Switchfoot/Blue October Tour Pre-Sale Up now!

Switchfoot.com posted the first non-Friends of the Foot pre-sale for the upcoming Crazy Making Tour with Blue October. Go here to grab the tickets before the general public can get them.


Here's an press article from AntiMusic

(PR) Switchfoot have announced their Crazy Making Summer Tour which is set to kick off July 26th in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The tour will feature special guests Ours and Longwave.

Switchfoot is currently putting the finishing touches on its seventh studio album, Hello Hurricane. Produced by the band and Mike Elizondo {Eminem, Rilo Kiley, Fiona Apple), the album is by turns explosive and elegant, a transcendent work that finds Switchfoot exploring new musical textures.

Read the full report here


Next, Live Daily confirms that the tour will indeed be of the co-headlining variety between Switchfoot and Blue October:

Blue October and Switchfoot will embark on a co-headlining tour this summer to promote their respective new releases, "Approaching Normal" and "Hello Hurricane."

Read the rest of the article here.


And now, here are some other press articles on the upcoming Switchfoot/Blue October Crazy Making madness:

- The Celebrity Cafe
- The Audio Perv
- The Earth Times

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Cross Rhythmns has a decent news feature on Fiction Family, and one portion that catches the eye is how Jon Foreman answers the question of how Switchfoot and Fiction Family are able to translate their material to all audiences:

Foreman was asked how, given Switchfoot's popularity with both mainstream and Christian audiences, the material on 'Fiction Family' would translate to both? Said Foreman, "I don't think either of those words exist in the way many people think they do. I believe in a God that transcends soul, matter, time and space, so when I'm writing a song, I'm not thinking about the we/they. There is no we/they if we're all in a journey toward truth, though I suppose that can sound really new age-y. I'm a believer, but I think that the boxes that are commonly put on Christendom by the post-modern world can be really destructive to the way we produce art and produce love to those around us."

Watkins feels there is a future for Fiction Family. He said, "I would love to continue. Jon and I talked about more Fiction Family stuff; it's kind of open-ended when we have time.

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And lastly, today's update would be remiss without a recap of the Tweeting of our favorite Twitter peeps (yeah, we're talking about Switchfoot... hehe):

June 3, 2009

- RT@martinamcbride "Listened to Meant2Live -switchfoot. Hadn't heard in a long time. What a record! Took me to another place for a min"-thx!

^wow, btw. That's pretty cool.

- Official Tweet: Switchfoot Touring Pre-sale Starts Purchase pre-sale tickets now , click here. http://tinyurl.com/qah869 (@dalemanning)

- Weird day. Was that thunder in San diego?

- On my way to a padres game. Let's go pa-dres!

^sad to say, the friars lost that game.

and June 4, 2009

- Was that a little earthquake?

-

@switchfoot yes a 2.0 located at 34.007N 116.726W (via @crcole) Guess so, palm springs quake. Going surfing with chad.

- Haha, and thanks also to @jmccartie for the quake intel.

Oh! California.

Have a nice day everyone. :)

Switchfoot Rehearsing new songs for Tour!

The Switchfoot Twitter update says it all, but first, here's a gem from earlier:

June 2, 2009:

- At home depot, fiction family just started playing: when she's near. Nice. -tim

^Awesome! Now that's reaching a new demographic. hehe. I kid, I kid.


And now, the latest update:

- Evening glass-off surf session with chad, always good to jump in the ocean. Starting up tour rehearsals next week, new songs to play!!

^Fantastic. I am really looking forward to the tour now, although I did find out today that I will once more be barred from attending the Switchfoot Bro-Am this year. I am bummed, but hope you all have fun! (whoever is going that is)

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Next, we've got a pretty awesome interview with Jon Foreman, from an Italian website.

Jon Foreman
A string stretched towards the infinite

There is a constant tension between contingency and eternity in Jon Foreman’s music. In more than ten years of career as a leader of Switchfoot, Foreman has earned platinum records and Grammy nominations. As a soloist, last year he showed himself through the intimate songwriting of a series of Eps inspired by the cycle of seasons. A path focused on the willing to compare everything with his own questions. In this exclusive interview, every word has a distinct weight: that of experience faced up to its roots.

