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Switchfoot is an alternative rock / power pop / post-grunge band from San Diego, California, United States, whose intelligent lyricism focuses on spiritual and social themes. The original members of the band were Jon Foreman, his brother Tim Foreman, and Chad Butler. According to Jon Foreman, the name "Switchfoot" is a surfing term. "We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives so to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It's about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music." Although the members of Switchfoot are all Christians they don't like to be labled as a "Christian" band by genre, but a band of people who are Christians.Keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas joined the band for 2000's ''Learning to Breathe'', which found Switchfoot taking more steps towards mainstream modern rock. This transition album brought Switchfoot mainstream recognition, riding on the inclusion of 4 of their songs in the 2002 movie ''A Walk to Remember''. Singer and actor Mandy Moore, who starred in the movie, sang Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" during a scene in the movie, and also did a duet with Jon Foreman for the soundtrack. ''The Beautiful Letdown'', their major label debut, represented the band's full evolution toward a more accessible, mainstream sound. The album was certified double-platinum, and went on to sell more than 2.5 million copies, on the strength of constant touring and huge radio hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move" (which received a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award in 2005). The song "Gone" has also received airplay on Christian radio stations but wasn't released as an actual single. In 2005, Switchfoot received five Dove Award nominations, including Artist of the Year.Guitarist Drew Shirley, after touring with the band since 2003, became an official member in 2005. Switchfoot's latest album, ''Nothing is Sound'', featuring Drew's work with the band, was released on September 13, 2005. Its first single, "Stars", is currently being played on mainstream radio stations. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, an all time high for the band, while bassist Tim Foreman attracted headlines by speaking out against the copy-protection used by the label and providing fans a detailed workaround on the band's message board. This copy-protection is known as Extended Copy Protection, which has been identified by leading anti-virus companies as a trojan horse and a root kit.Switchfoot has been actively involved in humanitarian causes, besides their support for DATA and the ONE Campaign. They recently made a trip to some South African villages, which inspired the song "Shadow Proves the Sunshine" (featured on ''Nothing is Sound''). Seeing things like an orphanage filled with babies who ''all'' lost their parents to AIDS, palling around with orphan kids in the streets, and getting involved with a children's choir called "Kuyasa Kids" moved them to start an ambitious organization called Lowercase People. Lowercase People publishes a quarterly magazine for music, arts and social justice. They've also produced a CD by the Kuyasa Kids (available at the magazine's or the band's website) so that the kids can be empowered by making money for their communities.

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