Draw The Line (Old News Article)

Draw the Line

Blue October Rebuilds

BY MATT DENTLER

august 29, 2003

One day in the middle of 2001, a few dozen miles from the Alamo, a Texan drew a line in the dirt and asked his comrades who would be joining him on the other side. Rather than fight for independence, they were forced into it.

“Justin’s like, ‘Who’s with us?’” remembers guitar-slinger CB Hudson.

“We put our hands together and said, ‘Let’s do this,’” recalls Justin Furstenfeld.

And so it came to pass: Blue October had been dropped by its label, Universal Records. The band’s chief songwriter and lead singer, Furstenfeld was determined to end the day with a stronger band.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m in,’” recalls Hudson. “If we have a major label deal, that’s pretty nice, but [getting dropped is] not going to stop us from doing what we want to do.”

Having the biggest of the five major labels lay them off was light years away from the heights the band had reached as the pinnacle of Houston’s small but powerful college rock scene in the late Nineties. Unlike some neighbors in the nation’s fourth largest city, they didn’t have Beyoncé-sized success.

Instead, their 2000 Universal debut, Consent to Treatment, hardly cracked national media. Like many Austin bands — i.e. Goudie, Vallejo, Dynamite Hack — who got their taste of major label dreams at the dawn of the new millennium, the San Marcos-based quintet were quick to suffer the corporate bottom line when the album didn’t blow off the shelves.

“We were a band called Blue October, and there were a lot of bands called Limp Bizkit and Korn who were really popular at the time,” says Furstenfeld, summing up 2001. “We’re just not like them.”

The singles from Consent never took off, and while the band found itself beloved by a core group of college-aged Texans, there weren’t 500,000 of them (gold-record status), which is the neighborhood in which major labels like their band sales to reside in the 21st century.

“At the time that Universal released Consent, it was wrong timing for the world,” offers Furstenfeld. “It was the right timing for myself, for people who loved it. For it to catch on, though, it was a bad business move.”

The same demons that fueled Furstenfeld’s poetic aggression also threatened to tear his band apart.

“I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I thought everybody was going to take care of everything for me. I would not take interviews seriously,” he adds, seriously. “I thought I was being mysterious, when meanwhile, I wasn’t doing good business. ‘Oh, they can’t get ahold of me — that means I’m a cool artist.’

“Hell, no,” he grimaces. “That means you’re lazy and irresponsible.”

Rather than disband Blue October, Furstenfeld took a cue of sorts from Wilco and Jimmy Eat World: make an album the majors can’t refuse. Furstenfeld asked those close to him to stay away for a few months, and when he returned, he had the band’s third album, the dynamicHistory for Sale(austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/ 2003-07-18/music_phases4.html). Running the gamut from new songs to some of the first he ever wrote, the new album was a step down in budget, but a leap forward in creativity.

“For Consent to Treatment, we went into these big, badass studios where you walk in and there’s a big platter with bagels,” recalls the band’s drummer, Jeremy Furstenfeld, Justin’s brother. “It was quite an experience.” 

History, on the other hand, was primarily recorded in a strip mall, squeezed between the band’s demanding tour schedule and the occasional day job. What emerged is typical Blue October fare: Bright Eyes angst crying onto poppy musicianship Dave Matthews would be proud to call his own. Justin Furstenfeld’s romantic and mental battles take center stage in the guise of suicide attempts, child abuse, and getting the girl. It could have been the singer’s solo debut if he didn’t make it so easy for his bandmates to lend a hand.

 

“[Justin] makes the frame, sketches the picture, and we come and fill in our own colors,” says Ryan Delahoussaye, the band’s violinist.

The tapestry of the recordings is only a tease for the band’s intense live show. With packed rooms all over Texas, Blue October would probably be winning new fans if the venues weren’t already at capacity with old ones. At a 101X show earlier this month in Austin, the band was the clear crowd favorite. Hundreds fought a rainstorm to watch them play the outdoor stage at Stubb’s, then exited after the band’s set (they weren’t the headliners).

One middle-aged fan drove all the way from South Padre Island to spend over $70 on band merchandise. It’s this kind of loyalty Blue October had begun to rely on when major labels began beckoning again this past spring. With History having already made its bow in April through Dallas-based indie Brando Records, the group was skeptical. Once bitten …

“We have a fan base now where we could’ve stayed indie and maxed-out at about 16,000 records,” explains Jeremy Furstenfeld. “[But] there’s just no way our little group here can get out to millions. I want to raise my kids and send them to college.”

With label presidents tired of braving tiny San Marcos clubs to get a glimpse at this ever-growing phenomenon, Blue October packed their bags in early 2003 for showcases in New York. Over a series of performances, the band relived the days when they were first scouted by the majors. This time, they saw some familiar faces. Lots of them sometimes.

“Universal had, like, 50 people there, and after we were done, they stood up and gave us a standing ovation,” recalls the singer.

“Doug Morris, the CEO of [Universal Records], was there and we made him sit through 12 songs,” grins Jeremy Furstenfeld. “Then, we played ‘Somebody.’”

“Somebody,” from the new album, chronicles the hoops an artist has to jump through to be a part of the commercial music business; “I only wanted to be somebody,” goes the refrain. The song sealed the deal — that, a dinner, and a new contract. This is how History for Sale came to be re-released nationally through Universal Aug. 5. The label also came to the table with tour support, while also taking “Calling You” and inviting it to American Wedding, the hit summer movie, and its soundtrack.

“We think it’s pretty damn cool,” muses Jeremy Furstenfeld.

Despite the rarity of a band getting re-signed to the label that dropped it, can Blue October be certain Justin Furstenfeld won’t be drawing another line in the dirt come the middle of next year? Hard to say.

“The first time, I don’t think I ever met anybody from Universal, except the local A&R reps,” says Delahoussaye. “Getting with them now, they open their arms. I really feel like we’re part of a team now.”

The group’s leader feels like their record label doesn’t just have them, they get them.

“[Universal is] in New York, and I’m in Texas,” he states. “The only way they know who I am is through this music that I’ve made, and that just means so much to me that they actually took the time to care … again.”

No one, especially not the band members themselves, wants to set high expectations, even though it’s clear History for Sale is hitting the mainstream at a time when Blue October’s sound is being embraced. The music is earnest without whining. It has more substance than most modern rock today and shakes your speakers much harder than comparable acts such as Dashboard Confessional.

“Everybody would love to sell a million albums, but we can’t focus on that,” acknowledges Justin Furstenfeld. “We’ve already had people tell us, ‘You guys are gonna be huge!’ and it didn’t happen. It completely demolishes your confidence.

“We built our confidence back up and nobody is going to tear that down again.”Blue October opens for Big Head Todd & the Monsters at the Backyard, Friday, Aug. 29.

Press awards blue october (OLD)

 

1999 Houston Press Music Award Winners

By

Published: July 29, 1999BEST ROCK/POP
Blue October

Just last year, Blue October was the Houston Press’s Critic’s Choice for Best New Act. But who would have thought that the act would take home this award so quickly? In a rock/pop era dominated by simplicity, this band seems a throwback to moody, intelligent art rock. There’s even a violinist.

Singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, formerly of Last Wish, writes literate lyrics about topics such as drug addiction and religion. And Ryan Delahoussaye, who plays that violin, capably assumes the role usually reserved for lead guitarist and, in so doing, creates timbres rarely heard in rock music. Blue October has been building a loyal following throughout Texas and may be on the verge of cracking the national scene. Count this win as one more step toward the big time. (Paul J. MacArthur)

Blue October: Brain Scan & Heart Throb (old Article) dec 31, 2003

  

Wed. December 31.2003 12:00 AM EST

The Texas rockers are defined by passion. They talk drug addiction, fan devotion, and a love of violin.
 
by Gil Kaufman
 

Beware the Blue Meanies. That’s all Blue October singer Justin Furstenfeld can say about his Texas band’s notoriously rabid fans. Diss the group on their message boards and risk being flamed into oblivion. One listen to their second major label album History For Sale and you will understand the source of that passionate reaction.

Furstenfeld, a recovering addict who says he nearly did himself in with drugs by age 21, bursts with emotion on songs such as “Ugly Side,” which blends his inspirational recovery lyrics with flamenco guitar, a string arrangement and yearning vocals that recall early Dave Matthews. Furstenfeld sings “I only want you to see my favorite part of me/ And not my ugly side,” a duality theme that is repeated over the course of the album.“I’m a soft spoken guy, but there’s a side of me that a select few have seen and I’m sad they’ve seen it,” said Furstenfeld. “When I’m singing I have to get that side out, because I can’t do it in real life. You can’t stand up in a restaurant and go, ‘Ahhhhhhhh!’”Blue October, whose music blends industrial beats with classical arrangements and whisper-to-a-scream vocals, built their loyal audience on kitchen-sink tracks like “Razorblade,” a searing condemnation of religious hypocrisy that veers from hippie funk to industrial grind. One of the only rock outfits with a dedicated violin player (who wears glued-on devil horns during shows, no less) the band have gathered a cult of fellow misfits they happily embrace.

Strolling down a New York street, Furstenfeld told VH1 about the danger of going back to Texas with a violinist, and his confrontational tactics with hecklers. And talk about emotion: he almost burst into tears while describing the lengths two fans went in their devotion.

VH1: Whose idea was it to include a violin player in a rock band?

Justin Furstenfeld: I went to a performing arts high school and that’s where I met Ryan [Delahoussaye], who was studying violin and orchestra. I always thought violin was one of the most intimate and romantic instruments in the world. So, after high school we started Blue October and I’d write these sad songs and he would lace them with these amazing hooks. It just made total sense.

VH1: Are you in danger of getting your butt kicked in Texas for having a violin on stage?

Furstenfeld: Not really, though the other night we were playing with the All-American Rejects and people were pointing at us and laughing. But after the first song they were like, “Oh, maybe we should shut up.” Another night on that tour, one kid kept calling us sell-outs and pop stars, but by the end of one song he was totally singing along. I called him out and said, “You’re flipping me off and throwing water bottles and then you’re singing along?” The whole audience was like, “Whoa!” Our stage show is thought provoking and shocking, so though “Calling You” is a nice ballad, when we bust into “Razorblade” it scares some of the younger kids.

VH1: What’s the worst reaction you’ve ever gotten from an audience?

Furstenfeld: Lubbock, Texas a few years ago. I wear a bit of eyeliner on stage because I watched Michael Stipe do it and this big cowboy up front said, “You queer, what are you doing! I’ll show you what people in Texas do to people like you.” So, I started blowing him kisses, which made him even madder.

VH1: Name another rock band that smoked on stage with a violin?

Furstenfeld: Um … I can’t. Ryan’s definitely a weirdo. He wears horns glued to his head and he had a dragon tattooed on his back. People expect to see him in a tuxedo or something, I guess.

VH1: What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

Furstenfeld: I have this song called “For My Brother” thanking my brother for being there for me. These two brothers came up to us at a show once and one of them had been having problems and was looking for an easy way out. He said he heard our song and it was so powerful he changed his mind. They took off their shirts and they had these huge tattoos on their backs that said “For My Brother.” Here are these two 40-year-old men bawling and thanking us for saving their lives. That’s when it hits you that it’s not about money or women or drugs.

VH1: Ever had a stalker?

Furstenfeld: I rarely go on the Web site because I find out more things about myself than even I know. There are things people know about me that … I wouldn’t call it stalker stuff, just people who really, really, really connect with my lyrics.

VH1: How does one decide to go from string arrangements to flamenco guitar on a song like “Ugly Side?”

Furstenfeld: We put things in songs that sound like that emotion. That’s a very smooth song, but it’s also very honest about opening up to new people. That flamenco flare lets you know the pretty side and the harder stuff is the ugly side.

VH1: How’d you come up with the name Blue October?

Furstenfeld: We were doing a lot of drugs and bad things because we thought that’s what music was all about. My heroes were people like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith, and they’re all gone from suicide or drugs. As I abused drugs I realized they were driving me nuts. I was doing crazy drugs when I was 21, and in October of that year I realized I had to clean myself up and do something positive. That’s when our lives changed.

VH1: Who is “Chameleon Boy” and why is he such a mess?

Furstenfeld: That’s a rough song. I was invited to the funeral of one of my oldest drug buddies who had overdosed. One of my songs came on in the church and I guess it was one of his favorites. I didn’t know that until then and it was a defining moment in my life. I was like, “Dude, look at him!” I was doing horrible things in a relationship with someone who had no idea I was doing drugs. I was always changing my shape around her. She’d be asleep and I’d be in other room doing drugs. She was like, “Why don’t you ever come home? Why don’t you spend time with me? Because I’m an addict!” That went on for three years and it destroyed that trust.

VH1: What’s with the brain scan on the back of the album?

Furstenfeld: That’s what drugs will do to your brain. The red is active blue is not active. At ten years old that kid is active - at 26, not so active. It’s not my brain, though. Hopefully I stopped soon enough that I still have some purple.

VH1: Fill in the blanks: “Blue October are one part (blank) and one part (blank).

Furstenfeld: One part manic, one part bi-polar.

Bipolar Bop (old Article) Feb 21 , 2002

Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld rides the aftershocks of a busted record deal

By John Nova Lomax 

Published: February 21, 2002

Within seconds of your meeting Blue October’s singer-songwriter-guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, he acts as if he’s known you forever. Anyone familiar with his music will tell you he’s an open book, or as some, including Furstenfeld, would say: an open wound.

•  Justin Furstenfeld doesn’t know what to tell suicidal fans who don’t have health insurance and don’t believe in medication. Do you?

Where:

Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak Drive

Details:

Saturday, February 23; 713-862-3838

Subject(s): Blue October with House of Moist and Deep Ella

At Cafe Brasil over granitas (”liquid crack rock,” Furstenfeld calls them), the singer tells the story of how his band’s fast train to national stardom has temporarily derailed. (Appropriately enough for an interview with the leader of a band named Blue October, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” is playing in the background.)

It was the classic tale. Band meets label, Universal in this case. Band loses label. Whether or not this band will get a label again is very much up in the air.

“We got dropped,” the 26 year-old Furstenfeld says matter-of-factly. “I laugh about it. We put our album out, worked our asses off on it. I don’t think Universal knew what we were all about.”

