"Hello Hurricane" tour comes to an end in Avila Beach; "Your Love Is a Song" music video shelved

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----


^poster from the last show of the "Hello Hurricane" tour in Avila Beach.

-----



Almost a year ago, Switchfoot unleashed a storm on all of us. "Hello Hurricane" was an altogether new musical experience for those who have followed the band over the years, and was a worthy introduction for newer listeners. Some of the most aggressive riffs and emotive vocals the band has ever committed to tape show up on this record. But the record truly came alive when Switchfoot took it directly to their fans during the accompanying tour. And 80+ shows, 9 tour legs, and 5 continents later, the "Hello Hurricane" tour has come to an emotional close.

For those who saw the band during one of these shows, these were some of the band's greatest, most electric performances they have ever played. The ending of this tour is bittersweet, I'm sure especially for those who were a part of it in some way.

And now, what happens next?

The great news is, the record cycle is not finished yet! "Your Love Is a Song" is still climbing the Hot AC pop charts, while "Bullet Soul" is set for release to alternative rock in November! So, as the Switchfoot boys finally unwind from a long, arduous tour, it's time for us to push the songs at radio propel "Hello Hurricane" towards the finish line. The band has done their part; it's our turn.

These next few months could be an exciting time for the band, as "Your Love Is a Song" could possibly make a strong push while "Bullet Soul" keeps the alternative stations keen on Switchfoot tunes. And all of this is setting up for "Vice Verses," which is tentatively set for summer 2011.

And for those who can't wait for new Jon Foreman tunes, the second Fiction Family record is on the way, coming in Spring 2011. So thought we bid a fond, wistful farewell to the "Hello Hurricane" tour, there is still much excitement for the future!

-----

Also, for those wondering, we've gotten confirmation from management saying that the "Your Love Is a Song" video is definitely not happening, unfortunately. But if things change, you'll all be the first to know!

"Your Love Is a Song" enters Top 30 of Hot AC!

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----



Over the weekend, "Your Love Is a Song" leaped into the Top 30 of Mediabase Hot AC, settling at No. 29. This is looking good for the Billboard placing, possibly landing Switchfoot their first Hot AC/Adult Pop Songs Top 30 single since "We Are One Tonight."

Very exciting. Remember to share around the free download of the song with friends; details here.

-----

Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley stopped by at 96X recently to play a Sessions show. Here, they play "The Sound."



-----

Here are some videos from Switchfoot's show at the Varsity Theater in Baton Rouge, LA.

In this one, Jon talks about the conversation he overheard before playing "Only Hope" and "Dare You to Move." If you follow his tweets, you'll know what he's going to talk about.



^That's pretty great! Here are some more clips:

Sabotage
Meant to Live
Your Love Is a Song
Gone
Awakening
Dare You to Move
24

-----

Next, some videos from the show in Tyler, TX: "The Sound"



Oh! Gravity
Meant to Live
Dark Horses

-----

And lastly, on Sunday, Switchfoot played Austin City Limits, which is a pretty big festival. Here, a local radio station out there in the Austin area interview Tim Foreman, Chad Butler and Jerome Fontamillas about their then-upcoming performance, as well as more details about "Vice Verses!"

Virginia Show recaps

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Switchfoot played a couple of exciting shows in Viriginia the last few days. What's been great is that the band has been pulling out the new "Dark Horses" quite consistently; hopefully it continues to get play throughout this tour. Today's blog will just be another video update with footage from the past few shows, so hang in there and be ready to relive and experience a Switchfoot show!

We start in Richmond, where the band played "Dark Horses."



...and "Daisy." You've got to love anytime they play this song live; it's a rare treat.



On Fire
Encore: "Hello Hurricane" and "Dare You to Move"

-----

We then move to Norfolk, VA. Switchfoot pulls out another "Nothing Is Sound" gem, the rarely-ever-played-anymore "Lonely Nation."



^Judging by this video, it looks like the band is a bit rusty with this song. It's okay guys; hope you keep playing it this tour!

Here are more videos:

We Are One Tonight (featuring fan, James Murla)



Virginia Song/Your Love Is a Song



Free



24
Dark Horses

-----

Oh, and lastly, Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley at a radio event:

Switchfoot urges you to bring canned goods to shows; lends to the call for HIV-Free generation

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Switchfoot has posted a new YouTube video featuring Chad Butler and Drew Shirley urging you to bring canned goods to the shows this month – with their typical humorous twist.



^Be sure to get on that if you're going to a show this fall, friends!

-----

Along the same philanthropic lines, Switchfoot was joined by ONE.org over the weekend at Liberty University.



