All of Switchfoot's posts on the new message boards from late 2007 on.
POST BY: Tim Foreman
POSTED ON: August 29th 2008, 01:55 PM
POST ABOUT: The Best Yet CD
Hey all, here's the real details, hot off the press:
Switchfoot - the best yet
release date (tent): Nov 4, 2008
1. Dare You To Move
2. Meant To Live
3. Stars
4. Oh! Gravity
5. This is Home (full band version, not soundtrack version)
6. Learning to Breathe
7. Awakening
8. This Is Your Life
9. On Fire
10. Only Hope
11. Dirty Second Hands
12. Love is the Movement
13. Company Car
14. Lonely Nation
15. The Shadow Proves The Sunshine
16. Concrete Girl
17. Twenty-Four
18. Beautiful Letdown
What is it?
It's a 'best of' CD that Sony is releasing this fall, a typical move for a major label when one of their artists parts ways. Our first 6 albums were recorded with RE:think/EMI (the first 3) and Sony (albums 4-6), so they are working together on this.
Do we like it?
Ha, well first of all, it doesn't really matter as far as the business is concerned. Sony and EMI own the masters to these albums, so they don't need to ask us. Record companies do this sort of thing all the time (Radiohead's greatest hits album for example). It's the music business, and this is how they make money. This isn't good or bad, it just is.
However, we don't hate it at all, and here's why. We chose the songs. These are songs that we would like to play for someone who has never heard of switchfoot. After-all, isn't that the whole purpose of a 'best of' cd? It's not for the die-hard fan, it's for the guy that missed the boat the first time, but wants to still get on. I've been that guy before, so I'm not anti. If these songs are able to reach a few more pairs of ears, cool. It's definitely not something that was a part of our plan for this year as a band, but in the grand scheme of things, I think it's pretty minor. If it sounds cool to you, get it. If not, don't.
Are we proud of it?
These are some of the songs that we are most proud of, for various reasons. Of course, there's lots of others that we are also really proud of, but they might not be songs we would pick for a first listening experience. 18 songs is already a lot of songs all at once. There is quite a wide musical journey expressed in that list, and we're very proud of that part of our history as a band. We also were able to talk Sony into letting our very-own Andy Barron do all the artwork, and we're really proud of him. Go Andy! Beyond that, we've been digging into the vault to find rare video content for the deluxe edition, so that the hard-core fan that does decide to buy it won't be disappointed.
I guess I'm saying all of this because I know that these songs mean just as much to many of you as they do to us, and that's really important to us. It means a lot to us that so many of you care so much about these songs, and the way that they are presented. That's precisely why we have chosen to be an independent band moving forward, and why we're so excited about releasing a brand new record next year, and the future after that. I also know that times are tough, and you work really hard for your money, which is why we've always tried to keep our costs down at shows and stuff. And I guess I just don't want anyone within our family to feel like a major label is squeezing them dry. You're in charge here. If you don't think it's worth it, then please pass, save your hard-earned money for a 1/4 tank of gas. Or, if it sounds exciting to you, then get it for that reason, and not because you're the victim of some well-crafted corporate scheme. Be empowered and be free to make your own choice. We love you guys, and we've been trying to navigate this final farewell from Sony very carefully, so that no one is taken advantage of, and we're happy with how it has played out so far. More importantly, we're excited to put this behind us and finish making what we already believe to be our best record yet.
Hope to see you all on the road this fall,
love, tim
POST BY: Chad Butler
POSTED ON: April 13th 2008, 04:21 PM
POST ABOUT: Music Builds Tour
Greetings comrades!
As a band we have held firm to the idea that music can bring us together to accomplish much more than a show. Ideology, race, genre: we put these distinctions aside to play music for everyone.
So with that in mind we are proud to announce our involvement in one of the most diverse lineups we've ever been a part of. We dreamed up the The Music Builds Tour along with a few friends of ours whose main commonality is a dream to see this world change for the better. Different bands, different backgrounds, one goal: A traveling festival to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity.
We have always been very intentional about our touring. We've played in specific places where we feel like the songs belong, playing shows with diverse artists and for diverse audiences. This last year has been really exciting for us to do even more with our tours by partnering with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and To Write Love on Her Arms. The response from you guys who have been with us for so long has been overwhelming. By supporting the "Appetite for Construction" tour you guys raised over $100K for Habitat and more importantly got involved in your local communities donating your time long after the show was over. The current "Up in Arms" tour has been deeply meaningful, part of a larger conversation offering hope to those dealing with depression and addiction.
This is a new model for touring that we are really excited about, it is so much bigger than the music itself. This is about seeing the world change. In keeping with that dream, the "Music Builds Tour" is a traveling festival that will benefit Habitat for Humanity, an amazing organization providing homes to needy families around the globe.
