Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts 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.
John Benitez, also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. He was later the executive producer of Studio 54 Radio. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked him as the 99th most successful dance artist of all-time.
Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas, formed in 1995. It currently consists of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist Matt Noveskey, and lead guitarist Steve Schiltz.
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 album featuring founding member and bass guitarist Liz Mullally, who also played piano on the album.
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 United States on April 8, 2003 by Brando Records. It was co-produced by Justin Furstenfeld and David Castell. It is the only Blue October album to feature former member Dwayne Casey on bass guitar, and the band's first album featuring lead guitarist C.B. Hudson. The track "Come in Closer" features guest vocals by Zayra Alvarez, who later, on the CBS reality show Rock Star: Supernova, sang the song "Razorblade" on her final episode before being voted off. History for Sale was voted best album by the 2003 Houston Press Music Awards.
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 certified gold in the United States on August 9, 2006, and on February 22, 2007, was certified platinum. The album was also a success in Canada, where it has also achieved platinum status. It was supported by four singles: "Hate Me", "Into the Ocean", "She's My Ride Home", and "X Amount of Words".
"Hate Me" is a song by American alternative rock group Blue October. It is the band's most commercially successful single, peaking at number two on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart and number 31 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, the video for the song was nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award for best international video. The video is featured in the 2007 karaoke video game for PlayStation 2, Singstar Pop. The song won an ASCAP award in 2007. On July 13, 2012, the song was certified platinum for sales of one million in the United States.
William Matthew Noveskey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and bassist, best known as the bassist in the bands Blue October and Harvard of the South, and as bassist and frontman of the bands (a+)machines and Icarus Bell.
The Last Wish was a rock band from Houston, Texas, noted for being the first band of Blue October frontman Justin Furstenfeld. Ryan Delahoussaye of Blue October played with The Last Wish at a couple shows, but he was never a member of the band. Song writing collaboration was often shared by Greg Hammond, Amy Immel and Justin Furstenfeld. The members of the band attended Bellaire High School, and HSPVA, and the group was started while the members were students. The band developed a sizable following in Houston, where they performed at venues like Zelda's, Fitzgerald's, Toads Tavern, Last Concert Café, Café Artiste, McGonigel's Mucky Duck, and The Abyss on several occasions to packed houses. Furstenfeld left the group in 1995 while they were working on their third album. Furstenfeld still plays Last Wish songs during his solo shows, and Blue October has played Last Wish songs on occasion.
"Into the Ocean" is the second single from Blue October's fifth album, Foiled. The song peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the music video for the song, directed by Zach Merck, reached number one on the VH1 V-Spot countdown. On May 4, 2012 the single was certified platinum for sales of one million in the United States. It was featured on the TV series The Sopranos and Moonlight.
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. It was Blue October's first album to be released on vinyl.
Ugly Side: An Acoustic Evening With Blue October is a live acoustic album by Blue October. It is their third live album, and eighth album overall. The album was recorded during a sold out three-day tour of Houston, Austin, and Dallas July 22–25, 2010 during which the band played two acoustic concerts each night. The band had talked about recording an acoustic album as early as 2004, but the concerts were the first ever full-length acoustic shows that the band had ever performed. The popularity of the acoustic concerts among Blue October fans resulted in the band deciding to perform a nationwide acoustic tour to support the release of the album.
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 by Justin Furstenfeld's Up/Down Records and distributed through RED Distribution. The album was produced by Tim Palmer, who has previously worked with artists such as David Bowie, Robert Plant, The Cure, U2 and Pearl Jam and had mixed Blue October's album History for Sale. The artwork on the album cover is a drawing of Justin Furstenfeld drawn by Tim Palmer's daughter Bluebell, who was three years old at the time.
Sway is the seventh studio album by Blue October. It was recorded at Fire Station Studio in San Marcos, Texas, with co-producer David Castell in February and March 2013. Additional recording sessions for strings and vocal overdubs took place at Test Tube Audio in Austin, Texas, in April 2013, and the album was mixed at Studio 62 in Austin by Tim Palmer between May and July 2013. Production credit for the album is shared between Justin Furstenfeld, David Castell and Tim Palmer. Castell had previously produced Blue October's album History For Sale and co-produced Foiled, while Palmer produced the band's album Any Man in America and mixed History for Sale. Sway was Blue October's first album to be released after Justin Furstenfeld got sober, and the songs have a marked sense of positivity and optimism compared to the band's previous work.
Songs from an Open Book is the debut solo acoustic album by Blue October frontman Justin Furstenfeld. It features songs as they were originally written, with only a Guild acoustic guitar and a single vocal track. The album was recorded at Crazy Making Studio in San Marcos, Texas, which is Justin's home studio. Furstenfeld promoted the album with a nationwide U.S. tour, as well as dates in Germany and England.
Harvard of the South is a four-piece rock supergroup that released its first recordings and played its initial live shows in 2014 but has its beginnings in collaborations between Longwave/Blue October singer/guitarist Steve Schiltz and Blue October members Justin Furstenfeld, Jeremy Furstenfeld, and Matt Noveskey, dating back to 2011. Harvard of the South released their debut EP, Miracle, in October 2014. Their song "Without" was issued as a free download via SoundCloud on May 8, 2017. The band's full-length studio album was published on December 11, 2020.
Home is the eighth studio album by Blue October. The album was recorded between August and November 2015 at Orb Studios in Austin, Texas and Justin Furstenfeld's home studio Crazy Making Studio. Long-time collaborator, Tim Palmer, co-produced and mixed the album.
William Carter Knaak is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who has served as a sideman in several bands, released his own albums as a solo artist and frontman, and was the lead guitarist in the alternative rock band Blue October from 2018 to 2022. He currently plays guitar and pedal steel in Parker McCollum's band.
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. This Is What I Live For is the first Blue October studio album to feature lead guitarist Will Knaak on every song. The album also marks the first appearance of Justin Furstenfeld's daughter Blue Reed on one of the band's recordings, providing vocals on the song "Fight for Love". The title track features vocals and lyrics by Steve Schiltz of Longwave, a longtime collaborator and defacto session member of Blue October. The songs “I Will Follow You” and “This is What I Live For” were recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. The song "Only Lost is Found" samples the Idaho song "Live Today Again" from the 2005 album The Lone Gunman.
Spinning the Truth Around is an album by American band Blue October. It is a triple album, released in three separate parts. Part I was released on October 14, 2022. Part II was released one year later on October 13, 2023, with Part III to follow in 2024. Part III will contain covers, and remixes and alternate versions of songs from Parts I and II as well as remixes of songs from previous albums.The title track was Part I's lead single, and was positively compared to Bruce Springsteen.
