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Switchfoot
 

Switchfoot is also a surfing term.

Switchfoot is an alternative rock / power pop / post-grunge band from San Diego, California, United States, whose lyrics focus on spiritual and social themes. The current members are Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), and Drew Shirley (guitar). Switchfoot gained mainstream recognition after the inclusion of four of their songs in the 2002 movie A Walk to Remember. This recognition led to their major label debut, The Beautiful Letdown, which was released in 2003, featuring their best-known single, "Meant to Live".

According to Jon Foreman, the name "Switchfoot" is a surfing term. "We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives so to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It's about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music" *.

Band history

Switchfoot was founded in 1997 as Chin Up, consisting of Jon and his brother Tim, along with Chad on the drums. The band signed with Charlie Peacock's re:think Records, a division of Sparrow Records, in 1997, as Switchfoot. re:think would distribute their first three albums, The Legend of Chin, New Way to be Human and Learning to Breathe.

In 2002 Switchfoot had a large role in the music for the movie A Walk to Remember. Singer and actor Mandy Moore, who starred in the movie, sang Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" during a scene in the movie, and also did a duet with Jon Foreman for the soundtrack.

The Beautiful Letdown

In early 2003 Switchfoot released their major label debut, The Beautiful Letdown, representing the band's full evolution toward a more accessible, mainstream sound. The album was also the first to include keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas, formerly of Mortal and Fold Zandura. Jerome had been touring with Switchfoot since the 2000, following the release of Learning to Breathe.

The Beautiful Letdown has been certified double-platinum, and went on to sell more than 2.6 million copies, on the strength of constant touring and huge radio hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move" (which received a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award in 2005). A DVD of the band's live concert, Live in San Diego, went platinum as well. "This Is Your Life" was also released on radio, and the song "Gone" has also received airplay on Christian radio stations as well, despite not being released as an actual single. In 2005, Switchfoot received five Dove Award nominations, and won four, including Artist of the Year.

Nothing Is Sound

Guitarist Drew Shirley, after touring with the band since 2003, became an official member in 2005. Switchfoot's latest album, Nothing Is Sound, was released on September 13, 2005. To promote this album Switchfoot had previously released "Stars" as a radio single, which continued being played on many mainstream radio stations. "We Are One Tonight" was released as a single in early 2006.

The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, an all-time high for the band, while bassist Tim Foreman attracted headlines by speaking out against the copy-protection * used by the label and providing fans a detailed workaround on the band's message board, which was quickly deleted by Sony. This copy-protection is known as Extended Copy Protection, which has been identified by leading anti-virus companies as a trojan horse and a rootkit.

In Spring of 2006 the band introduced "a video diary of life on the road" in the form of freely downloadable video podcasts available via iTunes. In addition to featuring snippets of upcoming songs and live performances of hit singles, the videos give fans an inside look at the more casual and humourous aspects of the band members' touring lives. *

Future Album

On June 2 Switchfoot e-mailed a newsletter containing a free download of "Daylight to Break" *, and a statement from Tim implying that the band wants to have a new album out by the end of the year, as well as thanking their fans for helping keep the band together for ten years. The band has also set up a webcam in their recording studio.

Switchfoot's video podcasts have offered many glimpses of their next album, including (in episode 6) an image of a couple dozen song titles. Apparently, the band is trying to decide which ones to keep for the newest album.

Bootlegs of acoustic radio performances of a song called "Oh Gravity" (a clip of its studio version was featured in the latest podcast) and another untitled song *, as well as the song "Awakening" which the band has been playing on their most recent tour, are circulating amongst fans on Switchfoot's message boards. These songs are predicted to be on the next album.

Currently the album is scheduled to be released on November 7th.

Influences

Switchfoot's frontman and guitarist Jon Foreman cites his musical influences as U2, The Police, The Beatles, Bach, Ronny Jordan, Miles Davis, Keith Green and Nirvana. Guitarist Drew cites U2, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Walker, Phil Keaggy, Michael Jackson, Dave Matthews Band and the Brand New Heavies, while bassist Tim pays tribute to Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (also Chad Butler's main influence). *

Songwriters like Bono (of U2), Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, have inspired Jon's hope-laden lyrics "We try to make music for thinking people," he mentions Søren Kierkegaard and Augustine of Hippo in the songs "Sooner or Later (Soren's Song)" and "Something More (Augustine's Confession)" respectively. "Meant to Live", the band's runaway hit, was inspired by T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" *," target="_blank" >while "Stars", the lead single off Nothing Is Sound, briefly "looks at things from the Descartes perspective," according to Jon [http://pressroom.emicmg.com/artists/Switchfoot/files/uploads/filedownloads/NothingIsSoundJonForemanSongbySong.doc.

Switchfoot and Christian music

Switchfoot is often referred to as a "Christian band", mostly due to their involvement with the Christian rock scene in their early days. But the band has always shunned this label. "For us, it's a faith, not a genre", says Jon Foreman. "We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind — and that's what we want." Duly, Jon's lyrics steer clear of preachiness, exclusive declarations of faith, or even any mention of Jesus Christ, instead questioning the status quo, pondering existential questions through "Socratic dialogue" *" target="_blank" >[http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/stories/s1474915.htm. Jon's poetry is acclaimed by fans and critics alike for its heartfelt honesty, which is evident in his willingness to question his faith, and in his appraisal of the human condition.

