Hello Hurricane is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with producers such as Ken Andrews and Charlie Peacock.Switchfoot Eyeing Spring 2009 For New Album - Published August 1, 2008 (Retrieved June 24, 2009) The album was recorded mainly in the band's Spot X Studio in their hometown of San Diego, California. It was originally to be released on October 6, 2009, but was pushed back to a November 10, 2009 release on their independent record label, the Atlantic-distributed lowercase people records.Switchfoot Community - New Album Release details, the latest skinny - Published July 30, 2009 (retrieved July 30, 2009) On February 13, 2011, the album won the award for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Recording and production Recording sessions with Charlie Peacock Pre-production for Hello Hurricane began during the first week of August 2007.2008/2009 New Switchfoot Album Page - Published June 12, 2008 (Retrieved August 7, 2008) That week, the band recorded 13 songs at Big Fish Studio under the guidance of producer Charlie Peacock, who was the founder of the band's first independent label, Re:Think Records.Switchfoot weathers the storm - Published January 12, 2010 (retrieved March 16, 2010) As an experiment, the band "set up all in one room" and tracked the songs live. These new song ideas were then indefinitely shelved when the band embarked on their fall Appetite for Construction Tour with Relient K, with drummer Chad Butler later calling the sessions a "failed experiment".
The band does credit Peacock with encouraging them throughout that time period, positing that the band was "reaching for a horizon that's much larger" than anything they'd done before. The band walked away from their time with Peacock determined to keep "pushing for something we hadn't felt yet...just that desire to go back in and keep writing and keep pushing and looking".
Major label independence After the Peacock sessions, the band revealed on August 9 that they had left their Major record label, Columbia/Sony BMG, and intended to independently release their follow-up to 2006's Oh! Gravity.a new beginning in stereo... Jon Foreman Myspace blog 8-9-07 - Published August 10, 2007 (retrieved May 5, 2009)
To usher in this new period of label independence, the band began construction of a recording studio in San Diego on October 12, 2007. Soon after, it was announced that they had founded an independent record label imprint called lowercase people records,Switchfoot creates "Lowercase People Records"! - Published October 29, 2007 (Retrieved May 5, 2009) under which proceeding projects, including the as-yet-untitled new studio album, would be released.
In May 2008, Switchfoot moved into their new studio which they called Spot X, and recording for the record was kicked into high gear in June, with the band proceeding without a producer. "I feel like we've got a fairly firm grip on what we want to do and I feel like we can get there on our own", Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman said at the time.Switchfoot Eyeing Spring 2009 For New Album - Published August 1, 2008 (Retrieved March 10, 2009) Progress was halted briefly when the band embarked on the Music Builds Tour in August, but was resumed soon after.
Sessions resume with Mike Elizondo and Darrell Thorp On October 30, it was revealed that Grammy Award-winning engineer Darrell Thorp, who has worked with the likes of Radiohead and Outkast, had been working with Switchfoot in the studio for the new record, and later, producer Mike Elizondo was brought on board for the last few months of recording.Q&A: Chad Butler from Switchfoot on surfing, being in an indie band and working with Eminem's producer - Published June 19, 2009 (retrieved June 20, 2009
Work on the record was once more halted in January 2009 when Foreman embarked on a national tour with Fiction Family, a side project band involving Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek. No further news was heard from Switchfoot again until late February, when the band announced they had finished selecting the final song list.Switchfoot Tweeting on Twitter!; announces that they have put together the final Song list for the New Album! - Published February 26, 2009 (retrieved February 27, 2009)
In March, the band tracked a few sessions with engineer Ryan Petersen and drummer Chad Butler reported they were "rounding 3rd base" on the album and that it was near completion.Switchfoot "rounding 3rd base" and nearing home plate (for the new album)! - Published March 5, 2009 (retrieved March 5, 2009)
Final mixing began on April 7,Switchfoot mixing their first song today! (Hello Hurricane) - Published April 7, 2009 (retrieved April 15, 2009) and later on, the band announced that during the sessions, they had actually been at work on 4 albums-worth of material. The album's title was announced on the 24th, and on May 30, Switchfoot sent out an email saying that "Hello Hurricane" was finished.Breaking: New Switchfoot Email - Published May 29, 2009 (retrieved May 30, 2009)
Rob Cavallo and Atlantic Records After its completion, the album found its way into the hands of Rob Cavallo, newly appointed as Chief Creative Officer with Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records.FootColumn: Switchfoot and Expanded rights and 360 Deals? - Published October 8, 2009 (retrieved October 18, 2009) Cavallo liked what he heard and contacted Switchfoot, eventually signing them on to a 360 Deal to distribute Hello Hurricane through Atlantic Records.PositiveMedia's Call-in Show - Published October 6, 2009 (retrieved October 18, 2009)
"We tracked the whole record completely on our own dime and basically just our own opinions what the record should be", said Jon Foreman. "And then Atlantic chased us down".Jon Foreman steps in and out of "Hurricane" - Published November 5, 2009 (retrieved November 5, 2009)
