Something Sound: A Conversation with Switchfoot

Part of what makes Circle Six Magazine so great is the opportunity to watch fledglings like me fumble their way through the pitfalls of beginnerdom. Sure you could read an established magazine and get opinions and commentary from veteran journalists who never make mistakes, and even if they did, wouldn’t let you know, but what fun would that be? I like to think that part of the reason you read my drivel is that it’s coming from a guy who’s human like you, and therefore it’s more enjoyable than the other drivel that’s out there.

What does this have to do with Switchfoot? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the interview. You see, I have a 9-5 to pay the bills, and I work for the magazine during my ever-so-precious spare time. The phone I record my interviews on is the office phone at the aforementioned 9-5. The day before the interview everything was fine, but for one reason or another, the phone was not set up right to record when I was patched through to Drew Shirley, guitar player for the San Diego band. The “funny” part is that I didn’t realize this until my wonderful conversation with Drew was over. Suck. After it was over I go to check the tape and, nothing. No Q and A. No witty banter. Nothing.

So what’s a young writer to do? Should I just make something up? Should I come clean to my Editor and my public and tell you I screwed the pooch? How ‘bout a little of both? I stand before you today with not one shred of evidence that an interview between Drew and me ever took place. But if you’ll take my word for it, I’d like to attempt, as accurate as my memory allows, a reenactment of our conversation.

**Nothing below should be taken as a direct quote. This is my best recollection of the day’s events. Again, NOTHING BELOW SHOULD BE READ AS A DIRECT QUOTE**

I think it started something like…

Circle Six Magazine: Hey, bro. What’s up?

Drew: Nothin’ much. God! I can’t believe I’m talking to the Jacob Taylor! What’s up with you, man?

C6M: Just chillin’.

Drew: Yeah, me too. Just chillin’. We’re in Colorado. We’re playing in Denver tonight.

C6M: Yeah, I was going to say something about that. I love Colorado.

Drew: Me too. Are you from here?

C6M: Well my mom grew up there, and I still have family up there. My uncle lives in a small town on the Western Slope. I was back and forth to Colorado all the time when I was a kid.

Drew: So where am I talking to you?

C6M: I’m in New Orleans.

Drew: Oh wow. How are things down there? Where are you as far as where all the damage was?

C6M: Well I live about 30 miles north of the “cereal bowl” you’ve heard so much about. This area didn’t get much flooding, but we got a lot of wind damage. My house had a couple trees on it, but it’s all insured and it’ll all be okay eventually. It’s just gonna take some time.

Drew: So is the area getting back on its feet?

C6M: Well, the area I live in is coming along quicker than Orleans Parish just because it’s got a better political structure and stuff like that. But slowly but surely things are coming back. Anyway, enough about me…

Drew: Okay.

C6M: I was looking at your tour schedule earlier and almost every date is sold out. Is that weird? That would freak me out.

Drew: It’s great man. We’ve really had a lot of success with these last two albums.

C6M: Doesn’t it seem like the band really took off after Jerome joined?

Drew: Ha ha! Actually he joined before Letdown and I joined after that album came out. I’ve been with the band for about three years now.

C6M: So when I saw Switchfoot in New Orleans, when you played with Mute Math, you were there?

Drew: Yup, I was there. Great show.

C6M: Mute Math kinda upstaged you guys, but they’re hometown boys so I may be a bit biased.

Drew: We’ll never play with them again!

C6M: Dirty bastards! Drew: Ha ha! Yeah.

C6M: You guys have just kind of blown up lately – so much so that my boss listens to you. I told him the other day that I’d be interviewing you and he said, “I love Switchfoot.” But his son just wanted to know if you knew Toby Mac.

Drew: Haha, yeah I’ve met him, but I don’t know him.

C6M: I just thought it was pretty indicative of how widely known you are that my white, pushing 40, Christian businessman of a boss loves your music.

Drew: Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Man! I still can’t believe I’m on the phone with Jacob Taylor!

