"Dark Horses" being re-worked; new interview with Drew Shirley

According to the latest tweet from Jon Foreman, Switchfoot is working on a new version of the song "Dark Horses."


Could this possibly be "Rise Above It?"
To hear the live performance of "Dark Horses" from the last tour, check out this video.



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Also, check out Drew Shirley's new interview with KSSI 102.7 Rock in which he talks about the Grammy win, "Hello Hurricane," a possible new single from "Vice Verses"in the next month or two, and other topics.

LISTEN HERE.

Drew Shirley tries out some new JHS Pedals; "Hello Hurricane" on sale again this week!

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

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Quick updates today. Check out this video of Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley performing "Your Love Is a Song" acoustically on q985:



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Here's a video of Drew‪ trying out some new JHS Pedals‬.



^I'm digging the jam he played during that. Do you think that's part of a new song?

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And lastly, Switchfoot tweets that "Hello Hurricane" is once again on sale at iTunes this week.

Amigos, our album Hello Hurricane is on sale at iTunes for only $7.99 this week. http://bit.ly/2MLPn5

If you have not gotten this great record yet, what are you waiting for? Now is the time! Get it here.

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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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:



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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"



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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!

Chart Wednesday (Week of August 14, 2010); New Song: "Thrive"; DC101 show; other tour-related videos

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

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It's that time of week again where we update you on al there is to know about Switchfoot charts! This week, "The Sound" holds serve at No. 16 on Alternative, despite a strong challenge by Anberlin's new single, "Impossible."

"The Sound" fell on Christian Rock from 2-3.

"Your Love Is a Song" fell 12-13 on Christian CHR, but experienced a HUGE jump from 32 all the way to 23 on the national Christian Songs chart, with a giant 338+ spin increase.



Look for "The Sound" to revive on Alternative this coming week with KROQ spinning the track, and several other stations sure to follow. Keep requesting at your local rock stations!

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Jon Foreman unveiled yet another new song called "Thrive" at yesterday's aftershow in Baltimore.



^Like it?

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Here's a video from DC101 of Jon and Drew Shirley's in-studio performance the day before.

Switchfoot Studio Performance from DC101 on Vimeo.

and another 94.5 PST performance video: "Your Love Is a Song"



And some leftover Mixfest footage:

Your Love Is a Song



Meant to Live

"Always" Remix releases today!; Switchfoot in Boston; Brooke Fraser co-writes song with Jon Foreman

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

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PURCHASE the Max Vangeli/AN21 remix HERE. So far, it's looking like you can only purchase it at this location for now, but we'll be on the lookout to see if iTunes and Amazon MP3 will be carrying it as well.

I've gotten my copy, and must say, it's definitely an interesting/unique take on the song we've come to know and love. But considering the difference, it's surprising that Max Vangeli and AN21 left Jon Foreman's voice un-edited. Really shows respect. I give it a thumbs up!

PRESS/BLOGS

House Music 4 Life
House Essentials
Beat My Day

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Switchfoot had a busy day storming Boston yesterday. First, they stopped by the local Alternative rock station WBOS to do an interview and play a few tunes. Check out these videos:

Interview on WBOS



Another interview clip



The Sound



Mess of Me



Meant to Live



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Later in the day, the band played the local Hot AC station's MixFest. For more from yesterday, head over the Mix1041's Twitter feed.

Here's a pic:



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As some of you know, Brooke Fraser just released details on her new album. And Antimusic reports that she co-wrote a song called "Betty" with Jon Foreman. Details here.

Some more radio gigs

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

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Switchfoot has been playing a ton of radio gigs lately. Here's one where they play some music for Planet Radio's Wounded Warrior Project.



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Jon Foreman and Chad Butler also stopped by Buzz 103 to do a quick interview that you can listen to here. Also, here are photos, like the one below:



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Global Shift.com did an interview with Jon recently about the upcoming Bid Fire auction. Here it is in it's entirety, reproduced, below:

Switchfoot and auction site Bidfire are offering one fan the chance to record a song with the band through an auction raising money for charity. The winner of the auction will be flown to the band’s hometown of San Diego for four days switchfootto record with the band and attend their sixth annual Bro-Am charity event. Both the event and the auction will benefit Stand up for Kids, a non-profit that works to help at risk and homeless youth across the country. You can sign up for the auction here, and bidding will begin on May 28 at noon Pacific time. You can also go to Stand up for Kids’ website to learn more about the charity and how to get involved.

