When you're face down at the very bottom of who you are, and there is no formality or pretence to cling to, all your masks fall off. In this broken place, our lives can be seen for what they are, no more no less; we are ourselves.

 

If we spend out time obsessing with the future or regretting the past, then we will never live. Tomorrow will always be tomorrow and yesterday cannot be changed.

 

Well, the funny thing is, you are never the same person that you were the day before.

 

I used to think that great art happened without argument, and maybe that's not the case. Maybe the things that are most important in this life, you have to fight for.

 

Every day of your life, you change the world. Absolutely, yes, we're out to change the world. I mean, you change it whether you like it or not. You wake up and you talk to the grocer. You either kick your dog or you pet him. There's a million decisions you have every day where you change the world.

 

My friends, there is a big difference between the way this world should be and the way it is.

 

You know, some people may like switchfoot, some may not…But everyone loves the gorElla, I really like the gorElla * pets gorElla’s head *

These songs become your children and they’re worth fighting for.

 

They don't let me play it on the harmonica anymore. The harmonica is off limits. Just like the tambourine, its really only fun for the person playing it.

 

When I see the stars and the sunset there's a part of me that wakes up.

 

The tendency…in today's culture is to want to be a "star", but I want to be a servant.

 

Change. The desire to see change in my life and in the world around me. I think  that the element of change is what inspires hope....And love might be what inspires change: God's Love for us and or love for those around us. Things have to change; our world is in desperate need.

 

You walk along sunset and you can feel the energy...something intangible in the air. All that motion and no real change. We're all thirsty for it: thirsty for life, true love, meaning, the kingdom of heavens....for the water that breathes in new life inside.

 

 

In my opinion the best way to live life is by living it. That's…the stance I take. Certainly my views are going to come out in the songs but maybe in a different way.

  

I'm learning how much I have to learn, how little I know, how fragile my understanding is. I'm learning to be thankful and patient....Today is all that we will ever have in this life.

 

Tomorrow will always be tomorrow and yesterday cannot be changed.

 

The freedom that we offered is truly amazing: To live today, free from even our own fallen desires. This is where I want to be.

 

A lot of hope that is thrown around today is like a band-aid. We put this band-aid on this gaping wound and it doesn't do anything at all. The hope that we are talking about goes deeper than the wound.

Rain makes you write all sorts of sad songs, and even though we all love elliott smith I'm looking forward to some sunshine.

 

Music is what I do, Christ is why I do it.

 

The wise man seeks God in the now and brings both his regrets and fears before him.

 

If you truly love someone, you're going to be pure because true love comes from God, and God tells us to remain pure. That's good enough for me.

 

Sometimes it can be really hard in our fast paced society to slow ourselves down enough to begin to listen to God's voice. The dilemma exists in my position as well.

 

To be a follower of Christ is to emulate him. When he went off alone into the desert to pray, he was teaching a valuable lesson.

 

I'm not really proud of my Christian life. I've fallen many many times. I'm just very glad that there is a God who cares and loves me and that there is this thing called Grace. Because of that, I live my life for Him and only Him and when given a chance, I might spread some of that love to those He brings in front of me. I take my spiritual life one step at a time.

Tim Foreman:

 

Well Jon and I met mutually through our parents when he was 2 and I was 0, you see we're brothers

 

I think if you're going to be on the road 355 days out of the year and just really pouring your heart into the music, it's got to be songs that you're passionate about. I don't think any of us could do this for four albums if we didn't believe in it.

 

We want to play concrete girl....we really do....but when we try we kinda feel like a Switchfoot cover band

Onstage if I'm playing a show and someone jumps onstage to attack me. You know, how am I going to handle that? All I have in my hand is a bass guitar. That became my protection; it became for me I guess, um, my liberty, my freedom. 

It changes the way…the dynamic of the band when it's 4 guys and a gorElla instead of 5 guys.

Interviewer- Low Carb or low fat?
Jon- I don’t understand the question.
Tim- Do they have that at Taco Bell?

