Dear Ms. Downing,

I read the column written by reporter John Lomax on Justin Furstenfeld and wish to express my concern and request for retraction and clarification to set the record straight.

Lomax wrote that Justin claimed during our press conference on April 12^th, 2010 that he suffers from schizophrenia, then went on to impugn our tours credibility as a fund raiser, and lastly questioned if Justin as a spokesperson for our organization and our mission actually had a mental illness.

In addition to being the founder of 1-800-SUICIDE, the Kristin Brooks Hope Center and the Pick Up the Phone Tour, I was the organizer of and a speaker at the press event at which Justin spoke on Capitol Hill April 12. Not once did Justin say he has or suffers from schizophrenia.

This accusation undermines Justin’s credibility, the credibility of our organization, and the overall goal of our awareness tour. It borders on libel and is, at best, irresponsible reporting.

Lomax also implies impropriety regarding the tour as failing to raise money. This tour was never billed as a fund raiser. The Pick Up the Phone Tour raises awareness about our organization and it’s mission that would cost us millions over the life of the tour to purchase the same number of impressions.  It is difficult enough to get celebrities to support mental health issues much less suicide. Lomax’s disparaging piece served to make finding celebrity spokespeople all the more difficult, and, in turn, prevented more awareness. The comments left by people reading Lomax’s article attest to the damage to our organization, our message and the purpose of the tour.

During the press conference that Lomax cited (an event he did not even attend nor are any transcripts or reliable footage available for) Justin shared the story of his stay in a Minneapolis facility where, instead of confiscating his shoelaces and cigarette lighter, staff allowed him to keep both and invited their friends down to get his autograph and take photos with him. In Justin’s words, he could have burned the place down and hanged himself. Up to 1,600 individuals in psychiatric care facilities commit suicide each year—a statistic that served as the press event’s centerpiece, and a statistic Lomax failed to mention in his piece.

We are grateful to Justin, Blue October and their management for affiliating with such a stigmatized issue and taking a proactive approach to suicide prevention—a responsibility we all have, but few of us take on. Accusations of faking mental illnesses do nothing but scare people from coming out and getting help. Public accusations, like Lomax’s article, was a discouraging piece for someone that might have a mental illness but doesn’t want to seek help for fear of being labeled or worse accused of faking it.

A person’s brain disorder—whether Type I or Type II bipolar, depression, schizophrenia, or anxiety—is between that person and his or her doctor. An accurate diagnosis can take up to 10 years, and many people who have one type of disorder can actually have co-occurring disorders but not even know it. Again, it is no one’s business but that of the doctor and patient. We support Justin in his efforts to raise awareness and encourage others to seek treatment for a variety of issues.

We were also greatly turned off by Lomax’s request to see Justin’s prescription. Individuals with many different types of disorders are prescribed medications by general practitioners who do not have the psychiatric background to prescribe these types of medications. Studies show that you cannot tell what someone does or doesn’t “have” by simply looking at a prescription label. Additionally, as of the 1990s, CAT scans, MRIs and SPECT scans are the most valid bits of medical proof of a mental illness because you can actually see the condition in the brain. We do not need to see Justin’s diagnosis on paper or his prescription bottles to know if he has the illness. If Lomax had wanted accurate “proof”, he would have asked for this information—not bottles. Proper research on Lomax’s part would have shown these truths. Lomax could have read tea leaves and had a better bearing on Justin’s condition.

These personal and organizational attacks have hurt the mission of the Pick Up the Phone Tour. It is our opinion that Justin is nothing less than a pioneer in the efforts to erase the stigma associated with mental health issues and should be praised for taking on that role.

Best always,           

H. Reese Butler II,

Founder & President, Kristin Brooks Hope Center

Frank Warren,

Founder, PostSecret

Jim Pavle,

Executive Director, Treatment Advocacy Center

Jamie Tworkowski,

Founder, To Write Love On Her Arms

Skip Simpson,

Attorney At Law

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Blue October - Pick Up The Phone Tour 2010 from rnmkr on Vimeo.

A Reason To Live 10th Anniversary Concert
Boston, MA - Apr. 14, 2010

Also on the bill will be Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Stars of Track and Field!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 10 am!

2010 German Tour Dates Have Been Announced!

Blue October Will Be Heading Back To Europe In Early 2010!

Sat. 27.02.10 - Anker - Leipzig, DE
Sun. 28.02.10 - Backstage - Munich, DE
Mon. 01.03.10 - Hirsh - Neurenburg, DE
Tue. 02.03.10 - Die Röhre - Stuttgarr, DE
Wed. 03.03.10 - Postbahnhof - Berlin, DE [moved from 04.03.10]
Fri. 05.03.10 - AlterSchlachthof - Lingen, DE
Sat. 06.03.10 - Zeche - Bochum, DE
Mon. 08.03.10 - Gloria Theater - Koln, DE
Tue. 09.03.10 - Gruenspan - Hamburg, DE
Wed. 10.03.10 - Batschkapp - Frankfurt, DE
Thu. 11.03.10 - Den Atelier - Luxembourg

CLICK HERE TO GET INFO AND TICKETS!