Here's an excerpt from their blog:

Switchfoot, long time ONE supporters, put on a great show. Our volunteers helped sign up new ONE members to take action around our current campaign: ensuring that babies are born HIV-free. Every day, 1,000 new born babies are born with HIV -– something entirely preventable with smart medicines and smart policy. That’s why it was so exciting for me to be part of this moment where Liberty students and others could add their voice to the movement.

To read Jon Foreman's quote, as well as to view the source blog, check it out here.

-----

For Christian aficionados, Switchfoot will be featured alongside many popular CCM bands in the latest Wow Hits collection, called "Wow Hits 2011." I wish they could've come up with a more creative title. Anyhow, "Your Love Is a Song" is the track of choice for it's success on Christian radio throughout the past year.

To see the full tracklist, click here.

-----

Now, on to the tour videos recap section of the update. Switchfoot played at the Electric Factory last Sunday, and here are some videos from the show in case you missed them:

"Dark Horses"



^poor camera audio quality notwithstanding, I'm definitely digging the energy behind the song. It's got a slow-burn rocker type of quality, similar to "Lonely Nation" and even recalls Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" to a certain extent. What do you think of the song?

Also from that show, a dude by the name of Aaron Hicks plays "Awakening" with Switchfoot. He rocked the part pretty well:



-----

Yesterday morning, Switchfoot did a radio blitz on the city of Washington, D.C. Here is an audio/video of Jon and Drew playing "The Sound" on DC101 in the morning:



Later on, some of the band played at the Gibson Showroom. Here's "Your Love Is a Song":



and, "Meant to Live"



-----



In case you missed it yesterday, Taylor Guitars announced a special "Stories and Songs" event with Bob Taylor (founder of Taylor) and Jon. Here's the press release with all the info. If you can, be sure to head out!

John M. Perkins benefit show loose ends; new Fiction Family tune; Show videos

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Hope you all had a great weekend! Here are some last things to tie up from the John M. Perkins benefit show last week. First off, we finally have a full video of Switchfoot performing "The Sound."



^Electric.

Next, Belhaven University posted their own recap video of the event. Drew Shirley and Jerome Fontamillas are interviewed:



Christian Post did a story on the event. LINK.

-----

Now for a quick Q&A interview with Jerome. Here, he talks a bit about "Vice Verses."

OS: The upcoming album Vice Verses contains material from your sessions for Hello Hurricane. Can listeners expect a similar album?

JF: We’re hoping to push further, creatively and musically. Whether it’s a natural progression from Hello Hurricane or not, you never know. We’re still planning how we’re going to go about recording the album. We have an abundance of songs (like 90), and John is a writing machine. So we have new songs, and you’re adding 20 or 30 into the mix. So it will be interesting.

OS: So are you guys planning on releasing that other material from the Hello Hurricane sessions?

JF: We’re hoping to. There are a lot of songs. I’m not saying all of them are good, but we just have to dwindle it down to a regular amount of songs. We are diving into the idea of a double album or something. That’s the greatest thing—that we’re able to release these songs and other people will hear them. We’re just trying to figure out a way to get these songs out there so people can hear them. A CD is one format, but there are other ways too.

OS: Can we expect to hear them live?

JF: We’re not prepared yet to play the songs that haven’t been on albums yet. I know John has been doing these “after shows” where he will go out after the show with his guitar into some corner somewhere and start playing our new songs. It’s pretty awesome, because we’re really excited about the new songs. We’re getting geared up to go record them.

For the rest of the interview, head over to Ourstage.com.

-----

Now for some "Hello Hurricane" tour news! Switchfoot played a few shows, including one at Liberty University. We've got copious video footage from that one. First,

"The Sound"



^Watch the ending. Jon Foreman channels some "Dirty Second Hands" live action at the end there. You feelin' that?

24/Dare



More videos:

Needle
Oh! Gravity.
Meant to Live
Free
Stars
Gone
On Fire
Your Love Is a Song
Dare You to Move

-----

Also, our friend Josh sent in the setlist from the show last night in Philly's Electric Factory.

Main:

Stars
Bullet Soul
Mess of Me
Gone
This Is Your Life
The Sound
Your Love Is A Song
Free
Yet
Company Car
Sabotage
Dark Horses
On Fire
Awakening
Meant to Live

Encore:
Hello Hurricane
Dare You to Move

"Dark Horses" Video:



^It's great to see "Dark Horses" making its way into setlists now. I'm excited to hear how that song turns out in the studio. Also, Josh tells us "Your Love Is a Song" is being played in G now in order to help preserve Jon Foreman's voice for the "Vice Verses" sessions coming up.

^Thanks bro.

-----

Do you want in on new Fiction Family material? Well, you're in luck – that is, if there is a Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop close by. They are giving away free Bonnaroo Festival artist tracks, and Jon's other band is included.

The song is called "The Ashes of Rock and Roll (Fool's Gold)" according our friends over at LOBH.

