sixpence no otr

[wrosesongs@fastmail.fm]

read this letter today from leigh and matt of sixpence:

Sixpence Says Goodbye

(From the March Issue of CCM Magazine) 

Dear Friends, 

A few weeks ago we read in a local newspaper that Nashville's Becker's
Bakery had unexpectedly closed its doors. Long-time customers showed up
one morning to find brown paper on the windows and a simple sign in the
window that read: "After 79 years of business, we are closing our doors.
We have enjoyed being a part of your lives." The simplicity of the
statement struck us. Having never really frequented Becker's Bakery much,
we could not fully empathize with those residents of Nashville who had
come to view the establishment as an institution, relying on their fine
cakes, cookies and bread from childhood birthdays, to graduations, to
weddings, to funerals. But we know what it feels like to lose something
that is important to the community, whether it be a bakery, a bookshop, a
community leader... the list could go on and on. 

This letter we're writing is meant to be our sign on the door for the
establishment known as Sixpence None the Richer. While we would never
consider Sixpence an institution in Nashville by any means, or even an
institution in the music community at large, we do look back and see
there were many people who enjoyed and identified with the words and
music we both composed and performed. So we write to say that after much
soul-searching we have decided to no longer continue as the band Sixpence
None the Richer. 

To borrow from the simple language on the door of Becker's: 
After 10 years of music, we are closing up shop and moving on. We have
enjoyed being a part of your lives. 

And thank you for being a part of our lives--without you, the listeners,
the fans, the enthusiasts, we would have been gone a long time ago. The
ways many of you reached out to us in a personal way will always be a
part of our memories--like Beatle Bob, for example. He showed up nine
years ago at a small club in St. Louis in Austin Powers garb and, no
matter what the tempo or feel of the song, kung-fu danced the whole
concert. It made us all really happy, and he continued to come to shows
in the St. Louis area for years after. Or Dick Luebbe, who showed up in
Chicago with very expensive first editions of C.S. Lewis books as gifts
for the band. We remember a fan in Philadelphia who sat in the front row
in his wheelchair and was so moved by the music that he tried to lift
himself out of it. There were those who brought birthday cakes, flowers,
sent books, wrote letters, stood in the front row singing all the words
to all the sings (even ones that had not even been recorded yet), started
Web sites, etc. One listener made us a trophy for exemplary songwriting!
Again, thank you. 

So what's next for us now that Sixpence has closed for business? Well,
there's not really a definite answer to that question yet. I, Leigh, have
become a mother(!) and plan to focus on family life for awhile. I, Matt,
am taking some time to travel the world and may go back to school. As far
as we know, Word Records will be releasing a collection of songs that
didn't make it on to Divine Discontent, as well as songs from different
compilations we have appeared on. Some of the B-sides for Divine
Discontent sound pretty good--we hope you enjoy them. 

Again, we have enjoyed being a part of your lives. Thank you to all
listeners, friends, producers, engineers, musicians, publicists,
managers, booking agents, promoters, record labels, media outlets and
radio stations that have made our career possible. You know who you are.
We could not have done it without you. 
Goodbye for now. 

Love, 
Leigh and Matt 

(We decided to include the full letter on The Vine's website because it
has already been posted, in full, at www.streetalliance.com. We know that
must of you in the US will go out and buy the magazine anyway, but many
of our overseas visitors would not have access to the letter if we did
not post it on the site. If CCM requests, we will remove the letter from
our site.) 

-- 
  
  wrosesongs@fastmail.fm

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