Global Shift talked with Switchfoot’s lead singer, Jon Foreman, about the auction, Stand up for Kids and what inspires the band’s music.

Global Shift: Can you talk about the charity auction with Bidfire? How did that get started and what are you hoping to get out of that?

Jon Foreman: With Stand up for Kids and other organizations we’ve been involved with we always try to come up with innovative ways to not only raise funds but also raise awareness for what they do. The internet can be a great place for both of those things and this felt like a unique way to accomplish that.

How did you get involved with Stand up for Kids?

Stand up is a national organization that started in San Diego. It’s our hometown and we’re always looking for people that are doing great things in our backyard. When we first heard about Stand up for Kids it felt like a perfect way to partner up. Ultimately it comes down to the people, and the people involved are really great. Especially in the chapter that this will benefit, there are really incredible people we got involved with. Kim, for example, the lady who runs it, she has a passion for these kids unlike anyone that I know, and she actually spent a portion of her life on the streets. You can hear the fire in her voice when she’s talking about her kids and that’s contagious.

You talk about Hello Hurricane being inspired by a woman who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. How do the stories of the people you meet through your charity work inspire your music?

I’m always looking for songs, you know. Songs that are bigger than myself to sing. I think where I find these things the most often is when I’m looking at people like Kim that are just basically doing ordinary things extraordinarily well with extraordinary amounts of love and patience and dedication. A lot of people put an undue amount of importance on what I do, and I find that in many ways what Kim does is much more important.

What is the importance to you of having meaning or stories behind all of the songs you write?

You have to understand that these are songs that will be playing hundreds if not thousands of times, so we came to a conclusion on this record in partcular, as we’re whittling the list down from 80 songs that we recorded to make the record, we came up with the idea that if you ain’t crying why are you singing it? If it doesn’t mean something deeply personal to you, it’s time to move onto the next song. It has to stand the test of time. For me, the songs that mean the most are songs that have a deep root in the history of nation, the history of a relationship. For example, The Sound was inspired by John M. Perkins, and meeting him the other day was just this incredible thing. I’ve read about him for years and have been reading his work for years and having the chance to meet him face to face and have a conversation with him was bringing everything full circle. With Kim and other people, they definitely are our song night after night.

You’ve been doing the Bro-Am benefit for five years now, how did that get started? How has it affected you and the band and what has it accomplished for Stand up for Kids?

Oh man, every year it’s my favorite day of the year. I am so grateful for all the hard work that everyone puts into it. For me and I know for the rest of the crew, it’s the hardest you work all year, that day, that whole week is just a blitz of press, setting up this and that, all great things, surfing, music, setting up tents at the beach. It’s not only the hardest day of the year as far as work but it’s also the most fun you have all year. To be able to see firsthand the results of a day at the beach for all of these kids is amazing. It’s the sixth year running and it means more and more to us, and as far as I’m concerned, whatever funds we raise, I mean we’re always shooting for the most funds we can, every year we try to top the year before, but in my opinion the greater honor, is we owe these kids a debt of gratitude. In my mind they’re the heroes.

What are you expecting out of the song that will be recorded with the winner of the auction?

I have no idea. We did a thing where somebody wanted a chance to play cowbell on our record, that was fun and pretty lighthearted. I really don’t know what this is going to look like, it could be a disaster, it could be amazing. That’s what music is, you really don’t know what it’s going to be until it’s finished.

What do you get out of interacting with your fans in ways like this and at events?

You know, I love interacting with people. Music is a communal experience, it’s something that we do together, even when you’re writing a song alone, you want to play it for someone and to be able to give somebody something that you’ve worked on. I grew up in a scene that was almost like a family, all these fans were very supportive of each other, we were very different and came from very different backgrounds but that didn’t matter. We all saw music as something that brought us together. So, as a band something that we’ve tried to do is diminish the difference between the stage and the crowd.

