To go along with the release of Switchfoot's new album, Learning to
Breathe, today, we have an exclusive Interview with Switchfoot, all
about their new album and what they do to reach out to others. Enjoy!

INTERVIEW WITH SWITCHFOOT
Saturday, August 26, 2000
Purple Door arts and music festival
Lebanon Expo Grounds
Lebanon, PA

cMUSICWEB.COM: What is the gist of Learning to Breathe?
SWITCHFOOT: It's about motion - moving from one place to another.
Mainly the fact that we are one thing now, but God is calling us to
be, you know He is changing us, He is transforming us into something
new. He is changing us from a fallen world to a redeemed world that
God is bringing about on this planet. And just kind of the motion
that happens there. And just the call that each of us as a Christian
has for that to what God is doing all around us.
cMW: With your new album Learning to Breathe, have Switchfoot
progressed musically and intellectually?
SwF: I think Yes and yes. It's hard to be the judge on that one.
You'd be a better judge on that one. We definitely put alot more
thought into both aspects of the album, really planning it out. Even
the first song and last song of the album were kind of written to be
the bookends of the album. There is that kind of thought of thinking
about the flow from song to song as telling a story and the
continuation of the New Way to be Human story. Not only do we have a
new way of living but a new atmosphere to live in. It's the
atmosphere of God's grace and we are infants within that atmosphere
and we are learning to breathe, we are learning to crawl. It is
entirely new and foreign to us.
cMW: Is the sound and attitude similar to your last album?
SwF: I would say so. Same attitude at least. There is probably
more of a band energy on this one, I would think, than the last one.
It is definitely more high energy. It definitely has a little bit
more of a band feel.
cMW: Where does that come from?
SwF: In the recording. The way it was recorded. The last album was
kind of fragmented. Right in the middle of it, Chad… we had planned
to record it earlier and Chad's wedding was planned and then it got
moved back so that the album was recorded right around the same
time. So either Chad was not there a lot of times, or Tim wasn't
there, this or that. Tim was taking classes at a University. So we
were recording our parts at different times. On this album, even
foundationally when we were writing our parts for the album we
were "woodshedding" as they call it, where you just go into a room
and shed wood, a lot of drumsticks, for hours and hours.
cMW: Do you do that a lot?
SwF: We did for this album. I think it is really important to get
an end product that has the integrity of what Switchfoot is. It
means putting in the time, the three of us, on our three instruments.

cMW: Is there a release date planned for the made-for-TV movie that
Switchfoot was featured in?

SwF: Jason Priestly crashed his car. Ever since then they put it on
hold. He had a big DWI incident and that was bad press so they are
waiting for that to clear before they release it. It's bizarre when
you are thrust into a world that is so foreign to us as Christians in
a lot of ways. It is a real eye opener, but it was really neat to be
involved in that and to get to share our music to people that would
have never heard of us otherwise and that really have no concept of
the gospel. It is certainly an honor.
cMW: How did we get involved with that?
SwF: We have been very blessed to have songs in TV shows, probably
too many TV shows. The way that our record company works, there is a
guy that works in LA. That is what he does. He really thinks that
our songs are very applicable for TV and I guess a lot of other
people who decide that type of thing think so too. So it is nothing
that we have anything to do with. You never write a song for a music
video or TV or anything, I guess it is just one of those things that
fits somehow. It's an honor. You can't really hope for it or
explain it.

cMW: What do you have planned next?
SwF: Well, the new album comes out on September 26th, and we are
planning a big tour in the Spring with the Supertones and Relient K.
We might get to go to Paris and play a show there. And Tim gets
married. And we have been working with a group of refugees that live
in San Diego. We are meeting with them tomorrow and we are hoping to
produce an album for them. As Switchfoot we are trying to figure out
how to best get the message of the persecution that is going on in
Sudan. We have a bunch of ideas, we are going to be following up on
them and try to see what that means. Every day, 700 Christians die
for their faith over there. It's pretty much an eye opener. I have
never been an activist for this or that. I mean I have been involved
a little bit in ocean pollution and things like that but I have never
been involved in things worldwide. It is just kind of opening my
eyes and I guess I want to be a part of that, opening other people's
eyes.
cMW: How did you get involved?
SwF: Each of our churches are heavily involved in helping with San
Diego's refugees. They came over here with pretty much nothing. So
we have been able to go down and spend some time with them and their
pastors and they are just the neatest people. Having that
interaction with them helps us to be more aware of what is happening
in Sudan than a lot of people. I had never heard about the
persecution in Sudan before I had been exposed to these people. It
is the single most persecuted place in the world right now. I think
it is not really known today, but it is true. That is what is going
on out there.
cMW: Is that something that you plan to bring out at concerts, or is
that just something that you are doing on your own at home?
SwF: We hope to raise awareness for them in whatever way we can and
whatever way we feel God is calling us to do. Actually, we have
invited a group of them to sing to open up for our cd release concert
in San Diego. We are just going to see what happens. We have a
bunch of dreams and ideas. We are going to just dream big and God
will determine what our dreams amount to.

We like the big dreams of Switchfoot and how they are reaching out to
people who do not hear the gospel everyday.

For more info on Switchfoot and a review of their second album, New
Way to be Human, check out Switchfoot on cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/rock/switchfoot

Also, the recently revamped their official website, and it's a great
place to check out:
http://www.switchfoot.com/

A special thanks to the Purple Door festival for giving us a chance
to do this interview! Visit Purple Door here:
http://www.purpledoor.com/


THE LATEST NEWS HEADLINES
• Passion's OneDay Live products come Oct. 24
• Carman is the star of a full-length movie
• And much more!

View the latest stories in full:
http://cMusicWeb.com/


AVAILABLE TODAY (on cMusicWeb.com and at your local store)

ARDENT WORSHIP - ALL TOGETHER SEPARATE
ARDENT WORSHIP - SATELLITE SOUL
ARDENT WORSHIP - SKILLET
This series features Live performances of these three Ardent Records
artists, and there they perform their own worship songs and popular
worship tunes. The Skillet album is the most highly reccomended.

CHILD OF THE PROMISE - VARIOUS
Featuring big names in Christian pop, this is the soundtrack to a
Christmas musical that is hitting theatres this fall.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR THE HEART - VARIOUS
Sparrow put out this collection of Christmas music.

FATHER - JUSTIN McROBERTS
Justin is back with his acoustic-folk melodies, and some friends are
on there, too. Nichole Nordeman, Sarah Masen, Andrew Peterson and
others help out on the album.

JOY - AVALON
Avalon does Christmas in their regular cheese-pop fashion.

LEARNING TO BREATHE - SWITCHFOOT
As if the band's comments aren't enough, we just had to mention that
the music of Learning to Breathe is similar to their previous album,
but a bit better, and also more rock-oriented. Plus, the sonwriting
is great, and their quirky songs are still there. This is the PICK
OF THE WEEK!

PASS IT ON - VARIOUS
ForeFront, in cooperation with Heritage Builders, puts together a
collection of songs that are supposed to help the Christian faith
be "passed on" to the next generation.

THIRD VERSE - SMALLTOWN POETS
A new project and a deeper, more rockin' performance that passes up
their sophmore album in lyrics and musicianship.

WELCOME TO EARTH - JOHNNY Q. PUBLIC
Johnny Q. is back with more of their hard-hitting rock.

WHERE I WANNA BE - V*ENNA
These two girls are ready to fill the world with cheese after their
successful EP last summer.

WORDS IN TIME - RUSS LEE
Newcomer Russ Lee delivers some new pop.


AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER (on Christian MusicWeb)

ROCK: http://cMusicWeb.com/rock
Loud and Clear - The Supertones [10/10]

ALTERNATIVE: http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative
Long Line of Leavers - Caedmon's Call [10/10]
Shine: the Hits - Newsboys [10/24]
Transform - Rebecca St. James [10/24]

POP: http://cMusicWeb.com/pop
Holiday! - Crystal Lewis [10/03]
Left Behind: The Movie Soundtrack - Various [10/03]
Inseparable - Phil Keaggy [10/17]
Lights of Madrid - Phil Keaggy [10/17]
Heart of a Champion: a 30-Song Legacy - Carman [10/24]

WORSHIP: http://cMusicWeb.com/worship
Glo - delirious? [10/10]
For This Cause - Hillsongs Australia [10/17]

BOOKS: http://cMusicWeb.com/books
Boy Meets Girl - Joshua and Shannon Harris [10/??]
The Mark: The Beast Rules the World - Tim F. LaHayle and Jerry B.
Jenkins [10/24]

Click on the album titles on the genre page to order them and recieve
them on the release date.


CHRISTIAN HIT RADIO CHARTS FOR THIS WEEK
> A joyous welcome is extended to the return of the
> best female Christian artist, Rebecca St. James.
1. Your Love, O Lord - Third Day
2. Don't Look at Me - Stacie Orrico
3. Into You - Jennifer Knapp
4. Good Stuff - Newsboys
5. Dive - dc Talk
6. Center of Your Love - Jaci Velasquez
7. I'm Alright - Jars of Clay
8. Where I Wanna Be - V*enna
9. Don't Worry - Rebecca St. James
10. Good Life - Audio Adrenaline

SOURCE: CCM Update (http://www.ccmupdate.com/)


Well, thanks for reading, and we would like to congratulate Karen
from Pennsylvania on winning a copy of Switchfoot's "Learning to
Breathe." Next week we're giving away Josh Harris videos and the
week after we'll be sending out one copy of the awesome GLO by
delirious?. Have a great week, and please send us any comments and
tell us how we're doing.

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
ICQ - 43224317 AOL IM - dMusicWeb