Like Skillet, Flyleaf and P.O.D., Switchfoot initially gained success in the Christian rock marketplace, releasing three albums between 1997 and 2000 before hitting the mainstream with 2004’s The Beautiful Letdown and its Top 10 single, “Dare You to Move.” Since then, the band has released five more albums, including this year’s refreshing Fading West, which broadened Switchfoot’s uplifting rock sound to include a few more pop and even hip-hop influences.
The band’s name comes from a surfing term used to describe a technique in which the surfer has ambidextrous feet and is able to put either the left or the right foot forward. In other words, as lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Foreman once said, “It’s about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music.” Surfing has been at the core of the band’s image, if not its sound, since the early days: Ten days after its Summerfest gig, Switchfoot will host the 10th annual Bro-Am surf contest and concert in its home town of San Diego. Since 2005, the event has raised more than $900,000 for local children’s charities.