I read an interview with you in Relevant Magazine, and you also touched on this is your most recent article for the Huffington Post, where you talk about cynicism and wondering “What’s the point?” and trying to avoid that. What are some of your biggest motivations in your music and your work with charities that keep you from being cynical?

Statistics and numbers get me really cynical. Facts and figures. There’s insurmountable amounts of data that just flood the room with all this depression and fear, because there’s nothing you can do against numbers. But when I am reminded that these numbers are people, these numbers are uncles and fathers and brothers and daughters and stories, that’s when I’m a lot less cynical. I think we have this reductionist mentality in our post modern world that to try and understand something we make it smaller, but a lot of times we lose the essence of what the story is. For me, when I bring it back to the story, then I’m not as depressed. I still have moments of doubt and fear and anger, and sometimes I fight hopelessness, but I fight it, you know?

To learn more or bid on the experience, click here to visit Switchfoot’s website.

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CHARTS WEDNESDAY

Now, for your weekly chart update. This week was a slow one for Switchfoot's singles on their respective charts.

After the first two weeks' explosion, "The Sound" comes back down to earth, falling to No. 32 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. This fall can be attributed to two juggernaut singles getting released in the last week: Muse' "Neutron Star Collision" and Avenged Sevenfold's "Nightmare." Hopefully things will start picking up again soon.

"The Sound" also falls even more this week on Christian Rock, now sitting at No. 9 on the survey.

"Your Love Is a Song" jumps one more spot on Christian Songs, from 44-43.

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Reminder: Be sure to keep making your requests to your local alternative stations within your area. For a list of phone numbers and links, check out this page.

DOWNLOAD: Jon and Tim Foreman's interview on Air1 Radio!

For those of you who missed the broadcast this afternoon, no need to fear! We've got the entire interview up for download here!

DOWNLOAD LINK.

Also, download the individual song performances:

The Sound (With Harmonica)

Your Love Is a Song

More "Hello Hurricane" Reviews!

Christianity Today posted their review of "Hello Hurricane." Excerpt:

In all the swells and sways of grungy guitar riffs and drilling drums, there's something really authentic about Hello Hurricane. Not that it is without influences. Mandatory derivatives of Coldplay and U2 are inserted alongside tinges of The Killers and JET, and even a skosh of Modest Mouse, but the overall record feels original—thanks in part to producer/bassist-pro Mike Elizondo's (Dr. Dre, Pink, Fiona Apple) varied experience.

^I've noticed that most of the Christian publications have really dug this record. Waiting on Rolling Stone, Spin, and Paste Magazine to review this record.

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Our friend TJ wrote up a review of "Hello Hurricane" for The Christian Manifesto. Excerpt

Musically speaking, Switchfoot delivers their loudest album to date. Numbers like “Mess of Me” and “Bullet Soul” definitely insure that Switchfoot won’t be accused of turning the volume down on this effort. In addition to this, Switchfoot quite honestly opens up their hearts on their seventh studio effort. From the chorus of “Your Love is a Song” to the piano ballad “Always”, the band has put together what is arguably their most lyrically direct album to date.

^Be sure to check out the rest of the review. :)

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HM Magazine has a review as well. Excerpt:

Most bands don’t rebound after having the amount of success that Switchfoot did with “The Beautiful Letdown” and then the “let downs” of 2 albums following it. I too was even a skeptic of if Switchfoot could bounce back and in some regards had lost my desire for the band’s material. The 3 years between albums by all industry standards could’ve killed this band but I believe this album will be the band’s shining moment. I believe this album will be the album people remember.

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Air1 is featuring Switchfoot. Check out the banner across their website:



They also have an audio interview. Check it out here. It's nothing too too new, but still a great listen. Be sure to listen to all the sections. "We knew we were doomed when we called the song 'Always,' because we were always working on it." - Tim Foreman. haha. nice.

We'll be back with full updates on Monday. Thanks for reading. :)

"Mess of Me" starting to spread; Switchfoot debuts "Free" live

Great work yesterday on the video, friends! We surpassed 4000 comments last night, which is INCREDIBLE for a first-day video. To put it all into perspective, the video for "Awakening" has 5,991 comments – TOTAL.