Details from the Ben and Jerry's website:

John M. Perkins Benefit show tonight; "The Sound" in the Philippines; More Food Drives this fall!

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

Be sure to tune in TONIGHT, September 29, for the special John M. Perkins/Switchfoot benefit event at 5 pm PST/8 pm EST. For more details, click here.

------

Well, friends, tonight is the night! The John M. Perkins benefit show called "An Evening with: Switchfoot & John M Perkins - The Sound!" is happening tonight, at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST. Be sure to tune into Ustream to watch the performance, or you can come back to this space, as we'll have it streaming here as well.



In advance of the event, the Clarion Ledger in Jackson has done a story and talked to John P. Perkins and John M. Perkins (related). Here's an excerpt:

The performance will help rebuild the foundation's music studio, which was burglarized in 2008.

Perkins' grandson, John P. Perkins, is the foundation's development director. He said Switchfoot had just finished recording Hello Hurricane when they decided to lay one more track.

Switchfoot lead singer/guitarist Jon Foreman "wrote that one (The Sound), and it became a smash hit," said the younger Perkins. "When they got together in May to record the video, (John M. Perkins) told them about the recording studio burglary. We didn't have it up eight months before it was burglarized."

There's a lot of other great things to be read in this story, so definitely check it out here.

-----

In other news, today is Chart Wednesday! Just a quick update, "The Sound" is now officially the No. 8 Alternative single in the country, while "Your Love Is a Song" has moved up to No. 32 on the Adult Pop Songs chart. Just another successful week for Switchfoot. Keep up the requesting!

-----

The news keeps getting better. Our friend Raven from the Philippines has sent us this bit of sweet news:

The Sound is currently no.10 on Magic 89.9 (popular radio station in the Philippines) ......and no.18 on channelv(music channel)...just wanna let you all know :D

^That's just fantastic!

----

Our friend David has also sent us this bit.

Yes it's true. Switchfoot's Mess Of Me was played on Friday night on Coast To Coast Am's radio show heard all around America. Shortly before the song was played the show's host, Art Bell, told America to rock. Coast To Coast is an overnight show dealing on paranormal abd conspiracies. The song was played at about 12:30 p.m{central time}.

^That's something new. Great to hear that, David. Thanks a lot!

-----



Any of you looking to head out to the fall leg of the Hello Hurricane tour? If so, the guys will be running the Food Drive again. Bring canned goods to support your local community!

Here is a list of Participating Food Banks:

Oct 01 Lynchburg VA / Liberty University / Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Oct 02 Cheswick PA / Ches-A-Rena / Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Oct 03 Philadelphia PA / Electric Factory / Philabundance
Oct 05 Richmond VA / The National / Central Virginia Food Bank
Oct 06 Norfolk VA / The Norva / Foodbank of South Eastern Virginia
Oct 07 Montgomery AL / Riverwalk Amphitheatre / Montgomery Area Food Bank
Oct 08 Baton Rouge LA / Varsity Theatre / Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank
Oct 09 Tyler TX / The Venue Down Under / East Texas Food Bank
Oct 10 Austin TX / Austin City Limits
Oct 14 Omaha NE / Sokol Auditorium / Food Bank for the Heartland
Oct 15 St. Charles MO / Lindenwood University / St. Louis Area Food Bank
Oct 16 Kansas City KS / Memorial Hall / Harvesters Food Bank
Oct 28 Santa Cruz CA / Catalyst Club
Oct 29 Avila Beach CA / Avila Beach Event Area / San Luis Obispo Food Bank
(The Almost supporting except 10/10  10/28)


-----

And lastly, we hear that the Bad Religion compilation that Switchfoot is contributing to will be available as a free download from Spin.com. Awesome!

BREAKING: Switchfoot releases "iTunes Session" on (of course) iTunes

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----



The Switchfoot camp is never short on surprises. Today, the band is putting out an "iTunes Sessions" record on Apple's iTunes Music Store. It's a collection of live studio recordings of some of their songs.

Before we cut to the chase, here's what the front page of iTunes looks like this morning:



Once you click into that menu, another surprise pops up:




NOT ONLY is there a brand new set of live recordings from the band, "Hello Hurricane" is being offered at the discounted price of $8.99 (USD). If you have not picked up this masterpiece of a record, do so now!

Link to the launch page here.

Link to the iTunes session here.

^Be sure to leave a positive review/rating on the iTunes store. That goes a long way in boosting any album in the store.

NOTE: UK and international fans, no word yet on whether the iTunes Sessions release is releasing overseas. As of now, U.S.-only... sorry, friends.

