Justin Furstenfeld has been working out his demons in the public eye for over a decade now, but the Blue October frontman appears to be at a point in his life where he can lay his emotional turmoil to rest. Furstenfeld has been forthcoming from the get-go about his emotional issues – whether it’s mother-son conflict in "Hate Me" or gaining victory over suicidal tendencies in "Into The Ocean" – and fans have responded passionately to Blue October’s material because of that honesty. But much has changed in the 3 years since the band released its platinum-certified album Foiled, and many might be surprised to learn that Furstenfeld is no longer letting one of his biggest foes, bipolar disorder, rule his past, present, or future.
Thanks to the birth of his first daughter,
Blue, in 2007 and the brutally honest advice provided by producer
Steve Lillywhite,
Furstenfel is making a huge leap creatively and personally. While
Blue October’s previous works delved into the emotional scars of the past, the band’s new album
Approaching Normal (due out on March 24) encourages its listeners to no longer play the victim. The best example of that new outlook comes in the first single "
Dirt Room," and you can expect similar themes down the road. As
Furstenfeld explained to Ultimate-Guitar, when you become a father, selfishness no longer becomes an option.
UG: It’s obvious that your music has connected with listeners on a deeply emotional level. I’m sure you’ve been approached by more than a few fans who have expressed what your music has meant to them.
Justin: Yeah. The fans set me on track. The music is a way to express myself, but the fans help me more than I help them. When they talk to me it’s more like I go, “Wow.” I always wish I could talk to them more. There’s just so many of them nowadays. It’s sad and happy! I would love to talk to all of them, so thank you very much.
"I’m turning around with people that are part of positive things."
Yes, it’s a very different approach. I stopped being such a prick! I stopped being that controlling guy. There’s a beautiful man named Steve Lillywhite, who is probably one the very best producers in the world. He completely changed my view on how to prevent issues. Usually I produce it, so I always end up having to be the bad guy. It’s hard not producing because it’s one of my favorite things to do. But when Steve Lillywhite wanted to do it I was like, “I’m going to sit this one out. I’m going to write the best songs I can.” It was really joyous. These songs are more about not playing the victim anymore. It’s straining to be the victim all the time. I think it was less about myself. I was so lost in my drama, and I had very serious issues. I found myself lost in the whole entertainment aspect of the issues that I started to take it for granted and got really insecure. I got very heavy. My weight got very heavy, and I hated it. I was just like, “Oh, God.”
Then I had a daughter – and it all changed. The songs that came out of my head were like, “I’m not the victim anymore. Do you think you’re going to take this away from me and make me do that? Try. Well, you were dramatic and you needed someone to listen to you, and now you can help other people. You’re cool. You’re fine. You’re okay. Be more proactive and less whiny.” That’s what I said to myself. And get on the treadmill, dude! I keep myself busy and write the best, most awesome songs I can. I guess that’s what I do.
I live in Texas – and I can’t go any further with this comment – but she lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. So I don’t get to see her that much. Everything I do every morning and until the time I go to bed is for her now. So if I’m doing something, I’m productive. It almost becomes obsessive! You switch one obsession with the other. I’ll go straight to the piano and write a piece, and then I record it. I’m trying to write a song every night, just to challenge myself.
I used to go, “Oh, the song will come with the drama.” Steve Lillywhite taught me, “It’s not like that, bro. I need that second chorus to be better because it’s boring.” That was just a shock. I was mad for about 2 seconds and then I went, “You are not the biggest fish in the bond anymore.” Then he looks at me and goes, “You’re pretty fat. You need to lose some weight!” I’ve lost 50 pounds! With my daughter and meeting Steve Lillywhite, I’m just trying to do better for myself because I think I’ve let a lot of people down in the past 4 years by complaining.
You mentioned that you often go to the piano during the evening to write songs. That reminded me that you went to a high school for the performing arts. Were you trained in several different instruments during that time?
