Then there was a knock at the door. As luck would have it, another scheduling conflict left me studio-less for a second time. I had come in to work over an hour early that day to be sure I had enough time to prepare for my interview with Justin, and by the time I packed up my gear for a second time and moved to a third location, I had barely 10 minutes to finish preparing before Justin was supposed to call in.<\/span><\/p>\n I was stressed, sleepy, and a little bit sweaty from setting up and tearing down my gear several times. It wasn\u2019t a great way to start a Thursday. <\/span><\/p>\n Then my phone rang, and when I answered it, on the other end of the line was this charismatic ambassador of joy who, within 3 minutes of our conversation, was singing to me from the other end of the phone, while walking through the woods with birds chirping softly in the background. It\u2019s hard to have a bad day when being serenaded like that by one of your favorite musicians.<\/span><\/p>\n We covered quite a bit of material in our interview, but in addition to answering my questions, Justin somehow managed to spin my train wreck of a morning into the highlight of my week. His advice was simple: \u201cStop being a whiny little b****\u201d \u2014 a phrase I\u2019ve repeated back to myself several times since our conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, context is everything though, so keep reading.<\/span><\/p>\n Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October, Photo credit: Chris Barber<\/p><\/div>\n GigSalad:<\/strong>\u00a0So the single “I Hope You\u2019re Happy” is already out, and you guys have an album also titled I Hope You\u2019re Happy<\/em>\u00a0coming out later this year, correct?<\/span><\/p>\n Justin Furstenfeld:<\/b> That\u2019s right, it\u2019s coming out late June \/ early July. [Edit: an official release date has since been set. The album is scheduled for release on August 17, 2018.]<\/span><\/p>\n GS:<\/b> Who did you have in mind whenever you wrote the lyrics to “I Hope You\u2019re Happy”?<\/span><\/p>\n JF:<\/b> I\u2019m at this place in my life now where life is way too short to be complaining all the time. And there\u2019s so much complaining going on in the world that I just wanted to let everybody know who I\u2019d ever been involved with \u2014 romantically, business, friendship, from all the way back to grade school up until now \u2014 the one thing that I want everybody to know is that I hope you\u2019re happy. I just wanted to be a positive light in this weird world right now and just kind of say that you should let bygones be bygones and wish the people that you\u2019ve been in a relationship with that you hope they\u2019re happy. Everybody\u2019s so stuck on Facebook and social media and, \u2018look at me, look at me, look how cool I am now, look what I\u2019m into now,\u2019 and everybody\u2019s so obsessed with finding the people that they used to know to see if that nostalgia\u2019s there. And I just thought it was inspiring to see how people still connected, even if it\u2019s through a computer screen. But the things that people connect on social media are political views or music views or what people are into. I just wanted to send a radio file to everybody saying that I hope they\u2019re happy no matter what we went through, no matter how we ended it. I just hope they\u2019re happy, you know? But it wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Oh, this is for that girl, Sherry, that I met back in\u2026\u2019 Nah, it wasn\u2019t like that. <\/span><\/p>\n GS:<\/b> When Blue October first started out, your music had a much darker tone to it: songs like “Hate Me” and “Dirt Room”. Your more recent stuff \u2014 “Home” and “I Hope You\u2019re Happy” \u2014 seems to come from a different place, or at least communicate a different feeling. What inspired that shift more towards the optimistic?<\/span><\/p>\n JF:<\/b> Um, I stopped being a whiny little b****. Excuse my language, but that\u2019s what it was. I mean, honestly. I grew up and I said, you know what, I was the most dramatic person in the world. And I think we all can be dramatic growing up, right? I was obsessed with bands like The Cure and The Smiths, and all of these dark bands, and I loved them! And it was so easy to write about the depression that I felt because I had depression and anxiety. \u2018Oh, poor me!\u2019 You know? It was so easy to float that boat and make it cool. Because everybody wanted to be that dark, mysterious person. And then I got older and I said, \u2018You know what, I need to stop doing drugs. This s*** is messing my head up. Like, I\u2019m not smart anymore. And I\u2019m starting to get overweight. And I\u2019m starting to not be fun. Maybe I should stop drinking too. Let\u2019s just try it for a few months.