To be fair to Universal, what do you do with a band like Blue October? It’s hard to find the right fit in today’s corporate radio wasteland for a rock-based band with lyrics that redefine angst and a violin as the lead instrument. Universal thought the solution was to dumb it down.

“Universal decided to put ‘Breakfast After Ten’ out as a single, and I was like, ‘What? That’s like the worst song I’ve ever written,’ ” recounts Furstenfeld. “They said, ‘Everyone loves it.’ I said, ‘Why, dude? I hate singing it.’ Every night I’m making the set list and our road manager comes up to me and says, ‘You have “Breakfast After Ten” on there, right?’ I would say no. He says, ‘You better put it on there.’ Arrrrgh! What’s the point of doing art if you can’t do it the way you want to do it?”

Universal also wanted the band to tone down the drama and length of its concerts. Then of course there was the problem of the band’s inimitability. “They said, ‘You’re a Texas band. You can’t have a violin in a Texas band.’ ” Furstenfeld literally snarls his response: “Then why’d you fucking sign me? That’s our lead instrument!”

Disappointed by the band’s subplatinum sales, the label muckety-mucks decided they had made a mistake. The band they’d been praising to the heavens a few months before suddenly became, as Furstenfeld characterizes the criticism, “overdramatic and way too me-me-me.” At the time, he was willing to listen, but not anymore. “I said, ‘That’s so true, I’m being overdramatic.’ But then I get home and open stacks of letters from people that say, ‘I’m so glad you’re open and honest about that stuff, because it really has done something for me to know that even though you’re in a band, it’s okay to say you’re not the most confident person in the world…’ So then I stop and think: Universal’s about money, not about art.”

Furstenfeld loves fan feedback, to a point, usually determined by whether or not he has his meds. The singer suffers from depressive and social anxiety disorders and describes his unmedicated self as “Brian Wilson on crack.” On a recent tour, disaster loomed when he lost his prescribed Paxil and other drugs. “We leave for our tour, and I’m so happy because I’ve got my beautiful soul mate at home, and I’ve got my dog, and I’m so happy, and I get on the van, and we’re traveling.”

Two shows in, the pills are gone. “Next show’s a little bit stranger,” he says, getting more and more agitated remembering the disaster. “Show after that’s real fuckin’ strange. Towards the middle of the tour, I’m just freakin’ out. I don’t want to go on stage. I’ve got the worst stage fright. I’m coming straight off the stage to the van, hiding in the back, going to the hotel, sleeping, locking my doors, checking out the windows for people that are knocking and going, ‘Let me tell you a story about my life.’ I was freaking out and getting so frustrated that I can’t just do or be without these little bitty pills. Towards the end of the tour I was seeing things, hearing things. I finally get home and my girlfriend opens the door and she can totally tell and she just says, ‘Come in, come in.’ And as soon as she shuts that door, I don’t go outside for another week.”

The singer says he doesn’t understand this part of himself. “I can only write about it,” he says. “I can’t talk about it. It’s so… hard…it’s so frustrating to be so together getting on the bus and then one day to be like, ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ And then dealing with that, and having these people come up to you going, ‘Man, your music is wonderful, your music is wonderful,’ and it’s just faces coming at you and you’re thinking, ‘God, I really hate myself right now; how can you tell me I’m wonderful?’ I just want to explode. It’s insane. It gets so insane. The only comfort is coming home and having your girlfriend just go, ‘Here, come in.’ It’s just so frustrating. But that’s what Blue October’s about. I’ve just got to stop and know that the downs are okay. Go to your down spot, but just write about it.”

Furstenfeld realizes that he’s fair game for fans who are as damaged as he is. He knows that writing personal songs about his agony can have repercussions in other people far beyond his control. But all the same, he says he has a real hard time taking compliments. “I had this one lady come up to me the other night and she said, ‘Your music touches me so much.’ I say thanks. And then she says, ‘I’m thinking of blowing my brains out.’ I didn’t know what to say. I told her to see somebody. She said she didn’t have health insurance. I said, ‘Well, then you need to save up and see somebody.’ Then she says, ‘I don’t believe in medication,’ like I was supposed to give her some answers. What do you tell somebody like that? But then I can’t really blame ‘em, because I sit here and put out this material that says the same thing, and I love talking to people about that, but it’s like…Where:Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak Drive

Details:

Saturday, February 23; 713-862-3838

Subject(s): Blue October with House of Moist and Deep Ella

“I don’t know how to take care of myself,” he says finally. “And I’ve got people asking me for advice. It’s the blind leading the blind.”

While Furstenfeld may still be in the dark personally, he can see rays of light streaming through the rubble of the Universal cave-in. After some initial vertigo, the band is reveling in its newly restored artistic freedom. It has just completed a five-song EP, bluntly titled A Demo, that it plans to shop to labels. The band is forgoing the usual hype (bios, critics’ blurbs, session info) and hoping the music will speak for itself. “Forget the whole trying to get them to know about you,” says Furstenfeld. “Just put it out with a 52-font Demo on the cover. If they like it, they like it, and if they don’t, you’re just barking up the wrong tree. Whether we pick up a label with it or not, I don’t care because I know it’s some of the best material that I could put my name on.”

So Furstenfeld isn’t playing the “we don’t need a label” game. He’s just looking for one that will dance to his self-described “bipolar rock” tunes. There will be no more compromises, he says. Not to the cocaine problem he battled in his teens and early twenties, nor to anything or anyone else.

“Nothing can be your first priority except your goals,” he says.

Blue October Interview

Blue October
Justin Furstenfeld Interview
Cincinnati, Ohio
Live Photos

Blue October is riding the wave of success from their hit single, “Hate Me” from their 2006 release, “Foiled.” Unfortunately, their spring tour was briefly interrupted due to a baseball accident that sidelined Justin Furstenfeld for a couple of months as “Hate Me” was breaking. Blue October has been waiting for this moment for a long time as the band formed in Texas in 1998. Blue October was dropped by Universal Records and then picked up again due to the band’s undying passion for making music…and good music it is. See MusicPix’s Blue October show review:

After a few months off, Justin’s back on tour with the support of crutches. MusicPix had the opportunity to talk with Justin backstage at Bogart’s, Cincinnati, Ohio prior to his performance and he is as delightful to speak with as his music is to listen to. Justin is one of those performers whose stage persona just doesn’t match what’s underneath the skin. We found a sincere, humorous man whose eyes light up when he speaks of the love he has for his wife… he’s an honest guy who has struggled with life’s challenges inside and outside of his head. Justin speaks genuinely from his heart and he’s one of those guys that you’d like to hang out with after the show. Here’s our conversation:

MusicPix: I’d like to let you know that we’ve been waiting to talk to you for a long time as this interview was scheduled before your accident back in May.

Justin: Yeah, I was in a baseball stadium and I said I’ve got to run the bases! I wear a suit and dress shoes on stage, so I didn’t change into my tennies. I ran around the bases and hit home plate…and you know how the sand builds up on home plate? Well, I slid and heard my leg go ‘pop-pop-pop-pop’- I broke my fibula and tore my PTL, LZL, MZL and I’ve had to sit on my butt…I’ve gained all this weight cause I’ve had to be at home and I can’t work out.

