Home » Events » Switchfoot / Reliant K with special guest Ruth

Switchfoot / Reliant K with special guest Ruth

Nov 8th, 2007

Switchfoot
Rarely does a rock band combine explosive guitars with an intense longing for meaning. Jon Foreman and Switchfoot, however, yearn for something more than what pop-culture is selling. “If I’m content as an artist to write a hit song or have a platinum record, then I’ll have failed a lot of my fellow human beings,” says Foreman. “We have the best jobs in the world because we play music for a living and love doing it, but we didn’t get into this to try and sell something. For us, it’s about communicating and connecting with people on a different level.”

Musically, Switchfoot draws as much from The Police and James Taylor as from The Beatles and Stevie Wonder to create swirling guitar pop, full of effortlessly arching melodies and textures that shift in continual, sensual motion. “We’ve never fit in any of the genre boxes,” says Foreman. “I think that diversity is our strength.”

Switchfoot's career exploded with the 4-million-seller, The Beautiful Letdown. Top hits like Dare You to Move, Meant to Live and Gone (from Letdown) took their message of connecting faith to everday life to a broader mainstream and Christian audience. Their latest album is Oh! Gravity, delivering another innovative collection of pop-rock songs that are sure to move the band forward in their attempts to be "salt and light" in today's culture.

Relient K
Canton, OH's Relient K formed in 1998 and joined the parade of Christian punk-pop artists (MxPx, Ghoti Hook, Slick Shoes, etc.) with their self-titled 2000 debut, mixing catchy melodies and snotty attitude with spiritual concerns. The record was produced by dc Talk guitarist Mark Townsend, and the band comprised vocalist/guitarist/pianist Matt Thiessen, guitarist Matthew Hoopes, bassist Brian Pittman, and drummer Stephen Cushman. David Douglas joined up in place of Cushman by the year's end, and Relient K followed up in August 2001 with The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek. The album sold 300,000 copies and Relient K's momentum continued to build as they played nearly 200 shows in North America before the year closed out. A third full-length, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do, debuted at number 38 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart upon its release in spring 2003. The band didn't waste any time recording a fourth album; MMHMM, which was produced by lead singer Thiessen and dc Talk's Townsend and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge, was released in November 2004 by Gotee/Capitol. MMHMM scanned over 51,000 copies sold during its first week, hitting number 15 on the Top 200 and number one for Christian Albums. It eventually went gold, Relient K's third consecutive album to do so, and the band's mainstream crossover was in full swing with singles "Be My Escape" and "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" doing very well on modern rock radio and MTV. Pittman left the group after the album's release (later going on to play with Inhale/Exhale), and John Warne (ex-Ace Troubleshooter) filled in on bass for touring purposes, becoming a permanent member in 2005. Relient K further added Jonathan Schneck as a third guitarist (who also played banjo and bells) that year, bumping them up to quintet status. Touring constantly in support of MMHMM, the Apathetic EP followed in November 2005 as another treat to hold over fans as the guys readied their next album. Five Score & Seven Years Ago (as in their fifth album in seven years) was largely produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Less Than Jake) and released in early March 2007. True to form, Relient K set out on a full round of nationwide dates, including spring shows with Mae and Sherwood.

Location

Knoxville Coliseum

Event Info

Show Time: Nov 8th 7:00 PM

Ticket Info

All Seats Reserved

*Group Rate (15 or more) $2.00 discount per ticket, and two free tickets to the show! Tickets may be purchased through the web site below, or at any of the following outlets. Coliseum Box Office, Charge by Phone - Tickets Unlimited (865) 656-4444 or toll free (877) 995-9961; “Tickets Unlimited” Outlets including all Knoxville area Cat's CDs and Cassettes, Disc Exchange, f y e Music (formerly Camelot) and the Rhythm Section in Gatlinburg. Please note all outlets are CASH ONLY! Tickets are subject to an additional “Tickets Unlimited” Service Charge.