You’re going to laugh. I’m not trained in anything! I went to the high school for performing arts for theater. I just had so much drama in me! I got trained in knowing how to take my wall down. I got trained in learning how to release inhibitions and talk about things that other people might not. So I was a poet, too. So back in – I don’t remember when it was – I started writing songs. I knew it was my thing. The first song I wrote people went, “That song is about teen suicide. You’re 16 years old. Why are you writing that?” I knew that stuck with people once I saw their faces. So I just write about whatever comes into my heart. Right now I can’t be with my daughter, so it’s mainly about frustrations of being so far away from her. It’s about what I can do to maintain a fatherly attitude and deliver the positive morals to support her.
So every night I do that and I’ll record. Last night I was in there from maybe 7 o’clock until 5 in the morning. I challenge myself. I want to be able to go, “That’s what I do in my time off.” I didn’t go to the bars like I used to. I didn’t go be stupid like I used to. I just stayed at home and worked on my craft like Steve Lillywhite told me that I should. I’m turning around with people that are part of positive things. I’ve connected with my brother, not just as a drummer, but as a brother and a friend. The band is a big support, too. We all got closer. We’re all at a different place. We’re not really drinking or anything anymore.
"I keep myself busy and write the best, most awesome songs I can."
Yeah. I will be a stickler about that because that’s what I do for a living. I’m not a drummer or a violinist. I’m a songwriter. I’ll play stuff on the guitar, but I don’t know what I’m playing! I’m a songwriter. These guys in my band are true musicians. I would never say I’m a true musician. I don’t know most theory, but I know how to touch people and relate to people. So yes, all the songwriting starts with me until someone comes up and says, “I have an idea.”
“Dirt Room,” the new single, was written by everyone. It would come up in rehearsals. “What is that?” Matt would come up to me and goes, “It’s thing riff that I’ve got going.” I would be like, “Matt, come on! Let’s do this! Let’s jam.” And then we came up with our first single. Everybody in the band had this rejuvenated confidence about them because now they’re on board with what it takes to write songs, much less songs for radio. There’s a romanticism about it. I think I’m starting to include them more. Every night I call one of the band members and say, “Are you doing anything tonight? It’s time to write song!” They show up and we work on it.
Were there ever moments in the past when you would work one-on-one with another band member?
I had so many problems because I was so focused on myself. Anytime I had a song, I would be like, “Hold up, guys.” I had a huge collection, so we didn’t need any songs. Now it’s like, “That’s amazing. I wish I could play the guitar like he does!” Ryan, he’s my genius.
Were you or any of the other members of Blue October hesitant to have the violin and mandolin as regularly featured instruments in the early days?
No, because I didn’t know what radio was. Back in the 1990s, I was doing it to be cool and was like Duckie from Pretty in Pink. I just wanted to be a cool guy that played in a band. So I didn’t see it like. He went to the high school for performing/visual arts. So if he went there for violin, that means he’s amazing. That means he had auditioned, got in, and he’s brilliant. If you go for theater, you’re cool – but everyone can get in there for theater. Ryan is my hook boy. He’s the guy that will go, “Justin, ooh. That sounded a little too much like 1983.” I’m constantly writing, so he’s constantly on my back. I love that because I can’t make a mistake. I’ve got to be on top of it.
Talk a little about your experience with Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, who has been quoted as saying that Blue October’s music had a heavy influence on many of her books. Considering that Twilight has such a massive following, it does seem like your band could get a huge push from this whole thing.
Yeah. It was so amazing that it’s coming from a real person who is a literary genius. She actually looked at me and said the same thing. I said, “You’re kidding me!” I didn’t know how to react. That was also very humbling because we were going to Chicago, Seattle, New York, and L.A., and I’d see a tour being done where there was no alcohol ever. There is no cursing ever. You respect the theater, and that was Stephenie’s wishes. She’s a very professional young lady, and she has a family with 3 kids. She does all this stuff, and she’s a genius. The fact that she was sitting next to me with such high morals going, “You’re the man that I would come to.” That was another part that changed me! I saw everything being done soberly and properly, and it was eye opening. She really taught me to be kind because it goes farther.
Interview by Amy Kelly
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
Photo by: Ashley Luckey
