My son Sam and daughter-in-law Ruby were at the house a week ago. I was showing them some vinyl from the '80s—bands from NorCal, back in the day. One was The Features, a great power-pop rock band I shared the bill with a few times and booked at music clubs I curated. Their eyes widened into a question mark, and I knew: They wanted to know "what the what?"
Some of their good friends had a well-known Nashville-based band named The Features. Completely unrelated, they existed in different generations and locales using the same name. Who knows how many "The Features" there have been since this band-naming style's advent.
The regional, rock'n'roll informality works until a band signs with a label affiliated with a major entertainment corporation. Then, your beloved name has to clear the trademark hurdles. Once you're rich and famous, you don't want a band sporting your name (with recordings and touring experience) coming forward claiming infringement. That's gonna hurt.
When I discovered and signed the band Switchfoot, they were known as Chin Up. Buz Buzbee, a sales rep for EMI Music, had dropped off a cassette at my studio. One listen, and I was hooked. I was going to sign this band. Chin Up didn't pass the corporate trademark test, though. Too many chins already. How about a surf term, I asked? Goofy Foot was put forward. A definition was requested. "Well, it's about how you naturally stand on the surfboard—there's regular (left foot in front) and goofy foot (right foot in front). Then there's switch—basically the ability to switch from one stance to another while surfing."
So, switchfoot? Correct. Switchfoot cleared the trademark gauntlet.
2023 is the 20th Anniversary of Switchfoot's breakout, double platinum album, The Beautiful Letdown, featuring the Billboard Top 40 pop hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You To Move." As a special anniversary treat, a cast of characters who claim Switchfoot as an influence on their own music have recorded covers from the album, including The Jonas Brothers, Jon Bellion, Twenty One Pilots, and Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic.
In celebration, it's my privilege to tell some stories from those early Switchfoot days in "What's Christian About Chemistry?"—the debut episode of my new podcast, Music & Meaning. It's the inside scoop on how I managed to sign the Grammy Award-winning rock legends and the challenges I faced in convincing gatekeepers to trust me with my new discovery.
So tune in now, subscribe, and experience the goodness that happens when music meets destiny and risk meets trust. Podcast available everywhere—but a few links included here. Spread the good word. Thank you for reading and listening!