\u2019 And I stopped doing it, and all of the sudden, it was just like, \u2018Wow. Holy s****. The world is not so heavy, dude. You\u2019ve made this. You fabricated this whole thing, just by over-medicating yourself and never really diving into the issues of what made you depressed in the first place. You just kept piling it on top of each other.\u2019 So I made a conscious choice to try another way of life, which is, \u2018Treat your body with respect.’ What? Who the hell would have thought that? Then what I got out of it was, man, life is really freaking amazing if you just live it, and if you keep the negative people out of your life, if you keep negativity out of your life, and if you treat negativity like a chance to demonstrate patience and confidence and faith. Then it\u2019s just like, \u2018Man, it\u2019s such an amazing world!\u2019 Yes, I was just as passionate back then about depression because I was trying to figure out why I was depressed and anxious, and so I used lots of drugs, and then I wrote about it. And now I\u2019m just as passionate and just as vivid with my writing about peace, about confidence, about getting up every morning and kicking ass instead of rolling out of bed and going, \u2018Oh why! Why is this so hard? Ugh!\u2019 Now, it\u2019s get out of bed and say, \u2018Oh yeah, it\u2019s hard, but get the hell up. Stop being a little b****.\u2019 So that\u2019s where I\u2019m at. <\/span><\/p>\n GS:<\/b> GigSalad is all about doing what you love and creating unforgettable moments. So keeping with the happiness theme, looking back on your life and your career so far, what were the things that made you the happiest? <\/span><\/p>\n JF:<\/b> The things that made me the happiest didn\u2019t come until I got sober. When we were selling millions of records was the worst time in my life, because it was just crazy \u2014 all this crazy stuff. But the most happy I\u2019ve ever been was releasing an album and going on tour for it overseas\u2026 We never had a crowd overseas. But then, when we changed and all of the music started to become more positive and about living strong and doing the best you can with life, people just started coming. And it was crazy! The most happy part of my life, I think, is when I figured out that people are attracted to positivity. They don\u2019t want to follow some guy that\u2019s circling the drain, you know? So the most happy part is when I went overseas and I saw thousands of people at my show because we put a song out called \u201cFear\u201d. That was brilliant. I was like, \u2018First of all, wow, I can still write when I\u2019m sober, and it\u2019s touched more people than it did when I was depressed.\u2019 And I was just so proud and now it\u2019s the happiest moment of my life. To be honest with you, the <\/span>happiest<\/span><\/i> is that, when I tour, when my kids aren\u2019t in school, they come on tour with me and we have a separate family bus. That\u2019s the coolest, man. To wake up in the morning at 7:30, feed the kids and be like, \u2018Baby, we\u2019re in Seattle! Holy s***! Let\u2019s go get some coffee with the kids before soundcheck at 4:00.\u2019 Or, \u2018We\u2019re in Missoula, Montana! Let\u2019s freaking go hiking in the mountains before soundcheck!’ ‘Oh, we\u2019re in Santa Monica? Let\u2019s go down to Venice Beach!\u2019 You know?! Like, what?! It\u2019s just sick, bro. It\u2019s so sick how good life is, and when you have your family out there on the road, and your four-year-old daughter has seen more than you did by the time you were twenty-six, you know. <\/span><\/p>\n Blue October, Photo credit: Nicola Gell<\/p><\/div>\n GS:<\/b> There\u2019s a line in the chorus of the single “I Hope You\u2019re Happy” that says, ‘I hope you\u2019re happy and you\u2019re well understood,’ which is beautifully written, and honestly kind of got me the first time I listened to the song. But I\u2019m curious, what do you want people to understand about you? <\/span><\/p>\n JF: <\/b>That life is f****** amazing, man! That life is so good! And I want people to know that I\u2019m trying my hardest to make up for the bull**** I pulled a while back. I live a life of making amends now, and I want people to know that I mean everything that I say with my whole heart and that I only want the best for every single [person] \u2014 even if you don\u2019t like my music, even if you don\u2019t come to the shows, even if you don\u2019t believe in the same things I believe in \u2014 whoever you are, I just want you to be happy. And that\u2019s it. Some people look at me all the time now and go \u2014 like my wife now, she\u2019ll go, ‘Do you have to be so positive all the time?’ [Laughs] You know, like some guys in my crew, they\u2019ll be like, ‘Dude, are you ever in a bad mood?’ And it might be annoying to people, but I literally sat in my own s*** for so many other years that, man just being out of that s*** is such a blessing and it\u2019s so dope and it\u2019s so cool. Like, right now I\u2019m walking, on an interview with you, I\u2019m walking and it\u2019s foggy as hell and I\u2019m in the woods, and it\u2019s kinda cold, but I know it\u2019s gonna rain at some point today so I can smell the rain and it\u2019s about to come in. And I know that I\u2019m going to go in the studio here in about thirty minutes and kill this track\u2026 Like what?! Come on dude! Life\u2019s good, bro! That\u2019s what I want people to understand about me. That life is good. Stop being a little b****. Get out and go live it.<\/span><\/p>\n GS:<\/b> Right before the album Home<\/em> came out, in another interview you said it sounded like a kite flying through the desert: very simple, and focused on the beat, the melody, and the atmosphere. So if you were to paint a word picture in a similar style, how would you describe the upcoming album I Hope You\u2019re Happy<\/em>? <\/span> GS: <\/b>What\u2019s one piece of advice that you would give to somebody who\u2019s trying to make it in the entertainment industry right now? <\/span> Blue October, Photo credit: Nicola Gell<\/p><\/div>\n You can pre-order Blue October\u2019s new album, I Hope You\u2019re Happy<\/em>, and purchase exclusive experiences like personalized videos, acoustic house concerts, or the chance to have Justin Furstenfeld officiate your wedding ceremony, <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More cool stuff from Blue October:<\/span><\/p>\n Website: <\/span>http:\/\/www.blueoctober.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Facebook: <\/span>http:\/\/facebook.com\/blueoctober<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Twitter: <\/span>http:\/\/twitter.com\/blueoctober<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I Hope You\u2019re Happy Video: <\/span>https:\/\/youtu.be\/FwZvuV79jeY<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Blue-October-Justin-Photo-by-Chris-Barber.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Blue-October-1-Photo-by-Nicola-Gell.jpg?resize=1000%2C829&ssl=1\")
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>JF:<\/b> I would have to say it\u2019s like someone took a huge canvas \u2014 not a small canvas, I\u2019m talking a wall-sized canvas \u2014 and it was right next to a window looking out over, I don\u2019t know, Soho, London. And they have this big loft and they have this huge canvas, and they have Dave Brubeck jazz playing in the background while they smoke their favorite cigarette and have their favorite cup of coffee, and they had every single color given to them right in front of this canvas. And then, as soon as they were done smoking a cigarette, they just threw one thing of every color up there and then sat back and looked at it. That\u2019s how I would see this. It\u2019s so colorful. This album is <\/span>so<\/span><\/i> colorful! I love it! But that\u2019s how it makes me feel. There\u2019s a song called \u201cYour Love Is Like a Car Crash\u201d on this album and it makes me feel like I\u2019m in Italy because I put this accordion in it and it makes me feel like it\u2019s a cross between a Russian ballet and a James Bond film. You know what I\u2019m saying? It\u2019s just so clean, but yet so romantic, but so sad. It\u2019s about this guy who just can\u2019t get over this girl because she made love to him once and now he just can\u2019t live without it. So, \u2018Please, please come back to me,\u2019 you know? He stalks her and it\u2019s brilliant because this guy loves her so much! It\u2019s brilliant! But the colors in this song are incredible. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>JF: <\/b>Tour. Don\u2019t sit there on your butt and expect someone else to bring you success. Make the definition of success as simple as this: you can pay your bills and you can eat, and you\u2019re alive, and you love the fact that you get to do your art for a living. That\u2019s it. Those are your goals. If you make it about anything bigger, you\u2019re surely going to let yourself down. But you need to tour. You need to get out there and go to every city and gain an audience. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/BlueOctober_Photo_by_Nicola-Gell.jpg?resize=1000%2C745&ssl=1\")
Subscribe to the GigSalad Greenroom Interviews to hear stories from celebrities, entertainers, and industry leaders.<\/h3>\n