The other day in the studio, Drew felt a little Bon Jovi comin' on, and thanks to the live webcam, we got to hear him when he burst into song. If you missed that beautiful moment, you can view it right here.
The guys are taking a little break from the studio to play some shows in the midwest, one of which is the Cadott Rock Fest in Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin. Chad recently spoke with Leader-Telegram.com about the concert:
"I don't cringe when people ask about my faith," he said. "But I don't feel that genre exists - it's something people put on you. I don't want to put up labels and walls that would make someone feel excluded."
"The strongest, most honest songs are asking questions and not throwing out answers," Butler said.
Lead singer Jon Foreman and his brother, Tim Foreman, wrote "Yesterdays," which is on the group's latest disc, "Oh! Gravity." Butler said the brothers routinely are asked about the song anywhere they go in the world.
"They wrote it together, but it means different things to each of them," Butler said. "A lyric can be interpreted in so many different ways."
Don't expect to hear too many ballads when Switchfoot performs at Rock Fest, however. Butler said the band likes to play loud.
"We keep it pretty upbeat," Butler said. "It's about bringing the rock. I have some great memories about sweaty rock shows in Wisconsin."
Switchfoot also recently played at Lifest in Oshkosh, WI, and some Youtubers uploaded a few videos of Jon's solo moments. This is Jon and Keith playing Twenty-Four in the Cafe area right after the guys' set:
I realized recently that "New Way To Be Human" got a birthday post back in March, and there's no room for favoritism among the Switchfoot albums. So even though Legend Of Chin's real birthday was June 17th (not July 17th), I figured there's never a wrong time to show your appreciation for a great record. And today, that great record is 11 years (and 1 month) old.
Yes it's true. The very first Switchfoot album - the one that started it all – is entering its 2nd year in the double digits. I stumbled across a “review” of LOC that I think really speaks well for it. Here's an excerpt:
The reason I like this record so much is because the songwriting is so transparent, so close to the listener. It feels more like they are sharing it with you in their basement or garage rather than showering you from the distance of brightly lit and unapproachable stage. The three-piece set-up impresses me because every instrument has to take up exactly the right amount of space. Each has to support the others while shining in its own way. This requires precise and creative arrangements to be done well. Nothing is overproduced - there are no sweeping synths, and there are not 10,000 guitar tracks layered over one another. The distortion is fuzzy rather than compressed to heck and back. Tim's bass lines are part of the melody - take out anything and the tracks falter. Yet it doesn't sound like everyone is trying really hard - it sounds kind of laid back, actually.
We also have some words from two of the album's creators:
"Written in 1996 and recorded in '97, "The Legend of Chin" is the album that started it all. The album was recorded in its entirety in just three weeks -- and when I say "recorded," I mean the old-school way: no computers, no ones and zeroes, just good old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape machines for the entire project. Editing two takes together was done by splicing tape, just like the Beatles had done thirty years earlier. This album was so exciting to make. Every new day was met with the fresh anticipation that anything was possible. The end result is an honest collection of San Diego rock." -Tim
" The thing that you have to remember about this album is that none of these songs were written for mass consumption. These were songs that were written in my freshman dorm-room. These are the songs of a nineteen year old kid who has nothing to prove and nothing to lose. I can still remember those first few practices: tim, chad, and I dreaming and scheming. We knew none of the boundaries that people have since tried to put on us. Back then a song could go anywhere, and I believe it still can."-Jon
So here's to you, the often-overlooked, yet worthy oldest “child” in the Switchfoot family. May you continue to age well.
If you appreciate The Legend Of Chin, leave a comment with one of your favorite moments (lyrically or musically) from the record.
If you don't own or haven't heard The Legend Of Chin, then seriously, go check it out.
Switchfoot played some songs recently at the home church of the Foreman/Butler families, and they sounded pretty cool. Jon and Drew on acoustic guitars, Romey on a piano, Chad on a smaller drumset, and Tim on a new bass. Our friend Gabby got some videos of the performance. Check out This Is Your Life:
Last night the fellas played at the annual Summer Celebration in Muskegon, MI. Andy Barron, that web guy who spoils us, set up a webcam on the sidestage (with audio) so that people who didn't attend could still get a small taste of the night (see the previous post). If you missed it, here's a clip of Dirty Second Hands:
Also, MLive.com posted a short review of the show.
According to the Muskegon Chronicle, the crowd was fairly mellow, but the guys still rocked their hardest.
...for the small group of fans out there, Jon Foreman, lead vocalist, really touched home with his audience. He frequently jumped on the gate, grabbed their wrists and sung directly to the ones that came to see them. I was happy that with all the people who weren't paying attention, he was still giving the performance his all. And not just him, the entire band gave its all. And even though it might have been too mellow for me, those qualities make a great performance for the fans.
hello camera watching friends. we are in muskegon, michigan. we have a brand spanking new webcam system, so we figure, let's try it. we're gonna try broadcasting the show tonight, and now WITH AUDIO! ya, crazy, i know, you can hear it, what a novel idea. it'll be from the side of the stage, so it won't be ideal, but it'll be awesome.
The first "article" is more of a review of Jon's EPs. I tend to not give reviews as much attention after a certain point, because a lot of them just say the same thing, and too much of other people's opinions can get pretty pointless after a while. However, I decided to share this one because the reviewer seemed to have a great understanding of the EPs. Here are some excerpts:
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.
The next article is an interview with Jon (with TWO interviewers - yikes?) from CrossRhythms.co.uk. Here are some bits:
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.
As for the third article, TheNorthwestern.com talked to Drew in anticipation of Switchfoot's appearance at the 10-year anniversary of Lifefest in Oshkosh, WI. Excerpt:
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.
For the past couple weeks, the guys have been frequenting the east coast to play some shows in the summer sun (and in dark venues, too). As usual, I try to find some pictures of the events for those of us who couldn't attend, because we do have some great photographers in our midst.
First, Switchfoot played at SonFest in South Carolina
The following day they rocked out at the Shoreline Ballroon in Hilton Head, SC. An accomplished photographer named Susieq got some great pictures from that show:
So there you have it. Hopefully those of you who attended these concerts had a smashing time, and hopefully those of you who didn't now have a small taste of how smashing they were. (And don't forget to check out all the updates from Andy Barron over at the Daily Foot).
