Blue October

Justin Furstenfeld is certainly never one to mince words. Whether on or offstage, the Blue October singer-songwriter tells it like it is. It’s no surprise then that on a recent afternoon, Furstenfeld is nothing less than blunt in his assessment of his iconic band’s breakthrough album. “It's fucking beauty! It's gorgeous! It’s timeless!” the singer says with zero hesitation. He’s speaking to Foiled, Blue October’s epic and undeniably enduring 2006 landmark LP, a 14-track collection that temporarily sent the Houston-bred band into the stratosphere thanks to seminal singles including “Hate Me” and “Into The Ocean.”

And while on first glance it might appear the musician is lavishing praise upon his band’s most well-known project, it’s anything but hubris. Rather, Furstenfeld is speaking to the appreciation and love he’s come to feel for the project, notably the knowledge of what that specific body of work did and continues to do for him, for his band, for his overall mental well-being, for his journey to the present. Because for as much as Foiled initially sent Furstenfeld and Blue October’s life into a manic whirlwind, now, as the singer looks back on it 20 years in the rearview, and particularly as the band prepares to launch a yearlong Foiled 20th-anniversary celebration, the singer has come to realize what a true blessing his band’s most beloved body of work has been in his life.

“So now here we are,” Furstenfeld says as Blue October which includes drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist Matt Noveskey, and lead guitarist Will Knaak prepare to hit the road this fall for a Foiled headline tour where they’ll play the classic album in its entirety. “Let’s show and remind everyone just how special and eclectic that album was,” the singer says of Foiled. “And, most importantly, how much we wore our heart on our sleeve for it.”

Written chiefly by Furstenfeld and produced by Furstenfeld and Dave Castel, the collection balances deeply confessional lyrics with soaring melodies and emotional honesty that would become Blue October’s hallmark. Foiled is a dangerous and devious album, a collection of delightfully disturbing poetic songs. It oozes with authenticity (see dark love songs including “You Make Me Smile” and “She’s My Ride Home”) and bubbles with transparency. Even when the melodies were undoubtedly irresistible, as was the case with standout single “Hate Me,” the message was forever intensely personal and heartfelt.

In many ways, Foiled was the culmination of everything Blue October had worked for. After releasing their second album while signed to Universal Records, 1999’s Consent to Treatment, the band was subsequently dropped by the label the following year. Three years later, however, off the success of “Calling You,” the first single off what would become their third full-length LP, History for Sale, the band was re-signed by Universal Republic.

It was Foiled however and the process that got the band there that changed everything for Blue October. Furstenfeld largely disappeared while writing Foiled. Feeling misunderstood, he isolated himself and wrote with a feverish obsession, as well as with the need to finally dissect the maddening beauty behind depression, addiction and mental illness – obstacles that had haunted him for his entire life to that point. With no one to watch or judge him, and without anyone to cast doubt over his creative process, he bled onto paper with a level of brutal honesty previously unseen. This album would go on to burn like wildfire connecting with millions of people around the world by giving a face and a name to the demons collectively.

This emotional experience endured while writing Foiled colors the album with a palpably raw sentiment; it’s almost hot to the touch. Blue October’s deeply committed fanbase, as well as the general public, responded to it near immediately upon release: Foiled cracked the Billboard Rock Chart Top 10, was eventually RIAA-certified platinum.

And while Foiled marked a breakthrough moment for the band, it was truly only the beginning for Blue October: the album’s deeply personal songwriting and emotionally resonant sound not only cemented the Houston-bred band as one of rock’s most distinctive voices, but the deep connection it forged with their fanbase through the album’s highly personal lyrics remains palpable today. As the band’s global presence has continually grown. Blue October’s catalog now surpasses one billion streams and continues to climb – new listeners continue to discover Foiled alongside the band’s ever-expansive catalog that followed in its wake.

At the time however, Furstenfeld readily admits he could hardly enjoy all the supposedly great things happening around him and the band: not only was the singer in the throes of a heavy drug addiction, but with the singer breaking his leg backstage during an early date on the Foiled headline tour directly coinciding with the height of mania surrounding the band and project Blue October was subsequently forced to cancel the remainder of that tour. Just as soon as everything had seemingly taken off for Blue October, it felt as if things were crashing down.

As documented in the stunning 2020 documentary, Get Back Up, the next few years for Blue October were plagued by Furstenfeld’s deepening drug addiction as well as interband turmoil. In May 2012, Furstenfeld entered rehab and he has been sober ever since. His recovery journey has transformed not only the band’s music, but also his personal outlook on life. “It’s a fucking awesome life right now,” he says proudly with a smile.

To that end, now 20 years after Foiled’s release, as the band prepares to celebrate the album’s two-decade anniversary, Furstenfeld finally is able to enjoy all that the transformative 2006 LP brought into his and his band’s life. In short, he says he believes everything played out as it should.

“It did what it's supposed to do,” he says of the album in retrospect. I'm the most spiritually beautiful, calm, peaceful, amazing person and father that I never was before.”

And while on the surface the Foiled anniversary might appear to be backward-looking, for Furstenfeld it’s a lesson and exercise in how the past can shape the present. “That's why we're doing an anniversary tour for it now. It's so cool. You gotta celebrate the fact that we made that music. And now look where we are because of it. It's such a blessing.”