Featured Artist: Switchfoot
One of the longest running Christian bands in America are on the verge of releasing another great album by the name of Vice Verses. With every release from Switchfoot comes this enormous sense of excitement, and this new album is no different. Switchfoot are from San Diego, California and are made up of Jon Foreman (Vocals and Guitar), brother Tim Foreman (Bass), Chad Butler (Drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keyboard and guitar) and Drew Shirley (Guitar). But the lineup hasn't been this way from the start.
Switchfoot was founded in 1996 but known then as Chin Up, at that time the band consisted of Jon Foreman and his brother Tim, along with Chad Butler on drums. After playing only a few shows the band were signed to indie label Re:think Records and they renamed the band Switchfoot. During that time on Re:think they went on to release the first three Switchfoot albums, The Legend of Chin, New Way To Be Human and Learning To Breath.
Of the first three Switchfoot albums, Learning To Breath was the bands most successful. It was certified gold by RIAA and received a Grammy Nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album. Later on in 2002 Switchfoot's music was featured in the Mandy Moore film A Walk To Remember. The exposure from the film attracted a lot of attention from multiple record labels wanting to sign them. The band settled on joining Columbia Records/SonyBMG with the first album release with this label being the stunning The Beautiful Letdown. This album was the time that keyboardist Jermone Fontamillas joined the band, who had already been touring with Switchfoot since 2000 following the release of previous album Learning to Breath. The Beautiful Letdown went on be certified double platinum, selling more than 2.6 million copies worldwide.
In 2005 prior to the release of Nothing Is Sound, the band announced that guitarist Drew Shirley would become the fifth member of the group. He had been touring with the band since 2003 and so it seemed right for him to become part of the Switchfoot family. Nothing is Sound was released in September 2005 and included hits like Stars and We Are One Tonight. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
It wasn't long until the band released their pop friendly record Oh Gravity, which peeked at number 18 on the Billboard chart. This album produced the singles Oh Gravity and Awakening with the latter music video receiving over one million hits on YouTube. What followed this album was the opportunity for frontman Jon Foreman to start working on his solo EP's, four in total, all named after a season of the year. In 2007 the band, who were now independent, decided to tour with Relient K on the Appetite For Construction Tour and then the Up In Arms Tour. After such a long year of touring the band then jumped back into the studio to write and record the next part of the Switchfoot story, Hello Hurricane.
By 2010 after more touring from the band, the successful album Hello Hurricane received a nomination for a Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the Grammy Awards. The band went on to win this award when the Grammy's were announced in 2011. Now 7 months after winning that award Switchfoot are about to release to the world their newest album Vice Verses.
Exclusive interview with Switchfoot coming to LTTM soon!
