Blue October Just Wants to Enjoy the Moment For the 20th Anniversary of Foiled

When Blue October first hit big, lead vocalist Justin Furstenfeld had already spent the previous decade putting feelings of heartache into words. Chronicling his struggles with addiction and depression, Furstenfeld — along with the band — found community in small venues across Texas. It was around this time that he was in the midst of a tumultuous relationship, which inspired much of the band’s music.

Amid these battles, the band broke through in the mainstream with their fourth album Foiled, released 20 years ago this April. To date, Foiled contains the band’s most successful singles, including “Into the Ocean” and “Hate Me,” both of which have been certified platinum by the RIAA

At the time of the album’s release, both songs were anomalies in the pop landscape. Rhythmic pop and hip-hop dominated Top 40 radio. “Hate Me” detailed the dissolution of a relationship that fell victim to drug use and depression. “Into the Ocean” featured Furstenfeld detailing a desire to end his life. As Blue October’s star continued to rise, Furstenfeld was grappling with feelings he hadn’t fully processed.

But two decades later, he looks back at this time fondly, feeling grateful that Foiled has gotten to live on as it has. This fall, Blue October will hit the road to celebrate the album on the Foiled 20th Anniversary World Tour — with two nights (Nov. 27 & 28) at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. We chatted with Furstenfeld on the phone shortly before Foiled’s 20th anniversary. Having been sober for 13 years, Furstenfeld feels he can breathe new life into these beloved songs.

Congratulations on the 20th anniversary tour. What are you most looking forward to about being on the road again?

I would have to say playing these songs with celebration in mind, instead of playing the songs because I’m going through what the songs are about. They’re such personal songs, and back then, there were a lot of things going on and I wasn’t able to celebrate the fact that [Foiled] was succeeding. So it seemed like the bigger the album got back then, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that means we’re just gonna have to keep on going with this.’ Now, being sober, being in an amazing place in life, having kids and seeing just how big the impact of that album was for me and my life now, I’m finally able to go out and celebrate its success. As I play the songs, I’m not going to be sitting there going, ‘Boo hoo for me.’ I’m going to be going ‘20 years later, and you guys still love this.’ It’ll be a feeling of celebration and gratitude.

Let’s take it back to 2006. At the time, pop and hip-hop were dominating the landscape. Fergie, Nelly Furtado, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake were all in heavy radio rotation. Were you surprised when “Hate Me” took off?

I still can’t believe it. I was always under the impression that I would always have one of those cool underground careers, where we were maybe as big as the Cocteau Twins or the Pixies, and maybe sell 200,000 copies. But when “Hate Me” took off, that’s when I was like, ‘This is crazy! Are they even allowed to play songs like this on the radio?’ I’m still surprised that “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean” were the big ones. I don’t have a song that I wrote that got big that I hate. I love these two songs because they’re so honest, and they’re so brutal. They’re little pieces of furniture. They’re little pieces of art — little beautiful paintings that really were good paintings. So when they took off, they took off for a good reason. They didn’t take off because they were fun for the summer. They took off because people wanted to hear it, and they gravitated towards it, and that makes me feel, to this day, really special.

Foiled was your fourth album, and this was when you finally hit it big with these songs. Was there ever a point before your big breakthrough where you had felt defeated by the industry? 

Not necessarily defeated, but just misunderstood. I kept hearing bands like Papa Roach, Three Doors Down, Nickelback and all these bands singing these rock songs, and they were love songs and confidence songs. But the subject matter didn’t ever really touch me in the way that Radiohead or Coldplay did back then. So I was always wondering, ‘Am I writing too personally? What am I doing wrong? Why is it not as good as theirs?’ But I was also under the assumption that I was never really gonna be big. So it never stopped me. It just fueled the fire of ‘Well then, I’ll just do it myself. I’ll stay on the road, I’ll buy another van, and I’ll just keep touring.’ 

Did you always imagine these two as the big singles? Or was there another song on the album you imagined would have the same success?

I always thought the song “Calling You,”  before “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean” came out, was going to be it, because it kind of just skated into a nice feeling and made everybody feel good. I knew “Into the Ocean” was going to be a single because the label had told me. But I never thought “Hate Me” was going to be, because it was a six-minute-long song. 

As you mentioned, the album version of “Hate Me” is six minutes long, and this is largely due to a voicemail at the beginning of the track. What is the story behind this?