-----

Really, you've got to give HUGE props to Atlantic Records for all the beautiful things it's done for the band during this record cycle. Not only does the band have it's first Top 10 Billboard hit in six years, countless ESPN boosts, and a ton television show spots and commercials, but now the band has got an iTunes Sessions record and a front page feature on the iTunes Music Store.

What more lies ahead for this band? "The Sound" is still gaining spins daily, and "Your Love Is a Song" is slowly inching up on the Hot AC charts. Good times still to come, my friends!

-----



Also, be sure to check out the new fall tour dates with The Almost on Switchfoot.com! I'm sure more are forthcoming, so hang tight!

BONUS COVERAGE: Latin America tour video promos!

We have a lot of friends from Latin America, and so far, the frenzy for a Switchfoot tour in the southern continent has been deafening. Well guess what, friends? The guys will be down there this fall! Be excited!

Until then, here are some promotional videos to whet your appetite!

VÍDEO PROMO - SWITCHFOOT EM SÃO PAULO-BRASIL


San Jose, Costa Rica



Buenos Aires, Argentina



^So excited for you all!

The Almost confirmed/announced for Fall Tour; KROQ plays "The Sound"; Radio acoustic shows;

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Aaron Gillespie, singer of The Almost, has confirmed/announced the fall tour with Switchfoot this fall. Here's his tweet:



-----

KROQ played "The Sound" three times over the past weekend. KROQ is one of the two large alternative stations in Los Angeles, one of the biggest media markets in the country. Here's proof:



What we're going to need you to do now is to start sending some requests KROQ's way. Here's the link. Let's not be too crazy with requests. One every other day is sufficient for now.

Once we get more regular rotation, we can flood requests for their evening countdowns. Happy requesting!

-----

The Bro-Am press never stops (which is a good thing)! Here's a video Jedidiah USA put together.

2010 Switchfoot Bro-Am by Jedidiah from Jedidiah Clothing on Vimeo.

-----

Now back to tour news. Switchfoot stopped by at a local radio station in New Jersey and played a couple of tunes at the PST Live Lounge on July 29.

Your Love Is a Song



Meant to Live



Dare You to Move



-----

Switchfoot played Jones Beach last Saturday. Here are a couple brilliant videos:

Dare You to Move


Meant to Live



-----

Quick reminder. Be sure to keep requesting "The Sound" at your local rock stations and "Your Love Is a Song" at Hot AC.

Head over to "The Sound" request page or the "Your Love Is a Song" request page.

Getting psyched for Bro-Am; More touring videos

For Bro-Am coverage and other goodies day of, be sure to follow my personal Twitter feed, as I will probably only be able to access that one. For other news, be sure to keep following the We're Awakening twitter feed.

-----

Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley were on Fox 5 this morning in San Diego to do an interview in advance of Bro-Am week. Check it:

 

-----

Switchfoot performed a few shows on their way back here to the states. Here are some from the gig they played at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio on June 19, 2010.

Your Love Is a Song



Free



Hello Hurricane



Yet (with Jon Foreman talking about Chad Butler)



Meant to Live



-----

Switchfoot also played the Busch Gardens on the 20th:

The Sound



Mess of Me
Free
Only Hope

-----

Time to also kick "The Sound" promotion into high gear. As we all know, Footsoldiers, this week is Bro-Am week in San Diego. So, in honor of that, let's attack the phones and request links of the Alternative stations in that area to raise awareness.

First off, request "The Sound" on 91x's Really Big Countdown by emailing christy@91x.com, subject line: Really Big Countdown Submission. If you live in the area, better yet, call in to request the song and let them know how excited you are for the Bro-Am! 570-191X

Next, use this eform to request "The Sound" on 949 KBZT. You can slo call in: 619-570-1949

Let's do this footsoldiers!

Ireland Videos, 89x Detroit Videos, and more!

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Hello everyone. Just wanted to make an extra weekend post, since updates have been scant in recent days. Switchfoot has been touring hard, rocking faces and taking names, and the footage that is available out there is proof.

First off, here are a few videos from a TV broadcast of Switchfoot's gig in Ireland.

Free



The Sound



Meant to Live



On Fire



^Amazing.

-----

Speaking of TV, here's some more television footage of Switchfoot, this time rockin' it in Lumen. Check out that venue!

Needle and Haystack Life



Mess of Me



Here's another video, this time, of the band playing "Only Hope" at Ichthus in Kentucky, June 17.



-----

And yesterday, Switchfoot played Detroit's 89x Bitches Ball. Strange name notwithstanding, here are a few clips:

Meant to Live



For more, check out this user's channel


Welp, that's it for now! We'll be back Monday. Have a great weekend!

Switchfoot wraps up the Europe tour 2010

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

Be sure to catch the new music video for "The Sound" here!

