Switchfoot

  • San Diego, CA
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  • 1996
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About Switchfoot

Official Site: http://switchfoot.com/ | @switchfoot
With its play on words, Vice Verses, the title of Switchfoot’s new album, coherently suggests the album’s theme: everything has two sides. “Every blessing comes with a set of curses,” singer-guitarist Jon Foreman sings on the title track, all the while wondering if “there’s a meaning to it all.” That theme runs through the album’s 12 songs and is even reflected in the album’s black and tan cover.

“The whole thing is about polarity,” says Foreman. “We wanted to write about the polarity of what it means to be human, the lights and darks. I’m always intrigued by the tension that exists between life and death. When making Hello Hurricane, there was a graveyard right by the hotel we were staying at while we were mixing it, and I spent a little bit of time there each morning walking through and sorting it out…really Vice Verses started there. This record is as much about loss as it is about what we still have while we’re living.”

One example of that quest for meaning includes the Foo Fighters-like “Afterlife,” in which Foreman contemplates mortality. There are plenty of other good examples, too. In the ballad “Thrive,” he muses, “Am I myself, or am I dreaming?” Foreman starts the hard-rocking, anthem-to-be “Dark Horses,” by admitting, “I’ve made my mistakes.” And in “Souvenirs,” he practically channels U2’s Bono as he croons, “Nothing lasts forever.” But the one track that will really throw fans for a loop is “Selling the News,” a Beck-like song with a hip-hop beat that finds Foreman performing spoken word.

“I think the song is inspired by a lot of different things,” Foreman says of “Selling the News.” “We are bombarded by a lot of talking heads and salespersons in terms of billboards and televisions. I began to ponder the idea that these enormous media machines are fed by advertisers, and they are happy when there’s something sensational going on in the world. This is a new paradigm that we haven’t seen before. There’s this onslaught of information. The idea that we are raising generations that are completely accustomed to watching wars on TV is a little bit frightening to me.”

“People will be surprised when they hear it,” says drummer Chad Butler. “Jon’s rhythmic delivery is amazing. I often feel like Jon is a drummer locked in a singer-guitarist’s body. He’s incredibly aware of drums and how they interplay with the vocals. The song is definitely influenced by the hip-hop we grew up listening to, whether it’s A Tribe Called Quest or Beastie Boys.”

When Switchfoot released Hello Hurricane in 2009, it symbolized a rebirth of sorts. After a good run with Columbia Records, the band had a new home at Atlantic Records and as if to celebrate, the band self-financed the building of its own studio and the recording of the album.

If 2009’s Hello Hurricane suggested a new chapter in the musical book that is Switchfoot, consider Vice Verses to be a sequel of sorts. Foreman says the album is “a brand new chapter, but would not exist without Hello Hurricane” and refers to it as a “surgical procedure where everything is clean-cut.” Like Hello Hurricane, it was recorded at the band’s own studio, where the comfort level is now much higher since the guys have been able to work out all of the space’s kinks.

“The making of Hello Hurricane was really difficult for us,” says Butler. “We were on a journey where we didn’t know what the end was. This time was much easier, and I attribute that to knowing exactly what the songs were that we were going to work on, and knowing that we were going to emphasis the rhythm section. That put us in a position of strength this time. The process of recording was more enjoyable and much more focused.”

“This is the second record we’ve made in our studio space, and it’s amazing how we felt completely at home,” adds Foreman. “It allowed us to focus and take chances.”
The album’s title track was actually one of the last songs the band wrote for Hello Hurricane. But it wasn’t quite right for Hello Hurricane, so it was left on the cutting room floor.

“I was reluctant to put it on Hello Hurricane because it didn’t really fit with the other material,” Foreman says of the song. “So we shelved it and saved it for another record. We decided then that it would be the title for the next record, whatever it would look like. Well before Hello Hurricane came out, Vice Verses was well under way.”

When it came time to actually record the song, the band tinkered with it to whip it into shape. “We tried a version where the guitar melody was actually played on the bass,” explains Foreman. “We came back to the acoustic guitar and even though that was one of the first songs written for Vice Verses, it was the last song recorded because we kept striking out. It was hard to present the song so that not only was it clear in what it was trying to say but also so that it was in keeping with this collection of other songs. Once we got the instrumentation right, it fit in really nicely.”