It's kind of typical at the end of a tour that bands that are touring together start playing pranks on each other, especially the last night of a tour. And the last night of a tour anything can happen, and everyone's ready for it. And so we were touring with [another band] two years ago, and it was the last night, and they came out during our set dressed up in crazy outfits and playing drums and different things... So we thought, "OK, we'll get them back." So they were playing in the middle of their set, and we sneaked under their backdrop, and we're going to run out in these big sombreros. We came out during the wrong song and so we tried to sneak back under, no one in the crowd saw us, but their drummer saw us. So he's playing this song, and he's looking at us, and he's pointing with his stick trying to get the bass player to see us. And he's saying, "Pour water on them, pour water on them," while he's playing. And the bass player is saying, "What? All right." So the bass player goes to the stage hand and says, "Our drummer wants you to go pour water on him, I don't understand it." So here comes the stage hand with a big two gallon container of water and just dumps it on their drummer, and the drummer is hitting him with his sticks saying: "No, no." It gets all over his drums all over his symbols. So the rest of the set water is going everywhere. So we figured we might not even want to come out after that.

Chad fell asleep during our set, for those of you who know Chad, you are aware of his tremendous sleeping powers.

The interviewer asks about goals, Jon's goal is to just be himself, Tim answers, "My goal is to be Jon.”

A lot of kids won't go to their parents when they have a problem. I've found that's pretty much always the best place to go. My mom and my dad always have the most wise insights that pretty much everything I deal with.

Don't allow yourself to become hard or jaded-- seek truth with a passion! You will find truth if you seek it, but you first decide if it is really truth that you are seeking. If it is, be prepared to be found.

The irony of the statement, "Living is simple" ...we just look at the world around us, and the contradiction is painful and clear: living is not at all simple. In fact, living is very difficult and complex, and the truth is stranger than fiction. We catch the humor, but it's not that funny. But wait—even amidst the confusion of the confusion of life we see God's redemptive plan at work. In fact, his plan is far stranger than anything that we have ever encountered.  "Is this fiction? Hope has given himself to the worst. Is this fiction? Of divine comedy where the last of the last finish first.” (Referencing the song “Living Is Simple” from Learning To Breathe)

I think the most difficult things that we sacrifice are the things that we have to sacrifice daily.

There is this duck that went to a bar and asked the guy 'Do you have apples?' and the guy said no ,then the next day the duck came back and asked the guy 'Do you have apples?’, and he said no, so the next 10 minutes he came back and asked again, the guy said if you come and ask me that one more time I am going to nail your feet to the wall so that everyone would see, so no one saw the duck for 3 months and then he came back and asked the guy 'Do you have any nails?' and he said no so then the duck said "Good, do you have any apples?”

Greetings and happy Easter, I hope this post finds you well. We are enjoying a wonderful Easter here in Michigan -- so refreshed! Today is our first day off in over 3 weeks, and combined with the fact that we are celebrating the resurrection, I am filled with Joy and renewed. Thank you for coming out to the shows to say hello; it's been an amazing tour for us. It is so encouraging to see and feel your support for what we are doing. More than ever before, we realize that we truly are a family. Do not be discouraged by the few who have simply misunderstood us and our motives -- we are not discouraged. We are neither concerned with defending ourselves, nor are we here to please people. We are convinced, more than ever before, that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. We have, however, noticed that you have been quick to defend us on our behalf, and we're thankful that there are so many who understand what we're doing. We have seen firsthand, through numerous encounters that our songs are impacting people, and we are more united than ever before. That said, we covet your prayers. This tour schedule is relentless, and it has taken its toll on us physically and spiritually. This past week, I have been sicker than I can ever remember being, and I lost my voice for 5 days straight. Most of the other guys have also been fighting sicknesses for most of the tour. Today is a much-needed day off. So friends, a lot has changed, and a lot has stayed the same. We now have a lot more listeners and a much busier schedule, but we're still the same band: 4 imperfect kids playing songs that mean the world to us, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, and guaranteed to let you down. Another thing that hasn't changed: we're still so proud to be your band and to call you friends. We're in this together, and I couldn't imagine it any other way. Much love, Tim

We're Christian by faith, not by genre.