Blue October: Performing as group therapy

BREDA – Blue October is one of the headliners at the Breda Barst-festival this weekend. BredaVandaag.nl got an exclusive interview with Justin Furstenfeld, singer and frontman of the band.

Interview: Iris Zwart
How would you define your music?

Bipolar art-rock. It’s up and down, sad, happy, mad, angry, psychic, schizo, all over the place.

For someone who has no clue of what Blue October stands for, how would you describe the band?

It’s a band that stands for honesty. We play honestly, just telling our stories and expressing our emotions. We’re passionate and give 120% at stage. To us it’s like an emotional work out.

What does music mean to you as a Blue October member?

Music means everything to me. It’s therapy and it’s keeping me alive. Not just our music, but music in general. My own writing keeps me going and music that is relatable does the same thing for me.

Why did you start to make music and why did you decide to start this band?

I started to make music when I figured out it works as therapy for me. I can say what I want and write honest lyrics because of it. When I first started to perform, I kept noticing people stayed and even came back to hear the music again. That’s when I thought people are connecting with this. I just want to make music, express myself and make beautiful art and with that I’m not trying to be famous at all. People just seem to be able to relate to the music we make.

What were your thoughts of being in a band at the early stage of your existence and what are they like now?

At the early stage there was no bullshit. There was only truth. It was about the music and for me about singing the songs. As we started to grow, once we were signed, I noticed that this music industry is only focused on writing hits. So for them it wasn’t important any more if the songs were close to the heart. They had to be played on the radio often enough. It was and still is a big issue for me. Making art doesn’t make it. You mostly have to make fun of other people to get publicity. But I’m learning to deal with it. I’m not making them hits in a way that they want me to. I’m just writing my true stories and some, but not all of them, are agreed upon by our label.

How would you discriminate your albums?

The albums are focused on how I felt at that stage of life. It’s honest material, where I first started to figure stuff out and we’re now “approaching normal”.

And are you getting there?
Hell no.
So are you working on new stuff right now?
We’re always working on new stuff. We have got to be ready when the label maybe gets in to trouble and needs us to make something new.

Is it going to be closer to normal than your last album?
No, we’re going an entirely different way.

How do you guys feel when you're on stage?

Being on stage is also therapy for us. Actually it’s more like group therapy because now we’re doing it with the audience. It’s also a rush, much better than a drug. I feel like being in control of everything and I always do when I’m performing. I express the meanings of the lyrics and while doing so I go back to when I wrote the song and the feelings that come with that. It’s not hard for me. I’m doing it for the audience, including the people who feel connected to the songs we play.

What do you get from it?

What I get from the audience are the claps, the thank yous afterwards, the stories of how fans hate of love a song, how it makes them laugh or cry. How it makes them feel about the ex they’ve always wanted to kill. It makes me feel real good an also less I alone. Like I said, it’s like group therapy.

Why did you choose to attend the Breda Barst festival?

Breda Barst asked us to perform at their festival and of course we said yes. We’re jumped and honored to play tomorrow. It’s a great opportunity to show who we are to the ones who don’t know us yet.

Blue October
Zaterdag vanaf 19.25 uur op Breda Barst.

Catchradio besteedt een special aan deze band. (www.catchradio.nl)

Interview in Dutch

www.myspace.com/blueoctober
www.blueoctoberfan.com
www.blueoctoberfan.nl
www.bredavandaag.nl/nieuws/bredabarst