Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and bassist Tim Foreman (Jonathan's brother).
Foreman was born in San Bernadino County, California, but his family moved to Massachusetts and Virginia Beach during his childhood. There he became fast friends with Todd Cooper, who encouraged him to learn guitar.[1] Cooper was later a guitar tech for Switchfoot, although he left in 2005 to pursue his own musical career. After several years, Foreman and his family moved back to Southern California, this time settling in San Diego. Foreman attended UC San Diego and later dropped out to follow his singing career.[2]Contents [hide] 1 Personal life 2 Influences 3 Side projects 3.1 Fiction Family 3.2 Solo project 4 Songwriting style 5 Solo discography 5.1 Singles 5.2 Compilation appearances 6 Album chart positions 7 References 8 External links
[edit] Personal life
One of Foreman's favorite pastimes is surfing,[3] and when not on tour, he resides in San Diego, California with his wife, Emily Foreman.
Jon Foreman is a committed evangelical Christian, however, his goal with Switchfoot has always been to make music for all people. "For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind — and that's what we want".[4] [edit] Influences
Foreman cites Elliott Smith[5], U2,[6] The Police[7], James Taylor[8], The Beatles, Radiohead[9], Bach, Ronny Jordan, Miles Davis, Keith Green, Nirvana, Johnny Cash,[10] Bob Dylan,[11] and Led Zeppelin as some of his musical influences.[12] In 2001 he was awarded the "Les Paul Horizon Award" for the most promising up-and-coming guitarist at the annual Orville H. Gibson Guitar Awards in Los Angeles.[13] [edit] Side projects
Jon Foreman at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, 2007
Besides being the main songwriter for Switchfoot, Foreman has also made musical contributions away from the band, including writing with San Diego/Orange County based singer-songwriter Molly Jenson.[14] Foreman has also contributed to the books The Art of Being [15] and New Way to be Human, [16] the latter written by producer Charlie Peacock. He also appeared on Relient K's 2007 album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, lending his vocal talents to the song "Deathbed." In September 2009, Jazz musician Karl Denson released the album "Brother's Keeper" in which two songs were co-written by Foreman, and one song, "Drums of War", was solely written by Foreman. Foreman also provided his vocals in accompaniment with Denson on the song "Drums of War".[17] [edit] Fiction Family Main article: Fiction Family
In 2006, Foreman and Nickel Creek member Sean Watkins started collaborating on a duo project originally called "The Real SeanJon," which was later renamed "Fiction Family."[18] Their self-titled debut was released January 20, 2009.
"The album was recorded and written in parts because Nickel Creek and Switchfoot are both hard working, touring acts, we were rarely home from tour at the same time," says Foreman. "Consequently the tracks were passed back and forth between Sean and I. Whoever was home from tour would chip away at the songs with no real expectations at all, mainly just for ourselves and for the love of the song I suppose. We came up with a few cowboy rules for the project: No double tracking. No pussyfooting. No tuning of vocals." [19] [edit] Solo project
Foreman has also worked on various solo projects, independently releasing four EPs, titled Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. For the project, Foreman teamed with Credential Recordings in a partnership with Switchfoot's imprint record label, lowercase people records.[20] In October 2008, Foreman released a collection of songs from his seasonal EPs along with two new tracks. The collection is entitled Limbs and Branches. In April 2009, he was GMA Dove Award-nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year.[21] [edit] Songwriting style
Foreman's songwriting tends to be very dynamic, and he often employs a wide range of different instrumentation, including, but not limited to: guitar, violin, cello, trumpet, mandolin, sitar, flute, saxophone, clarinet, synthesizer, piano, miscellaneous percussion, and harmonica. Foreman has always aimed to use interesting instrumentation when writing for Switchfoot, mostly on some of the band's first albums such as The Legend of Chin, New Way to Be Human, and Learning to Breathe. [edit] Solo discography Fall (November 27, 2007) Winter (January 15, 2008) Spring (March 25, 2008) Summer (June 10, 2008) Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer (Vinyl Collection) (October 28, 2008) Limbs and Branches (October 28, 2008) [edit] Singles "The Cure for Pain" (2007) "Your Love Is Strong" (2008) [edit] Compilation appearances Desire - Noise Ratchet's Noise Ratchet [EP] Someday We'll Know (New Radicals cover with Mandy Moore) - Sony - A Walk to Remember Soundtrack Deathbed - Relient K's Five Score and Seven Years Ago Your Cheatin' Heart (Hank Williams cover) - Sony/ATV Nashville Classic Covers: Volume One [edit] Album chart positionsYear Title Chart positions Heatseekers Billboard 200 Billboard Top Christian Albums Billboard Top Digital Albums Top iTunes Albums 2007 Fall 15 2008 Winter 9 2008 Fall & Winter 24 33 2008 Spring 12 14 2008 Summer 162 6 12 9 2008 Spring & Summer 34 2008 Limbs and Branches 36 48
