These days, Jon Foreman has been known to arrive late for the bus call after a Switchfoot concert. It's not that the singer/songwriter is scatterbrained or overly chatty with fans. Instead, the guy's got such a voracious musical appetite, he's been known to stage an intimate after-show solo concert. And we're not talking about the stage or an officially booked coffeehouse, but rather the sidewalk or parking lot outside the venue. It's an opportunity to share quieter songs that Foreman considers too personal in scope for Switchfoot. With encouragement from the band, Foreman has recorded these songs for a series of four EPs—Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, all available as individual download, or packaged in stores as pairs of EPs. The friendly frontman called from his band's studio to discuss his ambitious solo material, as well as Switchfoot's upcoming endeavors (including their contribution to the soundtrack of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian).

Why did you break up your solo material into four EPs rather than release them at once as a double-disc?

Foreman: I just hate the whole solo thing to begin with, and that may sound odd because I'm doing it! But the decision to go with the EPs was my way of saying, "Well, let's find a way of doing this where it doesn't feel like that big solo record side project." Every time a band breaks up and one of the guys goes solo, and it's always such a big hype, which I wanted to avoid. I really liked the solo material from Richard Ashcroft [of The Verve] and Sting had a good time with his solo work outside of The Police, but I kind of wanted to avoid too much attention since Switchfoot isn't breaking up. The EPs allow me to slip under the radar.

What do each of these projects represent in relation to the seasons?

Foreman: I think the seasons are kind of a great metaphor for the decay and rebirth we experience in our own lives. It was one of those things that felt really natural in the process of recording them. Fall is kind of my favorite because it feels like the most honest, entering into a season of decay. Then winter acknowledges death, spring signals rebirth, and summer has everything coming to fruition. I felt like it was a great way to divide the songs lyrically as well as production. So the concepts are not really intended as a metaphor or something clearly delineated like a math equation. I just wanted to evoke the sentiment of fall with the Fall EP and so on. I have a friend who hears music that way and puts music into his own categories. Instead of jazz, hip-hop or rock, he separates them by all different moods and organizes them by season. So somewhere along those lines, I wanted to evoke a feeling of driving down the road listening to this record and thinking of a particular time frame or season.

Were the songs written in their respective seasons or did you have to transition towards that frame of mind with each EP?

Foreman: A lot of the writing was done in the concurrent season, though obviously there were some songs that have been around for awhile and landed on that slot because they fit so well. So it was a little bit of both. When I wasn't in the season, I tried to find myself there by closing my eyes and picturing what it's like. It's amazing what your mind can do if you set it to the task.

Do you still feel these projects have thematic parallels, even if they're somewhat unintentional?

Foreman: Sure, there's tons. I've noticed a very organic direction overall, and several songs that refer to body parts: "Behind Your Eyes," "In My Arms," even "Baptize My Mind." I have the tendency to be very drawn into philosophical elements, like the stars and gravity, both referring to entropy and trying to figure it all out. But these songs are a little less grandiose and reflect my own personal struggles. Switchfoot is more of the public address with the lights and megaphone, whereas these songs are more my confession.

What are some of the spiritual issues you're struggling with throughout these tracks?

Foreman: They're all fairly outspoken. I mentioned "Baptize My Mind" and the lyrics speak for themselves. I'm trying to come to terms with the shortcomings and failings in my own life. I'm always surprised by what people think is offensive or not offensive or spiritual. These are deeply spiritual, deeply personal songs, but I think there's an edge to it. I think some of my heroes are people who aren't afraid to have a yelling match with God and ask why certain things happen. They're not afraid to ask questions or believe that God is bigger than any question. I don't say that in an irreverent way. If we believe in a God who created the universe, we have to also expect him to show up when we're struggling with something.

A lot of these songs represent your most overtly spiritual to date. What has been the mainstream reception to this material?

Foreman: I feel like they've been really well received as far as I can tell, but I haven't paid that much attention other than they seem to like it. By the way, another reason I wanted to do the EPs was that I feel like six songs meant you'd almost give as much attention to the first song as you would the sixth. On a full-length CD, once you reach six through ten or eleven, [your attention starts to wander] and you're kind of done with it. You move on to the next record, or you're already at the grocery store, or you're done running errands. This format allows every song to speak for itself in the way a full-length wouldn't. The songs are very understated, but I don't have to go pound them over anyone's head to get attention.

How do you approach your music differently as a solo artist than you would with Switchfoot?

Foreman: The big difference would be the way the material was produced, emphasizing the plot, the storyline, and the narrative in the songs. Many of the songs were recorded the same night they were written. I wrote the songs, played them a few times, threw mics up close to the guitar and my mouth, and it's basically you by yourself in the room getting the feel of it. Then you go back and listen, figuring out the best take, and from there add everything else—some cello, the bass clarinet, percussion, whatever you, want to add to the original track. It maintains a sense of honesty and there's a little bit of magic in discovering it with everything determined by the vocal. [I discovered in the process] that vocals sometimes repel certain instruments like oil and water. At first, I might have thought an electric guitar was a great idea, but then after I'd go back and listen, I'd that would detract from the narrative. So the formula was to keep adding things and then taking away any elements that didn't work.

Why didn't any of these songs ever land on a Switchfoot CD?

Foreman: It goes back to the concept of what Switchfoot means to me. Switchfoot is this broad tapestry where we want to continue talking about the bigger issues. My stuff is more confessional in nature and I wanted this to feel like you would after a show getting invited to my house and having me play a few songs for you. It's like close friends talking about personal issues, and it seems to me like you can't do that with a half stack and a drummer who hits like Chad [Butler] behind you! This was a chance to do something differently, and the rest of the band were very encouraging. They'd tell me, "You've got to get this stuff out. People need to hear it!" Chad and [guitarist/keyboardist] Jerome Fontamillas played for parts of it, Tim [Foreman, Jon's brother and Switchfoot's bassist] played and sang. So it was still a team effort to get the songs out there.

What inspired these impromptu after-show sets in any random location?

Foreman: It's just purely selfish! I love playing music, so after a show where I only played an hour and a half, I haven't touched Bob Dylan, Weezer or Johnny Cash, or any of these mellower songs. Those after-shows are my chance to be able to do that. There's no ticket, no coffee, and no lights. It's just me with an acoustic guitar, harmonica, and maybe a capo. It's such a freeing experience and the type of thing where it's a way to give back to the folks who want to hear that side of things as well—the late-night owls.

Are you incorporating any of your own songs into the band's concerts?

Foreman: We haven't really, though sometimes, I'll play one like "Your Love Is Strong" as the first song of the encore. That's been really fun, but for me, I see them as two distinct elements. I don't want to take away from the Switchfoot set to do this too much, but there's a little bit of crossover.

Speaking of Switchfoot, how did you guys get selected to record "This Is Home" for Disney's Prince Caspian soundtrack?

Foreman: Mickey came to visit and talk to us about it. Actually, it was interesting because of all the animals involved—we've got Mickey Mouse, Aslan and Sparrow Records, so we had a mouse, a lion, and a bird, which meant a lot of cooks in the kitchen! But seriously, [the producers] personally called and asked us to write a song for the movie. I was flattered because I'm a big C.S. Lewis fan, and it would be a great opportunity to see a childhood story that meant a lot to me come full circle.

What type of emotions were you trying to stir up with the song?

Foreman: We wanted to find a place where the song could emote the feelings of a six-year-old kid reading the books as a bedtime story. There are a lot of themes in the book and movie, so the goal was to see the movie through the eyes of a child. The song sums up a lot of Lewis' perception of pain, joy, beauty and eternal life—at least it's our attempt to sum it all up and try to give a nod towards him!

What is the band looking forward to most about the Music Builds Tour this summer/fall with Third Day, Jars of Clay, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band?

Foreman: It's going to the biggest thing we've ever been a part of. We and Third Day have been helping [tour sponsors] Habitat For Humanity for awhile and we started brainstorming how we could team up to form a kind of festival that would be much bigger than simply Christian music or rock and roll. That's why we wanted to get Robert Randolph and Jars of Clay involved. It's been a dream of ours to see this happen and hopefully we'll be able to give even more money to Habitat as a result. For us, that's really gratifying because then we'll have left a city in better shape.

Is Habitat the primary cause the band is backing right now or are you looking into other organizations as well?

Foreman: We love Habitat because it's in everyone's back yard. There's a window of time where you're aware of the world's problems, but when you wake up in the suburbs or the city and realize there's a guy on the corner with nothing to eat, it strikes a chord more than just hearing about what's going on in Africa or India. For me, it's incredible to start using my hands and feet. It's literally taught me a new trade where I can lay tile, frame a window, or put siding on a house with Matt Thiessen [of recent tour mates Relient K]. You go away with such a glow over what's been accomplished. That's why we're so passionate about it, and that's not to detract from all the other amazing organizations around the world. We just find it to be incredible to have your local community be the starting point.

What does the future hold for you, both as a solo artist and as Switchfoot prepares for the next studio CD?

Foreman: I'm finalizing this side project called Fiction Family with Sean Watkins [from Nickel Creek] and I'm amped about that. He's an incredible guy and it's an incredible project we've been sitting on for far too long. It will be finished this fall and we'll probably do a fall tour maybe with his sister Sara [Watkins, also of Nickel Creek], who just had [Led Zeppelin's] John Paul Jones produce her most recent record.

Then after that, we're putting out the next Switchfoot record. We've started and stopped several times, doing some sessions on our own and as well as some with Charlie Peacock. For me, the next record is really important because it's our first record as an indie band. We did three records with [Sparrow's] Re:think and three records with Sony/Columbia. Now it's the beginning of a new era. We really want to make sure we set the trajectory really high, empowered to make the best record of our lives.

Read more about Jon Foreman and Switchfoot at our site's artist page for the band. Also check up on our reviews of Jon's solo material, both the Fall and Winter release, as well as Spring and Summer. You can find all of Switchfoot's albums and Jon Foreman's solo releases at Christianbook.com.

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