MusicPix: We’re just glad that you’re vertical and performing…but we’re wondering if something positive resulted from having to take a time-out as your new album started blowing up?

Justin: I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my wife and I did a lot of physical therapy of course…and actually I got to sit and watch it (meaning “Foiled”) bloom and blossom and didn’t have to do anything…it was the first song that I’ve written that actually did anything. I’d always heard about it. It wasn’t like we were busting into cities saying “hey, we’ve got a new album and go buy it.” It was me, just sitting at home, watching it and it was like WOW, look at it take off. I got to watch it on Fuse and on VH1 and I said, ‘honey, this is pretty amazing. I’ve got to get back out there.’

MusicPix: Did you write during your recovery?

Justin: No, I did not write at all. I played the piano because it just calms me down. While my wife made dinner, I would just jam on the piano…it was awesome. I came up with a few ideas. I’ve been asked to write a song for this movie called “Trade”…a film for Lion’s Gate Films. At first, I was really excited but then they told me that Bob Dylan, Tom York from Radiohead, Billy Jo Armstrong from Green Day are actually writing also…so all of a sudden it was ‘Oh God!” So I’ve been working on that specifically.

Blue October Live Photos

MusicPix: I want to talk about “Hate Me” as an apology and we assume your mother was one of the recipients of that apology. What was it like to have her on the set and included in the video after you purged all of those feelings?

Justin: It was a great release. My whole life, I’ve always been the guy who writes songs about as bluntly honest as I can. Having my Mom in the video was just so true to the fact. To me as an artist, I couldn’t have had anyone else do it. It was just so brilliant. There were so many issues that I had to go through, like drug addition, that my Mom had to go through with me and all that stuff…there were really some awful times. Awful things that I did to her and in other relationships by simply not caring. It gets to a point where you forget. And finally you come up above water one day and no one is really there anymore…I was 28 years old at the time, and it was time to get my stuff together and start proving myself. In a 12 Step Program, one of the steps is admit, apologize, and confront the people that you hurt. So this was me skipping a bunch of steps and going right to the core because I’d already been through so much hell. That was my main reason for making the video that way. I didn’t want a video that was ‘boy does too many drugs, girl leaves him, end of story. No, I wanted to show that your Mother could die while you’re in an alley and you’d never even know. The director was an amazing man and I was honored to work with a director like that. I didn’t have to say anything, I just sat back and boom… He got the treatment, he got the vision…normally I would be like ‘ddddd…this has to be changed or that has to be changed.’

MusicPix: It’s really a beautiful visual representation of your feelings. I’ve got a six year old son and he’s really into the song-he’s sings it all the time. But I’m not crazy about the word hate. I work hard to explain the seriousness of the word. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s one of the most over-used words in the world…’I hate this, I hate that,’ without recognizing how many times people unconsciously say the word.

Justin: That’s one of the reasons why I put it in the song. It’s funny, my nephew right now can’t say it either cause his mother has told him to sing “Love Me Today-Love Me Tomorrow.” So whenever I call, he’s like ‘Love Me Today, Love Me Tomorrow” and it’s like whew..

MusicPix: What do you truly hate?

Justin: Myself…I could never hate another human being, but I’ve hated myself for the things that I’ve done…I’m getting over that now because I’m clean and I’m trying to work out.

MusicPix: You’ve hated the things you’ve done, not yourself…that’s different.

Justin: Yeah, it was the things that I was doing. The only way to present that is to use that strong of word. Your parents said ‘never hate anyone’…and you learn that at a very young age in school and in church. But instead of saying F-U-C-K (spells the word instead of saying it) or use all these curse words…instead, take an English word that isn’t a curse word, because it has more impact. But it really sucks when my little nephew can’t sing it.

MusicPix: Fans and artists are so different when it comes to the show experience. It may be the greatest show or night of a fan’s life. For you or any other artist, it’s on the road touring and we know it’s tough, we know it’s hard. How do you motivate yourself to give that fan a true and memorable concert experience?

Justin: When I get up in the morning, when I’m not with my wife, I get really angry. Or when I talk to my parents or my friends, and I have to say, ‘Oh God, relax they love you. They have a life too. As much as they might be frustrated with you, they love you.’ So take it back to “Hate Me” when all you thought of was yourself and use those skills you’ve learned about listening. So about an hour before I go on stage, I look at pictures of my wife and my family and use my anger of ‘man I wish I didn’t have to be out here.” But when I get on stage, I’m mad for myself and I look out at all these people and it fuels me even more. The only reason I get mad before I go on stage because it’s a tool. You don’t want to be sad because it would be boring. You don’t want to be happy because it wouldn’t be truthful. It’s a place where I can start from because we usually start with a pretty energetic song. There’s a lot going on.

MusicPix: And the audience is circulating energy back to you too so I guess you’re feeling a tremendous amount of stuff?

Justin: Yeah, just the other night there were these two girls standing up front crying their eyes out. One of them lifted her sleeve to show me razor marks all over her arm…and I was like (SFX:explosions…ahh) I don’t make it a point to sign autographs since my leg got broken, but I made it a point to go out there and meet that girl. She was just crying and I kept thinking, ‘all of my crap that I’ve gone through is nothing compared to hers.’ I was there. I know what she’s going through. This was a 15 year old little girl going through that gothic dark period in her life where everything sucks…her parents suck, and I just wanted to let her know that it gets better.

MusicPix: Which leads into my next question…Music is such a thing to hold onto in the best and worst times. What was your musical life preserver?

Justin: Peter Gabriel…all the way…he’s genius with his words. He’s been through divorces and things like that…just the way he pronounces the words. [Justin speaking/singing] Digging in the dirt…to find the places I got hurt…to open up the places I got hurt…It’s like Oh My God, that’s it-That’s it!!! And then he gets his anger out: Shut your mouth, just drive the car. Shut your mouth, I know who you are. Don’t say nothing, keep your hands on the wheel. Don’t turn around… cuz this is for real. He sounds like he’s taking someone out to kill them somewhere. And then he turns around…with Digging in the Dirt….For me, I hold onto that. If there’s another man out there thinking the same things I am and can put it into song, then I think, “hang in there man.” You wish that you could have this iPod on all the time because when it gone, it’s you again. Where are you Peter? I need you baby! I can’t tell you how many times the guys in the bus say please stop playing Dig in the Dirt…will you please stop playing the Us album, or Don’t Give Up…Oh My God!! I love that song.

MusicPix: You’ve talked about the importance of family…you’re fortunate because your brother Jeremy is your drummer and travels with you. We’ve followed a handful of family bands and it just seems like the music is deeper…there’s something more. Could you talk about what it’s like to work with your brother?

Justin: I can’t tell you how many times my brother has been there for me. I wish I could say that I’ve been there for him. He’s not like me because I talk about everything under the sun…it’s gets annoying to my wife sometimes…and having my brother out there everyday is huge because I’m always ‘Emergency Justin’ and he understands. My brother is the only thing I’ve got out here. I’ve got my band but I mean when it’s that dark spot-he’s there 24/7. I wish I could wrap up the moon for him and give it to him as a present. He’s just the guy who is very strong and I never know if something is wrong.

