wanted me to write and co-write some new melodies to these words. I was really excited by that thought.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Most of the hymns on your record seem to be somewhat obscure compared to the hymns that are usually recorded. Were you familiar with these songs ahead of time or were they new to you?<\/p>\n

Nash: Most of the people I\u2019ve talked to actually say they have heard these songs. I have not. I\u2019m not familiar with any of them. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church and we did the old hymns, but I think these are older than the ones we used to sing. The ones that I chose, I chose because of the words. They\u2019re some of the most beautiful, poetic words I\u2019ve ever heard. I think it was a good thing I hadn\u2019t heard any of them previously because I was able to make them fresh with new melodies. But the words didn\u2019t seem old hat. It was like going into a beautiful museum where everything is stunning and inspiring. That\u2019s what it felt like reading the words the first time. I think they\u2019re incredible.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Is there one of the songs that has especially had a significant impact on you personally?<\/p>\n

Nash: Most of them are that way for me now. Some of the words are stuck in my heart like Bible verses. I\u2019ve never recorded an album and listened to it a ton afterwards. I usually let it breathe or I don\u2019t listen to it at all because I\u2019ll be critical of my voice or my performance. But I have worn<\/em> this out. It\u2019s been such an encouragement to me aside from the fact that it\u2019s me singing. The words have just been a balm in my life. That\u2019s partially why I\u2019m so thankful that I got to be a part of this record. It\u2019s meant so much to me and I feel the fact that when I received those words, they were helping me and lifting me and that can only make the project more powerful to other people listening to it. I wasn\u2019t just going through the motions. I felt all of those words and I\u2019m really thankful I got to do it.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Is that ultimately your hope for the project\u2014that others will feel the same things you did when they hear it?<\/p>\n

Nash: Absolutely. I couldn\u2019t hope for anything more or pray for anything better. That\u2019s exactly what I hope will happen.<\/p>\n

Keep up with the latest from Leigh Nash by following her Facebook page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends! Leigh Nash has one of the most distinctive voices in modern pop music history. Those breathy, whimsical pipes helped Sixpence None The Richer become one of the biggest buzz bands of the early 2000’s with hit songs like “Kiss Me,” “There She Goes” and the Crowded House…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,70,131,120],"tags":[563,562,561,560],"class_list":["post-924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-music","category-music-feature","category-new-music-release","category-qa","tag-kiss-me","tag-leigh-nash","tag-matt-slocum","tag-sixpence-none-the-richer"],"yoast_head":"\nA conversation with Sixpence None The Richer lead singer and solo artist Leigh Nash - Whole Notes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/2011\/12\/a-conversation-with-sixpence-none-the-richer-lead-singer-and-solo-artist-leigh-nash.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A conversation with Sixpence None The Richer lead singer and solo artist Leigh Nash - Whole Notes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Click “Like” to share this with your friends! 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Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":941,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions\/941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}