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Do you still feel these projects have thematic parallels, even if they're somewhat unintentional?

Foreman Sure, there's tons. I've noticed a very organic direction overall, and several songs that refer to body parts: "Behind Your Eyes," "In My Arms," even "Baptize My Mind." I have the tendency to be very drawn into philosophical elements, like the stars and gravity, both referring to entropy and trying to figure it all out. But these songs are a little less grandiose and reflect my own personal struggles. Switchfoot is more of the public address with the lights and megaphone, whereas these songs are more my confession.

What are some of the spiritual issues you're struggling with throughout these tracks?

Foreman: They're all fairly outspoken. I mentioned "Baptize My Mind" and the lyrics speak for themselves. I'm trying to come to terms with the shortcomings and failings in my own life. I'm always surprised by what people think is offensive or not offensive or spiritual. These are deeply spiritual, deeply personal songs, but I think there's an edge to it. I think some of my heroes are people who aren't afraid to have a yelling match with God and ask why certain things happen. They're not afraid to ask questions or believe that God is bigger than any question. I don't say that in an irreverent way. If we believe in a God who created the universe, we have to also expect him to show up when we're struggling with something.

A lot of these songs represent your most overtly spiritual to date. What has been the mainstream reception to this material?

Foreman I feel like they've been really well received as far as I can tell, but I haven't paid that much attention other than they seem to like it. By the way, another reason I wanted to do the EPs was that I feel like six songs meant you'd almost give as much attention to the first song as you would the sixth. On a full-length CD, once you reach six through ten or eleven, [your attention starts to wander] and you're kind of done with it. You move on to the next record, or you're already at the grocery store, or you're done running errands. This format allows every song to speak for itself in the way a full-length wouldn't. The songs are very understated, but I don't have to go pound them over anyone's head to get attention.

How do you approach your music differently as a solo artist than you would with Switchfoot?

Foreman The big difference would be the way the material was produced, emphasizing the plot, the storyline, and the narrative in the songs. Many of the songs were recorded the same night they were written. I wrote the songs, played them a few times, threw mics up close to the guitar and my mouth, and it's basically you by yourself in the room getting the feel of it. Then you go back and listen, figuring out the best take, and from there add everything else—some cello, the bass clarinet, percussion, whatever you, want to add to the original track. It maintains a sense of honesty and there's a little bit of magic in discovering it with everything determined by the vocal. [I discovered in the process] that vocals sometimes repel certain instruments like oil and water. At first, I might have thought an electric guitar was a great idea, but then after I'd go back and listen, I'd that would detract from the narrative. So the formula was to keep adding things and then taking away any elements that didn't work.

Why didn't any of these songs ever land on a Switchfoot CD?

Foreman It goes back to the concept of what Switchfoot means to me. Switchfoot is this broad tapestry where we want to continue talking about the bigger issues. My stuff is more confessional in nature and I wanted this to feel like you would after a show getting invited to my house and having me play a few songs for you. It's like close friends talking about personal issues, and it seems to me like you can't do that with a half stack and a drummer who hits like Chad [Butler] behind you! This was a chance to do something differently, and the rest of the band were very encouraging. They'd tell me, "You've got to get this stuff out. People need to hear it!" Chad and [guitarist/keyboardist] Jerome Fontamillas played for parts of it, Tim [Foreman, Jon's brother and Switchfoot's bassist] played and sang. So it was still a team effort to get the songs out there.

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