Blue October

Don't 'Hate Me'

Matt Noveskey (left) Jeremy Furstenfeld, Justin Furstenfeld, C.B. Hudson and Ryan Delahoussaye.

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
3/23/2007 10:00 AM

One song turned the tide, changed Blue October from regional fave to national hit

Imagine what it's like planning a wedding. Someone has to pick out the colors, order the flowers, find the bride's dress, book the church, arrange for food, reserve the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, get the bridesmaids' dresses, write up invitations, find tuxedos, get a minister and get the honeymoon sorted out.

Now imagine doing that while being one-fifth of a platinum-selling rock and roll band touring the nation.

"You know, it's not easy," said Blue October's bassist Matt Noveskey, interviewed by phone last week. "I pull double time actually."

He and his post-grunge rock bandmates have been basking in the success of their hit album, "Foiled," which was certified platinum a few weeks ago, Noveskey said.

To get a scope of the change the band has undergone, its last album, 2003's "History for Sale," at one point had sold little more than 17,000 copies.

"We're boring now," Noveskey said. "In 2003, man, we could throw a real good party. And we tour now and it's funny . . . (After a show) the band all heads back to the bus and will turn on a movie and will maybe

have a couple beers. And that stuff is pretty much it."

"Foiled," released last year, finds the band returning to its major-label home with Universal Music Group and boasts the omnipresent hit song, "Hate Me."

The song, about recovering from addiction but losing a relationship, which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, is one of those songs that is frequently a yelled request from audience members.

It's one of those songs that people who don't know anything about the band say, "Blue October? Is that who sings that song?"

Noveskey likes to play around with that status a bit.

"I'll be passing through the (hotel) lobby or something. I'll meet somebody and they'll be like, 'Hey, man, are you playing 'Hate Me' tonight?' And, I'm like, 'No, we're going to play the Beatles' 'White Album' from start to finish.' " The record label wants them back in the studio, but the band is too busy enjoying its first big success, the bassist said.

The band formed in 1996 in Houston and put out its first album, "The Answers," in 1998. Before the band broke through into the national spotlight, it developed a fan base touring the Midwest and was a frequent performer in Tulsa.

Tulsa was often a good stop for the band after frustrating nights playing gigs where it seemed as if it was playing only for the bartender's girlfriend, he said.

"We've been playing (Tulsa) so long that it was one of the first cities that we built a real good fan base in, when we were still struggling in, you know, the majority of the cities outside of the region."

Opening for Blue October is Minneapolis, Minn.,'s pop-punk and piano darlings Dropping Daylight.

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BLUE OCTOBER

When:
7 p.m., Friday with opener Dropping Daylight

Where:
Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. Tickets:
$28 in advance, $31 day of show, available at Starship Records & Tapes, Reasor's, www.Gettix.net, Cain's box office, 584-2306

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer