{"id":708,"date":"2011-09-07T12:46:11","date_gmt":"2011-09-07T16:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/the_prophet_of_pop\/?p=708"},"modified":"2011-09-07T17:02:35","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T21:02:35","slug":"on-interviewing-switchfoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/09\/on-interviewing-switchfoot.html","title":{"rendered":"On Interviewing Switchfoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I recently had the opportunity to talk with two of the members of the stirringly-spiritual art rock band Switchfoot. \u00a0In case you haven’t seen the interview, you can check it out here<\/a>. \u00a0Interviewing artists is by far my favorite part of this job, but it isn’t often that interviews are as much fun as this one was. \u00a0The guys are truly gracious, and very glad to be where they are, doing what they are doing. \u00a0Contrary to what you might think, that is not always the case with musicians. \u00a0It’s even more astonishing when you consider what Switchfoot has accomplished.<\/p>\n

I first caught wind of the band when they released Learning to Breathe<\/em>, but at the time was not as enamored with them as I would become. \u00a0Despite it being a fantastic album, I had a hard time separating it from other Christian music at the time. \u00a0Still, it seemed that the band had a message that stretched beyond that of its peers. \u00a0One that recognized what it meant to be a person of faith, but to still live in the world and be a part of it. \u00a0It was a message that went beyond that grandstanding and, dare I say, proselytizing of other Christian music.<\/p>\n

As a result, it wasn’t a shock to me when the band caught mainstream success on a secular label. \u00a0The Beautiful Letdown<\/em> took the band to new places, new venues, and to a brand new audience. \u00a0Then, and since, the band has never changed it’s message; one of hope, love, and unwaivering devotion to their own spirituality. \u00a0As a band, they have manged to co-exist between the world of Christian music and secular music without distilling what they had to say. \u00a0Since then, other bands have made similar efforts, but it is hard to imagine that happening without Switchfoot.<\/p>\n

To me, they are one of the rare bands who are “doing it right.” \u00a0Making Christian music for a Christian audience is fine – don’t get me wrong. \u00a0But, the influence ends there. \u00a0It is safe. \u00a0If the idea of music is to put out a message that everyone can be influenced by, why only make music for one specific set of people? \u00a0I doubt that people become Christians just because of their music, but I have no doubt that many, many people are positively influenced by what they are doing. \u00a0I also have no doubt that Christians have no trouble feeling spiritually connected and encouraged by their music. \u00a0That, to me, seems like the best of both worlds. \u00a0It is what they do as artists, and it’s had a profound influence on music in the last decade.<\/p>\n

Through all of that, these guys are as humble and friendly as the day that they started. \u00a0I can’t help but be impressed, and enthused, by it. \u00a0Way to go guys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently had the opportunity to talk with two of the members of the stirringly-spiritual art rock band Switchfoot. \u00a0In case you haven’t seen the interview, you can check it out here. \u00a0Interviewing artists is by far my favorite part of this job, but it isn’t often that interviews are as much fun as this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,13],"tags":[751,750,748,749,746,25,747,745],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cool-stuff-yo","category-musings","tag-are-switchfoot-christian","tag-christian-secular-bands","tag-drew-shirley","tag-jerome-switchfoot","tag-music-interviews","tag-switchfoot","tag-switchfoot-new-album","tag-switchfoot-vice-verses"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Interviewing Switchfoot - The Prophet of Pop<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/09\/on-interviewing-switchfoot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On Interviewing Switchfoot - The Prophet of Pop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently had the opportunity to talk with two of the members of the stirringly-spiritual art rock band Switchfoot. \u00a0In case you haven’t seen the interview, you can check it out here. \u00a0Interviewing artists is by far my favorite part of this job, but it isn’t often that interviews are as much fun as this…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/the_prophet_of_pop\/2011\/09\/on-interviewing-switchfoot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Prophet of Pop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-07T16:46:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-09-07T21:02:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/the_prophet_of_pop\/files\/2011\/09\/Switchfoot-II-ph-cr-Andy-Barron-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"S. 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