The Jesus Underground: Interview with Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

www.thejesusunderground.com

This interview followed a concert at the University of Nebraska in November of 2000.

TJU: How would you describe your musical progression from The Legend of Chin to your current release, Learning to Breathe? Jon: The Legend of Chin was a bunch of songs that were written in my bedroom for my family and friends. When we got signed (with a record deal), we had no ambitions of getting signed or anything, so the songs went on (the CD) with very few changes. As we were traveling around and playing, the realization that we had a voice and that
there were people who wanted to hear what we had to say made us really think about what our next album would entail. Especially the lyrics. As a result, New Way to Be Human was really thought out and every song was re-written a million times to make sure it said exactly what we were trying to say. Learning to Breathe kind of carries through with that and is bit more personal perhaps, about the lessons I’ve been learning the last couple of years. So I guess that’s the way it goes lyrically. Musically, I don’t think much as changed, we’re still trying to write our best songs and record them the best that we can.
	TJU: On New Way to Be Human, you wrote like 50 songs and narrowed it down to 10 for the album. Was it the same for Learning to Breathe? Jon: Yeah, I love to write songs. I’m just about to go home and start writing again. I stopped myself from writing so I could really focus on the last album. Sometimes I’ll just write a song a day for a month or two. Its just a good discipline. It helps you to become a better song-writer and helps you get your ideas and emotions out in a tangible way, even though some of the songs other people may not want to hear.
TJU: I think you are one of the best song-writers of our generation. What is your process for creating a new song? Jon: Sometimes I’ll write the lyrics first, but for the most part I’ll just noodle on the guitar. Its funny how the lyrics will always be about what’s at the forefront of my mind. Sometimes I’ll try to write a song about something else and it will kind of morph into being something different. I guess they’re all very personal, even if they’re written about somebody else, or in the third person, somehow they’re a piece of me.

Learning to Breathe New Way To Be Human	TJU: You mentioned earlier writing a song a day. On New Way To Be Human, the liner notes mention that the song "Let That Be Enough" was written and recorded in one day. Jon: That was a really, really tough time for me. Just recording that album was tough. A lot of things didn’t quite go the way we wanted them to. Just a real growing time, maturing time I guess. Being away from home for 3 months and the feeling of not being able to express what I wanted to in music. The feeling that you have these songs inside of you but couldn’t get them out was a really tough thing. So "Let That Be Enough" was kind of a song of desperation, a calling out to God to be living and active in my life. I wrote the song after lunch, played it for Charlie (Producer Charlie Peacock) and he said “that’s it” and we recorded it in like the second take. We added background vocals and keys, and that was it. We re-wrote the song “New Way To Be Human” 47 times and recorded it again, and again, and again, and then this one was finished in like 3 hours. TJU: Can you tell us a little about the song “Amy’s Song.” Was she someone you knew? Jon: I think I was inspired by people who have been heroes to me in my life. I write a lot of songs about losers and I can relate to them really well. But I thought I had to write about a winner. Somebody who was a hero in today’s age of apathy and general “why bother” attitude. Amy is a person who is a fighter in a plastic world.
TJU: Speaking of losers, on your latest CD you have a song called "The Loser." What’s the story with that? Jon: That’s a fun song. It originally was a lot more Reggae and we had to kind of tone it down a little for the album. We came to the conclusion that we were white......very white. The song itself is about the upside down aspect of the kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. How the last will be first, and the first will be last. Blessed are the people who are on the bottom because they’re gonna be on top. That’s what "The Loser" is about.
	TJU: What would you consider the central theme of Learning of Breathe? Jon: Pretty much, motion. That’s the one idea everything kind of revolves around. From the first track, "I Dare You To Move," to "Love Is The Movement." And even "Learning to Breathe" with the idea of awakening. "You Already Take Me There" deals with the idea that the kingdom of Heaven is here, but not fully here. So if Christ is my anchor in Heaven, I want to mean that, and live that. I guess that’s the idea, the motion of running the race.
TJU: If There was one song you would want to be remembered by, what would it be and why? Jon: I hope I haven’t written it yet. I still feel like I have a lot more to say. TJU: So you’re saying there’s an optimistic future for the band. Jon: (laughter) We’ve never really talked “this is how many albums we’re gonna do or sell.” Its always been “Wow, we got a record deal, that’s crazy. Lets see what we can do.” So as far as the future is concerned, we’re just trying to be good stewards with what we’ve been given. That’s always been our attitude.
The Legend of Chin	TJU: How did you get your record deal? Jon: We had a demo, well not even a demo, a tape that we recorded on a 4-track in my bedroom. We recorded it for friends and family and would sell it at shows for like $5 or something. A friend of my Dad worked for a record company and asked for a couple tapes. A couple months later we got a call from Charlie Peacock. It was something we totally weren’t seeking. We were just going to school and hanging out. It was definitely a blessing. TJU: What would you consider the purpose of your band? Jon: I think for all of us, to glorify God in our personal ways and to grow. As far as the band, that we would be able to reflect who He is, with music and excellence in writing songs and excellence in playing them.
TJU: I’ve heard a little bit about a music project you are working on with some Sudanese people. Can you tell us about that? Jon: Its shaping up right now. I first got involved last Christmas when my family and part of our church went to deliver Christmas presents. I was thinking what could I do to help because we’ve all been given our place in life for a reason, and usually its outside the standard “I’ve been given a job to make money.” That’s a very “small picture” attitude. I think with music, I’ve been given all these people that I know and all the equipment that I have to maybe help other people out. So this is an example where I can give back to the community. So I was thinking “how can I help them out?” and thought we could make a CD for them. So that’s pretty much the idea, hopefully in a couple weeks we’ll start recording. They’re refugees from Sudan. Sudan is one of the most persecuted nations in the World. There’s a war going on right now where the Southern Sudanese are Christians for the most part and democratic, and the Northern part is Islamic and supported by the Chinese army. Because of that support, the Northern Sudanese have a bunch of troops and helicopters and stuff, so the Southern Sudanese are probably going to lose the war. There are a lot of atrocities going on over there. Slavery is one mentioned in our news, but its still not a big topic because its not an economic reason for us to go in and help out. Its kind of a sad state of affairs as far as our nation, but I think the Christian community can really get behind there brothers and sisters and help out with prayers and funds, and also help out with the Sudanese living in this country. So I’m trying to raise awareness for that. Its kind of disorganized in San Diego as to who to give money to so I’m going to see if I can help out with that. Its hard because I’m not home very often, but I know God has a plan with the people there.
TJU: There has been a fairly large influx of Sudanese here in Omaha as well. Jon: A lot of the Sudanese from San Diego actually moved up here. The U.N. dropped them off in San Diego, but the housing is so expensive and they don’t know our language, so it was tough. About half the choir I’m going to record with moved to Nebraska, so that will be interesting.
	TJU: Anything else you’d like to share with your fans? Jon: We’re going out with The Supertones in the Spring (2001), come check us out!
Other Tidbits Favorite band to play with: Five Iron Frenzy Favorite bands to listen to: U2, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, James Taylor, The Police. Musical influences: U2, The Beatles, Keith Green Favorite song to perform: I Dare You To Move Favorite song you’ve written: “Usually the song I just wrote is my favorite, but I 'Dare You To Move' means a lot to me."

	Greg, Chad, Jerome, Jon, Tim