Shortly after signing on, the band held several sessions with Cavallo to rework some of the songs for radio.los angeles, california. - Published August 5, 2009 (retrieved August 23, 2009)Twitter
Musical and lyrical content The album from the outset was described to be different from any previous work the band has done. "We wanted to start with a clean slate because the last couple of records felt kind of compromised", said Foreman concerning the period the band had with Columbia Records after 2003's The Beautiful Letdown. He describes the time period with their former label as one filled with personnel turnover, which eventually led to their departure from Sony because "we wanted to create an environment where we were going to be with the same people for a long time and trust is established."Songwriting for the Ages - Published January 12, 2009 (Retrieved January 15, 2009)
During the early stages of production, Foreman said that the record was going to sound different sonically, initially "shaping up to be more acoustic AND more electronic"."acoustic AND more electronic"... Switchfoot interviewed on MTV Asia - Published December 28, 2007 (Retrieved January 15, 2009) "You know, it’s one of those things where you get to a point where you kind of want to shock yourself again", said Foreman.Spring is in the air! fall & winter can now rest at peace! and New RECORD NEWS - Published March 20, 2008 (Retrieved January 15, 2009)
Later in August, Foreman said that "there are so many different directions we can go in. One of the songs has a (Led) Zeppelin feel. One of them has more of a Devo feel... I feel like the headspace we're in now, the glass ceiling's been shattered."Switchfoot Eyeing Spring 2009 For New Album - Published August 1, 2008 (Retrieved January 15, 2009)
In January 2009, Foreman said that the sonic direction had been taken in three directions, with some songs being more "beat driven", some "punchy," and others "a little bit broader, ethereal," with the band ultimately deciding to go with an amalgam of the three elements.Jon Foreman - Published January 2009 (retrieved January 26, 2009)
The overall writing for the record was also varied, with shifts in style and production. Foreman attributes this to Thorp's input, crediting the engineer with creating a landscape in which "the darks are darker and the lights are brighter and the lows are lower and the highs are higher".Fiction Family Pt. 2 - Published January 2, 2009 (retrieved January 27, 2009) The enlisting of Hip-hop/R&B producer Mike Elizondo late in the process brought a "new synergy" to the sessions, with drummer Chad Butler describing Elizondo as "someone who's got such a rhythmic sensibility".
With all the artistic freedom came increasingly large amounts of material in what bassist Tim Foreman calls "a very prolific season for us." The challenge for Switchfoot became a question of "how do you define yourself?" according to Butler. "You’ve got all these different songs and different styles and different musical experimentations. It becomes a big mess..." It quickly became clear that very few of the experimental tracks were going to make the record, with producer Elizondo telling the band to not "be afraid of what you've done for the past six records". In the end, the band decided to go in the direction of making "a statement" and defining who they are in an independent era, "and that’s when it came down to what are the songs saying and which ones mean the most to us."A Conversation With Switchfoot’s Drummer Chad Butler - Published August 5, 2009 (retrieved August 8, 2009)
Elizondo asked the band, "What are the songs that only you can bring? What are the songs that only Switchfoot can deliver?" And it was with that lens that the band chose the final track listing for Hello Hurricane. The inspiration for the album title comes from the story of a woman the band worked with during post-Hurricane Katrina who had lost her leg during the evacuation. "Her statement was, 'I walked out of my old house, I'm gonna walk into this new one,'" recalls Butler.Switchfoot 2010 - Published January 12, 2010 (retrieved August 2, 2010)
Studio webcam and Twitter As in the Oh! Gravity. sessions, the band installed a webcam in the studio to give fans a "fly-on-the-wall" view of their progress. Instead of the refresh-still-images camera that was utilized for the Gravity sessions, this version of the webcam featured real-time video streaming. It was launched for the first time on July 1, 2008, and was chronicled periodically on the fan-made Switchfoot Webcam Blog 2008.
Later, the band switched over to their Twitter account to update fans on the final stages of production for the album.
Release
Promotion The song "Hello Hurricane" was debuted at a May 8, 2009 concert in Visalia, California when the band played a preview of the album version of the song through the PA system for fans to hear.Switchfoot rock Visalia and preview Hello Hurricane! - Published May 9, 2009 (retrieved May 13, 2009) One fan recorded the song and posted it online, providing listeners with the first taste of the band's new material.Download preview of Switchfoot's new song, "Hello Hurricane" - Published May 11, 2009 (retrieved May 13, 2009) - Published May 11, 2009 (retrieved July 10, 2009)
Switchfoot began unveiling the new material throughout the Summer Festival tour season, beginning with "Mess of Me", which was played live for the first time on June 18 at the Big Ticket Festival in Michigan. "Hello Hurricane", "Bullet Soul", "Needle and Haystack Life", - Published July 10, 2009 (retrieved July 11, 2009) and "The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)" - Published July 16, 2009 (retrieved July 16, 2009) were all debuted throughout the season as well.