That’s my mom. Back in 2005, I kind of ran away from the band for a little bit and went and lived in California with a good friend of mine named Chuck Reed. He let me write music at his house and live there. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in a while because I just kind of wanted to disappear. And there were a lot of people on the Universal [Music Group] staff that were like, ‘Well, you need to sell some records.’ My heart was saying, ‘Well, I’m an artist,’ and there was a conflict in my heart. I felt like I needed to kind of get away and just write what was going on in my life, which was serious addiction. I went and wrote for quite some time in 2005, and when I finished writing all the songs, I knew I had something different, eclectic, and weird. All I wanted to do back then — Can I be honest with you? — was just beat Bright Eyes. It was like 50 Cent and Kanye for me back then. It was me against Conor Oberst. And I don’t even think Conor Oberst liked me or cared who I was. I just wanted so badly to come out on top. Because I loved Conor Oberst and I loved Bright Eyes, that’s who I wanted to be in a ring with back then.

This was years before Spotify. What would you say was the most significant driver for “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean.” Was it radio play? MySpace? Or MTV?

It was radio play, definitely. And with my manager, Paul Nugent, and with Universal’s radio staff, once “Hate Me” got on the radio, it just spread. It was just crazy. And we just stayed on the road until, of course, some things happened, and then I had to get off the road. I was never really able to tour for this album consistently to celebrate it because of some health stuff that happened. So now that we’re going back out 20 years later, it’s such an amazing feeling.

Your music was in heavy rotation on 106.1 Kiss FM here in Dallas. And as Houston natives, how would you say the Texas fans were instrumental in the album’s impact?

The Texas fans were a bit like us. They were like, ‘When’s this gonna happen? Why aren’t y’all giving them a chance?’ And then when it did happen, it was like their favorite soccer team finally won. It was such a neat thing to celebrate with Texas. But then at the same time they’re sitting there going, ‘Oh my God, wait, what is he singing about? He’s singing about drugs and suicide. I hope he doesn’t really feel that way.’ I remember Doug Morris, the president of Universal Records, calling me at rehearsals one day, …and he goes, ‘Congratulations, you got yourself one. But if this stuff that the songs are about is true, take care of yourself, because we want you to last long, be good to yourself.’ He saw it, you know, which was special, that he kind of didn’t see it as a new car that they’re selling. He saw it as something a little more special than just a love song.

Stephanie Meyer has said she took inspiration from Blue October to write the Twilight books. And you even once joined her on a book tour. Would you say you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob?

I’m team the cool dude, not the one who turns into a werewolf. I’m Team Edward. I’m Team Robert Pattinson. The really good-looking dude. 

Foiled opened doors for you. At the time, you guys were mostly doing Texas shows, but then the album took you around the world. What was your fondest memory from this particular era?

I think the most beautiful part about that whole album is that it was just a testament of leav[ing] someone alone and let[ting] them speak from their heart. If they’re honest, they can succeed at what they’re trying to say.

You’ve been very open about your mental health journey. How did you balance this with that mainstream fame at the time?

I didn’t. I lost my cool, I lost my mind, and ended up in a mental hospital. I made bad choices. I chose bad people to be in relationships with. I think mainstream fame could have been a blast, man. I think that if I had been present and sober, I could have really enjoyed it. I mean, Imogen Heap came down to LA, and we hung out, and she asked me the next day, ‘Hey, do you want to go to this red carpet event with me and be my date. Not like a date-date, we’ll be friends.’ I actually said no, because I was just too scared, and I was just too paranoid and depressed. I really let depression run its course back then, when I should have stopped and just gotten healthy and gone to the gym and maybe gotten a little spiritual. But I let a lot of opportunities pass me by because I was scared, I was depressed, and instead of being healthy about it, I self-medicated, which ended up really hurting me.

How do you plan to spend your time in Dallas on tour?

I’m a perfume addict. Whenever I go to Dallas, there’s a little place called The Scent Room and it is fabuloso. It’s not like one of those cheap, little niche fragrance houses. These people care about these brands from Italy, and they’re amazing. I’m probably going to drive around, go visit radio [stations] and say thank you to all of these amazing stations that have played us, and go do interviews. If I had a full day off, I would go to the zoo. I would go back and look at my old apartment off Lemmon Avenue, and I would go to Deep Ellum, and I would take my girlfriend down to Cafe Brazil and I’d get one of those chocolate espresso drinks. 

Tickets for the Foiled 20th Anniversary World Tour are on sale now. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.