Switchfoot s singer a man for all seasons

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot has released some solo projects.

Jon Foreman is not one to kick back and wait for the rest of Switchfoot to get geared up for the next recording session.

The lead singer and chief songwriter for Switchfoot a Christian band from San Diego that has sold millions of albums in the mainstream market has been busy getting ready for fall. And winter, spring, and summer, too.

Foreman has just finished releasing four solo EPs, each titled after one of the seasons, on Credentials Records.

The arrangements are simple and intimate, more polished than a thrown-together basement tape but less complex than your typical multilayered rock album.

Foreman, 30, who has been known to play solo sets for hours in the parking lot after Switchfoot concerts, said the EPs were something he just had to do.

You ve got more songs in you and you just have to get them out, the 30-year-old rocker said.

He paid for and produced the projects himself, and feels confident they won t interfere with his band s career.

I feel that this has allowed me to face the next Switchfoot project with my arms open wider, he said. I m in a band with these other guys who all have great ideas, and I need to be able to loosen the reins. This has been a chance for me to get that out of my system.

One selection from Fall, The Cure for Pain, was featured in the season finale of the hit show Grey s Anatomy.

Foreman s solo material is more introspective in tone and folksier in style than Switchfoot s full-bodied guitar rockers like Stars, Dare You To Move, and This Is Your Life.

There are some dark and brooding moments here, including Learning How To Die and Lord, Save Me From Myself, as well as a well-versed critique of ostentatious worship, Instead of a Show.

The melodic beautify and spiritual intensity of Your Love Is Strong, from Spring, shows that great songwriting shines through even the most stripped-down musical setting.

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EXPELLED AGAIN? Did you like Ben Stein s movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed? Do you wish theaters would bring back this controversial documentary that asserts academia is unfairly biased against, and ruthless in punishing, professors who question evolution or call for discussion of intelligent design?

Well, the producers are looking for people willing to shell out a few bucks to bring Expelled back to the big screen.

The cost is as low as $1,800 for individuals or groups to sponsor a showing, according to Tripp H. Thornton of Premise Media.

More information is available by calling 678-546-5580 or online at www.premisemedia.com.

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ON THE HOMEFRONT: Toledo s top two Christian rock bands have been keeping busy:

Sanctus Real has filmed a video for its hit single, Whatever You re Doing (Something Heavenly) and the video is No. 5 at Christian Hit Radio.

This Beautiful Republic is poised to release its sophomore disc for Sparrow Records, Perspective, due out Aug. 19. The first single, Learning To Fall, came out July 8.

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BARACK S BELIEFS: Newsweek s cover story this week features Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in a prayerful pose with the caption, Faith and Politics: What He Believes.

The story does not offer any revelations about Mr. Obama s faith, but quotes his books, Dreams From My Father and The Audicity of Hope, and provides a few words from an interview with a very cautious Mr. Obama.

... Even after I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that doesn t mean I don t have doubt, he told Newsweek. I had doubts when my mother died. I have doubts every time I pick up the newspaper.

He said he reads the Bible nearly every night because it takes me out of the immediacy of my day and gives me a point of reflection.

Mr. Obama also said he prays every day for forgiveness for my sins and flaws, which are many, the protection of my family, and that I m carrying out God s will, and not in a grandiose way.

David Yonke is The Blade s religion editor. Contact him at dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154.