“Unbroken” and “For the Sender” find their home; NEW song “Never Alone”

If you think back – or if you’ve been following LOBH for awhile – you might recall a song called “Unbroken.” It was a tune that Jon wrote, collaborating with another musician friend, Alex Woodard, honoring the kids at Stand Up. In fact, a lyric from the song “I am alive, I am unbroken” was even featured on the 2011 Bro-Am necklace.

So what happened to the song?

And speaking of great unreleased songs, there’s “For the Sender”, a heartbreaking Sean Watkins/Fiction Family tune that debuted on the Fiction Family tour and quickly became a fan favorite.

But whatever happened to that song?

Wonderfully enough, both songs (and more!) found a home on the same place – with the For The Sender project. Musician Alex Woodard of the project explains:

Sometimes a letter is like a prayer, written more for the sender than the receiver. There are unsent letters tucked away in dresser drawers and buried in boxes everywhere, serving as testimony that sometimes it’s enough to just write it down. You might have a letter of your own somewhere that nobody has ever seen.

But what if you opened the drawer? What if you did send that letter about your fears and insecurities, your hopes and triumphs?

Our family of songwriters and musicians in north San Diego county wrote songs about some of those letters, and we’ll be releasing ‘For The Sender’ in early 2012.  We asked the senders of the letters to choose a favorite charity, and a portion of the proceeds from sales and tours will benefit those causes.  Join us as we make the journey of delivering the songs to the people who inspired them: you.

We took four letters and wrote songs about them, which evolved into a book, album, and concert event called ‘For The Sender.’

Jon’s own contribution mainly is a part of “The Shelter” segment of the project. Check it out:

Jon Foreman and I went to a homeless shelter for kids in Oceanside and spent some time playing guitars and hearing their stories. We went back again with our friend Jordan and more stories started to emerge about these kids’ lives… stories of separation, abuse, and resilience. We started writing songs like ‘Unbroken’ based on what we heard.

Kim, the director of the shelter, sent us a thank you note for stopping by and I wrote her back asking about why she got involved with homeless kids. This is the letter I got back, which inspired ‘Love Began As A Whisper’ and ‘The Right Words.’

You can listen to a clip of “Unbroken”, one of the songs that Jon contributed to the project by clicking right HERE – the lyrics are below!:

out on the margins of town
i been stuck hanging round
these amateur clowns
wondering where were you
the only song we knew
was our amateur blues

if you believed why’d you leave me
if you believed why’d you leave me
even after sticks and stones were spoken
i’m alive
i’m alive
and I’m unbroken
i’m unbroken

i been abused and misled
i been stuck in my head
unsung and unsaid
been on needles and thread
i been left for dead
but i’m living instead

if you believed why’d you leave me
if you believed why’d you leave me
even after sticks and stones were spoken
i’m alive
i’m alive
and i’m unbroken
i’m unbroken

give me a song to sing
something to balance out
the fits and starts
that life can bring
i’m waiting
give me a song to sing
a decent melody
because i’m alone and i’m nineteen
and I feel like the world
is trying to swallow me whole
like it’s trying to swallow me whole

if you believed why’d you leave me
if you believed why’d you leave me
even after our sticks and stones were spoken
i’m alive
i’m alive
and i’m unbroken
yeah i’m unbroken
i’m unbroken
i’m alive
and i’m unbroken

I seriously love the message of the song.

But it gets better! Jon also contributed a beautiful ballad called Never Alone.

Listen to another clip of the song HERE and check out the lyrics below!:

we watched the western sky
falling like a landslide
we saw the half-light disappear
i know how it hurts inside
to watch the dead leaves dry
on your own year after year

but i would never leave you
i would never leave you
even in your pain
you are never alone
you are never alone

we walk the streets tonight
lost in the tears we cried
for these dead and dying years
i can feel you heart beat running
i know we’re not home yet honey
but let your hope out with your fears

because i would never leave you
i would never leave you
even in your pain
you are never alone

can you hear my heart beat
can you hear my heart beat
can you hear my heart beat
can you hear my heart beat
keep it running
can you hear my heart beat keep running
can you hear my heart beat keep running
can you hear my heart beat

i would never leave you
i would never leave you
even in your pain
you are never alone
i would never leave you
i would never leave you
even in your pain
you are never alone
you are never alone
you are never alone

 

For The Sender (which definitely seems to be a Sean song now) found it’s a home (and became the namesake) with the project. Lyrics below!

 hello my friend
it’s me again
writing words i can not send you

autumn’s cold
the leaves all know
to let go but not me

cause it’s when we met
and its when you left
and its when our love was the best
so every year
i write you this letter
like a prayer
its more for the sender
do you remember

sometimes i swear
you’re in the air
am i just a great
pretender

am i alone
i want to know
do you ever remember

cause it’s when we met
and its when you left
and its when our love was the best
so every year
i write you this letter
like a prayer
its more for the sender

do you remember
do you remember
do you remember
do you remember

 

Another cool aspect is that the project isn’t just stopping with the CD release – as you read above, they’re putting on a show!:

Join us for a one-night-only, all-ages special event on January 19th, 2012, when the voices of Switchfoot, New Found Glory, Nickel Creek, Jack Tempchin, Molly Jenson, Nena Anderson, and Alex Woodard will present the letters and perform the songs of ‘For the Sender.’ This show is advance tickets only. Get tickets here! http://forthesender.eventbrite.com

Click that link for more information – and go if you can! It’s sure to be a night that you’ll never forget!