-----

It's been a great tour in Europe for Switchfoot, who concluded the European leg by playing two contrasting but pretty large festivals in the UK the past couple days. On Saturday, the boys played the Frenzy Festival in Scotland. The Scottish are insane! International fans truly put us Americans to shame, I'm telling you! Here are some videos:

Stars/Oh! Gravity.



Your Love Is a Song



Hello Hurricane



Needle
On Fire
Awakening
Only Hope

-----



Yesterday, the band played Download Fest, which featured a whose who of rock 'n' roll within the last few decades, including Slash, Billy Idol, Motorhead, Stone Temple Pilots, Aerosmith and more. Here are some of the tweets coming out of that raucous event:

@switchfoot:
- Played Download Fest today, with Slash, Billy Idol, Motorhead, STP, Aerosmith & others. We opened for Napalm Death. Wild, muddy insanity.

@jonathanforeman:
- Motörhead just played "Ace of Spades." Slash, B. Idol, Napalm Death, Dillenger Escape Plan, & Switchfoot already played. Typical day. ?
- wow. what a day. I'm amped to have be here- amped to be heading back to the states. California, here we come!

Jon and Chad even cracked out the old Myspace blog with some insight on how their day at the Download Festival went. Here it is reproduced below:

from chad:

Climbing into the Switchfoot tourbus I strip down to my boxers and throw my mud-soaked shoes and brown splattered jeans in a trash bag. We are enroute to London Heathrow after our first time playing at the Download Festival in Donington... and it was amazing!! There is nothing humanly possible that will wash the mud from my shoes or the smile from my face after such an epic day of Rock n Roll. We threw 30 minutes of heartfelt songs out to the Donington crowd who threw them right back, singing along while throwing fists in the air. Music is such a magical way to connect with thousands of strangers, at the end of it we were all singing the same song. Our dressing room was next to The Damned Things and we got to talking with Scott Ian from Anthrax and Andy and Joe from Fall Out Boy. After our set I stuck around to see our new friends play and I was glad I did. They played such epic guitar riffs and furious beats that everyone watching became honorary graduates of the school of Rock. I thoroughly enjoyed my education today and can't wait to return to Donington!

from jon:

Before I dropped out of college I used to work as a stage hand for the rock shows coming through. That was the first time I ever saw STP play live. Back then, pushing gear into the venue meant that I could see the show for free, (even get paid!). In some ways, very little has changed: at a festival like this I get paid to hang out, watch rock and roll, and even play a few tunes of our own.

But in other ways, it's a very different situation. Dreams I never even thought to dream have come to fruition. Playing rock and roll around the world has given us the chance to hang out with some of our heroes. Earlier this year Meatloaf put one of my songs on his record- Crazy! Today alone marked some pretty great memories: Shaking hands with Slash. Chatting with Dean DeLeo about the English weather. Playing immediately before Napalm Death. Standing next to Lemmy Kilmister on main-stage. These are surreal moments for me.

However, my favorite moment of the day came right before we left for the airport. Since I'm about to jump on a 12 hour flight home I decided that a shower would be appropriate. The portable showers were located across from our dressing room and right behind from main-stage. With all the other "firsts" that had occurred throughout the day, a "first" wash in a portable shower seemed fitting activity. As I washed the Donington mud off my body and shoes, Aerosmith burst into "Walk this way." Quite the serenade!

No, nothing has changed: I'm still singing rock and roll in the shower. Except now I'm backstage.

For a few more pictures, head over and check out the blog itself!

-----

Jon and Tim Foreman were interviewed on the UK alternative rock magazine Kerrang's Podcast:



-----

Footsoldiers

As you all know, "The Sound" music video was released yesterday. Be sure to share it around with as many people as you know!

We're working on getting the video onto YouTube. As soon as we have details on that, be sure to be follow this space as well as the Footsoldiers twitter feed for instructions. We're going to rock this thing, and since Switchfoot just recently hit over 50,000 subscribers on Youtube, the fields are ripe for the picking, so to speak!

-----

Speaking of "The Sound" video, be watching for a new FootColumn that I wrote up analyzing and picking it apart the best I can. If you're not into that sort of thing, no worries. I won't hold it against ya. :)

NEW Switchfoot songs soundchecked!

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Switchfoot played a show at Melkweg in Amsterdam last night. A couple of new songs emerged from the soundcheck! Thanks Deborah for posting these videos:

Dark Horses



A few snippets of songs that we don't know the title of:





ALSO, Before we see some more footage from the event, LOBH also has an exclusive NEW live MP3 of another soundcheck song from a different show, called "Against the Voices!" Head over to their site now to download it!

-----

Needle and Haystack Life



Mess of Me



Oh! Gravity.



