THE BALIKBAYAN: WELCOME BACK JEROME FONTAMILLAS

I think everybody knows that Switchfoot’s guitarist/keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas is a full blooded Filipino. Picture here on the left shows Jerome playing the according in their Hurricane Tour in the UK. I remember him mention in an interview before that he resided in Cubao or Pasay when he was still at a very young age. My girlfriend, who watched their Hurricane tour concert in London, got the chance to meet Jerome and the other Switchfoot boys. The photo here was taken by her. Lucky for my girlfriend who has this meet-and-greet pass and she was able to chat with Switchfoot. She got the chance to talk to Jerome and heard Philippine Switchfoot saying his ancestors are from Baguio. And yes, I am working and residing here in Baguio at the moment. He also mentioned that the band was challenged to eat balut, which is an exotic delicacy here in the Philippines, the last time they here in
2007. Hopefully, Swithcfoot also comes to Baguio like Michael Learns to Rock and Fra Lippo Lippi who already had their concert here in Baguio someday.

So, proud to be a Filipino huh? So Jerome is among the wonderful and talented artists of the Philippines like Charice Pempeno, Apol deAp of BEP, and Arnel Pineda of Journey. It shows that there are really great talents coming from the Pearl of the East. Hope to have more Filipino artists who will emerge in the music industry. Good to know also to have a Christian artist from the Philippines who is part of a band who made it a cross-over to the secular mainstream. And not just that – a band that is also a Grammy-award-winning band. Really proud of our kababayan Jerome Fontamillas.

Check this Bio of jerome: http://landofbrokenhearts.org/switchfoot/biographies/jerome-fontamillas/

And here is what Wikipedia has to say about Jerome:

Jerome Earl Fontamillas (Born June 20) is a Filipino American musician. Jerome has played in several bands notably with industrial rock ^[2] band Mortaland Fold Zandura, with long time musical partner Jyro Xhan. He currently plays with alternative rock band Switchfoot as a guitar and keyboard player.

In 1985 Fontamillas Graduated from Monterey Bay Academy in Watsonville, CA. Fontamillas is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.^[3] In 1988 Fontamillas, Jyro Xhan, Ray Tongpo and Wilson Peralta released a six song demo tape called Wish Fifteen on Blue Genius Music as Mortal Wish. Four years later they signed with Intense Records and became simply Mortal. Fontamillas would continue to play with Mortal until 1996 and played in Fold Zandura (also with Jyro) between 1995 and 1999.

In 2000, Fontamillas quit his day job and ended up joining and touring with Switchfoot shortly after the release of their third album, Learning to Breathe. His first release with Switchfoot was their 2003 release, The Beautiful Letdown. In 2002 Jyro and Fontamillas released a Mortal reunion album called Nu-En-Jin. He married his wife Kristi in December 2005.

Fontamillas is also a producer for the following independent acts:

• The Echoing Green, Echoing Green (1998)
• Sonia V.
• Starflyer 59, I Predict A Clone (1994)
• March, Velvet Blue Music, (1999)