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Did you try to avoid the whole "Switchfoot meets Nickel Creek" tag?

Watkins: We didn't really set out aiming for anything or avoiding anything. For all we knew, fifty people were going to buy it, so there was no need to worry about what it would be. Our aim is trying to do something new, and since there were no stakes, it could be completely whatever we wanted to.

Given Switchfoot's popularity with both mainstream and Christian audiences, how will this material translate to both?

Foreman: I don't think either of those words exist in the way many people think they do. I believe in a God that transcends soul, matter, time, and space, so when I'm writing a song, I'm not thinking about the we/they. There is no we/they if we're all in a journey toward truth, though I suppose that can sound really new age-y. I'm a believer, but I think that the boxes that are commonly put on Christendom by the post-modern world can be really destructive to the way we produce art and produce love to those around us.

Your recent solo EPs quote Scripture much more than typical Switchfoot fare. How have non-Christian fans reacted to the more overtly spiritual songs?

Foreman: I work with all sorts of different people from all sorts of backgrounds—agnostic, Jewish, whomever—an amalgamation of different people with different perspectives. But "Your Love Is Strong"—which is mostly taken from the Lord's Prayer—is one of their favorite songs. I think in [believers'] heads, it feels like a real great divide, but I don't feel like the rest of the world sees that. I think the big deal for most people is the way we treat each other—that speaks much louder than any song. If you're a jerk, it doesn't matter how you're singing or what your faith.

The solo EPs were really personal, and I felt like I could dive into the personal part who I am. But for this album, it felt like an exploration of a fictional world.

Sean, considering Nickel Creek is primarily known with the mainstream crowd, how might this project widen your audience with Christian music listeners?

Watkins: If you're a songwriter, you're gonna write about the different parts of your life. I totally agree with all of what Jon said. To me it feels dishonest to leave one out of the other.

With Nickel Creek, we would just play the songs and it doesn't matter who comes and listens. We don't try to aim for one specific demographic or belief system. There will be people who come to you because they find similarities in beliefs, and that's cool. There are some that don't and they still like the music, which is also cool.

Is Nickel Creek still on a hiatus?

Watkins: Yup.

What's the status of Switchfoot's next studio CD?

Foreman: Some of 'em are actually recording right now. We've got our own studio and we're holed up. We've worked with a handful of people [including Charlie Peacock] trying to take the songs to different places and I think we've finally come to a place where we have a great team. We have 75 songs and we're trying to whittle them down to the top 12.

Is there a future with Fiction Family or this a mere one off?

Watkins: I would love to continue. Jon and I talked about more Fiction Family stuff; it's kind of open-ended when we have time. I also have this band called Works Progress Administration [including Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench, Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins, and members of Elvis Costello's band]. We just meet as friends in the studio with everybody having fun and just sort of experimenting with music. We have a record and are now trying to figure out what to do with it, but it will probably come out in late summer. So that's the next thing, but we'll definitely Fiction it up! 

Foreman: The Family reunion is coming!

For more on Fiction Family, see their website and read our review.

Copyright © 2009 Andy Argyrakis subject to licensing agreement with Christian Music Today. Click for reprint information.

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