DISMANTLING THE BAND

SWITCHFOOT: NICHE-MARKET CHRISTIAN ROCKERS? ANYTHING ELSE?

LALALA LACKLUSTRE

So, who are these Christian-rock cowboys that will not fucking go away? Well, let me tell you: After ten non-stop years of working as the world’s most humble multi-million selling rock band, the hard-charging North County San Diego-based quintet, Switchfoot is set to step into the spotlight with their latest release Hello Hurricane and a just announced Canadian Tour.

“For the last decade or so, we’ve been a rock band that really thrives off that interaction with the crowd,” states Butler.  “Our motivation for playing music in the first place was a desire to connect with people in a deeper way.”  Out of this connection the band’s renowned live show has developed an incredibly loyal following both here in the states and abroad.

Switchfoot got their start in 1996 when the brothers Jon and Tim Foreman and Chad Butler came together around a mutual love of surfing and a passion for rock music spurred by such personal Southern California guitar heroes as Rocket from the Crypt, Drive like Jehu, Boilermaker, Three Mile Pilot and Heavy Vegetable.  “Growing up in San Diego, my heroes were the bands that had sold maybe 30,000 records,” says the elder Foreman.  “I’d never seen U2, so those were the bands that gave me my perspective of what a big rock show was.  There was a feeling of camaraderie in San Diego that afforded us the freedom in those early days to try anything – even if it meant failing.  I don’t think we’d be the band that we are today if we’d started in LA.”

Switchfoot seems to be one of those bands that have an ‘underground’ following of people who are almost too embarrassed to say that they like Switchfoot? Does that make sense? Does your average switchfoot fan run out and buy the album or a concert ticket??? I think…. NO. But I could be wrong. When their January 2010 western Canada tour got announced, I thought that people were going to blow their lids. People were STOKED on it… however, that failed to translate into tangible success. Now, if you want my legit opinion on the matter, here it is: Switchfoot can put out a catchy song, they know how to captivate a niche market (Christian-rock). However, they need to branch out and give their fans a reason to be loyal and a reason to hit the shows. Is that unfair to say.