Every truly creative person wants to do "something else" -- writers want to act, actors want to direct, directors want to produce.

For Switchfoot's Jon Foreman, that meant stepping outside the boundaries, both musically and physically, of the band he’s been part of since he was a teenager.

That band's gradual transformation from rag-tag surf-rock power trio to epochal musical force was propelled by the singer's growth both as a frontman and songwriter. And when you marry a restless creative spirit with opportunity, you get (at least the chance for) innovation. Which is exactly where Foreman’s quartet of season-titled EPs comes in.

...these are songs meant to be played stripped down, solo or with friends, giving Foreman another club in the bag when it comes to musical versatility.

...Foreman tackles the megachurch phenomenon head-on with the stinging “Instead of a Show.” Here’s a young man/artist who finds himself a denizen of two worlds, and feeling like an outsider in both.

But that’s OK, because that’s where moments of great creativity are born. We’re just lucky Jon Foreman chose to document them.

Tony: Jon, you said in a recent interview that you wanted the songs on your EPs to be "like conversation amongst best friends." How possible is that? There are tens of thousands of people who are going to buy these EPs - well, we hope, anyway - therefore they don't know your back story, the myriad of things which shape our thoughts and perspectives. Without people knowing your personal subplot, isn't there a danger that some of your songs will be obscure and unfathomable?

Jon: That definitely is a danger. That is the danger and the blessing of music, you know. Everyone is going to be able to take what they want from the songs and provide what they want. I believe the moment you put something for sale that's artistic, you essentially say well, it's yours now. You can do with it what you want.

Mike: So doesn't that mean that as a songwriter you haven't really got a hope of communicating anything. It sounds very wonderfully post-modern, Jon, everybody getting from a song whatever they can.

Jon: Everyone's going to take something that doesn't belong from a song. I think the idea of conversation is an incredible concept. You can actually converse with people through a medium like song. You say your point of view and then of course, no matter whether you like it or not, they're going to have the other side. For me it's been an amazing journey to see people taking different things from the songs, applying it to their own lives.

WEEKEND: When bands like Switchfoot say faith influences their material, sometimes people want to file them just in the Christian music category. How have you managed to escape the label?

Drew Shirley: It’s really a privilege to not be labeled. A lot of critics want to label you, and that closes doors. We want to keep the conversation open, would like people to have an open mind when they’re listening to us, not immediately thinking we’re going to be and do something. Let us be ourselves, be the band we are. We kind of call ourselves “music for thinking people” - anybody that will listen and jump into these songs, drive around in them with us.

WEEKEND: Can you give us a little preview of what we can expect from the material off the new album?

Drew Shirley: Yeah. Here, I’ll play you something. (muffled noise, followed by rock-infused tune blaring from speakers) There you go! (laughs) There’s your preview. We’ve got our studio we built here in San Diego, so we’ve got a place to record, our own building where we don’t have rent a studio from anyone else. It’s - we’re just filled with a sense of freedom not being on a record label now, to be able to put out music whenever we want, however we want.

Labels: articles., interviews.