Exclusive Q&A: Switchfoot Rides the Wave to 'Vice Verses'

posted in: Exclusive Interviews • Rock

When thinking of the San Diego, rock music isn’t usually what comes to mind. Surfing, beaches, babes in bikinis and maybe Sea World are usually the top trains of thought about this west coast city. But one band has brought a spiritual rock sound to the forefront of San Diego’s music scene. And that band is Switchfoot. The GRAMMY-winning alternative rock band has had a long and successful career with a sound that has changed alongside the maturation of the band members themselves. What hasn’t changed is Switchfoot’s strong belief in the power of their music to inspire hope and, endearingly, their love of surfing. Guitarist and backing vocalist Drew Shirley take some time to tell OurStage what went into the creation of the band’s latest output Vice Verses, Switchfoot’s future plans and the ties that the band still holds to the San Diego community.

OS: The original idea of the album could be said to have started way back in 2009. When did the full concept of Vice Verses crystallize?

DS: The album started with the song Vice Verses. It was written during the recording of Hello Hurricane. But, it felt like it should belong on a different album. So, the concept was there to be a follow up to be Hello Hurricane. We were thinking about it when we were recording our last album. It’s not a thematic album, it’s not a concept album at all. It’s just that title was set. We kind of weighed all the other songs according to that, found songs that fit alongside it. We always have the mentality may the best song win. So, Jon just writes a whole bunch of songs and then we just sit and listen and tear them apart a little bit. [laughs] But, he doesn’t mind. And then, we all just let the best songs win and even vote sometimes. Ironically enough, it does come down to a vote sometimes, but the strongest, most passionate and most honest songs always win. 

OS: I know that Vice Verses, both the song and the album as a whole, could be seen as a little bit darker than some of the other stuff you’ve done in the past. What went into the decision of taking that route?

DS: I think it’s a very hopeful album. It is only dark in its depth. I think that as we’ve gotten older and more experienced as a band, you figure out who you are slowly along the way. You find the songs that are deep enough and carry the most soul of the band. You find the songs that we can sing and those were songs we wanted on Vice Verses.

OS: What was the story behind the design of the logo for the album?

DS: We have a good friend, Andy Barrett, that started designing and we were pitched a whole bunch of designs. We wanted something that had a distinctive look to it. We wanted something that matched the music and then we went about our basis on that. We wanted something that was vibey and had a life to it, a handwritten quality to it. So, that’s what Andy came up with.

OS: The sheer number of songs that you guys have recorded over the span of these two albums is pretty crazy. How did that happen? It still boggles my mind a little bit.

DS: Yeah, I know. Me too. [laughs] You should see my iTunes, under Switchfoot. We do write a lot of songs and record a lot of songs. For Hello Hurricane, there were some eighty songs recorded. That’s a lot. So, for Vice Verses, we tried to limit that, to set some boundaries. We picked fourteen songs and focused on recording those and put everything we had into recording those fourteen songs during the time we were recording. They’ll all find their way out somehow, somewhere. Even if we just steal a piece of them to put in another song.

OS: Is it strange to play some of the older material alongside the newer songs?

DS: Well, Jon’s voice’s changed. So he can’t sing the high notes like he used to. Just kidding, that was a bad joke. [laughs] As you grow and write songs and get more experience, some of the older songs seem kind of tongue and cheek and I think we’ve moved into a more pandemic place with our songs where our songs carry a lot of weight, carry a lot of hope, and carry a lot of things we believe in. We’ve gotten to that and found a real passion and a real voice in that. So, the older songs are tongue and cheek and almost feel like someplace we used to be that we aren’t anymore.

OS: Do you have any plans to release those extra songs in a different album?

DS: Oh yeah, we do. Just to let you in, after this record, we’re talking about a movie. Surf and music travel movie in the making that’s gonna be called Fading West and a lot of the songs we’re looking to put on that. We’re gonna start filming it over the next couple of years and it’s going to be a movie soundtrack that carries a lot of those songs.

OS: Switchfoot obviously has a huge following in San Diego area. Are there any places there that hold a special memory for the band?

DS: One place is called Moonlight Beach. We hold a surf contest and a concert for charity that we plan and organize. It’s called the Switchfoot Bro-Am and we’ve been doing it for eight years. It helps the homeless kids in San Diego. That holds a lot of memories for us, because, every year, we set up a big scaffolding, invite all our friends and families, and the whole community comes out for a day of surfing and music.

OS: Is that the subject of the film you were talking about?

DS: The band started wanting to be pro surfers. The music was sort of a side thing and then the music took off. So the band still surfs quite a bit and we’re looking to integrate that into the movie.

OS: You have some dates planning later on in November in the UK. Are there any places in particular you’re looking to play over there?

DS: We’ve been to Europe six-eight times and we love touring there every time we can. I love Germany. They always have good shows. We have great fans in Germany. The people love music and rock music in particular. London is always a fantastic show. That’s more of a hip kind of place. It’s really expensive in the city but it’s really happening. I’m also looking forward to Switzerland. We always play Switzerland and have a good following there too. We’d love to keep playing Europe as often as we can. It’s one of those perks of the jobs.

You can get your hands on all the different versions of Vice Verses, including the Super Deluxe edition at Switchfoot’s official Web site. Europeans can also find dates and tickets there to Switchfoot’s upcoming shows in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. Also, feel free to check out the video for “Dark Horses” below.