On October 23rd of 2004 we walked off the stage at Stubbs and looked back at an amazing, supportive and most of all loving fan base. I remember being so proud of us... us meaning you guys in the audience and the band ……..we stuck together through hard times. The last 9 years of Blue October's life has been fed by the power of your hearts and souls……. I can't tell you how many times I felt like quitting but you all said no…….when we were dropped, when we were vacant, when we were unhealthy and reckless, when we were alone as individuals, when we fell down as people … guess who picked us up?…..You and only You…..the label didn’t …We had to prove ourselves and audition for their acceptance….. but through the power you guys give us …we had the confidence to believe in ourselves… and I had the strength to start on what would be the hardest album I ever made.

On October 23rd 2004 I left Stubbs and asked my management to send me away within days so I could get to work on the next album as soon as possible……..I found myself at the lowest point in my life…. I flew to Los Angeles and stayed with Mr. Chuck Reed, an amazing person. He allowed me to wake, sleep, eat, breathe and live inside his studio to get this out of me….so I met another man named Jose Alcantar, he was my live in engineer ……..We would work from 10 am to 4am on song after song after song …..and in two months I had laid down 21 songs that were my heart……..The songs at this point became our canvas and we painted and painted and painted for the next 9 months .

Balancing emotion with business………we the band as a whole were such a tight knit team, when under extreme pressure and jaded views of how songs would be dissected, we stuck together trusting each other. I was a very proud man, we as a team had grown into adults and were not tolerating anything but the best.

So as we come to the final touches of this album…… I feel like a new band, I feel honored to work with the people who worked their fingers and brains to the bone just so I could grieve and close certain doors. The new album has yet to be titled, but I will say this……I would have never been able to find the strength to make the album that almost killed me if I didn’t have you guys.

Thank you and on October 11, 2005 we will release this album for all of you…….so you can be proud of yourself knowing that we are nowhere without you

Justin Furstenfeld