CCM: Who picked up the phone first?

Nash: While Matt was gone [to Italy, where he and his wife lived for six months], I think that’s when I decided to talk to him. But I had been feeling that way for a really long time—as early as six months after we’d broken up. I just missed everybody. I had so much confidence in the band and what we did together musically. While I got a chance to make a solo record and all of that, I’d been missing the band for a long time.

Slocum: I definitely had sort of been feeling that. We didn’t see each other that much, but if we did get together here and there, it was always mentioned a little bit: “I wonder what that would be like.” I definitely had it on my internal radar as well. I decided to come home from Italy, get together with Leigh and flesh it out into reality.

CCM: You two kept yourselves relatively occupied while Sixpence was on hiatus. What was it like creating independently? Was there ever a temptation to reach out and ask for feedback?

Nash: I definitely did. I avoided it at all costs, but I just thought, “If I’m going to do this by myself, it needs to be completely without Matt.” I always missed his guitar playing. I missed him all the time.

CCM: Would you say those non-Sixpence projects weren’t as fulfilling?

Nash: I think so. I know in my life, Sixpence has been a huge part. We’d been working together for so long—it was one of the longest relationships of my life, besides my parents. Going solo was a good thing to do—I feel really happy with it—but I always felt like something was missing.

Slocum: Overall, the projects that I did get to work on—I definitely went into a mishmash of things, including session work and touring with different people. I had a lot of fun [getting] into other people’s worlds and [experiencing] their journey. But at the end of the day, you realize that, it’s that person’s journey and you’re there to help them. While that was really fun and fulfilling, there was also the realization that that’s not necessarily my path for the long term. I had a lot of fun, but there was also a sense that it wasn’t as important to me personally as Sixpence was.

CCM: What was it like to perform together for the first time in several years?

Slocum: It went great. I was really nervous that it was going to be horrible, that we were going to walk away with our heads down. But I had fun; the club was really packed; people got into it, and we got lots of great feedback. That first show felt really good to me.