Also, just right now, I found that we have reached the goals we set out for the first day of this here video:

- 2000 comments (CHECK)
- 500 ratings (CHECK)
- 25,000 views (CHECK!)

~high fives all around~ Switchfoot would be proud of you all!

Over the last two days, we've amassed quite the array of honors. Always a good sign we're getting close to going viral:

#7 - Most Discussed (Today)
#1 - Most Discussed (Today) - Music
#70 - Most Discussed (This Week)
#8 - Most Discussed (This Week) - Music
#51 - Most Discussed (This Month) - Music
#70 - Most Viewed (Today) - Australia
#41 - Most Viewed (Today) - New Zealand
#81 - Most Viewed (Today)
#72 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Germany
#10 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Australia
#10 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Canada
#57 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - United Kingdom
#22 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - India
#7 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - New Zealand
#8 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music
#52 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Mexico
#44 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Netherlands
#44 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Brazil
#30 - Most Viewed (Today) - Music - Czech Republic
#16 - Top Favorited (Today)
#4 - Top Favorited (Today) - Music
#66 - Top Favorited (This Week) - Music
#46 - Top Rated (Today)
#5 - Top Rated (Today) - Music
#20 - Top Rated

Also, it can now be seen on the second page if you click on the "Videos" tab at the top of Youtube.com!



^That is some major damage done! We've accomplished so much, and the video has amassed over 4000 comments and over 1000 ratings. Today is the last day our video will be eligible for the "Today" honors, but we can go for "Monthly" honors!

Also, part of getting a video to go viral is to spread the song like a virus ourselves! Keep sharing it with your friends, tweeting about it, posting it on Facebook and Myspace, and just saturating your surroundings with the sounds of Switchfoot! We can do it! We need to give the song as much momentum as we can before it gets sent to radio (sometime this week).



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MissAnnaBee was at the 99x Radio Event that Switchfoot apparently played yesterday in Atlanta. Look what she got on tape! "Free," live and acoustic for the first time ever. ENJOY:



^thanks so much MissAnnaBee!

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Paste Magazine has a new feature on Switchfoot's new album, "Hello Hurricane." Much of it is what we already have known and heard, but they have a schnazzy new press photo:



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Radio News

- "Mess of Me" has been added to the Albany, NY Alternative station, WEQX!

We'll keep you updated as more adds start to come in. It's officially available for adds at Alternative/Modern Rock and Active Rock radio this week.

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And last, but certainly not least, our newest writer Bleah makes her debut with this FootColumn she wrote up! Give her a big round of applause guys!

Go HERE to read it! YOU ROCK BLEAH!

Switchfoot checks in with Q1043

Jon Foreman and Chad Butler did an interview at New York's radio station, Q1043.

Be sure to download/listen to it here


There are quite a few new tidbits we've never heard from Switchfoot before, including Jon's mini-conversation with the late Les Paul, as well as the fact that....


Switchfoot is debuting their lead single on switchfoot.com sometime this week, according to Jon. We'll keep a sharp look-out and let you all know as soon as we hear news!


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Also, pre-orders for "Hello Hurricane" will be starting any day now... keep your eyes peeled.

Switchfoot Up early at Star 941 in San Diego

Yupp! Three of the Switchfoot boys, Jon and Tim Foreman, as well as Chad Butler, stopped by at San Diego's Hot AC station Star 941 and did an interview for the Jeff and Jer show.

If you missed it (as did I), never fear! They posted a podcast of the show, and you can download the interview by going here and scrolling down until you see the two mp3 files labeled:

- Rob Thomas in the Star Lounge, Switchfoot in studio.
- Switchfoot in studio (continued)

Then right-click, save target as. Note: the first audio file, Switchfoot's segment starts at around 20:49, so you can fast-forward to that part if you'd like to skip the Rob Thomas portion of the show.


Then, you can go here for photos and videos of the live performances during the interview that Jon played on his acoustic guitar. He played "Behind Your Eyes" and "Dare You to Move."

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