Vice Verses also expands the band’s sonic palette by experimenting with a variety of sounds. There’s a great rhythm to songs such as the groove-oriented “The Original” and “Blinding Light,” which benefit from a hip-hop backbeat. “The War Inside” really puts the rhythm section up front and the snappy “Rise Above It” recalls the Chili Peppers punk-funk.

“It’s funny because for us, we’re usually holding back,” Foreman says. “On this record we let a little bit more out. “We grew up listening to soul music and Motown,” says Butler. “We took that influence and made sure a song like ‘Breathless’ has an emotional element to it.”
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Music

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  • Dark Horses
    switchfoot
    Track
    Dark Horses
  • Dark Horses
    switchfoot
    Video
    Dark Horses
  • The Sound
    switchfoot
    Video
    The Sound
  • Mess of Me
    switchfoot
    Video
    Mess of Me
  • We Are One Tonight
    switchfoot
    Video
    We Are One Tonight
  • Meant to Live (MTV.com LIVE)
    switchfoot
    Video
    Meant to Live (MTV.com LIVE)
  • Meant to Live (Unplugged) (2004)
    switchfoot
    Video
    Meant to Live (Unplugged) (2004)
  • Meant to Live (Live)
    switchfoot
    Video
    Meant to Live (Live)
  • 4400
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    • Meant To Live
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/1/0/4/7/1/142017401.mp3
    • I Dare You To Move
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/7/0/7/5/7/245575707.mp3
    • Your Love Is A Song
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/2/0/5/9/8/900789502.mp3
    • Dark Horses
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/9/4/7/8/5/845758749.mp3
    • Afterlife
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/1/5/4/8/5/845758451.mp3
    • This Is Your Life
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/3/9/1/0/141801938.mp3

Interviews & Exclusives

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  • Take 2: Switchfoot "Stars"
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    video
    Take 2: Switchfoot "Stars"
  • Take 2: Switchfoot "Meant To Live"
    switchfoot
    video
    Take 2: Switchfoot "Meant To Live"

Photos

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News

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  • Switchfoot
    Switchfoot Eyeing Spring 2009 For New Album
    www.billboard.com
    .com. "One of the songs has a (Led) Zeppelin feel. One of them has more of a Devo feel. So it's Led Devo, or something along those lines. I feel like ...
    Read More
  • Switchfoot
    Switchfoot, Nickel Creek members join forces
    music.yahoo.com
    What do you get when you combine one of rock's most distinctive voices with one of acoustic music's most celebrated talents? The answer is Fiction Fam...
    Read More
  • Switchfoot
    Switchfoot to Debut Film at 9th Annual Bro-Am
    www.billboard.com
    Jon Foreman promises that Switchfoot fans will get a different perspective on the band from its upcoming film project, "Fading Fast," which will debut...
    Read More
  • Switchfoot
    Switchfoot to Share Surfing, Stage and Studio Footage in 'Fading West' Film
    www.billboard.com
    Jon Foreman promises that Switchfoot fans will get a different perspective on the band from its upcoming film project, "Fading West," which the band w...
    Read More

Tour Dates

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  • Jun 7 Friday
    Blaine, MN, US National Sports Center
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 14 Friday
    Del Mar, CA, US Del Mar Fairgrounds
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 26 Wednesday
    Milwaukee, WI, US US Cell Stage
    Buy Ticket
  • Oct 27 Sunday
    San Antonio, TX, US Laurie Auditorium
    Buy Ticket

Discography

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  • Vice Verses (2011)
    Switchfoot
    Vice Verses (2011)
    Credential Recordings
  • Hello Hurricane [CD/DVD] (2009)
    Switchfoot
    Hello Hurricane [CD/DVD] (2009)
  • This Is Home (2008)
    Switchfoot
    This Is Home (2008)
    EMI Christian Music Group
  • Oh! Gravity. (2006)
    Switchfoot
    Oh! Gravity. (2006)
    Sparrow Records
  • Nothing Is Sound (2005)
    Switchfoot
    Nothing Is Sound (2005)
    Sparrow Records
  • The Beautiful Letdown (2003)
    Switchfoot
    The Beautiful Letdown (2003)
    Columbia/Red Ink
  • Learning to Breathe (2000)
    Switchfoot
    Learning to Breathe (2000)
    Sparrow Records
  • New Way to Be Human (1999)
    Switchfoot
    New Way to Be Human (1999)
    Sparrow Records
  • The Legend of Chin (1997)
    Switchfoot
    The Legend of Chin (1997)
    Sparrow Records
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