MusicPix: Since your life is an open book, is there anything you won’t talk about musically?

Justin: I used to use relationships like an open book in albums but now that I’m married, I would never speak about the bad times in our marriage, I would never go there. If we had a baby, I would talk about how beautiful it is, or I could write about when I go to sleep, (his wife) is the only thing that makes me sleep well. I could write about the good things but never the dirt… only beautiful times.

MusicPix: I respect that because there are things in a marriage that are private.

Justin: Yeah because if I write a poem to my wife, the Universe would pick it up so I have to be careful. I would only write about my wife in beautiful terms. She’s a wonderful lady.

MusicPix: Talking about relationships…your relationship with Universal is similar to a re-marriage… in your case it looks like it’s really working out. Is there any trepidation?

Justin: No, I’m a businessman first. This is business to me. I’ve said this in many interviews: If I owned a shoe company and I hire you to build the best shoe and I gave you a boat load of money to build that best shoe and it didn’t sell, I’d have to come to you and say I’m sorry, your shoe didn’t sell. That’s just business. But in the music business, when you do that after the fact like we did…we kept pumping and pumping it and touring and growing this fan base and we were like, ‘what’s goin’ on?” Then a little radio station out of Dallas called The Edge started playing one of our songs and it just blew up and then all these labels started calling. I knew Universal already and they were honest with me. They talked to me and didn’t send me a letter… or talk to my manager. They sat me face to face and said you’re just not selling. I understand that. So, I didn’t want to go and re-explain myself to a brand new label. It would be just like, put them on the shelf with the other art bands. If doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But these guys have a commitment. I really know that they will take care of our band as long as I keep writing songs.

MusicPix: I want to go back to the “Hate Me” video… your appearance, your phrasing, your body language, is strikingly similar to Mike Ness of Social Distortion. Although your musical styles are very different, you have similar pasts as we’ve interviewed Mr. Ness…

Justin: [Appears somewhat amazed at our comment/compliment] Oh, wow…oh, wow…that’s an awesome compliment. No, nobody has ever said that to me.

MusicPix: I can also tell by the look in your eyes when you talked about your fans that they are like family. Can you talk about the ‘Blue Meanies?’

Justin: When we started, we had this core of fans that we could talk to and really created a bond with and it’s grown from there… we’d have coffee with, so when we see them, we hug them, have lunch with them. Things are bigger now and it’s different. They’ve taken it upon themselves to run the open book board by themselves in a very respectful cool way. I hope that they know that we’ve not forgotten about them because we can’t just jump off and go off and have coffee with them and things like that. They are just really cool people. You’ll always have those people on the Internet though that will just bite ya, but they tend to just rip them a new one. A big tight knit family.

MusicPix: With the physical injury, how has it affected you emotionally?

Justin: Well, I’m a showman so I’m the guy who’s running amuck on stage and I’ve never been this big physically because I’ve had to lay on my butt for a couple of months because I’ve got one of those body types. Its weird getting back on stage…are they thinking I’m fat? Are they thinking I’m fat? But the other night at the House of Blues, I finally put these down (the crutches) and I started walking the stage from left to right and I got that feeling back. I thought I lost it. I haven’t been writing …I haven’t been performing…I always have to be a showman, so it will come back to me I suppose. It’s like riding a bike. Last night, was my first night without training wheels. Tonight is my second night without training wheels so we’ll see how it goes.

MusicPix: What age did you really start getting into music?

Justin: I was in theater most of my life…I went to high school for performing and visual arts for theater and creative writing with voice and diction classes. I just found that the acting business was far too cut throat. So for me, the music is great. If you don’t like me, that OK, you can leave. I’ve always been singing. My mom used to say I used to sit on the curb and sing: One , Two, Three, Four Five (very theatrically.) People would say that I had this beautiful opera voice as a young boy.

MusicPix: What artist/performer influenced you the most?

Justin: Definitely Peter Gabriel and a band called Idaho.

MusicPix: If you weren’t in your current band, what band would you like to play in?

Justin: Idaho…no, because he’s already got a lead singer. No, I’d like to be the guitarist…that would be cool.

MusicPix: What are your 3 ‘desert island’ albums?

Justin: Idaho-Alas, Peter Gabriel-Us, and I’m going to trick you on the last one. A CD my wife made for me with all these different songs on it.

MusicPix: A special musical message from your significant other. I know the power of ‘selects’…that’s a very special CD…

MusicPix: Who do you think is the most over-rated in the music industry?

Justin: I can’t answer that…I respect anybody who gets in a bus and goes away from their family. How about Polka…never liked it, never will.

MusicPix: What’s your ‘perfect world?’

Justin: Oh man… my perfect world would be…I just won a Grammy, I just bought a ranch for my wife with two horses so we could ride together and had a baby.

The Band

Justin Furstenfeld — vocals, guitar
Ryan Delahoussaye— violin, viola, mandolin, keyboard, backup vocals
Jeremy Furstenfeld— drums
C.B. Hudson — guitar
Matt Noveskey — bass guitar

Discography

The Answers-1998
Consent to Treatment-2000
History for Sale -2003
Argue With a Tree Double Live CD –2004
Foiled-2006

Director of into the ocean interview

Blue October “Into The Ocean” Music Video - Interview With Director Zach Merck

For director Zach Merck, there is no school like the old school, which is why his music videos are driven by strong narrative elements. Merck strives to visually capture the musical essence of any band he directs, whether it’s the frenetic energy of the punk rock/metal band Converge in “Eagles Become Vultures,” or the rough-edged exuberance of the folk-influenced rock in the Dropkick Murphys’ “Sunshine Highway.”

Merck’s recent video is the lushly theatrical, Moby Dick-inspired “Into the Ocean” by Blue October, which draws upon the narrative videos that defined the first generation of music videos. Merck recently talked to MVWire about working with Blue October on their latest project.

Watch: Blue October “Into The Ocean”

MVWire: What type of music videos appeal to you the most?

Zach Merck: I like the older 90’s - 80’s style video where there is a story. A lot of times with budgets going down it’s become more of a visual thing. Sometimes you get lucky like Brian Barber telling some big crazy story with Christine Aguilera or something like that. But that doesn’t happen very often.

MVWire: Talk about filming the latest video by Blue October, “Into the Ocean.”

ZM: I wanted to do something that was really theatrical, crazy, cool costumes…you know what I mean, like bad weather … just go nuts and make it like painting a picture versus just shooting a band in another big room of marble staircase. Something just really kind of cool and elegant and beautiful and different and moody.

MVWire: What was the process in determing the overall look of the video?

ZM: Ketil Detrickson was the DP, he and I just sat down for days ahead of time and just had a ton of visual references; like the “Tonight, Tonight” video by Smashing Pumpkins, we pulled elements from all of our favorite …. All of those awesome big budget videos like when we were kids. Just wanted to do something that was throwback like that beautiful but still elegant like an old stage play from like the vaudeville era.

MVWire: The final scene with the rain seemed to tie the audience together with people on stage.