As a result, the band's fan base transcends different beliefs and lifestyles. "As a musician I guess the only thing I would ask from a listener is to put the CD in, close your eyes and forget about all the peripherals," says Jon Foreman. "I guess that's a dream that may not happen in my lifetime, but I listen to music from all sorts of people and I think there is an open-minded individual who will be able to listen to music of all types." * Though they hold this position, they have not alienated their Christian fans: as in their indie days, they are still distributed to Christian retail outlets through Sparrow Records, thereby being featured on Christian radio and charts, and presented Dove Awards, despite currently being signed to Columbia Records, a mainstream label. In June of 2006 the band was featured on the cover of CCM Magazine.

Other projects

Switchfoot has been actively involved in humanitarian causes, including DATA, the ONE Campaign, the Keep A Breast Foundation, Invisible Children and To Write Love On Her Arms.
  • The Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am Surf Contest is a benefit contest/concert run by the band to raise money for Care House, an organization serving homeless kids in the band's hometown.
  • The band recently made a trip to several South African villages, which inspired the song "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine" (featured on Nothing Is Sound). Seeing things like an orphanage filled with infants who all lost their parents to AIDS, palling around with orphans in the streets, and getting involved with a children's choir called "Kuyasa Kids" moved them to start an ambitious organization called Lowercase People. LP publishes a quarterly online magazine for music, arts and social justice. They have also produced a CD by the Kuyasa Kids (available at the magazine's and the band's website) so that the kids can be empowered by making money for their communities. *

Trivia

  • E. E. Kennedy, a film student at USC, made a documentary on Switchfoot, titled "Everything to Lose", which follows Switchfoot's life on tour and at home. The film is not going to be released to the public, but was shown at various film festivals around the US in 2003. Some of its footage was used in the Switchfootage DVD.
  • Throughout The Legend of Chin CD booklet, there are pictures of an Asian boy, identified only as "Chin". When Jerome joined the band, many were asking if he was Chin, because of his Asian descent. However, Chin is in fact Willis Chin, a good friend of the members of Switchfoot *.
  • Jon and Tim were in a Led Zeppelin cover band in Junior High. *
  • There is a poster of Switchfoot in the dressing room set on All That.
  • Jon and Tim Foreman were also in a punk-rock band called "ETC" before forming Switchfoot. Jon at one time planned a re-release of their only album to the delight of diehard Switchfoot fans, but changed his mind after reviewing the quality of the tracks. Bootleg versions of the ETC album currently circulate the internet.
  • Switchfoot endorses Atticus and Macbeth, fashionwear companies influenced by music and run by musicians The band also appeared in a Rolling Stone ad campaign for the Honda Civic Hybrid [http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=3890.
  • Switchfoot typically charges venues between $35,000 to $40,000 USD per gig. This is very cheap when compared to other bands of the same popularity (who charge 4 or 5 times that amount), and allows the venues to sell tickets at lower prices. *
  • Before signing with re:think the band's name was "Chin Up".

Discography

Albums

Year Title Label(s) Status
1997 The Legend of Chin re:think
1999 New Way to Be Human re:think
2000 Learning to Breathe re:think Gold
2003 The Beautiful Letdown Red Ink
Columbia 		Double Platinum
2005 Nothing Is Sound Sparrow
Columbia
EMI 		Gold

Singles

Year Title Peak Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK Singles
2003 "Meant to Live" 18 5 36 29 The Beautiful Letdown
2004 "Dare You to Move" 17 9 - - The Beautiful Letdown
2004 "This Is Your Life" - 30 - - The Beautiful Letdown
2005 "Stars" 68 16 39 - Nothing Is Sound
2006 "We Are One Tonight" - - - - Nothing Is Sound

DVDs

Billboard Album Chart Positions

Year Title Chart positions
Heatseekers Billboard 200 Top Christian Albums Top Internet Albums
1999 New Way to Be Human 31
2000 Learning to Breathe 34
2003 The Beautiful Letdown 16 1 16
2005 Nothing Is Sound 3 1 1

Awards

Orville H. Gibson Guitar Awards

  • 2001 - "Les Paul Horizon Award" for the most promising up-and-coming guitarist — Jon Foreman
(Interestingly, 5 years after Jon won the award, Switchfoot was invited to play alongside guitar legends at the all-star "Les Paul & Friends: 90th Birthday Salute", a concert in tribute to Les Paul. *)

ASCAP Awards

See also ASCAP
  • 1997 - "Best New Artist"
  • 2006 - "Impact Award" awarded "to celebrate the success and influence of his songs in mainstream rock music" * — Jon Foreman
  • 2006 - Top 50 list of Most Performed Song of 2005 - Dare You To Move

GMA Dove Awards

See also GMA Music Awards
  • 1999 - "Modern Rock Song of the Year" — New Way to Be Human
  • 2004 - "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" — Ammunition
  • 2004 - "Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year" — The Beautiful Letdown
  • 2004 - "Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year" — Meant to Live
  • 2005 - "Artist of the Year"
  • 2005 - "Short Form Music Video of the Year" — Dare You To Move
  • 2005 - "Long Form Music Video of the Year" — Live In San Diego
  • 2005 - "Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year" — Dare You To Move
  • 2006 - "Short Form Music Video of the Year" — Stars

San Diego Music Awards

See also San Diego Music Awards
  • 1997 - ASCAP award for "Best New Artist"
  • 2001 - "Best Pop Artist"
  • 2001 - "Best Pop Album" — Learning to Breathe
  • 2002 - "Best Adult Alternative Artist"
  • 2003 - "Best Pop Album" — The Beautiful Letdown
  • 2003 - "Album of the Year" — The Beautiful Letdown
  • 2004 - "Song of the Year" — Dare You To Move

External links

2000s music groups | American pop music groups | American rock music groups | Alternative musical groups | California musical groups | Power pop groups | Post-grunge groups

Switchfoot | Switchfoot | Switchfoot | Switchfoot | Switchfoot

 

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