Justin Steward Furstenfeld (born December 14, 1975) is an American musician and actor. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Blue October Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist M ...

. He is also a member of the band Harvard of the South.

Personal life

When not touring with his band, Furstenfeld resides in

San Marcos, Texas San Marcos ( ) is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city's limits extend into Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, as well. San Marcos is within the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area and on the Interstate 35 ...

. He is the brother of Blue October drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld. He has a daughter named Blue Reed Furstenfeld, to whom he dedicated the album ''

Any Man in America ''Any Man in America'' is the sixth studio album and ninth album overall by alternative rock band Blue October. The album was recorded at Matchbox Studios in Austin, Texas between Summer of 2010 and March 2011, and was released August 16, 2011 ...

''. Blue, and Furstenfeld's relationship with her mother, are the subject matter of much of the album.
On June 13, 2012, Furstenfeld proposed to his pregnant girlfriend Sarah. On July 28, 2012, they were married in a private ceremony in

Wimberley, Texas Wimberley is a village in Hays County, Texas, United States. It is still predominantly a ranching area outside of town. The population was 2,839 at the 2020 census. History Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in ...

. Justin filed for divorce in early 2022, but remains on good terms with Sarah. Together they have a daughter named Sayde Belle, born August 23, 2012. On April 2, 2016, Furstenfeld and his wife had a son, Gunner Black. In 2020 a documentary was released called "Get Back Up" that covers Furstenfeld's story about depression, addiction, and recovery.

Music career

Growing up, Furstenfeld listened to hip-hop,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

; his favorite artists included

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

, Red House Painters,

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

, and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

. He also counts among his influences

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...

The Pixies Pixies is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering ...

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

, Blue Miller,

George Winston George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known fo ...

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

, and U2. His first musical memory was

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

's ballad "

Crying Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secr ...

". During his high school years at

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District. ...

(HSPVA), he formed the band

The Last Wish ''The Last Wish'' ( pl, Ostatnie życzenie) is the third published short story collection in Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski's ''The Witcher'' series. Published by SuperNowa in 1993, it was preceded by 1992's ''Sword of Destiny'', but i ...

, which he played in from the age of 13 until 1995. When performing solo, Furstenfeld uses the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

5591. In August 2008, Furstenfeld toured with

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 100 mill ...

, author of the ''Twilight'' series, in a sold-out four-city book/concert tour. On October 22, 2009, the Pick Up the Phone Tour was cancelled after Furstenfeld was admitted to a hospital for an extreme anxiety attack, though the band still played two November dates in Austin.

Other interests

In April 2009, Furstenfeld published the book ''Crazy Making – The Words and Lyrics of Justin Furstenfeld'', in which he goes into explicit detail about the inspiration behind every Blue October song to date. Furstenfeld attended HSPVA on a drama scholarship, acted in several plays in high school, and appeared in the 1996 film ''Late Bloomers''. He made his true feature film debut in the 2022

Christian Sesma Christian Sesma is an American filmmaker. He has directed such films as ''Vigilante Diaries'' (2016), '' Paydirt'' (2020), ''Take Back'' (2021) and '' Every Last One of Them'' (2021). Sesma was born and raised in the Coachella Valley. He grew u ...

directed

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

'' Section Eight'' playing the character Ajax Abernathy. Furstenfeld's original song "This is What I Live For" also played during film's opening credits. In 2022 Justin acted in the film ''Lights Out'', also directed by Sesma.

Discography

Solo albums * '' Songs from an Open Book'' (2014) * '' Open Book Winter Album'' (2017) With

* '' Rooftop Sessions'' (1993) * '' The First of February'' (1995) With

* ''

The Answers ''The Answers'' is the first album by Blue October. It was recorded in October 1997, at Sound Arts Studio in Houston, Texas. It was released in the United States, during January 1998, by RoDan Entertainment/Scoop. It is Blue October's only alb ...

'' (1998) * ''

Consent to Treatment ''Consent to Treatment'' is the second album by Blue October. Pre-production sessions took place in Nashville with producer Blue Miller, and the final album recording sessions took place at Bay 7 Studios in Valley Village and Media Vortex in B ...

'' (2000) * ''

History for Sale ''History for Sale'' is the third album by Blue October. The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song "Amazing". It was recorded at Sound Arts Studios in Houston, Texas, and at Stomp Box Studios in Arlington, Texas, and released in the ...

'' (2003) * ''

Foiled ''Foiled'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blue October, released on April 4, 2006, by Universal Records. The album debuted at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, marking the band's first entry on the chart. The album was cer ...

'' (2006) * ''

Approaching Normal ''Approaching Normal'' is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Blue October. The album was released on March 24, 2009 and debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard charts. Background Justin Furstenfeld unveiled the title and tenta ...

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Sway'' (2013) * ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

'' (2016) * '' I Hope You're Happy'' (2018) * ''

This Is What I Live For ''This Is What I Live For'' is the tenth studio album by Blue October, released via Up/Down-Brando Records on October 23, 2020 after originally being scheduled for September 18, 2020. The artwork for the album was created by Phillip Nichols. ''Thi ...

'' (2020) * '' Spinning the Truth Around'' (Part I) (2022) With Harvard of the South * ''Miracle'' (2014 – EP) * ''Harvard of the South'' (2020) As a featured artist * Canvas – ''

Four Days Awake 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

'' – "All About You" *

Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...

– ''

Colours in the Dark ''Colours in the Dark'' is a play by James Reaney. It was produced by the Stratford Festival in 1967 and the Vancouver Playhouse in 1969. It was produced by the University of Calgary in 1972. ''Colours in the Dark'' was published by Talonbooks ...

–'' "Medusa" * Zeale – ''FRNZ & FNGZ'' – "Invisible Prisons"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenfeld, Justin 1975 births Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American male singers Record producers from Texas American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Blue October members Living people Musicians from Houston Songwriters from Texas People from San Marcos, Texas Guitarists from Texas High School for the Performing and Visual Arts alumni 21st-century American singers