ZM: Like even going further into it …. I have been a fan of the band for a really long time and Justin the singer is one of the most beautiful people in the universe but he is also a very depressed individual and I knew there was something going on there where… you know the song is about suicide. And I really read into and I was thinking about Moby Dick and trying to overcome this whale and I got way into it mentally and I’m writing the idea and that’s what I loved about the rain in the end was that its Justin’s stage play like Justin is trying to tell this story this metaphor for how he is feeling and then it rains and everyone leaves… but no one is going to listen anyways. He just loved that.

MVWire: Was the lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld, involved with the making of the video?

ZM: He was after the fact…basically I wrote the concept knowing what I knew about him, they (it) solicited out to a bajillion directors. He ended up picking my treatment, which was great, and we got on the phone and sat down … you know, change some stuff. Some stuff that he loved and some stuff that he said my concept was a little too happy. He was like, “You know how you have the ballerinas? Let’s make them zombies make them look like they have been doing heroin all night,” that kind of shit. He definitely got involved with the concept he had chosen.

MVWire: What was the overall feel that you wanted to accomplish in post?

ZM: We went in and sat with Dave Hussey and just really dialed it in and tried different looks. We just wanted the feel to be timeless and old and different than just some oversaturated, colorful video or whatever. We really wanted to go in and just kind of almost make it like if you opened up and old trunk in your Grandmothers attic and found some reel of the stage play, like that kind of vibe.

The whole thing is supposed to be in the singer’s head, so he is sitting in the audience, watching the stage play unfold that’s a metaphor for what’s going on with him right now. There is a card sitting next to him where it says reserved for my wife… he is speaking out to his wife because in reality what the song is about he wanted to commit suicide and he was so scared of letting all these people down, his wife, his band.

Credits:

Production Co.: @radical.media
Director: Zach Merck
DP: Ketil Dietrichson
Editor: David Baum
Colorist: Dave Hussey

Risky business for Blue October

The last time the Houston rockers played here, frontman Justin Furstenfeld ended up in a wheelchair. They boldly challenge that karma.

By JAY CRIDLIN
Published January 18, 2007

Blue October singer Justin Furstenfeld seems to harbor no grudge toward the Tampa Bay area - even though he has every right to be bitter.

Fueled by the hit Hate Me, the Houston rockers were poised for a breakout 2006 until April 29, when they played a concert at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater. After the show, the band was goofing around running the bases when Furstenfeld slipped on home plate, smashing his leg and tearing ligaments in his knee. The injury put him in a wheelchair and sidelined Blue October just as its album, Foiled, was taking off.

Blue October was supposed to re- turn to Tampa in December for the 97X Next Big Thing 6, but Furstenfeld reinjured the leg weeks before the show, knocking them out again.

Furstenfeld is finally healthy, and he’s ready for another show in the bay area, Saturday at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg.

This area hasn’t been very good to you, has it?

As far as you guys giving us a lot of support, it’s one of the best. But the karma there? I don’t know what’s going on. Every time I come to Tampa I hurt myself. Maybe this time I’ll be dressed up in a mummy suit so it’ll pad me if I fall. laughs

It wasn’t exactly the most rock ‘n’ roll injury. It wasn’t like Iggy Pop slashing his chest with a broken beer bottle or anything.

Yeah, it was basically stupidity - a child coming out of a grown 30-year-old, running around the bases in dress shoes and a suit, forgetting that home plate gathers sand.

Did you get any cool get-well cards from fans?

I basically got e-mails upon e-mails upon e-mails - people wanting to help me pay for the surgery, and things like that. I would never take money from anybody - it was just really nice to know that people were there, though. People wanted to put together benefit shows and stuff, and I was like, “Dude, it’s cool! I broke my leg, I’ll take care of it!”

How did the band react? You couldn’t pick a worse time for it to happen.

I’m going to have to throw a real big party for those guys for supporting me, because they’ve been the best friends and the most understanding people. It’s their job, and when they’re off work, they’re not getting paid.

Do you still have a limp?

My wife calls it my pimp walk. So I’ll go with that.

Did you guys freak out when you opened for the Rolling Stones in November?

You have no clue, dude. . . . I walked out and it was just boom, a crowd of 30,000 people. I freaked out when they actually clapped, and we got a minor standing ovation when we were done. I was just like, “What?” I would expect them to be like, “Get off the stage!”

Is meeting Mick and Keith like meeting the pope? Are there rites and rituals you have to observe?

Someone of Mick’s stature, you have to understand that he’s probably not going to shake your hand. He’s going to tap you on the wrist, because that’s how he shakes hands. He’s a smart guy; he doesn’t want to get germs. . . . Seeing Mick right next to me, and having Keith Richards’ arm around me while I’m sitting in a wheelchair taking a picture -I was just like, “What the hell did I do right?”

Is that the most star-struck you’ve ever been?

Honestly, I think meeting 50 Cent was. I got to sit down for about two hours and just hang with him.

What did you talk about?

Religion, love, parents,

Rotation

By Brad Tyer 

Published: August 11, 1994

Wazobia
Seeds of Democracy
Aim-West Records

The members of Houston’s Wazobia, coalescing at Texas Southern University, represent four countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, America — and boast fluency in seven languages. So it’s not much of a surprise that their musical product is Afrocentric world beat, with nods to Jamaican dub and reggae and American rap. As represented on Seeds of Democracy, it’s a relatively unique sound in a melting-pot city that probably should have more of it, but Wazobia — which the band says means “come together” — fills the void nicely.

There’s a sampling of dancy party tunes here (including “Jammin’ Tonite,” “Nasty Boys,” “Rastamuffin” and the sole cover, Sir Victor Uwaifo’s “Five Days Lover”) but for the most part, Wazobia sends its shouts out in the political arena — without, however, abandoning the danceable vibe of its reggae foundations. South African democracy is a musical priority, and if sloganeering sentiments such as “We got to live together” and “Children of today are leaders of tomorrow” aren’t likely to surprise anybody who cares, they do fit more comfortably in the unstilted context of world beat rhythms than in the various political-rock bands that strain to make the same points. Nelson Mandela is name-dropped ceaselessly, alongside Marcus Garvey, Fela Kuti, Steve Biko, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, which, in the current party-band climate of beachwear endorsements, feels like more of a statement than it actually is.

Skip track one, “Boom bye bye (Apartheid),” a misguidedly minimalist attempt at fusing dancehall patois and Philip Glass squeaks that sounds like someone forgot to finish it, and jump straight into the rest of the disk, where solid rhythms, chiming upbeats and extraordinary gruff vocals combine for an authentic roots reggae sound, especially satisfying on “Tribute (Part 1).”

– Brad Tyer

Acacia
Acacia
Self-produced

If the trend in dance music is towards industrialization and dissonance, Acacians Kelly Michael Spoden (the stylish boy) and Rose Ann Neis (the blondish girl) are dance track traditionalists, sticking faithfully to the basics of programmed drumbeats, plonking synthesized bass lines and lighter-than-air melodies. Lyrically, the songs are about something, as songs must be, but subject matter is so ethereal in the glossy wash of sound that it hardly seems to matter here.

Spoden and Neis have packaged a professional sounding product, with a restrained instrumental sense that avoids most of the amateur pitfalls of sampled gimmickry, and their vocals, separately and combined, are polished and powerful beyond what one would expect from their minimal resumes. Problem is, what they do so well in the limited generic-dance field has been done well so often before that, without any distinguishing marks in the sound, this offering comes off as the aural equivalent of those model-family photographs that come as standard equipment with a new wallet. It’s not hard to imagine KRBE spinning a few of these tracks, but it’s difficult to conceive of any-one remembering who they’ve just heard.