Your Love Is a Song



^"the songs I hear on the radio, I'm glad I didn't write because they don't seem real..." Gotta love it. Also, listen for the tie-in to "Let Your Love Be Strong" during the chorus before the bridge. Awesome.

Only Hope and a portion of Dare You to Move



^Jon Foreman sounds particularly wistful during "Only Hope," from his description of San Diego to his compliment to the audience that "you sound beautiful."

Some more:

Bullet Soul
Enough
Free
Yet
On Fire
Hello Hurricane
This Is Your Life
Awakening
Meant to Live

-----

Footsoldiers

"The Sound" was No. 4 on KPNT last night! Let's keep it up and get the song onto the other three countdowns we've been targeting!

Q101's Top 9 at 9 (Chicago)
KPNT's 5 Songs That Don't Suck (St. Louis)
91x Christy Taylor's Really Big Countdown (San Diego) (email christy@91x.com, subject line: Really Big Countdown Submission)

One more day, let's do this!

Potential Switchfoot/Paper Route Tour

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

According to Concert Ideas, Switchfoot is working on getting a tour together with Paper Route and The Almost. Here's the source Tweet:

- Switchfoot will be going on tour with The Almost and Paper Route in October and November and are looking for dates.

Management says that it's definitely in the works, but nothing concrete is happening yet. Sit tight Paper Route and The Almost fans!

I think it's a good mix; Aaron Gillespie recently left his old group, Underoath, and is now focused primarily on The Almost, which should make for a good show. Paper Route is definitely one of the bigger indie bands out there, and I know many a Switchfoot fan (LOBHers, we're lookin' at ya! ;) ) will be STOKED for this tour. We'll keep you all posted.

-----

Stay tuned tomorrow, because we've got some pretty exciting news in store... that's all I can say for now, though I'm DYING to break it to you all. :)

-----

Here's a video of Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley performing an acoustic rendition of "Mess of Me" at Fritz Club Beach, Berlin.



-----

CHARTS

"The Sound" continues its rise on the Mediabase. Today, it is back at No. 31, on the verge of re-entering the Top 30! We need to keep this going, so make sure you're requesting the single at your local alternative station! Also, thanks to your efforts, the latest Footsoldiers campaign has been successful so far!

Let's keep it up! We MISSED all the countdowns AGAIN last night. So, here are the voting links/instructions to get that going again:

Q101's Top 9 at 9 (Chicago)
KPNT's 5 Songs That Don't Suck (St. Louis)
91x Christy Taylor's Really Big Countdown (San Diego) (email christy@91x.com, subject line: Really Big Countdown Submission)

Let's do it!

Drew Shirley gives a gear tour; Koln show video recap

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Check out this video of Drew Shirley showing and describing his gear rig. It is quite insightful.



-----

Switchfoot played their first show in Germany last night (in Köln to be exact). Here are some videos that have emerged from that time.

Needle and Haystack Life



Your Love Is a Song



On Fire



Meant to Live



And Jon Foreman even played an after show. Here's "Rob Me"



-----

Here are some more videos from the great London show a couple nights back.

Oh! Gravity.



-----

Oh, and Your Love Is a Song at the Big Church Day Out, with a great monologue at the beginning:



-----

In other news, the new Footsoldiers campaign has been successful so far!

Thanks to your efforts, "The Sound" has made it onto two of the countdowns we're targeting, getting to No. 3 on 91x two nights in a row and No. 5 on KPNT's 5 Songs That Don't Suck countdown. It has yet to get onto Q101's Top 9 at 9.

Let's keep it up!

Q101's Top 9 at 9 (Chicago)
KPNT's 5 Songs That Don't Suck (St. Louis)
91x Christy Taylor's Really Big Countdown (San Diego) (email christy@91x.com, subject line: Really Big Countdown Submission)

^If we can keep these up until the guys get back from Europe two weeks from now, we will have done an excellent job!

DC101 Cookoff Recap; Some Charleston Videos

For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!

-----

Switchfoot played a rockin' Chili Cook-off event yesterday, hosted by DC101 in Washington, D.C. Part of an all-star alternative rock lineup featuring Anberlin, Cage the Elephant, Alice in Chains and the newly reunited Stone Temple Pilots, Switchfoot showed they could rock with the best of them on Saturday afternoon. The second band to play after Anberlin, Jon Foreman and friends brought their A-game. Here are videos from every single performance yesterday. Thanks to everyone from D.C. who shot these awesome quality vids.

We've arranged the video clips according to setlist order.

"Oh! Gravity."



"Bullet Soul"



"Stars"



"Sabotage/Needle and Haystack Life" (This one is THE BEST performance by the band all afternoon)



"Mess of Me"



"The Sound"



"Free"



"Dare You to Move"



"Meant to Live"



for more perspectives and angles, check the videos godieinhell2 posted.

