MyJesusRocks Blog

Paulster’s “J”-hit Hotbox

[whoa, this writer is still reeling from a dream i just had, u can read about it here.] aight this is part 2 of a triple play Christmas J-hit hotbox, and we’re gonna tone it down to the ethereal voice of leigh nash in the band - sixpence none the richer. pretty striking band name huh? ah but wait and see how God uses it, ill let her explain it herself in a lil bit. the main components to this band are leigh and a guy named matt slocum, whos known as a gifted songwriter. now, think of the coolest place to meet someone to start up a Christian band, where it just forces you to say, “thats sick-tight-dope!” watcha come with? how about a church retreat? thats where these two teens met in the early 90’s…u said it didnt u, u said, “ah man thats so sick-tight-dope!” ya it is, and they got signed with the Christian label r.e.x. music and produced three albums with them: the fatherless & the widow (1994), this beautiful mess (1995), and tickets for a prayer wheel (1996). they had a good alternative sound that was at times simple, but artistic with leigh’s feathery voice breathing out matt’s deep poetic verses of faith.

and then 1997 happened, where God seemed to have a different plan for these talented musicians. the whirlwind began with them signing with the highly controversial Christian songwriter/producer/director steve taylor and his label squint entertainment, and produced a self-entitled album sixpence none the richer. they took a turn in their artistic philosophy by adopting a pop sound, somewhat masking their faith driven lyrics, and also including purely secular songs. this is usually the point where the Christian band gets a taste of the secular powder on their lips and eventually ends up freebasing the mammon that satan slangs them. its the same formula we hear over and over again. did it happen to sixpence? well, they gave birth to the behemoth secular love song, “kiss me,” that launched them into the outer stratosphere of the national spotlight, being included in movies such as “she’s all that,” soaps and sitcoms such as “dawson’s creek,” earned a grammy nomination, was the #1 pop song in 11 countries including the u.s., earned them spots on leno, letterman, and all the biggest morning talk shows, and even the royal family of england played their song at prince edward’s wedding with a viewing audience of over 200 million people! adding to their popular success was their cover for la’s track “there she goes.” was that enough secular mammon to turn their hearts?

lets answer that question by revisiting sixpence’s appearance on the letterman show almost a decade ago. after performing, leigh was invited over to the interview seat next to letterman. she never got over her youthful stage fright and the nerves were just oozing out of her throughout the whole ordeal, but nevertheless, she courageously walked over to the seat to say what she wanted to say. the band’s name begs to give an explanation, so everywhere they go, theyre asked to explain what sixpence none the richer means. as she was trying to explain it, letterman interrupts her with a disgusting insinuation by asking if he could come over to her hotel room after the show, which was followed by the audience yelling, “whooooo!” even though terrified, leigh marches forward with her story and explains that their name comes from a passage in c.s. lewis’ book mere christianity, where a little boy asks his father for a sixpence, a very small amount of english currency, to get a gift for his father. the father glady accepts the gift and is happy with it, but realizes that hes not any richer for the transaction, that he bought his own gift. c.s. lewis was comparing that to how God has given us the gifts we possess, and to serve Him the way we should, we should do it humbly…realizing how we got the gifts in the first place. letterman responded by saying, “thats beautiful, thats very nice,” and the audience erupted in cheers for the explanation. then letterman uncharacteristically went on to say, “…if we could just keep that little sliver of enlightenment with us, things would be so much better…God bless you…” you can check it out yourself here. thats the way to represent leigh, mad props.

instead of rehashing the rest of their career, lets just get on with the J-hit! the band did disband in 2004, but reformed in late 2007, and they released their first album reunited, a christmas album, called the dawn of grace, in october 2008. the Jesus hit we got to serve up to u is from that album and is the forever awesome christmas carol: silent night, featuring dan haseltine of jars of clay. the picture on the cd cover gives a hint at the treasure that lies within this jhit, as leigh is not the youthful child that was on the letterman show, but displays a smile and an artistic expression that reflects her inward growth, telling of her experiences of giving birth, a divorce, and the unexpected death of her father. this growth can be heard in the heavenly tones that leigh unleashes in holy praise, and the song’s final lines of “Christ is born, halleluuuujah” take me home from on high to a really good place. this heavenly Christmas jhit floats down into the hotbox. and as a bonus, the video they put out on youtube is right underneath, its simplicity hits your soul, check it out.

silent night — sixpence none the richer | Listen

- paulster