Blue October

Blue October formed in Houston, Texas in 1995 when vocalist and guitarist Justin Furstenfeld began writing angst-ridden rock songs with his brother, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, and classically trained violinist Ryan Delahoussaye. The band, known for blending industrial beats with classical arrangements and whisper-to-a-scream vocals, has racked up 21 top 40 alternative rock singles across thirteen studio albums. Their breakthrough came with the 2006 platinum album Foiled, featuring the chart-topping singles Hate Me and Into the Ocean. Furstenfeld wrote Hate Me at just 26 years old, in the grips of drug addiction, as a raw apology to the people he had hurt, including an authentic voicemail from his own mother featured in the recording. The song became the band’s most commercially successful single, peaking at number two on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart and winning an ASCAP award. Furstenfeld’s subsequent journey through rehab and sobriety shaped later albums including Any Man in America and the PledgeMusic-funded Sway, and the band has continued evolving, releasing the two-part double LP Spinning the Truth Around in 2022 and 2023.