After the event was over, the radio station hosted an after-party and spun songs from the performing bands for a solid hour or so. Switchfoot tunes "We Are One Tonight," "The Sound," "Dare You to Move," "Stars," "Oh! Gravity.," and "Mess of Me" were played amongst the shuffle. Pretty sweet.

I really think Switchfoot turned heads in D.C. with their, passion, and willingness to lay it all out there on the stage or amongst the crowd. Great job guys!

-----

The day before this event occurred, the band also played a show in Charleston, SC. Here are some great videos from that:

"Meant to Live"



Mess of Me



Sabotage



Your Love Is a Song



The Sound



-----

And to complete this video-tastic reel, here's a video Journeys posted of the band purchasing their very own Macbeth Switchfoot shoes:

New Drewcast; Interview with Youth Walk; "Sabotage" campaign details

Check out the new Drewcast titled: Jon plays trumpet!?!



^Not bad at all!

-----

Hearitfirst.com posted a video of Switchfoot playing "Always" acoustic from Spot X. I feel like we've seen this thing before somewhere else, but anyways, our friend Brad uploaded it to Youtube:



-----

Check out a video of "Mess of Me" from the Albuquerque show back in February:



-----

Apparently S.F. did an interview w/Youth Walk Magazine. Check it out! (thanks to Jana for a the full transcription)

The Art of Switchfoot: 
an interview the surfboarding sages of Switchfoot

by Laurin Makohon 

How did your journey with God affect the direction of Hello Hurricane?



JON: The word journey is an incredible word to start with, because my experience with anything transcendent—whether it’s poetry, a worship service, or a walk on the beach—is that it feels like it’s a journey. And this record was certainly a journey. We’re what, five records into our career? Is this our sixth one? 



TIM: This is our seventh.

JON: Okay. So enough records to forget how many we’ve done. (laughs) And before this record, we kind of stepped away from things for a while. We cut ties with our label, we cut ties with management, and we built our own studio. That extra breathing room in our lives allowed us to look back and reflect and say, “Wow, it’s incredible that music has been such a huge part of our lives. Music has taken us to Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Europe, India, South Africa—places that we never thought we’d go.” Then we were able to look forward and say, “Well, what do we want to do? What do we want to say with our music? What’s worth singing about? What’s worth being in Atlanta when our families are all in San Diego?” Because there’s a price to pay for all of this.

We recorded about 80-plus songs for the record, and I think what came to me at the end of the journey is the punchline of the reason why we play music. And that’s this: Music is one of the few things in life that gets under the skin without asking for permission. And because of that, it’s an incredible honor to sing a song of hope for someone else because many people have sung those songs for us. So because of the reflection that went into the journey of making this album, I think that this record has a potency that our last few haven’t. 



In “Your Love Is a Song” you sing about how God’s love is a symphony playing all around you. Can you explain what you mean by that? 



JON: Music helps me understand the world because there are a lot of parallels between what I see in a song and what I see in existence. There are certain notes—blue notes you can call them, accidentals—notes that might clash. There’s this dissonance in a song, a tension. And then there’s release. So when I see the world and I see Darfur and I see human rights struggles in India and I see sex trafficking here in the U.S., I think that it’s only right to have your heart broken by these things, to recognize it for the dissonance that it is, for the absurdity. These elements shouldn’t be happening—they make no sense, they’re absurd. And yet I feel like it’s only within the context of harmony that I can even understand these to be dissonant elements. Because if there weren’t such a thing as harmony, of notes going together and sounding right, I wouldn’t know what dissonant notes sound like. The constant of the scale puts all these things in perspective, just like we know deep in us that there’s a rightness in life that’s found in God. And so for me, “Your Love Is a Song” pictures this Master Songsmith who is writing the world into existence, continuing to create and re-create, to redeem these wrong notes.



Since God is the Author of everything good, true, and beautiful, how do you see God in the world? 



JON: I feel as believers we like to divide up our lives into segments. I think it’s absolutely a fallacy to think that you can’t find beauty or truth in something that doesn’t have a Christian kosher stamp on the back of it; that if it’s somehow not sold in the Christian department or the Christian this or that, then redemption doesn’t exist for it. And the moment we put redemption in that category, we’re degrading the very faith that we’re afforded. God isn’t limited to labels.
So I feel like it’s a disservice to view art in that perspective. I think that Radiohead has some incredibly worshipful moments. I think Picasso’s got some incredibly poignant elements and things to say to everyone. And to put Christianity into a box is wrong. 

How does your faith influence your art? 



JEROME: Well, as far as music is concerned, music has gotten me through a lot growing up. To do music and to affect people, us singing our songs and them singing back to us, it’s encouraging but it’s also pretty powerful. Music can affect people in a positive way, which means we have an opportunity to communicate the hope of God in our songs. 



