Blue October
Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas, formed in 1995. It currently consists of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist Matt Noveskey, and lead guitarist Steve Schiltz.
The band has had twenty-one top 40 singles on the alternative rock chart over the span of thirteen studio albums, and is best known for its platinum singles "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean" from their 2006 platinum album Foiled. Blue October has won numerous Houston Press music awards including Best New Act, Best Pop/Rock artist, and album of the Year for History for Sale in 2003.
History
Early years and ''The Answers'' (1995–1998)
Blue October was formed by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, his brother Jeremy and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye. The band was discovered by former Kid Rock manager Michael Rand performing at the Pappadeaux Cafe in Houston in 1998. His agency proceeded to book over 350 dates on the group unsigned. Extensive publicity and artist development was regimented. This work eventually led to Michael bringing the band to Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris under the direction of longtime A & R Recording rep Reen Nalli. The group moved to San Marcos, Texas in December 1996.Managed by Justin and Jeremy's parents under the name RoDan Entertainment, Blue October released their first album, The Answers in 1998. It was a well-received debut which sold over 5,000 copies in Houston alone. Due to a fan-based connection with ABC's KTRK-TV, Blue October was able to schedule an early-morning news performance – the band's first live television performance. Other unreleased songs from this period include "Rust", "Colorado 5591", "His Name Is Crazy", "Gun Metal Blue", "Dollar 30 Gravy" and "5 Day Walk".
Blue October caught the attention of the major record labels while working with producer dB in early 1998. Pre-production started for getting Blue October a more "radio ready" sound, with new songs and to rewrite material off The Answers. Tracking was done in a studio setup at Justin's home in San Marcos.
''Consent to Treatment'' and ''History for Sale'' (1999–2005)
After recordings were sent to Universal Records, Blue October signed to the label in 1999 for the release of their second album, Consent to Treatment. The band was dropped by Universal Records in 2000.The band recruited a new guitarist, C.B. Hudson, and got back on the road. In November 2002, the band signed with Texas-based management company Rainmaker Artists. Rainmaker immediately signed the band to their record label Brando Records. Just before entering the studio Matt Noveskey left the band for personal reasons. The remaining band members persevered, entering the studio to record what would become their third album, History for Sale. The first single from History For Sale was "Calling You", released in February 2003. On March 20, 2003, radio station "102.1 the EDGE" in Dallas added "Calling You" to regular rotation, and it began to spread to radio stations across the country receiving over 56,585 spins on the US airwaves. Rainmaker took the band to New York, where the band played multiple live showcases over a week in early May 2003 for Atlantic Records, Columbia Records and Universal Records.
Blue October was then offered records deals by each company. Ultimately the band returned to Universal Republic Records in May 2003. History for Sale was then re-released on Universal Republic in August 2003. History for Sale was largely a response to the control Universal had placed on the group during the Consent to Treatment production process. This is evident in songs such as "Somebody" and "Inner Glow".
''Foiled'' and commercial success (2006–2008)
"Calling You" remained the group's largest mainstream success until their 2006 single "Hate Me". The band made their network television premiere on April 14, 2006, performing "Hate Me", the first single from Foiled, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 28, 2006. Blue October was also on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2006. On November 14, 2006, Blue October opened for the Rolling Stones in Boise, Idaho. "Hate Me" was released to Modern Rock radio stations and quickly climbed to number two on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Hate Me" remained in the top five of the Modern Rock chart for 20 straight weeks. While in the number two chart position "Hate Me" was jumped over twice by both Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Hate Me" would never reach number one. The music video for "Hate Me" debuted on VH1, later making a splash at No. 13 on VH1's user-controlled video countdown show VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. It eventually peaked at No. 2 for the week ending on May 5, 2006. "Into the Ocean", the second single from the album, was released on July 17, 2006. The music video for the song debuted at number three on VH1's The 20 during the show's final week of 2006, and reached the number one spot in mid-February 2007. "Into the Ocean" hit number 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks. The next single from the band was "She's My Ride Home", which they performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on April 25, 2007.Blue October's fourth album, Foiled, was certified platinum on February 22, 2007. Foiled went on to sell 1.4 million albums in the US. Both "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean" were also certified as platinum selling singles. This was heralded as a special moment for the band, Rainmaker, Brando and key executives at Universal Republic who had signed, dropped and then resigned the band.
