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On this particular record, there are a lot of personal things that still bring up stuff that I don't want to remember. It's stuff I don't want to feel. Frankly, there are days I just don't feel like talking about it. One can really think, "Well heck, why did I release that on a public record?"

I find that artists who break open and pour themselves out have a huge resonance with me and change my life. But also there's the other side that says you should be a little more guarded because you don't want to keep picking the scabs and opening up these wounds.

Sixpence, P.O.D., and Jars of Clay tend to be viewed as "Christian bands" that broke into the mainstream. As an artist, how do you view the distinction of a "Christian band?"

Slocum: I definitely think about it. Sometimes I envy artists who are Christians writing lyrics with spiritual foundations, but aren't necessarily involved in "Christian music." People are receptive to spiritual stuff but the Christian music label is a wall that you have to jump over with some listeners.

People are mostly just curious about what it means. What is Christian music? Why does it have its own culture? It's a little confusing to some people out in the mainstream. You have to do a lot of upfront explanation about what Christian music is and why you are involved in it. Sometimes you wish that you were approaching them as a peer. Sometimes the label of "Christian" gets in the way.

Nash: I'm starting to come around to realize [that the distinction] is a really big deal. We've never wanted to trick people into thinking that we're Christians when it's a good thing and then we're not Christians when it's good for us. We've never wanted to pretend that we weren't Christians.

Sometimes we have wanted to downplay the label—that this is a "Christian band"—simply because we don't want people to turn away from the music just because of that title. We want them to get the benefit of the beautiful lyrics and the fact that this is music being made by a Christian worldview. So it is Christian music, but we don't want to lose people's ears just because they think they're going to get beat over the head with something.

What makes Sixpence who it is?

Nash: Ultimately, Sixpence is who God made us and a combination of gifts that Matt and I were given. Our faith is probably the biggest reason Matt and I have stayed together musically. Plus, we have the belief that God put us together for a reason. We both think that's a really big deal and we want to be accountable to each other. That notion has completely driven it all along. Without our faith, we definitely would not be a band and we certainly wouldn't still be together.

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August (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47