Blue October to Play the Fonda

Greg Schwartz

Texas alt-pop rockers Blue October are set to return to Los Angeles with a performance on Dec. 6 at the Fonda Theatre. The band is currently touring behind their seventh album, “Sway” released in 2013.

Singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye first began performing as a duo while in high school in Houston and were soon joined by Justin’s older brother, Jeremy, on drums. Bassist Matt Noveskey rounds out the quartet. The band released their first album “The Answers” in 1998 and relocated first to San Marcos and then to Austin in 2001. Blue October’s breakthrough to mainstream popularity occurred with their fourth album, 2006’s “Foiled” which featured the hit single “Hate Me”.

This surge in popularity would find the band making nationally televised appearances that year on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and “Late Night with Conan O’ Brien.” Blue October even earned a prestigious slot opening for the Rolling Stones in Boise, Idaho that fall. “Foiled” was certified platinum in 2007 and would sell over 1.4 million albums in the US, with platinum selling singles in both “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean”.

Blue October has been through some ups and downs and lineup changes over the years, but seems to have settled back into a groove with their latest album. The band started working on “Sway” in 2012, using a unique funding formula with a Pledge Music campaign. The campaign directed five percent of the proceeds to MusicCares, which provides financial aid to musicians without healthcare who are in need.

“This album is about why life is so beautiful. It’s about facing fears and recognizing miracles every day. It’s about enjoying yourself and realizing that life is not something you can half-ass,” Justin Furstenfeld said about “Sway.”

“The band is in a really great space now, everyone is healthy, happy and doing well. That’s changed our point of view, and you can hear that new perspective on the album,” added Jeremy Furstenfeld.

Blue October will perform at the Fonda Theatre on Dec. 6. Tickets are available here.