As a result of reaching a new audience that Blue October has found with Foiled, Blue October underwent an expansion of its tour locations. Originally restricted to Texas, and parts of the Midwest and Southwest United States, Blue October began touring locations covering the entire continental United States. In addition, locations in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and the Netherlands were added to their schedule.
In August 2008, Justin was featured in a sold out four-city tour with Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series. During this tour, Justin premiered two new songs, "Blue Skies" and "My Never", which would be included on the band's fifth studio album. Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is a fan of Blue October, and their music helped inspire part of the popular book series.
''Approaching Normal'' and ''Ugly Side'' (2009–2010)
The band's fifth studio album, Approaching Normal, was released on March 24, 2009. It was distributed via its predecessors, Universal. Approaching Normal was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band released two versions of the album, each with a different bonus track: an "explicit" version, with "The End" as the bonus track, and a "clean" version, with "Graceful Dancing" as the bonus track. "Graceful Dancing" was also released in late 2008 as a "special gift" to fans signed under the band's email list."Dirt Room" was the first single from the album, released on December 23, 2008. "Dirt Room" became Blue October's second Top 5 Modern Rock single peaking at number 7 on April 8, 2009. "Say It" was released as the second single on April 24, 2009. "Say It" was Blue October's fifth Top 40 Modern Rock hit peaking at number 29 on July 24, 2009. "Say it" also crossed over to the Hot AC radio format giving the band its fourth Top 40 Hot AC hit peaking at number 28 on October 13, 2009. The song was first performed at Edgefest 17 on April 27, 2008, in Dallas, Texas.
In May 2009, Blue October's show in Pittsburgh was cancelled by the fire marshal and the Pittsburgh Police Department, due to overcrowding and unsafe conditions. Not wanting to disappoint fans, the band set up their gear on the corner outside the venue and played a mini-set to the delight of fans.
On October 22, 2009, Blue October announced that the rest of the tour had been canceled due to Justin Furstenfield suffering a severe mental anxiety attack. He returned to perform at Stubb's Outdoor Amphitheater in Texas a month or two after his attack. The tour was rescheduled in 2010.
In July 2010, Blue October played a series of acoustic concerts that were recorded for a live unplugged album, entitled Ugly Side: An Acoustic Evening with Blue October, released on May 10, 2011. In February 2011, the band announced on their website that they would embark on an acoustic tour between March and May 2011.
''Any Man in America'' and Up/Down Records (2011–2012)
On June 1, 2010, the band announced they were beginning pre-production on their next studio album to be produced by Tim Palmer. In late 2010 and early 2011, they headed back to the studio to finish recording the album, which debuted on August 16, 2011. The title of the album is Any Man in America.During the week of February 14–18, lead singer Furstenfeld did a stint as a guest DJ on Austin's KROX-FM radio station. Furstenfeld previewed four new tracks on the air, presumably on the new album, titled "The Chills", "The Waiting, "The Getting Over It Part" and "The Flight ". On April 3, 2011, Furstenfeld announced the album would be distributed by RED Music, a Sony Music imprint for independent artists. Their former label, Universal Motown Records, offered them a 360 deal. The band opted to become independent instead, and formed their own label called Up/Down Records. On May 4, 2011, Blue October played the first full song of the new album live, called "The Feel Again". On May 6, 2011, Blue October played a second song in St. Louis, Missouri from their upcoming album "The Follow Through". Furstenfeld performed a duet with Patricia Lynn from the band The Soldier Thread for the song.
The official music video for the first single, "The Chills", was released via the band's Vevo channel on July 25, 2011. Any Man in America was released in the US on August 16, 2011. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard Album Sales Chart on August 25, 2011. This was their first Top 10 album sales chart debut. On September 24, 2011, "The Chills" peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, giving Blue October their sixth Top 40 Modern Rock radio hit.