Monday, October 29, 2007

Switchfoot creates "Lowercase People Records"!

Jon wrote a new bio on the switchfootpodcast youtube account. And look what he said!:

My name is jon foreman. I play in a band called switchfoot. Which (incidentally), is the greatest job in the world: playing music that you deeply care about with your closest friends in the world. I think of it like this- everyday I write the soundtrack to my own life.

Our band Switchfoot started out here in San Diego with three close friends: Chad Butler, Tim Foreman (my brother) and myself. Within days after my brother finished high school we were touring in Europe on a shoestring budget with a record that we recorded during Christmas break. A few years later, I dropped out of college and started to take on the role of playing playing music as a way of life. There were a few changes along the way. Most notably, we've grown in size from a three piece to a five piece! (Jerome Fontamillas and Drew Shirley joined our musical team a few records back.) And yet, music has continued to be my education, my therapy, and the vehicle in which I travel.

Over the course of the last six records, so much has happened. So many ridiculous dreams that we never even dared to think about have come true. Yet all along our goals have remained simple: to write the music that moves us and to play it in a way that moves others. We wanted to be a part of brightening and broadening the listeners worldview. We wanted our music to posses it's own inherent motion, to be it's own revolution so to speak. We believed in the songs, we wanted them to be heard.

All my life, music has played a huge role in shaping who I am. Many of my musical heros are the ones who have taken me under their wings to teach me about music and life. With this in mind, Switchfoot has always been a hands on band, making a continual effort to bridge the gap between the crowd and the stage. And now, ten years later we are embarking on a new path, taking this goal to a new level. In order to cut down on the distance between the listener and the music, we have decided to do our music independently under the banner of Lowercase People Records.

Our goal was to remove the corporate barrier between our audience and our songs. Musically, we wanted to go places we've never been before. We wanted to put out a more diverse collection of musical projects with more artistic control. Since music plays such a crucial role of connecting people with important issues around the world, we wanted to be a part of a label that gives directly to social justice causes, one that is more eco friendly. Lowercase People Records is our attempt to do all of this and more.

Lowercase People is our attempt to better serve this community that has supported us through the years without a middle man in the way. As a band, this is the dream of a lifetime: to have no boundaries in our songs or in the ways that they are presented. So here's what you can expect... Over the course of the next few months we are going to release several diverse projects culminating in a new switchfoot release that will redefine who we are in a new independent era.

In so many ways this is a time of building. We're building a studio in our hometown of San Diego. We want to have a creative environment to launch us into this phase of our journey. In keeping with the building theme, our tour this fall we will be
supporting Habitat for Humanity, an incredible organization that builds homes for deserving folks around the world. One dollar from every ticket will go to this worthy cause and you can always donate more. Or if you're short on change, lend your time: use your hands to make the world a better place.

So in many ways this is a season of change for me and for our band. And yet our song remains the same. I want to continue to sing along with the ones who are searching for truth; the meaning seekers, the hungry and thirsty for hope and for change. There is no retreat... there is no where to run from today. And yet, today is full of opportunity! Who knows where this will lead! Thanks for being a part of the journey, thanks for singing along,

jon


WOW! I thought they would be doing this! A new, indie label = exciting! Can't wait to see what they can do with this.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

We're taking a break...

Hey friends,

We will not be updating frequently for now. With a new tour and plenty of updates on the official site, daily foot, Switchfeed, and Land of Broken Hearts, we’ll all be able to stay informed. Until a new single comes out, more footsoldier orders come in, or other earth-shattering news (like a new album release..?) we’ll be posting only on an intermittent basis.

This may give me more time to attend to my schoolwork… busy busy times, senior year is. Sometimes, time and distance away from something will afford a new perspective. Keep it real guys… the future looks bright in Switchfoot land.

Oh, and happy belated birthday Jono! May the future bring you more amazing “noise” to share with the rest of us. You frickin’ seriously inspire me, man.

Happy tour! Rebuild should be out soon… go buy it when it does come out!

P.S. I think viewing and playing Switchfoot on their myspace page will help them get up the charts. They’re under the indie column now, on the Top Artists lists… move them up by playing the songs. Thanks guys!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Head Over Heels (Live First Time Ever!)



Thanks AQHYAgrl. This was played October 17, 2007 in Charleston. Pretty sweet. I'd have to say this song is flawless live...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Rebuild (Live in Columbus)


Thanks mrcsr319!!

MP3 Thanks Deborah!

I'm really liking this now...!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Happy Start of Tour!

The Appetite For Construction Tour officially begins tonight.

And, Jon posted a new blog:

October 16, 2007 - Tuesday


mountain mama

the fall tour starts today!
"west virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads."

ok, and the ep will be mastered maƱana. Every time I hear someone say "master" I think of my friend joey belville. He plays in a band called echoing green and is one of the best and funneist people around. If you know him ask him to tell you the master story. If you don't pee your pants you simply haven't had your fda recomended dose of liquids for the day. I would tell the story but...

here's the list for the ep:
the cure for pain
southbound train
lord save me from myself
equally skilled
the moon is a magnet
and another nameless one...

ok, so, in other news, we're doing a song for the first time tonight- should be a good time.

also, matt T. sang on the rebuild track that we're putting out for this tour...

alright, that's it! ruths, rk's, and north americans: here we come!

peace amigos,
jon


Completely new song? Exciting news!
And word is,
"Love Is the Movement" will be making appearances on this tour. It's gonna be amazing.

If you haven't gotten tickets to a show yet, better hurry! They're selling out fast!

Go here to get em!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Also, thanks to Land of Broken Hearts and Alicia, we have a high-quality, large version of the tour poster. Print it out and post it on bulletins (myspace or actual), facebook notes, etc.