^ I’m so glad that project is finally coming to light! We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest news and details – and let you know when the CD is released!

NC Times just posted an interview/article with Jon – and Jon reveals the plans for the upcoming Switchfoot Q&A in LA, his show with Invisible Children, and some Fiction Family info! Read the full article HERE:

Continuing that charity support, Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman will perform an acoustic set to benefit Invisible Children alongside indie-rock singers from the Get Up Kids, the Almost, Sleeping at Last and mewithoutYou at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Dec. 15. Tickets are $15 via ticketfly.com.

“I’m really honored to be part of that event with a lot of friends on the bill,” said the singer/guitarist last week, from a tour stop in Richmond, Va. “I’ll probably be doing mostly solo stuff.”

In addition to a return appearance at 91X’s Wrex the Halls (“the show is like a big party where you get to (reconnect) with friends you haven’t seen in a long time”), the entire group will do a sold-out Q&A session and acoustic set Wednesday at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles.

Foreman is especially excited about it because “we’ve never done anything like that before. It’s going to be an expose on how we made the new record (‘Vice Verses’). We’re going to bring in gear from the studio and pull back the curtain on how we go after the vision we have for the music. That’s going to be a blast.”

…

Looking ahead into 2012, Switchfoot is scheduled for a world tour and another round of U.S. dates. Foreman also has another album by Fiction Family — the folk-tinged side project with fellow local guitarist Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek — tentatively due next spring.

“It’s been ready for a long time. I originally mixed the record myself and didn’t like it. I finally talked everyone into letting a professional (Adam Hawkins, who handled ‘Verses’) come in and do the job,” he explained with a laugh.

^ Interesting tidbit! We definitely have lots to look forward to these next few months.

Switchfoot has helped WhyHunger achieve their most successful fundraiser event in the organizations 26 year history! Sirius XM reports:

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI), along with other partners in the radio industry, has helped WhyHunger deliver the most successful Hungerthon fundraising event in its 26-year history. WhyHunger reported raising $764,000 to fight poverty and hunger, an all time record, from its two-day radio promotion and online auction.

WhyHunger’s 2011 top Hungerthon earners included an autographed guitar from Bruce Springsteen, a personal in-home concert from Switchfoot, and a signed Baby Taylor acoustic guitar from Taylor Swift.

Read the full article HERE!

The guys posted a new photo on their Facebook page:

Last night in St. Louis was pretty rad! Got to hang with 2011 World Series MVP David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals

Speaking of St. Louis, Ian sent us some notes and the setlist – thanks Ian!:

Setlist (Not in Exact Order):
Mess of Me
Stars
Your Love is a Song (with Your Loves is Strong)
The Original
War Inside
Restless
Sabotage by Beastie Boys (Cover)
Afterlife
Been Caught Stealing by Jane’s Addiction (Cover) (Phil of Story of the Year came on stage and sang with Jon)
Meant to Life
Dare You to Move
Dark Horses (Dedicated to StandUp and then the St. Louis Cardinals and David Freese, it’s possible Freese was at the show, but I did not see him.)

Encore:
Where I Belong

Here Jon changed the set list and had a kid in the crowd come on stage. The kid, who’s name was Tyler, was holding a sign that said, “All I want for Christmas is to play Hello Hurricane with you.” Jon gave him an acoustic guitar and they rocked out. It was awesome
The Sound.

Jon was in the crowd alot. Once he took a girl’s camera and took a picture of her. Once he wore a hat a Cardinal’s hat a fan handed to him, and then a red, white and green Christmas scarf.

Belief.net posted a review of one of Switchfoot’s most recent shows – good words! Read the full post HERE and an excerpt below:

When the band kicked into “Meant to Live” I expected a huge roar from the entire crowd.  After all, “Meant to Live” is one of the band’s best songs and a defining moment for the band, to establishing them as a force to be reckoned with in the rock music world.  Instead, there was a roar, but not one like I would have thought.  It wasn’t until after the show that myself and Beliefnet contributor Ben Wright figured out why:

A large part of the audience would have only been oh, 8 or 9 years old when that song came out.

At first the realization was a little bemusing.  I won’t lie – I felt old – just like when the band covered Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” and we (along with the youth pastors in attendance) knew every single word.  But, as I mulled it over, I realized that this is what makes Switchfoot a special band.  Their sound has changed over the years – that is undeniable – but the message has always been positive.  Move forward, love one another, we are meant to be more than who we are; they are Christian messages but messages that are still hitting people from many walks of life – and of many ages.

Seeing a crowd of such a wide age range be moved by “Where I Belong,” the powerful closing track of Vice Verses, was a unique experience and one that you wouldn’t see replicated at many lesser concerts.  It’s simple really – Switchfoot has always been true to themselves, and they all happen to be great people with something decidedly interesting and positive to say.

That is the kind of thing that can span generations.

 

P.S. This is a cool photo that a LOBHer (Ashley!) sent us of Jon’s setlist after a particularly energetic show…

Related show

• Artist: Jon Foreman
• Date: Thursday, January 19th 2012
• Time: 7:00pm
• City: Jon Foreman in Encinitas, CA
• Venue: La Paloma Theater
• Address: 471 South Coast Highway, Encinitas, CA 92024
• Country: United States
• Admission: $20
• Age restrictions: All Ages
• Sold Out
• Notes: For the Sender – Four Letters. Twelve Songs. One Story.; *Advance Tickets Only*; Visit website: http://www.forthesender.com/; this show is sold out; however, a 9 PM show has been added
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal