THE YEAR IN SWITCHFOOT – The 10 Best Moments of 2011

Happy New Year! In between cleaning up confetti and catching up on sleep, we hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate the 10 Best Switchfoot Moments of 2011 with us! If you really feel like taking a trip down memory lane, be sure to check out our other lists!: 2010 Year In Switchfoot | 2009 Year In Switchfoot | 2008 Year In Switchfoot

Now, onto the not-so-distant past!

10. ESPN Loves Switchfoot

The guys were all over ESPN this year, with special videos, features, songs and even a ESPN stream of Vice Verses a few days before the release of the new album. No doubt about it, college football LOVES Switchfoot! Switchfoot music will even be played at the Rose Bowl tomorrow.

“To have our new album debuted during college football is something we never thought possible. There’s no greater thrill than to watch a college football game with one of our songs supporting the action. We’re all honored to partner with the great people at ESPN sharing our combined passion for sports and music,”  said Jon.

We also LOVED the Switchfoot/college football video montages:

Additional Reading: Switchfoot Films Video For National College Football Championship

 

9. Johnny Rzeznik & Jon Play “Iris”

This “Iris” cover was particularly brilliant, with a sheepish Jon blowing us all out of the water with his passionate performance of the song with the Goo Goo Dolls legend himself at the Bro-Am aftershow. The video says it best really:

Additional reading: You’ll Find That Your Life Will Change When You Stop Just Thinking About Yourself

 

8. Taylor Swift Covers “Dare You To Move”/Taylor Swift & Jon Play “Meant To Live”

But possibly even more surreal was country music superstar, Taylor Swift, and her cover of “Dare You To Move” – whether you love or hater her, I thought she absolutely nailed this cover.

The guys also dug her tribute, and a few nights later, when Taylor Swift and Switchfoot were both in Phoenix, Jon made a surprise performance on Taylor’s stage:

Let’s have you guys weigh in here on those two “celeb duet” songs with two little polls:

Share your thoughts!

Additional reading: Taylor Swift Covers Dare You To Move | Happy Birthday Jon!; Jon & Taylor Swift Play Meant to Live

 

 

7. New Songs -  I Wish I Could Change, Collide, Out of Control, Birthright, Everything Will Change In Time

In addition to a new album from the guys, we also got a ton of new songs this year – both studio recordings and live performances.

Let’s start out with Jon’s two gorgeous acoustic numbers – “I Wish I Could Change” and “Collide” – at least… we’re calling the song “Collide”. As of Jon’s performance, he hadn’t titled the song yet.

Lyrics:

Autumn leaves are trading colors
The hills are starting to glow
The summer grass is brown and yellow and gold
Cinnamon gold

And I wish I could change
I wish I could change
I wish I could change my mind, oh
But I still feel the shame
I still feel the pain
I’m praying to leave, leave the past behind

The schoolyard crows with laughter
And kids with innocent eyes
Bows and arrows, cops and robbers and gangs
Time to change sides

And I wish I could change
I wish I could change
I wish I could change my mind, oh
But I still feel the shame
I still feel the shame
I’m praying to leave, leave the past behind

Oh
You’ve been holding on to the bitter burning
Oh
Forgive yourself and let the seasons turn

And I wish I could change
I wish I could change
I wish I could change my mind, oh
But I still feel the same
I still feel the shame
I’m praying to leave, leave the past behind

Check out our original update on the song + a free MP3 HERE. I felt like this song was DEFINITELY a solo song – what do you guys think? I’m hoping that we’ll get a studio recording of this song on Jon’s next solo release. I love the fall imagery and desperation in the chorus.

Next up, we have “Collide” – I think we could consider it a love song… and no one writes love songs like Jon. I love the slight ache of longing in the tune:

My mind is racing forward
But my thoughts are racing back
Back to when I met you
The world was white and black

Our love was an explosion
I saw colors in the sky
I still can see those sparks
When we collide
When we collide

World is full of fools gold
Sparks that catch the eye
Yours are the only pair of lips
That I want pressed up next to mine
There’s lots of pretty faces
But I’ve got one on my mind
I’m waiting for the day when we collide

When we collide
When we collide
When we collide

We’ve got our disagreements
Our separate points of view
The line that runs between us
Could be the thread that pulls us through

I know we’ll find an answer
All differences aside
I’m waiting for the day when we collide

When we collide
When we collide
When we collide

Original update + free MP3 available HERE. Both those songs have a distinct “Fall feeling”, don’t you think? I feel like if they were to be released on seasonal EPs again, they’d both be on Fall.

 

Solo-sounding tunes aside, Switchfoot was asked to contribute a song to the soundtrack of the new TV show “Hawaii Five-O” – and they came out with a rocker from the Vice Verses sessions called “Out of Control”. Check it out:

Lyrics:

You were a sure thing
You were my diamond ring
I was your surgery
Your emergency
I was your outlaw
I was your fatal flaw
You were my iodine
I was your valentine

I’m not sure why you’re here tonight,
Feels like you’re looking for a fight
Today a lifetime has passed before my eyes

I thought I knew you
What have we come to
What came of you and me
And the distance in between
You were the one who always opened up my soul
Now here we go out of control.

Well we can overthrow the world that we all knew
Wasn’t I the rock upon which you were building something new
I felt like royalty
Do you question loyalty
Till I deny that I had ever known your authority

How could a kiss become a fight?
How could the darkness kill the light?
How could everything I trusted in be crucified

I thought I knew you
What have we come to
What came of you and me
And the distance in between
You were the one who always opened up my soul
Now here we go out of control

And I still don’t understand
Any part of your dying plan
You were so hell-bent
To get to hell and back again

I thought I knew you
What have we come to
Caught in the in between
Stuck in the darkest dream
You were the one who always opened up my soul
Now here we go out of control

Out of control
Out of control

Purchase the song HERE. You know, for the sake of discussion, I was talking about this song with Chad via e-mail and he shared that for him, his interpretation of the song has always been the story of Peter. Yeah. Wow. When you view the song in that context, it takes on a WHOLE new meaning. Within the context of that tie-in, the lyrics are still blowing me away. What are your guys’ thoughts on the tune?

 

Now for Birthright! Jon joined Sleeping At Last for a special appearance in their Yearbook EP project, playing a song called “Birthright” on the March EP. If you haven’t bought the song or any EPs from the project yet, DO SO NOW. Head over HERE to purchase.

The lyrics:

she was raised by wolves,

in the warmth of their fur.

surrounded by fangs,

she knew that she was secure.

language barriers

made no difference at all.

when you’re truly cared for,

there’s no purpose for walls.

his fences stood tall

as the shoulders of old.

but he dreamt that one day

maybe he’d break the mold.

but time shyly stands still

when you watch it unfold.

from these ivory towers

freedom is only a ghost.

privilege and pain

when compared look the same.

comprehension begins

when we pull back the lens.

right or wrong,

tension makes us stronger

by making us weak

when we needed to be.

they made her their queen

on the day she was born.

they placed on her a crown

she wasn’t ready for.

but all impossible odds

foreshadow our means,

like paving a road

to kingdoms we’ve never seen.

he woke up one day,

written out of the will.

they swore he’d be okay,

with lesser shoes to fill.

This has to be one of my favorite songs of the year. It’s just GORGEOUS. There are so many stories, so many poems, so many narratives in the lyrics.

 

Our last song is “Everything Will Change In Time” – an old song with a mysterious past. (…that sounds so dramatic.) A LOBHer shared this song with us for the first time this year, but it’s actually an OLD tune – pre-The Beautiful Letdown era old. Once I got the song, I e-mailed Tim about it, hoping to get a little backstory – but Tim didn’t remember the song. Once they heard it, none of the guys could remember demoing it, and none of us – not Switchfoot, the fan who shared the song, or myself – even knows where the song came from in the first place. *dramatic music plays* Perhaps the song will always remain a mystery! Download the tune HERE!

 

6. Tim Throws the First Pitch / Jon Foreman Sings the National Anthem

As you probably know, Tim is a big baseball fan. So it was PRETTY awesome for him when he was given the honor of throwing the first pitch at the San Diego Padres baseball game. Fastball down the middle!

 

Almost as cool? Jon singing the National Anthem at this basketball game:

^ Now the guys just need to get to the Olympics some how…

 

5. The Switchfoot Bro-Am

A staple on our Best Of lists! The guys’ “favorite day of the year” is always awesome – with music, surfing, surf jousting, and supporting a good cause. The Bro-Am has really grown to almost a full weekend, with the auction on Thursday, the SD fair on Friday and the Bro-Am and afterparty on Saturday.

There’s always so many good moments, so many pictures, and so many videos, that to post them all would swamp this update, so just relieve the moments with us by revisiting these old updates!:

The 7th Annual Bro-Am is FINALLY Here! |  Bro-Am Recap Part 1: Auction Soiree and San Diego Fair | Bro-Am Recap Part 2: Surf Contest and Beach Concert | Bro-Am Afterparty

But we can’t let you go without a FEW photo highlights:

Chad tries to stop Drew from auctioning off their Grammy statues:

But he let him go in the end…

Rocking hard at the San Diego fair:

Surf jousting in a gorella suit – because why not!?

Beach concert rockage:

Afterparty-ing it up:

^ Be sure to check out the above linked update archives to relive more memories!

 

4. Switchfoot + Instagram = Love

With Daily Foot photographer and podcaster Andy Barron touring with Foster the People, the guys needed a new way to keep their fans updated on tour. One of the discovered Instagram. And it was all over from there. Next thing you know, all 5 guys had accounts and were posting some SWEET snapshots from life on the road. We thoroughly approved of this idea. And judging by Jon’s near-permanent fixture on Instagram’s popular page, so did everyone else.

If you don’t have Instagram, you can follow their photo posts on each guys’ tumblr page!:

Jon Foreman Tumblr

Tim Foreman Tumblr

Chad Butler Tumblr

Jerome Fontamills Tumblr

Drew Shirley Tumblr

A few Intsagrammed gems from the year:

3. Tomorrow’s Song

Switchfoot has always been well known for their excellent relationship with their fams. They’re constantly striving to connect and tear down the fan/band barrier, but this year they took it to a WHOLE new level with the Tomorrow’s Song project.

It started simply enough… but quickly morphed into an awesome mass community song writing project!

From Jon’s Twitter:

Ok, let’s try something: if I were to write a song tomorrow, what would the tune be called?

@CamilleTharp“Gray Skies and Cloudy Eyes” nice!

Hmmmm Lots of votes for: “song for tomorrow”

thanks for the inspiration! -had an idea: one of these days we should all write a song with the same title on the same day… Could be fun

Ok, so over the next 24 hours let’s all write a song called “tomorrows song” who’s with me?

Ok, so here it is: http://t.co/Ta1sEM

Not really sure the best way to share these things! But lyrics are a good start- can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with…

The only rules are this: write a song in the next 24 hours called Tomorrow’s Song” the music is the prize

By the way, the first line from my tune is from @CamilleTharp

Wow. So many good ones already! A few early faves: @lottiekiw-http://t.co/KbBmhU7@PhoenixFFVII#TomorrowSong

Wow! You guys are killing it! OK here’s a demo of my version of#tomorrowsonghttp://soundcloud.com/jon-foreman

From Switchfoot’s Twitter:

@jonforeman started a 24 communal song writing thang last night, Everyone’s writing songs with the title: #TomorrowSong

The project TOOK OFF and hundreds of songs were written. You can read the fan catalogue of tunes HERE! Listen to Jon’s demo below:

Tomorrow song by jon foreman

We don’t know what will come of the song, but even if it’s never recorded, the creativity and unique community built in this project was reward enough! A perfect example of someone using the power of social media for good and not evil.

Additional reading: Tomorrow’s Song – Story, Lyrics and Demo

 

2. Switchfoot Wins a Grammy

They’ve deserved it for years but finally, FINALLY, this year they won.

Following the award, Romey tweeted!:

 Oh man!! We just won!

And Jon:

 Grammy!!? Wow… Thankful

Yet for all the excitement, the guys have remained philosophical about their win, routinely stating that music itself is the real reward. But still? We’re rooting for another nomination… and WIN.

The guys make a splash on the blue carpet:

And on the red carpet after their win:

 

Additional Reading: Switchfoot Wins A Grammy | Switchfoot At The Grammys – “They Came, They Conquered” | “For us, music in itself is the reward”

 

1. Vice Verses

The much-anticipated follow-up to the 2009 Grammy Award winning (hehe) release “Hello Hurricane” was Switchfoot’s bold, contemplative, honest and unapologetic “Vice Verses”.  It felt like this album, more than any, the fans really went on the recording journey with the guys. Let’s take a look at some of the high points:

Old tracklisting!!!

• The War Inside
• Afterlife
• The Blinding Light
• Education
• Fading West
• Selling the News
• Restless
• The Original
• Rise Above It
• Against the Voices
• Thrive
• Vice Verses

Missing from the final tracklisting: “Education”, “Fading West”, “Against the Voices”

Added to the final tracklist: “Dark Horses”, “Souvenirs”, “Where I Belong”

 

Blog update from Chad:

Chad Butler of Switchfoot checks in from the studio as the band finishes recording their next album, Vice Verses.

Photo Credit: Hurley & Switchfoot

I woke up in a Hollywood motel room this morning with the incredible realization that I get to call rock and roll my day job. Banging on the drums with a smile on my face… I guess you could call it my job, but I’ll never call it that.

As a kid growing up in San Diego music and surfing kept me out a of a lot of trouble. I never dreamed I’d ever make music for a living (but I did dream of professional surfing). The posters on my wall of Occy and Curren were as important to me as the ones of bands like U2 and The Smiths. Surfing and music were always purely for the love of it. My cutback was never going to win me any world titles and I couldn’t even dream that playing drums in a band would pay the rent. Today, I still can’t believe that I hit drums for a living. It makes no sense to me that we get to tour in far off places (sometimes spots with waves) and call it work.

My bandmates and I have spent the last few months together in our studio in San Diego recording new songs for our next album called Vice Verses. It’s been an amazing experience so far. Many days begin with a surf check and a quick session en route to the studio. Going surfing together reminds me of the early days of our band, just kids stoked on hanging out together at the beach and going home to jam in a suburban bedroom.

For me, music is such a communal experience. The live show is about two-way communication with an audience and in the studio the best moments are about interacting with each other — drawing inspiration from the music coming from the guy next to you, reacting on instinct. A lot of the time in the studio is repetitive. Tuning an instrument, rehearsing a song, recording a part, one more time… and repeat! It can be mundane at times, but it’s all in pursuit of the magic moments… those happy accidents when the notes and beats align and God walks through the room.

These songs carry a strong heartbeat for me, a deep connection, a shared experience. Our last recording process was a lot of blood sweat and tears. This time it’s more about enjoying the journey… the music has reminded me how fortunate I am to be alive. I look around the studio tonight, and can’t imagine anywhere else I want to be.

Free Yourself,

Chad

 

Our first ever clip of Where I Belong:

 

First performance of Afterlife & The War Inside:

 

The first piece of the Vice Verses cover art reveal:

 

Switchfoot’s Vice Verses listening session!:

 

To read our review of the album click HERE, and to revisit our update on the Vice Verses release date click HERE.

Additional Reading: Vice Verses Exclusive Studio Info | Vice Verses Tracklisting | Exclusive Interview with Neal Avron (Vice Verses Producer) |  “When the notes and beats align and God walks through the room” | “Where I Belong” New Recording Clip | In the Studio: Switchfoot – “We’re showing off a few colors we’ve never shown before” | “It’s completely done… mixed, mastered, the whole deal” | Afterlife – New Vice Verses Songs | Vice Verses to Release Sept. 20th? Dark Horses first Single? | “Our next record is trying to push the boundaries of how honest you can be” | Vice Verses Album Cover Released! | Vice Verses Tracklisting | Restless Already Receiving Airplay, “We were so young we had no idea” | Jon & Chad Discuss Vice Verses | Vice Verses Listening Session | Vice Verses FAQ | Vice Verses Preview Clips | The Official Dark Horses Music Video | Vice Verses: Making Art Out of Tension | Vice Verses Debuts at #8 on Billboard
—————

Wow that does it for us here! I think we’ve effectively wrapped up the year 2011 – now onto 2012! With Fiction Family set to release this year, hints of new solo work from Jon and possibly the beginning of work on the Fading West movie, I’m anxious to see what this year has in store for the guys and us – the co-conspirators in the music!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
- Jeanna

“Is this the new year or just another night?” – The Blues (Switchfoot)