– Brad Tyer

The Last Wish
The First of February
Royal Blue Productions

The Last Wish has built an enviable local following in what seems like a mere moment (though the CD at hand is actually a follow-up to the band’s Rooftop Sessions tape) and it’s not hard to see why. Seven kids — boys and girls, mostly still in their teens — playing mellow music that even their parents must be proud to recommend to strangers makes for a unique cross-generational appeal in the local scene. And if the kids forego the tired youth-rock sounds of guitar, guitar and more guitar in favor of gently rolling R.E.M.-meets-10,000 Maniacs compositions featuring prominent violins and cello, all the better to set them apart from the crowd, my dear.

In large part it works, especially if you’re the sort of college student who thinks it’s a crime that your student fees are used to help finance KTRU, which, as everybody knows, is a rat’s nest of cliquish miscreants who only play ugly music that nobody likes. The First of February isn’t ugly. In fact, it’s downright pretty, with the lilting melodies of singers Justin Furstenfeld and Amy Immel wafting over strummed acoustic chord progressions, punctuated by feisty fiddle lines and laid out on a haunting bed of stringed ambiance.

What doesn’t work can be attributed to the flip side of one of the band’s strengths — youth. The Last Wish has a tendency to ride a simple chord progression too far, turning some of these songs into repetitive marathons. Likewise, when the group builds these jams into their crescendos, the groove can start to fall apart under the strain of so many elements fighting to keep up. And at 70-plus minutes and running, the music can’t fully support Furstenfeld’s overbearing melancholy, which reaches a whiny peak on the unfortunately titled “Down.”

But overindulgence isn’t a crime at this stage of the game, just a fault with plenty of time to be overcome, and with that in mind, The First of February sounds like fresh air.

– Brad Tyer

The Missiles
Last Album
HSR International

The Missiles, a band fond of quips, placed one at the tail end of the liner notes to this, their recorded swan song. “There’s good bands and there’s bad bands,” the line reads, “and we were one of them.” If only a larger audience had ever figured out which one they were, the ten-year rock institution might still be plugging away

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it’s difficult to figure out why the band never broke out of a respectable local following and into the larger national spotlight. As a no-gimmicks rock band, Charlie Sanders, Bill Myers, Ken Jones and Dave Randall possessed levels of talent and flexibility beyond your average three-chording schleps, and as a tireless touring unit with a decade’s worth of longevity, they had the requisite stamina. Maybe it was a string of mediocre recordings that torpedoed the band’s chances at the big time, or maybe they just never had the luck to be at the right place at the right time when the fashion curve peaked. Moot points all, now that The Missiles have called it quits, but the product at hand makes a strong case in parting that The Missiles were a better band than most of us ever gave them credit for.

Side one spotlights Missiles originals, starting with the retrospective “All I’ve Done,” which is as fine a local-interest rock-and-roll song as this town’s produced. “Start Drinkin’” takes another stab at the band’s ongoing beer theme, “Twist My Soul” holds its own in the respected I’m-about-to-have-another-ex-girlfriend field and “Already Missin’ Me” could be either a response to that very same ex, or to a local crowd that’s sure, like me, to afford the band more respect in retrospect than ever they did when it really mattered.

Side two is where the band’s flexibility really shines, though, and it comes on four covers. Frank Zappa’s “Broken Hearts Are for Assholes” gets an inspired reading, followed by The Del Lords’ bar classic “Mercenary,” locals Tab Jones’ heartbreaking “Ash Wednesday” and Tom Waits” “Blue Valentine,” on which Sanders has a surprisingly unstrained take.

It’s a hell of a collection, and even on the cassette that I have for review, the sound is fatter and fuller than the band’s Full Scale Mattress Fire offering of two years back. It sounds like nobody was trying too hard to do anything but generate that bang all veteran bands want to go out with. And this time, they got it.

– Brad Tyer

Blue October @ Kool Haus

Justin Furstenfeld has issues. But don’t we all? Unloved, unappreciated, misunderstood, the pang of a broken heart, lonely; we can all relate. Journaling our innermost thoughts with honesty and integrity is said to be therapy for the soul. These are meant to be private escapes for our minds and hearts to write without any inhibitions, however disturbing the content. There are few who would be willing to divulge these intimate expressions and then there’s Justin Furstenfeld.

It’s well documented that Justine has battled drugs and alcohol to cope with his bouts of depression, only to seem to add to it with them. Not documented in the sense that there’s a biography but in his ingenious gift and guts to release some of that written angst and merge it with multi-dimensional instrumentals; i.e. “Hate Me”. That is the essence of Blue October.

Army of Me, a four piece from Washington, played a forty minute set that was O.K. All their songs had a monotone sound with juvenile lyrics like “reach for the stars”. Some kids were singing along so I guess they weren’t awful, just a little boring.

After more than 30 minutes of stage fine-tuning, sound checking, and the scurrying of more security than needed (it was after all an all ages show and most of the kids were chaperoned), Blue October calmly walked on. In his tailored suit and opting for a little less black eyeliner, Justin’s semi- Goth look was subdued tonight.

Leading right into the first track off their latest CD Foiled, “You Make Me Smile” then hitting back with “High Risk Self Abuse”, Furstenfeld lured us into his schizophrenic world, which is anything but subdued. Gnash your teeth songs, like “Razorblade”, “Ugly Side” and “Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek” were delivered with vigor and bone chilling theatrics. In the midst of all the maddening lyrics like “sharpen the knife”; “I freak outÖ razorblade cut me”, a softer Justin materializes to sing one of his favourites. “It’s a song you probably don’t know but it’s one of my favourite songs to do live.” With that, Furstenfeld sweetly pipes out “I see your heart beat through the sheets; feel your pulse through the floor”, a beautiful love song.

As he belted out tunes with profound passion, the deeper we sank into the dark, disturbing yet artistically brilliant mind of Justin Furstenfeld. He confesses to “everybody having issues. I just decided to document them.” It’s like he’s singing for all of us, expressing all of our fears and helping us with songs like “Let It Go” and “Quiet Mind”.

The highlights were numerous but most impressive are Blue October’s symphonic sound. Sure, CB Hudson’s guitar riffs are awing, Matt Noveskey bass line in “Razorblade” is stunning and the riveting drum rhythms of Jeremy Furstenfeld bring it all together. But it’s Ryan Delahoussaye’s multifaceted musicianship that truly brings BO’s sound to a whole new plateau. Whether he’s strumming the mandolin, the guitar, hammering out at the keys or gracefully gliding the bow on the violin, Ryan adds texture to give this band that unique edge. Oh yeah, he also provides back up harmonies along with the rest of the guys but he’s usually got the violin gripped under his chin.

Toning everything down during the encore to perform the epic track “18th Floor Balcony” defines BO’s mastery of their craft. Justin’s introspective lyrics “I knew it from the start/ My arms are open wide/ I’m yours for the taking” sung so honestly emotional and accompanied with just the whisper of instrumentals. Gorgeous.