C6M: Calm down, bro. It’s not that big of a deal. Hey, do you guys get asked about the Christian thing a lot? It seems like you’ve gotten past it a little easier than P.O.D. or Jars were able to.

Drew: Well, it’s not that we avoid it. A friend of ours warned us about avoiding the distractions. We’d just rather concentrate on the music and leave the labels up to the people who care about labels.

C6M: Yeah. Leave that crap to the online entertainment writers. Speaking of the music, you’ve got to be happy with the new album.

Drew: Yeah, man. I really think it turned out great. I think it’s our strongest album yet.

C6M: A friend of mine said it’s Letdown Part 2, and I think that’s true, but not in a bad way if that makes any sense.

Drew: That makes sense. I’m really happy with it. I just really like the way it was recorded and produced. I think it captured a live sound more than the past albums have.

C6M: What’s your favorite song on the album?

Drew: It’s got to be “The Shadow Proves The Sunshine.” That song came out of our trip to South Africa. We went down there on a fact-finding mission, just to get an up-close look at what’s really going on. Actually, something I wanted to talk about is the website we started called lowercasepeople.com. It’s an online magazine for music, arts, and social justice. We want to bring people’s attention to some of the things that are going on in the world and then actually do something about them. I read a statistic the other day that said that by 2010, 18 million children in South Africa could be orphaned by AIDS.

C6M: Amazing.

Drew: Bono called it a modern day holocaust.

C6M: I don’t think the average American has any clue at how severe it is. I mean, you see it on TV, but you can just change the channel.

Drew: Right. We went over there to just be with these hurting people, and the one thing I came away with, and this is what the song talks about, is this unbelievable joy and hope that the children have. I went there thinking I had something to offer these poor people, and they gave me something I never expected. They just have this strength, something inside, that’s beyond what we can imagine here.

C6M: I’ve heard that before from people who’ve gone over there and come back feeling like they didn’t do anything but receive from the people. It’s unbelievable.

Drew: Well one of the things we did when we were there was record a CD that you can get on the lowercasepeople site. We found this group of kids in Kayamandi called the Kuyasa Kids. They sing and dance and it was a brilliant thing to see. So we set up and recorded it. You can buy the CD on lowercasepeople.com and all the proceeds go to the kids.

C6M: That’s awesome, bro. While we’re on the subject, you wanna tell us about Data and some of the other things you’re involved in?

Drew: Yeah I’d love to. Data.org is pushing for Debt, Aids and Trade relief for Africa. We’re also involved with the One campaign here in the States. It’s all about getting the most powerful countries, like with the G8 summit and everything, to do something about what’s going on in Africa. The main thing is to cancel their debt so that they can use money to actually make things better rather than paying on interest from old loans.

C6M: Kind of like me with my credit cards.

Drew: Ha ha. Right.

C6M: Jon referred to the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa as, “a war that can be won.” To me, that’s a pretty bold statement because it seems pretty futile.

Drew: Yeah.

C6M: Do you think it will ever be won through political means, or is it the church and the private sector that are going to have to step up?

Drew: Wow. That’s a really good question. There’s a lot that needs to be done on a political level, but, you know, hope doesn’t come from money, and joy doesn’t come from money. It takes someone taking an interest in them and caring for these people. I just hope we can do a little to help people take notice and do something.

C6M: So, as a musician, what’s more important to you: that someone digs your music or that they get the message?

Drew: (without hesitation) The message.

C6M: So you could quit tomorrow and be okay?

Drew: Yeah. Definitely.

C6M: Good man.

Drew: Well, music comes and goes. Styles come and go. So you can’t hold on to it too tightly. I’m convinced if I was born in the 70s I would’ve been playing disco.

C6M: Whoa now. Don’t go crazy on me. You don’t have a Bee Gees collection you’re hiding from us do you?

Drew: Ha! No no, nothing like that.

C6M: Ok, so back to the whole message thing. I wanted to ask you if, with the Kanye Wests of the world, do you think Jesus is being well represented in the mainstream?

Drew: (silent)

C6M: No comment?

Drew: Well… I’m not sure. I just hope I can do it well when I’m out there.

C6M: Right on. Alright, enough serious stuff. Let’s get back to some frivolity and then I’ll let you go.

Drew: Okay.

C6M: I saw on your website that you’re doing some TV spots.

Drew: Yeah.

C6M: Like you just did Craig Ferguson. How was that?

Drew: Really fun, man.

C6M: Did the sound suck?

Drew: Nah, it was okay.

C6M: I was just talking to one of the guys from My Morning Jacket and he said the sound always sucks on TV because they have union sound guys working the show.

Drew: Oh yeah, that’s true. But it was okay on Craig’s show. We had a good time.

C6M: On the other hand, I read that you’re gonna be on Jimmy Kimmel, and the sound’s usually great on his show. They seem to be more musically-minded over there.

Drew: Well they’ve got a great setup. They’ve got the outdoor deal, and even when you play inside, it’s set up more like a concert. Most shows have the audience so far away from you that all you see is some spotlights and it’s like, “Hello? Is anyone out there?”

C6M: Right on. Hey, do you surf like the other guys?

Drew: Yeah. It’s kind of a requirement to be in Switchfoot.

C6M: I’m sure. A friend wanted me to ask you what Switchfoot means, and I just told him, “It’s a surfing term. I’m not asking that.”

Drew: Yeah, what a loser!

C6M: So you got a favorite surfer?

Drew: Yeah, we played some gigs in California with Tom Curren. He was cool. Those were fun shows. I like Tim Curren too though, so it’s hard to decide. I guess there’s only one letter difference in those two so…

C6M: So your favorite surfer is T. Curren?

Drew: Yeah, T.C., that’s it.

C6M: I have a friend who surfed with Wingnut in Costa.

Drew: Aw, no way!

C6M: Yeah, he said it was like the highlight of his life.

Drew: I guess so. We did this thing called the BroAm with pro surfers and musicians. Since we had played a few times with Tom, he actually came and surfed for our team in the BroAm. That was so cool.

C6M: That’s awesome, bro. The last question I have is… well… Jon’s mentioned Bob Dylan several times in interviews. Are you a Dylan fan too?

Drew: Oh yeah.

C6M: So what’s your favorite album?

Drew: Oh wow. That’s…

C6M: That’s even harder than the AIDS questions, isn’t it.

Drew: Ha ha. Yeah, man. I don’t know. He’s got so many.

C6M: Here, I’ll help you out. Mine is Time Out Of Mind.

Drew: Yeah that’s a great one. That’s not the one with “Like a Rolling Stone” on it is it?

C6M: No. I’m not sure which album that was. Usually, it’s all just in my iPod and I’m not paying attention to titles and stuff.

Drew: Yeah, that’s true. It’s hard to keep up.

C6M: You’re right. Look, bro. Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me.

Drew: No, sir. Thank you. It’s been a pleasure and an honor. I still can’t believe I’m talking to Jacob Taylor! I can’t wait to tell my mom!

Ok, so maybe he wasn’t that enthusiastic to be talking to me, but that’s as close to the real conversation as you’re gonna get. I’m actually surprised how much of it this THC memory of mine could recall. I’d like to thank Drew again for talking to me. You can tell that they really do care about the things they’re doing, and it’s not just some website the label told ‘em to plug. Please go visit these sites and, if you can, support what these guys are doing. I’m the last person to make music into a political thing, but this really is something that the world needs to take notice of and do something about.

www.lowercasepeople.com
www.one.org
www.data.org

You can also check out more about the band including tour info and sexy pictures of Jerome at their site.
www.switchfoot.com

by Jacob Taylor

[Jacob would like to thank Erick, his Editor in Chief, his guru and mentor, the lover of his soul, for not firing him for his colossal screw up. However, if you’d like to tell Jacob what a lousy zilch he is, he can be reached at jacob@circlesixmagazine.com. Thank you. Drive through.]