In Italy both your name and the name of your band are not so popular as they are in the U.S.... If you had to use a single sentence to introduce yourself to someone who doesn’t know anything about your music, what would you say?
Guitar driven music for thinking people.

After ten years with a successful band, what prompted you to challenge yourself with a soloist experience? What does it take to always look for something more and to keep one’s own questions alive?
I’m frightened by the unknown but I’m also drawn in, I want to know what’s on the other side. In some ways, these EP’s came from this drive. But mostly the songs determined their own fate, I was just following the loose threads.
I suppose most of the best questions in my life come from pain. When we experience elements in life that are beyond our experience are often we encounter what’s most important, maybe even The Other. Fear can kill these questions if you’re not careful.


There are plenty of biblical references, often inspired to verses taken from the Psalms, in the lyrics of your Eps. The Dylan-esque songwriting model (the one evident in songs like “Every Grain Of Sand”) seems to have deeply impressed you. Nowadays what makes those words still capable to reach the heart?
I’m not exactly sure what gives words their power. An old song can lose it’s power no matter how true it is. I feel like the role of a songwriter / prophet / lover / friend / human is to seek and tell the truth in ways that are appropriate to his/her unique situation.
In the Judeo-Christian story of creation you have a God who speaks words into being. Whether you’re writing a song or offering encouragement to your girlfriend - you are entering into the creative, relational god-like realm where words have incredible power.

Nowadays faith and art are considered to be almost incompatible with each other: so it happens that specific music categories are created (e.g., the so-called “christian-rock”), as if to imply that believers have nothing to say to men as men, but should at most talk to an audience of people having their same faith. On the contrary, your experience seems to have something different...
All of us among the living have this in common: death is coming. It’s in this tragi-comic state where we seek meaning and hope. These are where my songs come from. This is the common ground. The hoping, the searching, the dreaming, the living, the dying. These are my peers: atheists, christians, agnostics, surfers, students, homeless and millionaires.
It’s unfortunate and all too predictable to believe that the only folks for me to love are the ones that I agree with. This type of thinking fuels racism, fascism, and fear. And you can see this horrible strain of intolerance in both the right and the left. Yet music is one of the only guests who makes it into our minds uninvited. I treasure many songs written by people with different understanding of life. I expect that open minded folks would hear my songs in the same context: simple expressions of truth, beauty, pain, and hope.

Read the rest HERE

Switchfoot announces "Switchfoot Bro-Am Auction Night Soiree" to benefit Stand Up For Kids; Bro-Am official press release

Direct from switchfoot.com

Standing Up For Kids — Switchfoot Bro-Am Auction Night Soiree

On Thursday, June 25, multi-platinum recording artists Switchfoot present Standing Up For Kids, an auction night soiree in conjunction with the fifth annual Switchfoot Bro-Am, set to benefit local chapters of StandUp For Kids, a national volunteer outreach nonprofit founded here in S.D. dedicated to making a difference in the lives of at-risk and homeless kids. At a beautiful La Jolla Farms home overlooking Black's Beach, guests will enjoy cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, silent and live auctions, and an acoustic performance by special guests. Tickets are limited, and there are two ticket levels — VIP tickets also include a private pre-event meet and greet and photo opportunity with Switchfoot.

When: Thursday, June 25, 2009
Where: Private La Jolla Farms Home
*The address will be emailed to you closer to the event date.
5-6pm: VIP reception with Switchfoot
6-10pm: reception, program, silent & live auctions, performance
Attire: coastal chic

General Tickets: $50 per person (click here to purchase general tickets)
VIP Tickets: $250 per person (click here to purchase VIP tickets)

**Photo by Vincent Knakal

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5th Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am Date Has Been Set for June 27th, 2009



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Multi-platinum rock act Switchfoot presents 5th annual Switchfoot Bro-Am — a pre-event auction night and charity surf contest and concert utilizing enviro-friendly sound and staging to benefit StandUp For Kids

What: 5th Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am
When: Saturday, June 27, 2009
Where: Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, CA
Surf contest: 7AM-3:30PM
Concert: 11AM-5PM

What: Auction Night Soiree
When: Thursday, June 25, 2009
Where: Private La Jolla Farms Home
5-6pm: VIP reception with Switchfoot
6-10pm: reception, program, performance

*Bro-Am after-party hosted by Switchfoot with Fiction Family and Stripes & Lines, Alex Woodard, and Molly Jenson, Saturday, June 27, 8PM @ The Belly Up Tavern!


(Encinitas, CA) The Switchfoot Bro-Am surf contest and concert returns to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas on Saturday, June 27, 2009! An annual event near and dear to Switchfoot's hearts, the Bro-Am was created to give back to the San Diego community while also benefiting a local children's charity through funds raised at a pre-event auction night, as well as from vendors on the beach day-of, sponsorships, and an after-party at the Belly Up Tavern.


We are delighted to announce that this year's event will again benefit the San Diego and Oceanside branches of StandUp For Kids, a national nonprofit volunteer outreach organization that started right here in San Diego and is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of at-risk, homeless, and street kids. (www.standupforkids.org <http://www.standupforkids.org> )


"The Bro-Am has been my favorite day of the year ever since we started it back in '05," notes Switchfoots's Jon Foreman. "To see our hometown come together to help out a deserving group of kids is an incredible experience — surfing, music, and the San Diego scene at its best. We feel truly honored to again partner with StandUp For Kids, an incredible organization serving at-risk youth here in S.D."


"The Bro-Am event changed our chapter, our kids, and our volunteers last year," explains Kim Goodeve-Green, director of center operations for the Oceanside branch of StandUp For Kids. "Not only did it raise crucial monetary support that we used to expand programs for our kids, but it increased awareness of who we are, and this in turn generated more volunteers, more support, and more community involvement. We need your help now more than ever. We've seen a rise in numbers and are currently servicing 50+ kids each night (at our chapter alone). These kids deserve to be loved, cherished, lifted up, and to stand up on their own two feet."


The Switchfoot Bro-Am will again work with San Diego-based Sustainable Waves to offer cutting-edge solar-powered sound and staging. Sustainable Waves utilizes the renewable energy sources of the sun to deliver 100% pollution-free concerts. By using solar power rather than a diesel generator or grid power, the Bro-Am will avoid emitting approximately 1,000 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere (the equivalent of not driving your car approximately 1,100 miles or the annual sequestration of 66 trees).


We are now accepting sponsors for this year's event. Surf contest participants so far include riders representing O'Neill, Billabong, Transworld Surf, Surfing, Surfer, AKA Surfboards, Walking On Water, Macbeth, Surf Ride, Jedidiah, Surfcurls.com <http://Surfcurls.com> , Keep A Breast, Surfline.com <http://Surfline.com> , and Dental Specialty Associates, as well as professional surfers Timmy Curran and Rob Machado, and members of Switchfoot.


A free concert on the beach will feature performances by a number of well known local as well as national bands including Tristan Prettyman, Timmy Curran, The New Archaic, The Howls, Jane Carrey band, Escalera, Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and friends, and more.


Beach vendors so far include Pizza Port, The Surfrider Foundation, The Sundt Memorial Foundation, Nika Water, Brotally, Falling Whistles, Honest Tea, Sambazon, Life Rolls On, Harney Sushi, Keep A Breast, The Tony Hawk Foundation, Quiver, Boardworks, Tri Tip Torpedos, and Flat Fitty, with many more to follow soon.


An after-party hosted by Switchfoot and featuring Fiction Family, Stripes & Lines, Alex Woodard, and Molly Jenson at The Belly Up Tavern will round out the day to help raise additional funds for StandUp For Kids.


There are a number of exciting new additions in the works for this year's event that we will be announcing shortly! For sponsorship information or to donate to the auction night event and/or beach day raffle, please contact us.


We'll hope you'll join us in this worthy and fun-filled event!

All the best,


Mia Stefanko & Kip Locke, Switchfoot Bro-Am Directors
Mia Stefanko, 760/274-3930, miashiomi@yahoo.com, mia@ranchandcoast.com
Kip Locke, kiplocke@hotmail.com, klocke@invoiceconnection.com
www.switchfoot.com/bro-am, www.switchfoot.com/bro-am

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If you're in the area, have you planned out your Bro-am itinerary yet? I started planning mine out last night, and it's going to be pretty awesome. Let me know if you're gonna be there! Peace friends, on yet another cloudy So Cali day.

Switchfoot Twitter, May 30, 2009:

We call it June gloom, but I love these cloudy days. Watching the train speed past on a walk to check the waves. http://twitpic.com/69ec6