We have been told the song is written into the story so we are all really excited to see the show!

Let Us Know Your Thoughts!
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Translated from German to English:                                                                     

The Quiet, Loud Agreement

In the U.S., fans would sacrifice everything to be as close to Blue October as the visitors of their concert on Friday at Moritzbastei, Leipzig. Led by the eccentric singer Justin Furstenfeld the band counts as one of the platinum awarded top-stars in their home country. Europe still has to be conquered. After this fantastic, intoxicating and long resonating performance you have to tell the quite reserved lady Europe: You don’t wanna miss that guy, let yourself be conquered by him, damn it!

Once you’re stuck in their aura, you can’t escape. They’re great musicians, without a doubt: Justin’s brother Jeremy (drums), guitarist C.B. Hudson, bass player Matt Noveskey and keyboard and violin-magician Ryan Delahoussaye. Still all views and cameras focus on that guy who sings his insides out and conjures every line with his huge repertoire of gestures.

Spraying from his big maked-up eyes with a mixture of power, obsession and commitment, the singer creates an atmosphere in which trance and extasy come very close. Justin Furstenfeld seems to be guided by rock music. If he wouldn’t have it, he’d implode because it dissolves the jam of his negative emotions. “Weight Of The World” reflects the fear of his father and his own youthful destructiveness.

Depression and anxiety of life are represented in Furstenfeld's lyrics, stories of betrayal and forgiveness found expression in the new album, Approaching Normal. But that pain cools off regularly during breakup-songs that talk about love and inner recovery. “Say It” for example finishes up with being the victim and focuses on new inner strength. The ballads are also very deep, sung so cautiously, as if a slight change of the vocal chords swing would change the statement.

Emotional climaxes of this hypnotic one man show are the wonderful flying “Should Be Loved” and the angry “Hate Me” from the album Foiled, which brought the breakthrough in the US for the band. Furstenfelds voice sounds in a spectrum between softness and aggression like a mixture of Peter Gabriel and Marillion-Singer Derek William Dick aka Fish.

Obviously it’s the impression of truth that makes Mastermind Furstenfeld a unique experience beyond superficial rock music.

A guy who is driven by his emotions creates an own-therapeutic piece of art that touches and magnetises.  The evening at Moritzbastei works as quiet and loud agreement between fans and artists. It’s not overtly crowded but atmospherically supercharged until the limit.

After the show the singer and guitarist sign autographs at the merch-stand, chat, thank the people and pose for pictures. And one more, and another one, one more. Everyone should have gone into the Saturday with full capacity. Happiness in Gigabyte.

Written by Mark Daniel, Volkszeitung Leipzig

On February 12, 2009, Randy from MusicInterviewsNow had the amazing opportunity to speak with Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October...

Click here to get to the page and become a fan!

Alt-rock favorites Yellowcard and Universal Motown's Shiny Toy Guns will share the stage with Blue October from the first date to last, making it a true fall music event. Tickets for this must-see concert go on-sale to the general public for all shows on June 22-23. However, exclusive Pre-sale tickets for a few of the shows were made available via each of the three band's websites on June 9. The highly anticipated trek kicks off on September 20, in Atlanta, GA, and is currently scheduled to run through mid-November, and includes shows in Philadelphia, Dallas, Orlando and New York City. Ozma will open up for the first leg through October 6 (Detroit, MI), with Lovedrug joining the bill in St. Charles, MO on October 9, and throughout the rest of the tour.

Foiled For The Last Time is a two-disc set consisting of the full version of the Foiled album; 14 newly recorded songs performed live earlier this year during the band's Teach Your Baby Well tour; exclusive remixes by legendary DJ/Composer Paul Oakenfold (U2, Moby, New Order) and Grammy nominated producer/remixer/musician Carmen Rizzo (Coldplay, Pete Townshend); a remix of fan favorite, "Calling You"; and, a live version of "Angel," are among the bonus offerings, as well as links to exclusive video content and never-before-seen footage of the band.

Foiled was certified platinum in the US and Canada in February of this year by the RIAA, buoyed by the hits, "Hate Me," which hovered for more than six months in the Modern Rock Top 10, and, "Into The Ocean" which reached #1 on VH-1. A succession of sold-out tours cemented the Texas band's reputation as a new healing force in music, with Justin Furstenfeld's evocative lyrics attracting a diverse and growing audience for the Houston based five-some, who have been together since 1996.

The group is also readying for their annual summer tour which kicks off - where else - but in the great state of Texas - New Braunfels, to be exact - on July 6-7 (log on to their tour website www.blueoctober.com for the entire schedule), and, will include appearances at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Festival.

Thursday, March 22, 2007 Clear Channel Metroplex - Little Rock, AR

Friday, March 23, 2007 Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK

Saturday, March 24, 2007 Stubb's Bar-B-Q - Austin, TX

Hate Me
Into The Ocean
Razorblade