DREW: My faith affects everything in my life—and art is one of those areas. I think my faith has given me much more of a freedom than I would’ve had without it. For instance, in the Psalms, there’s a very wide range of highs and lows. That’s an example in Scripture of the range that art can have. We believe in a God who is much more expressive than anyone here is, He’s much wiser than anyone here is. And we don’t even see Him clearly now—we see as in a mirror that’s faded and gives a dim reflection of Him. I think that as an artist, you’re reaching for those things that are just out of reach; you’re reaching toward an infinite God who is so incredibly diverse. I mean, just look at the animals He created. No human could make all of these amazing creatures up—God is incredible. Knowing that there’s a God who’s that creative and diverse has freed me up to allow greater highs and greater lows in the art that I make. It has taken the barriers away.



CHAD: When it comes to faith and art, I think there’s freedom to express the challenges and the hardships and the doubts in life. When you know there’s a hope that’s deeper than the wounds and the pain, you can dive into that and express that through all kinds of different mediums. I’ve seen incredible theater that has taken me to emotional depths that were uncomfortable but really challenging and beautiful. I’ve seen paintings of a woman crying over her dying baby that have stirred me and haunted me, but I know that there’s truth in that—we live in a broken, painful world. I’ve heard and played songs that have moved me and that were difficult to play, but because there’s truth in it, because there’s honesty in it, there’s beauty and those things resonate.
I think this is something that I’ve grown to realize. I grew up in the church, and I think that there are a lot of words thrown around about being positive or to view the world through this filter. It’s really freeing when you realize that you can see the world in its highs and lows, as Drew said, without fear of leaving your faith behind. Because of the hope that’s in our faith, we have the chance to experience life in its fullness, knowing that we take with us that hope and that freedom through God and His Truth. 



What advice would you give to students who want to create great art? 



JON: As creations of God, ultimately your worth is in your unique position in life, to be able to sing from that position and sing your unique song. And when we do that, we’re essentially joining in with the song of creation. Our creative God created everything with just words. He said: “Let there be,” and there was. To be an artist is an invitation to put the words God has given you into that song. Your unique location, your language, your attitudes—all of these things are yours alone. So to create good art, you first have to be honest with yourself.
Then there’s the craft of just plugging away every day. Write a song every day. Why not? You’ll get better at it. Paint a painting every day. Why not? You’ll get better at it. Don’t be afraid of it. Dive in; play as much as you can around town. Anywhere that you can play, that they’ll let you play, play a song. 

TIM: I think art is about storytelling—whether it’s a painting or a song or a book, I think the story is very important. It’s key to acknowledge that we’re all part of a much bigger story. That’s exciting to think that we get to write a small chapter, maybe even just a paragraph, in a much larger story. What is the story that you want to tell?



What would you say to people who want to be influencers of culture and not just consumers of it? 



JON: I think ultimately to be influencing the people around you and the culture around you is to have a deep understanding of your place in the world, which as a believer, is to have a deep understanding of your Creator. We all need to be connected with the greater story that’s unfolding. And the greater story is that we have a God who wants us to bring His Kingdom to earth—and then He’s going to bring it in full when He comes. We all have these little stories and at times we get distracted from the greater story. You know, you see an infomercial on TV about how this product’s going to do such-and-such. And you buy in, and then you get the product and you remember that you don’t have a need for the product at all. We lose the bigger story for the smaller one. I think we do that with our lives in much less comical ways, where we see a very small glimmer of light and we chase that for years, rather than the sun that’s rising behind us. I think that to be influencing people around you is to step away from the small pictures for a moment, to catch what the bigger picture is. 



TIM: To add to that, I think it’s very difficult to affect change outside of love, and actions without love, like Scripture says, are like a clanging cymbal. Love should be informing all of our actions and all of our thoughts and what we say and how we interact with each other—that’s the most powerful weapon that we have for change.

-----

"Sabotage" video UPDATE:

We got front page last night!



Also, the video has gotten these honors so far:


#23 - Most Discussed (Today))
#2 - Most Discussed (Today)) - Music
#75 - Most Viewed (Today)) - Music - Australia
#43 - Most Viewed (Today)) - Music - Canada
#73 - Most Viewed (Today)) - Music - India
#39 - Most Viewed (Today)) - Music - New Zealand
#48 - Most Viewed (Today)) - Music
#84 - Top Favorited (Today))
#27 - Top Favorited (Today)) - Music
#26 - Top Rated (Today)) - Music
#100 - Top Rated (This Week)) - Music

Switchfoot is also: #31 - Most Viewed (Today) - Musicians

GREAT JOB footsoldiers!

We have until 6:00 PM PST today to promote this thing. Let's keep it going guys! Watch it here