When we tour, we try to bring a truly diverse collection of music to your ears night after night (from Mute Math to Lifehouse to Eisley to Copeland to Anberlin to The Honorary Title etc...). This tour is no different- The other bands on the festival bill will be Jars of Clay, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, and Third Day with many more names to be announced. Wait till you see who is on the side stage! All kinds of bands and artists that care about helping people. The diversity of the lineup is a big goal of ours- it's exciting to bring such diverse musicians and music fans together for such a worthy cause.
We all know first hand the powerful impact that a night of music can have, how much more so when the emphasis is put on doing something lasting for people in our own communities. Thanks for partnering with us in the mutual effort to bring people together to do just that.
We think very highly of the people who listen to our music. We are grateful for the open minded audience who have embraced our songs and allowed us to push the boundaries of where the music can go. We invite you to put differences in musical taste aside and focus on our commonalities: we all want to see this world change for the better. We hope that you'll come with us on this next part of the journey and get involved in something much bigger than ourselves.
Chad
POST BY: Tim Foreman
POSTED ON: April 2nd 2008, 07:46 PM
POST ABOUT: Friends of the Foot
wow, I am very honored that this concept seems to be as important to most of you as it is to us. Some are thrilled, others are frightened, concerned, etc... but the point remains: this community, and the ideals that we represent as a band are extremely important to all of us, and we are very appreciative of that. I'd like to address some of the comments because with anything new there is always going to be some confusion, and with confusion comes assumptions and that's when things can get a little tricky.
First of all, this is something that many of you have been asking for at shows for quite some time, and because of that, the number of signups has been overwhelming! We had no idea that the response would be as good as it has been, and so a hearty thanks to all of you who have sent us kind emails thanking us for finally putting this plan into action, it's going to be great.
There also seem to be a few people who have some valid questions. Here are a few:
"Will this diminish the quality or amount of content that will be given away for free, such as 'Daylight to Break', for instance?"
And the answer is the same as the promise that we made when we first introduced this concept: "This is simply a way to do more, without taking anything away from what we already do." This is a promise. We would never dream of giving away a new song to an exclusive community only. We will, however, give away some old demos, studio out-takes, etc... In other words, songs that we would never have otherwise made available in the first place, songs that a casual fan might not be interested in. What you guys do with these exclusive downloads is up to you anyways, if you want to pass them around to your friends, go ahead. We're not trying to be precious with them, but we also don't want to bombard people with too much content.
"Will the best of the bootlegs CD be made available to fans who aren't FOTF members?"
Yes. It will be made available in the very near future, for all to enjoy!
"I liked it back when the fan club was free."
Well, this one is odd to me, because we have never had a fan club. But we HAVE had a discussion board, chat room, podcasts, daily foot, and occasional free downloads for everybody. None of this has changed, and these will continue as they always have, free of charge, in spite of the surprisingly large costs that it takes for us to maintain this level of content. This is because we believe in this community as much as you do. Again, we are not taking content from one pile and putting it in the other. We are simply providing an additional level of content and access, something that many of you have been requesting for quite some time. To do all of this requires a significant amount of additional costs on our end, a cost that would be nearly impossible for any band to swallow, let alone an independent band such as ourselves. We're happy to add this, but it needs to be something that we all share together. Fortunately the response has been great and the large number of you who have been asking for this have responded immediately to jump onboard, it feels like a real team effort.
"It feels weird to pay to become someone's official friend."
Ha, yeah that's a good point, but that's not what we're selling here. We're selling a T-shirt, signed CD, some exclusive content, and a tour pass. FOTF is just a name. Come and say hi outside the venue if you want to be friends, because we love meeting people.
"How about some a la cart pricing, so I can just get some of the items?"
Good question, and we don't currently have the manpower to offer several pricing options, but the main item in question here seems to be the bootleg CD, which will absolutely be made available in the very near future. The t-shirt is just good fun, and there are plenty of other t-shirts available on the site. Besides the shirts, a great deal of the cost is split between the tour laminate and the FOTF website. We could look into offering a cheaper option without the laminate if this seems to be something enough people are interested in. Again, this all started with us trying to take your feedback and ideas and put them into action, which can drive a band crazy sometimes, with so many different opinions out there. But let us know if this is something of interest and we'll look into it.
"Will you still be hanging out signing stuff outside the venue after the shows?"
Of course! This is one of the main things that keeps us going -- connecting with you all after the shows. We wouldn't trade that in for the world.
We love you all, keep the good ideas and questions comin'!
-tim
p.s. here's a funny video of chad from our dressing room 2 seconds ago...
CHEESE
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