There's your advice from Jon for today. He spoke with the St. Petersburg Times about the question of Christian bands, how to define success, and surfing in Florida. Here's an excerpt:
You probably get asked this a lot, but are you a Christian band?
I'm a believer. I think it's a tricky one whenever you mix faith with commerce, because the dollar bill is never going to be Christian, and I never want to use my faith to sell records. But at the same time, we've always been very upfront about our beliefs.
Who gives you the most heat about that?
Both sides. Certain people want you to fly their flag. Other folks don't have such an open mind.
Are you challenged by your own songs? What's a song whose lyrics have evolved since you first recorded them?
As far as a specific song, Dare You to Move is definitely a song that has stuck with me. I wrote that one a while back — before I was married, before we had sold a lot of the records and when we were still traveling around in a minivan.
I take it you're not touring in the minivan anymore?
No, thankfully. I think if I was still driving, we'd be dead. (Laughs)
Romey also spoke with an online Florida newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, about their upcoming record and their current tour.
Although Failure's Ken Andrews and songwriter-producer Charlie Peacock have been mentioned as possible producers, the band is doing much of that work on its own. It's part of a renewed attitude of control, Fontamillas says.
"There was no animosity between the label and us," he says. "What we were excited about, though, is that we can separate ourselves from the middleman and get the music straight to the fans.
"We were really appreciative of Sony and Columbia, but to provide your own songs and put them out on our own terms is really cool."
So will any of the new material make it into the set lists on the current tour? Fontamillas chuckles.
"I wish," he says, "but it's still in the early stages, and it's probably not good enough to play for people."
Another short article, reviewing the Chicago Music Builds show, says of the guys,
...their playing bravado and charismatic audience interaction more than spoke for itself. And the same could be said about opening act Robert Randolph & the Family Band, led by the famed pedal steel prodigy... The two acts are a match made in heaven so to speak and will be teaming together through October.
Lastly, here's a video of Stars from Switchfoot's recent appearance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Normally I refrain from posting videos that are completely devoid of bass in the audio, but this can still give you a taste of how the guys are mixing up the song a bit:
Cool pic of Jon in mid-air! Can't wait for the Music Builds concert in Raleigh, NC. This 47-yr-old mom is gonna be gellin' with switchfoot!
Great job, gellie!