Blue October

by MacKenzie Wilson The Texas indie rock quintet Blue October came together in the late '90s with vocalist/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, violinist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist Matt Noveskey, and lead guitarist Brant Coulter. In 1998, Blue October independently released their debut album, The Answers. The band's catchy modern alternative rock led to 5,000 copies sold in their native Houston alone. Two years later, Blue October made their major-label debut on Universal with Consent to Treatment. By the time Blue October had prepped for their third album, 2003's History for Sale, guitarist Coulter had left the group and CB Hudson (guitar/vocals) had been added. They had also left Universal for Brando Records. Their first single, "Calling You," was a moderate hit in and around the suburbs of Dallas thanks to its inclusion on the American Wedding soundtrack. Such momentum impressed Universal, thus encouraging Blue October to re-sign with the label once more. The live CD/DVD package Argue with a Tree was released in February 2005, following 18 months of touring. Noveskey briefly left the band, but returned in time to record Blue October's first studio album in three years, Foiled, which was issued in April 2006. Before the band went on tour with Yellowcard in September 2007, Universal Motown Records released Foiled for the Last Time, a two-disc set consisting of a full version of Foiled along with 14 newly recorded songs performed live and several alternative remixes. Blue October，一支來自美國德州的Indie Rock團體。 成立于90年代后期，成員包括：主唱兼吉他手Justin Furstenfeld，鼓手Jeremy Furstenfeld，小提琴兼鍵盤 Ryan Delahoussaye，貝思手Matt Noveskey和主吉他手Brant Coulter。 Blue October于1998年發行首張專輯『The Answers』，獨特的Indie Rock風格使得『The Answers』這張專輯僅在他們的老家Houston就售出了5,000張，而Blue October也贏得了唱片大廠Universal的賞識而被納入旗下。然而兩年后樂隊在Universal旗下發行的第二張專輯『Consent to Treatment』因為全美電臺的冷淡反應，讓Blue October被迫公司解約。之后Blue October投奔Brando Records唱片公司，而就在樂隊準備第三張『History for Sale』專輯之前，主吉他手Brant Coulter離開團體，CB Hudson作為吉他手兼歌手加入了進來。由于第三張專輯『History For Sale』的首支單曲『Calling You』被『美國派3: 美國婚禮』原聲帶收錄中，Blue October再次取得相當不錯的成績，Universal又決定重新和他們簽約。接下來貝思手Matt Noveskey暫時離開樂隊，Blue October開始長達18個月之久的全美巡回演出，并于2005年2月發行現場專輯『Argue with a Tree』。這張三年之后的錄音室專輯『Foiled（沖擊）』當然無從拿這張和前兩張做比較，但他們隨性又不受既有音樂框架限制的聲音及樂曲風格，是吸引別人的巨大亮點。從『Foiled』這張專輯，不難看出Blue October兩個最大的亮點。首先無疑是主唱Justin Furstenfeld輕微沙啞、絕望又憤怒，有時近乎歇斯底里的唱歌方式；另外一個不容忽視的特點就是他們豐富的曲風和音樂元素。這還要歸功于樂隊的小提琴兼鍵盤手Ryan Delahoussaye。從小接受扎實古典音樂教育的Ryan，將他魅力十足的小提琴與曼陀林技巧，完美的與現代搖滾旋律結合在一起