Blue October
Coming to Brown County Music Center
~ by Ryan Stacy
By now, it’ s probably safe to say that Justin Furstenfeld has exceeded expectations. When he, his brother Jeremy, and some friends first dusted off their brand of catchy alternative rock as Blue October in Texas back in 1995, they probably didn’ t foresee just how big they would blow up— or how long the explosion would reverberate. But Blue October ignited quickly, filling tour dates and recording albums at a pace that few bands could hope for. Within a few years, they’ d
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“ Sobriety and gratitude,” Justin tells me when I ask him how he’ s done it. Before getting sober eleven years ago, he says, he might have let Blue October’ s success go to his head a little bit.“ I took everything for granted, I led my life like an egotistical, ungrateful little brat,” he admits. But the different path he took changed all that.“ I’ m just so grateful, so humbled that I’ m able to take memories and feelings and make songs. I’ m gonna stay right there, do this the rest of my life, jump on every opportunity one hundred percent, and spend the rest of the time with my kids. I’ m the most successful man you’ ll ever talk to,” he says of exceeding those expectations for himself.
With Justin’ s attitude, Blue October’ s songwriting changed too. For one thing, his
38 Our Brown County March / April 2023