20 years ago, the world was a remarkably different place. The music scene was filled with young up-and-comers like Spiderbait, You Am I and Silverchair.CurrentRookieeditor Tavi Gevinson had just been born.
Out in San Diego, meanwhile, two brothers and a good friend were just starting out as a humble alt-rock trio by the name of Chin Up. That trio would eventually change its name to Switchfoot, expand out to a five-piece and secure its place as one of the more commercially successful pop-rock bands of the 21st century. Across ten studio albums, Switchfoot have managed to score huge soundtrack appearances, sell millions of albums and tour the world on the back of them.
“We’ve been through a lot,” says vocalist/guitarist Jon Foreman, the tone of his voice practically acknowledging the incredulity that comes with such an understatement. “I look back on those early days with a little bit of nostalgia – I mean, we were very naive. We were just kids. All the songs on that first record [1997’s The Legend Of Chin] were about my life in college as a freshman – the first single [‘Chem 6A’] was about a chemistry class that I took. How funny is it to think that the very first single your band put out was about chemistry?
“As we toured more, we started to take in more and more of the world around us. We wanted to enter a wider dialogue of what the purpose and meaning of life was – not just in the dorm room, but for folks around the world. The biggest change for me has been looking at life as a father. Through this band, I’ve been able to explore and think about exactly what kind of world I want my daughter to grow up in.”
As Foreman speaks, he is gearing up for a world tour in support ofWhere The Light Shines Through, Switchfoot’s tenth LP overall. At this stage, there is more within the Switchfoot canon to draw from than ever, which makes curating a setlist all the more difficult – or at least, one would assume as much. As far as Foreman is concerned, a Switchfoot show in 2016 is about keeping the faith and making sure people leave with a positive, warm feeling.
“With the events in Orlando recently, we emphasise the songs that spin around the subject of hope,” he says. “That’s what tends to galvanise the setlist for me these days. Through a lot of the songs that I write, I’m trying to find the hope for myself – I have to believe in that message myself before I could ever feel comfortable sharing that with anyone else. There’s a song called ‘Needle’ [‘Needle And Haystack Life’] that we’ve been starting our sets with, and it has this lyric: ‘It’s no accident that we’re here tonight / We are once in a lifetime’. The title track to our new album is based on a lyric that says, ‘The wound is where the light shines through’.It deals with the concept, the idea that our most painful and trying times are when our souls can be truly healed.”
Where The Light Shines Through sees the band exploring both the wider spectrum of pop and rock, as well as songwriting that balances out between innermost confessions and a wider message. After going through what Foreman describes as a “dark season”, he has come out the other side with a greater sense of purpose and being.
“For me, the story behind this record centralises around the wound,” he explains. “When we were tracking the album, it felt like we were pursuing a darker album – I wasn’t going through a great time in my own life, and I felt like I had to be honest with those feelings and with those wounds. What ended up happening, however, was that we made an album that was filled with light. This album deals with darkness and seeing the light break through. I was talking with a friend of mine about this – I feel like it’s something that reflects on everyone in this country right now. We need to ask ourselves if we are going to be compassionate, if we are going to show love to those around us that are different. These are questions that remain to be answered.”
Throughout our interview, Foreman never goes into specific details pertaining to his “dark season”. It’s understandable – he’s speaking to a complete stranger on the matter, after all, and even someone with a public profile ultimately owes you nothing. What is most clear, however, is that Foreman has been able to properly exorcise his demons through his music – a living display of art as catharsis.
“I think you can understand things in retrospect a lot better than when you’re in the middle of it,” he says. “Sometimes it can be overwhelming – especially if you’re trying to be honest and are trying to tell the truth. There’s a little bit of risk involved every time that you put your heart out on your sleeve – it could get destroyed by any little thing. I made the decision in my own life to face up to the darkness that crosses my path, rather than run away from it.”