Switchfoot Touring Fram

-------------------------------------------------------------

Site News

We have a new header, as you can see, thanks to Becca!!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

"Habitat For Humanity + Switchfoot = Awesome"



"Rebuild," the song written by Switchfoot and Relient K, is that tune you hear throughout this latest "podcast." It's gonna be up on itunes soon, according to this story. So excited!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Quick news update

Hi. I'm about to head out in a few minutes... so here's a quick update.

Word is on the street, the Jon Foreman ep's will be coming out within a month... AND, the guys are building their own studio! Oh, what now?!

ok. bye.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A few Switchsightings; Oh! Gravity. keeps movin' up!

I tuned into Air1 last night, and I heard Awakening. Here's a screen cap to commemorate the ocasssion! (I'm really lovin the header!)


(click imagine to enlarge)

And, Oh! Gravity. keeps rising on the Top Alternative Songs Chart on iTunes. Keep buying it!! haha. just kidding again...


(click image to enlarge

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

New Album update...?

Well, Week of Gravity did pretty well. We'll just have to wait and see if our emailing and refreshing will bring up any fruit.

----------------------------------------------------

Mr. Andy Barron, Daily Foot and podcast extraordinaire, has given us a little teaser in the latest Daily Foot entry:

the guys were workin on tracking some stuff today. i'm not sure if i'm at liberty to divulge the information of what it's for, but it sounded good. just know that. we all then watched some baseball and then it was showtime.


Is this for the new album?!! Or are they tracking ideas for a potential Relient K collaboration? See this article for more details. (It's an interview Relient K did with Air1, talking about their songs and touring with Switchfoot).

------------------------------------------------------------------

Random idea: maybe try auto-refreshing on the Oh! Gravity. video on AOL.com. I've been doing that, and the video in the last two days has amassed nearly 4,000 views. There's a countdown AOL does called Top 11 videos. Maybe we can get Oh! Gravity. on there!! Here is the link.

Friday, October 5, 2007

New Jon Blog 10-4-07; Oh! Gravity. Hits Top 100 on iTunes!

Happy Switchfoot Friday everyone! Here's Jon's latest blog...

October 4, 2007 - Thursday


my first ep

soooo,
we're here in OK. Glad to be alive. So glad! To look over at tim and chad and drew and romey and truly feel thankful for all of these gifts, that was the overall sentiment of the evening for me.

Brainstorming with a friend about how to get these tunes out in a way that fits the music. I suppose the most important thing when you're making a record is not the possibilities, but rather the limitations. The limitations are truly what define the music. So right now there are almost too many possibilities, this is the problem! ironically...

So if you've got any bright ideas, let me know...

I've had a lot of folks ask about the songs on the first ep... the tunes are pretty honest, my friend thinks they feel almost voyeuristic at times, like looking at things that he didn't want to see. Maybe this is true, and yet they got to get out there. That which is hidden is empowered. So let these songs be the enemy of all that is shadow in my life, let these songs be my hymns to a generous God, the father of lights. Let these hymns be the enemy of the counterfeit.

I really do hope you dig em. But deeper than that I'm so grateful to get these things off my chest. A bit like exorcism or something... I feel like there's beauty in honesty, and there's something that needs to get out regardless of the reception at the other end.

ok, so far here's the list for the first ep:
-the cure for pain
-the southbound train
-lord, save me from myself
-the moon is a magnet
-another song I don't want to talk about yet!

I think this is either fall or winter but I can't decide. So feel free to let me know your thoughts,

thanks for reading amigos!

jon


Sweetness. I love the song list.

For a preview, watch some live videos of the songs. If you want to wait for the ep's dont listen to em! =p

The Cure for Pain


Southbound Train


Lord, Save Me From Myself


Moon Is a Magnet


-----------------------------------------------------------------

In other news, Oh! Gravity., the current single we are promoting, has hit Top 100 on iTunes' Alternative charts. IT is currently No. 94, outselling one of Fall Out Boy's recent singles! (That's a pretty decent accomplishment).

So if you want to get it higher, AND have some spare change, go and buy it! (That is, IF you have spare change...)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

New Poll posted!

Hey all,

I just posted a new poll in the sidebar. Hop on over and vote. I'd really like to know your opinions.

Basically, what's our next course of action, once "Week of Gravity" is over?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure you've emailed TRL, FUSE, and Vh1.

The most important one that we're focusing on right now is TRL. I've emailed them twice. Try to email them at least twice this week.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

New podcast! Go download Episode 26 from iTunes!



Tim riding pig = priceless and amazing!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Happy Week of Gravity! What's your hot list?

Sorry for lack of postage yesterday, the first day of Week of Gravity!

Anyways, a few questions for my dear friends:

Have you...

emailed MTV yet?
emailed FUSE yet?
emailed VH1 yet?
auto-refreshed or viewed the video on MTV/and or Youtube at least once?

Dont feel pressure if you haven't. We have the whole week still! hehe.

I dont know about all yalls, but I'm super excited about the possibilities should this campaign succeed! It'd be truly amazing if Oh! Gravity. got popular on MTV!

Fight on!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Over on Total axxess, a nationally syndicated radio station (much like Air1) there's an option for submitting a hot list to the radio station. If you can, hop on over and submit your hot list. Make sure you write-in Head Over Heels, Switchfoot's current Christian single. It wouldn't be a bad idea to write-in Awakening and Oh! Gravity. also!

For the other two spots, I recommend "Give Until There's Nothing Left" by Relient K and "Lets Go Back" by Everyday Sunday. Up to you tho!