Report: Switchfoot Bro-Am

As I've mentioned on this blog before, the Switchfoot Bro-Am (more bro than pro) surf benefit was held on May 14, 2005. The main purpose was to show love and raise funds for the children of Care House. I decided to drop a day of Little League and spend the day at the beach helping out. The day before I also won an auction for a Switchfoot surfboard with 2 tickets to an exclusive Switchfoot concert after the Bro-Am. My day was set.

I had to get up at 3:45 AM on Saturday morning and after little sleep (I'm a raging insomniac sometimes) got up and got ready to go. I hit the road at about 4:25 AM in order to get to Encinitas by 5:00 AM to begin setting up. My wife and sons (and nephew who spent the weekend with us) would join later. I met JonnyUps (noted guest blogger on this site, bassist for Parker Theory and celebrating his 22nd birthday) and we got to work. Just a few minutes later a big van pulls up and out pops Chad (the drummer from Switchfoot). He had a ton of setup supplies to unload. It was quite surprising seeing any of the Switchfoot guys that early but most of the rest of the guys from the band soon followed. They were all working as hard or harder than anyone else. I wish my kids could have seen that. It turns out the Switchfoot guys had all the vision for this event and found some great people to help make it happen.

I began meeting more and more of the volunteers. Talk about a group of impressive people, people working hard to make a special day for about 70 kids from Care House. Talking with many of those folks was real special and to learn about what makes them tick is life changing in itself. So many people donate so much time, and I don't know how they do it. Quick recommendation, meet people like this as they will bless you.

The actual surf event was pretty cool as some pro surfers came down. Many organizations donated money for the entry fees for the surf teams. One of the teams consisited of Jon, Tim and Chad with a To Be Announced. It turns out the TBA was 3 time surfing world champion and Switchfoot hero, Tom Curren. The Switchfoot guys got through a few heats but didn't win. Some amazing surfing occured.

During the day, between the surf events, surfing lessons and guitar lessons were provided to the Care House kids. They were also provided with free food (donated by many places of business). I just hope those kids had a fantastic day. My family joined us later and so I took some time out to have some fun with them. The 64 degree water didn't bother them a bit. I was especially proud of my older son who did some beach cleanup.

Since I only had one extra ticket for the concert, my kids wanted to hang out with their visiting cousin. This enabled me to take JonnyUps to the concert for his birthday. We left the beach to go home and clean up. The concert was held at the La Paloma Theatre in downtown Encinitas. It's a small venue and was a great setting. I was able to bring in my Canon Rebel with zoom lens in. I even got called up to the stage to pick up the winning surfboard from the auction and was presented it by Chad (drummer for SF).

We were treated to a fantastic dance presentation from some of the Care House kids, a song from some of the Care House kids and staff, some very cool songs from Tom Curren, and then a 7 song set from Switchfoot. I was able to wander around and take all sorts of pictures (I'll find a place to post them later) with my newer camera (still learning how to take good pics). The SF guys were a little more accoustic than usual and it was great. A new song called "Happy is a Yuppie Word" will be on the new "Nothing is Sound" album, due this summer, and it is now my latest favorite song.

Afterwards, we hung around and watched Jon (lead singer) get into a dance-off with one of the Care House kids. Jon was pretty funny. After the kids had to leave Jonny and I got to do some roadie work for the SF guys. They set up and tore down all their equipment. It was great hanging out and it was kind of like the days before SF got signed to a major label and made it big. We obviously don't see them near as much anymore but it was great catching up with all the SF guys. It's great to see how well they are doing (in so many ways) and it's a great reminder why I root so hard for them. They are the real deal, are trying to make this world a better place and aren't afraid to get their hands dirty doing it.

All in all, an amazing day. Many thanks to the SF guys but also to the behind the scenes folks such as Joan, Summer, Christie and many others. Truly, one of the best days I've ever experienced. I can't wait until next year.

UPDATE: Pictures here.

Posted by Tim at May 15, 2005 10:36 PM