Blue October first surfaced in 1995 in their home town of San Marcos, Texas. I first got to know about them from their strange, yet compelling single "Hate Me" in 2006, which prompted me to listen to their albums. That single has given them their biggest commercial success so far, peaking at number 31 in the Billboard Hot 100, with "Into The Ocean" being the group's only other major single in the U.S.A.
The group has grown in popularity over the last few years, and have provided the background music in many hit TV shows. "Hate Me" was featured on "Laguna Beach", "Moonlight" played "Calling You" on one of their episodes, and "Into The Ocean" was on an episode of "Jericho" while other shows and films have also featured Blue October songs, notably "American Wedding" which is credited with bringing the group to the attention of a much wider audience.
Group personnel include two brothers, Justin and Jeremy Furstenfeld, plus Ryan Delahoussaye, Matt Novesky and C.B. Hudson. Personnel has changed a few times over the years, and their first album, "Answers", was the only one to feature a founder member, Liz Mullaly.
A lot of the band's lyrics talk about depression, suicide and the darker side of life and writer and main man Justin Furstenfeld has admitted to struggling with bi-polar disorder most of his life, a condition which has strongly influenced his lyrics.
The band had a rocky relationship early on with Universal Records, with whom they signed in 1999. Their first album was not permitted by Universal to be promoted by the group, and Blue October's second album "Consent to Treatment" was therefore their first on a major label, but Universal actually dropped them in 2002, only to re-sign them as their third, self-released, album "History For Sale" sold better than the previous one. Universal then re-issued "History For Sale" and the group continue to record for them, with two more albums since then, namely "Foiled" and "Approaching Normal", the latter being produced by Steve Lillywhite, of U2 fame.
Some have found the title of the current album somewhat ironic as the songs on "Approaching Normal" have been in fact anything but, with some bizarre lyrics and with Justin even singing one song in a British accent. There is no doubt that the group are a little bizarre but then who needs normal in these crazy times, and to my mind Blue October's angst-ridden lyrics and weird arrangements make them a most enjoyable group to listen to.
The group has grown in popularity over the last few years, and have provided the background music in many hit TV shows. "Hate Me" was featured on "Laguna Beach", "Moonlight" played "Calling You" on one of their episodes, and "Into The Ocean" was on an episode of "Jericho" while other shows and films have also featured Blue October songs, notably "American Wedding" which is credited with bringing the group to the attention of a much wider audience.
Group personnel include two brothers, Justin and Jeremy Furstenfeld, plus Ryan Delahoussaye, Matt Novesky and C.B. Hudson. Personnel has changed a few times over the years, and their first album, "Answers", was the only one to feature a founder member, Liz Mullaly.
A lot of the band's lyrics talk about depression, suicide and the darker side of life and writer and main man Justin Furstenfeld has admitted to struggling with bi-polar disorder most of his life, a condition which has strongly influenced his lyrics.
The band had a rocky relationship early on with Universal Records, with whom they signed in 1999. Their first album was not permitted by Universal to be promoted by the group, and Blue October's second album "Consent to Treatment" was therefore their first on a major label, but Universal actually dropped them in 2002, only to re-sign them as their third, self-released, album "History For Sale" sold better than the previous one. Universal then re-issued "History For Sale" and the group continue to record for them, with two more albums since then, namely "Foiled" and "Approaching Normal", the latter being produced by Steve Lillywhite, of U2 fame.
Some have found the title of the current album somewhat ironic as the songs on "Approaching Normal" have been in fact anything but, with some bizarre lyrics and with Justin even singing one song in a British accent. There is no doubt that the group are a little bizarre but then who needs normal in these crazy times, and to my mind Blue October's angst-ridden lyrics and weird arrangements make them a most enjoyable group to listen to.
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