via Switchfoot
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In late summer 2021, we first caught up with Jon Foreman, the introspective and highly likable frontman of the rock band Switchfoot.
Foreman and Switchfoot first hit it big in 2002, after four of the band’s songs appeared in the film A Walk to Remember, with Mandy Moore. Then came Switchfoot’s major label debut, 2003’s The Beautiful Letdown, which blew the door open—selling 2.6 million copies and producing megahits like “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move.”
Since those initial tastes of success, including hits on the Christian Contemporary Music scene, the band and Foreman have continued to persevere and rise to even greater heights. There were revelations such as the Grammy Award-winning Hello Hurricane album along with 2021’s critically acclaimed Interrobang.
Flash forward to today—as Foreman discussed with us on the most recent episode of The Load Out music podcast—Switchfoot’s exciting new project with Blues legend Buddy Guy has been a labor of love for him.
“Buddy Guy, yeah, even hearing me say that, I’m like—did that happen?” Forman said with a laugh.
As a high school student, Foreman had just gotten his driver’s license and his soccer coach suggested he go see Guy and B.B. King play a show.
“It felt like it opened up a whole new world to me,” noting he and his friends were all playing punk rock at the time. “That evening, I felt like I heard the space between the notes expressed in a way I’d never heard before, and it set me off on a whole new trajectory.”
Not a bad trajectory, as the band has sold more than 10 million albums and built a global reputation for emotionally charged performances.
“Last Man Standing,” the Switchfoot and Guy collaboration, was produced by Switchfoot and Tom Hambridge. The track strips the blues down to its rawest form, driven by the unmistakable interplay between Guy and Foreman, with their fiery vocal and guitar exchange being anchored by Chad Butler’s driving drums, Tim Foreman’s steady bassline and a groove that effortlessly bridges generations of rock and blues.
The track marks a return to heavier guitar sounds for Switchfoot, something they’ve leaned away from in recent years; and explores themes of resilience, survival, and generational legacy, told through two distinct voices.
“Buddy Guy was the blues legend who taught me how to play the guitar,” Foreman said. “I remember watching him live as a teenager and being completely transformed. I wanted this song to be something worthy of the man who helped shape my musical journey. Buddy, thanks for joining our band for a tune. Bigger than that—thanks for teaching me how to play.”
And Switchfoot is far from done. The band is currently working on a new record, inspired, in part, by the energy and tone of this single.
So sit back and enjoy our latest conversation with the great Jon Foreman of Switchfoot on The Load Out music podcast.
Content shared from brobible.com.