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
The Tour
07/29/06 Twin Lakes, WI Hedgpeth Festival
07/30/06 Council Bluffs, IA Westfair Amphitheatre
08/01/06 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
08/02/06 Middleton, WI Majestic Theatre
08/03/06 Chicago, IL Double Door
08/04/06 Chicago, IL Grant Park
08/05/06 Maryland Heights, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
08/08/06 Kinston, NC Next Door
08/09/06 Columbia, SC Headliners @ Banana Joe's
08/11/06 Hollywood, CA the Avalon
08/16/06 London, UK Barfly
10/28/06 New Orleans, LA New Orleans City Park
By
Gwyn Tyme
w/Steve Mitchell
