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Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman in April 2008
Background information
Birth name	Jonathan Mark Foreman
Born	(1976-10-22) October 22, 1976 (age 48) San Bernardino County, California, U.S.
Genres	Folk rock, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, cello, keyboards
Years active	1996–present
Labels	lowercase people Capitol CMG Credential
Member of	Switchfoot, Fiction Family
Website	jonforeman.com

Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician who is the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. As a solo act, Foreman has released 14 extended plays and two studio albums.

Personal life

Foreman was born in San Bernardino 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. 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 Encinitas. He graduated from San Dieguito Academy in the North County Coastal area of San Diego, California. Foreman attended UC San Diego and later dropped out to follow his singing career.

Foreman married Emily Masen in 2002, and the couple had a daughter in 2012. The couple welcomed their second child, a son, in June 2018.

One of Foreman's favorite pastimes is surfing, and when not on tour, he resides in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, a beach community in Encinitas.

Foreman is a committed nondenominational 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."

Foreman's father, Mark, served as the senior pastor of North Coast Calvary Chapel in Carlsbad, California. His mother is Jan (née Carlton).

Influences

Foreman cites Elliott Smith, U2, The Police, James Taylor, The Beatles, Radiohead, J.S. Bach, Ronny Jordan, Miles Davis, Keith Green, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Led Zeppelin as some of his musical influences. 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.

Side projects

Foreman has made musical contributions away from Switchfoot, including writing with Molly Jenson. He appeared on the song "Deathbed" Relient K's 2007 album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago. 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, which he also sang on. He wrote "Running Away from Me" for Meat Loaf's 2010 album Hang Cool Teddy Bear. Foreman collaborated with Ryan O'Neal for the Sleeping at Last song "Birthright". Foreman has also contributed to the books The Art of Being and New Way to be Human, the latter written by producer Charlie Peacock

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". Their self-titled debut, Fiction Family, was released on 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."

In November 2012, the band released an extended play titled Holiday EP. Their second studio album, Fiction Family Reunion, was released on January 29, 2013.

Solo projects

Foreman has also worked on various solo projects, independently releasing four EPs, titled Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, released byCredential Recordings and lowercase people records. In October 2008, Foreman released Limbs and Branches, a collection of songs from the EPs along with two new tracks. In April 2009, he was GMA Dove Award-nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year.

In 2015, Foreman released the EPs Sunlight, Shadows, Darkness and Dawn, which contain 25 songs; one for each hour of the day with one extra. Each song was produced by a different producer, with Foreman sending in tracks recorded backstage while on tour. They were mixed by Future of Forestry's Eric Owyoung.

Foreman's debut solo album Departures was released in February 2021. The album featured collaborations with Lauren Daigle & Madison Cunningham.

Songwriting style

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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.

Solo discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Box sets / compilation albums

Singles

*Original version is on The Wonderlands: Shadows (EP)

Other appearances

• "Someday We'll Know" (New Radicals cover with Mandy Moore) – Sony – A Walk to Remember Soundtrack (2002)
• "Desire" – Noise Ratchet's Noise Ratchet (2003)
• "Spirit" – X Worship 2006 (Switchfoot) (2005)
• "Deathbed" – Relient K's Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007)
• "Do You Only Love The Ones Who Look Like You" – Molly Jenson's Maybe Tomorrow (2009)
• "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Hank Williams cover) – Sony/ATV Nashville Classic Covers: Volume One
• "Birthright" – Sleeping at Last's March EP (2011)
• "O Holy Night" - The Eagle and Child's Christmas, Volume II – EP (2017)
• "When the Walls Come Crashing Down" – Colony House (2020)
• "Don't Know If I Believe It" – Judah. (2020)

Notes

1. Spring (EP) did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 14 on the Top Digital Albums chart.
2. The Wonderlands: Shadows (EP) did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 89 on the Top Current Albums chart.
3. The Wonderlands: Darkness (EP) did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 99 on the Top Album Sales chart.
4. Chart peaks are for the original version.

References

1. "Celebrity Birthdays: Oct. 22". October 22, 2021.
2. Interview with Todd Cooper
3. ^ "JON FOREMAN BIOGRAPHY". Retrieved September 22, 2014.
4. ^ "Jon Foreman Bio » My Switchfeed". Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014. Jon Foreman Bio
5. "Switchfoot frontman on the group's hiatus, his bandmate's cancer and more ahead of Denver show". Denver Post. March 21, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
6. Morse, Steve (January 9, 2004). "Switchfoot steps toward stardom". Boston.com. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
7. "Our Staff - North Coast Calvary Chapel". Retrieved June 26, 2019.
8. John Wilkens (January 14, 2019). "Birthday surprise for WWII pilot reunited with pieces of his past". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
9. ^ "The Dark Horse: Joan of Arc, Elliot Smith and Me". The Huffington Post. June 30, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
10. "Switchfoot Evicted By Radiohead, Embraced By Rock Radio". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
11. QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GUYS
12. Switchfoot Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
13. "Molly Jenson (Maybe Tomorrow review)". March 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
14. Jurek, Thom. "Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
15. O'Neil, Ryan. ""Birthright" & how it was made". SleepingatLast.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
16. "The Art of Being Book". Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
17. "New Way to Be Human: A Provocative Look at What It Means to Follow Jesus". WaterBrook Multnomah. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
18. "Nickel Creek official website". Nickelcreek.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
19. "Exclusive: Nickel Creek, Switchfoot Members Start New Band". Spin. October 3, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
20. Jon Foreman from Switchfoot to release solo EPs + MP3 Archived February 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine - Published November 27, 2007 (retrieved April 21, 2009)
21. Kim Jones. "40th Annual Dove Awards Nominees & Winners". About.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
22. ^ "The Rabbit Room - Jon Foreman Discusses The Wonderlands series". rabbitroom.com. January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
23. "The Wonderlands, A Musical Planet of Songs for Every Hour of the Day". Land of Broken Hearts. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
24. "Switchfoot's Jon Foreman Reveals Plans to Release Four EPs in 2015 – 'Sunlight, Shadows, Darkness and Dawn'". BREATHEcast. November 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
25. "No Limits on This Record: Interview with Future of Forestry". January 12, 2017. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
26. ^ White, Logan (January 8, 2021). "Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) Announces Solo Album + Releases 3 New Songs". Substream Magazine. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
27. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Top Current Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
28. ^ "Jon Foreman Chart History: Christian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
29. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
30. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
31. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
32. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
33. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Top Digital Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
34. ^ "Jon Foreman Chart History: Top Current Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
35. "25 IN 24 Collector's Bundle — Jon Foreman". Retrieved July 17, 2019.
36. "Jon Foreman Repackages and Re-releases Solo EPs In Preparation for New Music". Retrieved November 25, 2020.
37. "Jon Foreman Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
38. "Jon Foreman Chart History - Christian Hot AC/CHR". www.billboard.com. Retrieved July 17, 2019.

External links

• Official website

• 1976 births
• Living people
• American rock guitarists
• American male guitarists
• American rock singers
• Singers from California
• Musicians from San Diego
• Credential Recordings artists
• Grammy Award winners
• Switchfoot members
• Guitarists from California
• University of California, San Diego alumni
• 21st-century American singers