Switchfoot

Switchfoot is an alternative rock band from San Diego, United States. It forms in 1997 and remains active, with a line-up that includes Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, Chad Butler, Jerome Fontamillas and Andrew Shirley. Its music spans alternative rock, rock, indie rock, post-grunge, christian rock and contemporary christian.

History

The band starts with brothers Jon Foreman, who sings and plays guitar, and Tim Foreman on bass. Chad Butler joins on drums soon after. Jerome Fontamillas later joins on keys, guitar and electronics after playing in Mortal and Fold Zandura. Andrew Shirley joins on guitar after previously being in All Together Separate. Shirley leaves in 2021 and Boaz Roberts replaces him as a touring musician and later as an official member.

Switchfoot first plays at Christian music festivals and builds an audience through Christian radio and festival circuits. It begins on Charlie Peacock's label re:think and spends its early years touring with Christian bands. Despite this background, the band rejects the label of Christian rock, with Jon Foreman describing its music as faith-based rather than a genre category.

Breakthrough and albums

The band does not find wider success outside the Christian rock scene until it appears with Mandy Moore on the A Walk to Remember soundtrack. Its first major commercial breakthrough comes with The Beautiful Letdown in 2003, the fourth major-label release and first on a mainstream label. The album sells more than 2 million copies and makes Switchfoot the most prominent rock band linked with Christian music.

Switchfoot appears on the British edition of the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack in 2004 with "Meant to Live". In 2005 it releases Nothing Is Sound, which goes gold within three months. Oh! Gravity. follows in 2006, then the band issues its first album on its own label, lowercase people, in 2009. "Mess of Me" from that period receives extensive radio play.

The band continues with Hello Hurricane in 2010, Vice Verses in 2011, Fading West in 2014, Where the Light Shines Through in 2016, Native Tongue in 2019, Interrobang in 2021 and This Is Our Christmas Album in 2022. Vice Verses reaches No. 8 on the Billboard 200, Fading West reaches No. 6, Where the Light Shines Through reaches No. 10 and Native Tongue reaches No. 41. Fading West includes "Who We Are" and "Love Alone Is Worth the Fight", while Interrobang includes "I Need You (To Be Wrong)".

Other work

In 2019, the song "You Found Me" is released in connection with the film Unbroken: Path to Redemption as part of its soundtrack.

In 2023, the band marks the 20th anniversary of The Beautiful Letdown with The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) and a tour in which it plays the album in full.