Of course they also played their two hit singles “Into The Ocean” and “Hate Me”, but those songs don’t come close to defining Blue October. It seems that a lot of other people share that sentiment as the band was presented with its first platinum album for Foiled that very night. Justin graciously accepted the honor with “this is what you guys have done for us. Thank you so much. You guys have given me such a lift; a reason to live.”

Let’s hope that lift can carry Justin over the evils that have taunted him so he can continue to share more of his beautiful inner spirit and help us all deal with our issues.

*If you or someone you know is going through any of these issues, here are some phone numbers that can help: Crossroads Prayer Line: (416) 929-1500,and Kids Help Phone (24 hours): 1-800-668-6868.

Well-Raised and Confused

Mood rockers Blue October struggle after life’s answers

By Hobart Rowland 

Published: February 19, 1998

For Justin Furstenfeld, getting away was the only solution. Plummeting into drug addiction and other varieties of self-destruction, the singer/guitarist had seen his options evaporate in the waning months of 1996.

Barely out of high school, Furstenfeld had abandoned Last Wish, the band he’d helped bring to local prominence, because of creative differences, and leaving the group seemed to set his personal life adrift as well. His coke habit grew serious.

For good reason, the Hill Country college hamlet of San Marcos seemed to hold, if not a solution to Furstenfeld’s problems, then at least a respite from them. His older brother, Jeremy, was there, as was the solitude and small-town simplicity Furstenfeld was craving. There, Justin could both stay close to the Austin music scene and hunker down in quiet to write music and sort out his post-teen neuroses.

“Everything that I write about is the truth,” says Furstenfeld. “I can’t write about anything that hasn’t happened to me.”

It was in San Marcos that Furstenfeld penned most of the tunes on The Answers, the debut release by his latest project, Blue October. No, the 13-track effort — which was released on the group’s own Ro-Dan label — does not presume to offer all the answers to life’s nagging questions. But it certainly raises disturbing issues, many regarding Furstenfeld’s own well-being.

“There’s Zoloft, Wellbutrine, there’s Paxil that’s proven, no side effects / But the rest left unnamed because they’d work like a charm on me,” Furstenfeld snarls on “The Answer,” his tone somewhere between a punch-drunk Peter Gabriel and Bryan Ferry on the verge of a breakdown.

The Answers is abrasively raw and riddled with religious undertones; Furstenfeld manages to be needy without seeming too desperate. That’s mainly because Furstenfeld demonstrates a sense of metaphor and understated poetics well beyond his 22 years. “If what you’re seeing is an open book / That’s great because I’m an open book / But I’m real shy,” he sings, confessing a little later, “I’m an automatic steeple for depressed and lonely people.”

The disc’s obvious thematic reference point, “The Answer” is also the most vivid encapsulation of the band’s sound — which is convenient, seeing as it’s The Answers’ leadoff track. The tune is quietly ushered in by Furstenfeld’s hollow, semi-amped guitar and echo-enhanced moans. As bass and drums kick in with a rudimentary rock rhythm, a maudlin violin suddenly cuts through the predictability with a bracing counter-melody, leading the song on an engrossing search-and-destroy mission through a wounded psyche. Indeed, throughout much of The Answers, the violin assumes the role normally reserved for lead guitar, dragging the rest of the instrumentation behind it.

Disturbing but thoroughly captivating, frighteningly vulnerable yet undoubtedly in control, The Answers is the first great Texas release of 1998. All the better that this gorgeous monster is of Houston origin.

Justin Furstenfeld founded Blue October with classically trained violinist Ryan Delahoussaye, a classmate at the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In December ‘96, Delahoussaye opted to move to San Marcos with his friend.

“I’d done classical for most of my life,” says Delahoussaye. “Getting into other music just kind of happened from listening to Justin in [Last Wish].”

Evidently, Furstenfeld’s departure from Last Wish was not a pretty process. The band had grown quite successful in Houston, recording three releases — including the still-available full-length CD First of February — and playing for packed houses at Fitzgerald’s, McGonigel’s Mucky Duck and the Urban Art Bar. Back then, Furstenfeld (still at HSPVA) shared songwriting privileges with other members of Last Wish, a situation that increasingly frustrated him.

“It was going real serious, but I was having to collaborate writing ideas with other people,” he recalls. “I wanted to start clean and fresh. They got pretty pissed, because we were in the middle of making our next CD, so I had to take four songs off the CD that were important to me that I had written. They sent out a postcard dogging me for leaving the band. I think it said, ‘Justin has left the band to pursue his rock-star career.’ It made me look really bad.”

Furstenfeld broke with Last Wish in 1995 and began laying the groundwork for Blue October, gathering up Delahoussaye and his 24-year-old brother, Jeremy, a novice drummer on hiatus from Southwest Texas State. Delahoussaye met bassist Liz Mullally at Auntie Pasto’s restaurant, where he was working. She came in for dinner one evening and struck up a conversation; the chat quickly turned into an offer to join the group. At 27, Mullally — who continues to live in Houston — is the oldest member of Blue October. An extra room in her 290-area house served as the band’s first practice space.

“I was living at home at the time, and I sat in on one of their rehearsals,” Jeremy says of the haphazard way in which he fell into his drum duties for Blue October. “I just got back there and started playing.”

Adds Justin, “We had a week until our first show, and we needed a drummer, so we made him play the drums.”

Just like that, Jeremy became the band’s largely unflappable timekeeper. Justin, on the other hand, was having trouble staying on course personally. A six-year relationship with his girlfriend was coming unwound, and his drug use wasn’t helping matters.

“The thing that was bringing me down was the coke,” he says bluntly. “I wanted to get out of the drug scene in Houston, because all my friends were kind of fading away from that stuff.”

Furstenfeld and Delahoussaye originally contemplated moving to Austin, but Jeremy’s bucolic existence in San Marcos convinced them to follow suit. Once there, Furstenfeld got down to the business of writing music for himself. He and Delahoussaye found day jobs and even played local gigs as a duo wherever they could. All three, meanwhile, were shuttling between San Marcos and Houston for Blue October rehearsals with Mullally, as well as the occasional live gig.

Last fall, Blue October came to Houston to record The Answers at Sound Arts with producer Brian Baker. Richly textured and immaculately recorded, the CD is hardly a low-budget, amateur-hour affair. To achieve such a professional first outing, the band enlisted the financial help of the Furstenfelds’ parents. Their father, Dan, is managing the band at this point and is working to get the band bookings in Dallas and other parts of Texas.

“My mom’s side of the family had always been kind of musical,” says Justin, who wrote The Answers’ track “Sweet and Somber Pigeon Wings” with his grandfather in mind. “He played guitar like B.B. King. So I guess that’s why I wound up picking up the guitar. But my dad taught me my first chords.”

Though Justin admits Blue October’s back-and-forth lifestyle can get a bit hectic, he likes to look at the band’s current situation in rather idealistic terms.

“We’re living a life on the river, writing beautiful songs and staying clean,” he says.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have parents with deep pockets to keep the wheels from falling off the dream.

Blue October performs Saturday, February 21, at Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak. Doors open at 8 p.m. Cover is $8. Draper and Whipple open. For info, call 862-3838.