Lollapalooza 2007: Blue October Rocks With GameZone
By Louis Bedigian

“I think they should make a Violin Hero.”

You played their first mega hit in SingStar Pop. You’ve heard and seen “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean” all over MTV and VH1. You’ve seen them at festivals and other music venues all across the country. Blue October is blowing up the charts and performed to large crowds at this year’s Lollapalooza.

Now join us as we speak to two of the members of this infectious rock band, guitarist C.B. Hudson and violinist Ryan Delahoussaye.

What kinds of games do you play on a regular basis?

C.B. Hudson: You know, like Call of Duty.

Ryan Delahoussaye: Tiger Woods. And when he [C.B.] got his PlayStation 3, we [played] Resistance: Fall of Man.

C.B.: That one was awesome.

RD: I personally really like Insomniac. Ratchet and Clank is the sickest game. I love it love it. The PSP version came out, and I don’t know if they’re going to do another one or not.

Well, they’ve got one on PlayStation 3.

RD: Are you kidding me!?

Yeah, it was in there (the PlayStation tent) before the power went out. (Lollapalooza 07 experienced two temporary power outages during its final day.)

RD: I’m about to have a heart attack, that’s my favorite game ever!

It looks amazing, like a CG movie.

RD: Oh wow. And you can still run wherever you want? It’s open-ended?

It’s more open-ended. There’s a great depth of field to the game.

Ryan is in awe of the new Ratchet and Clank.

Now tell us about Lollapalooza. How’d you get hooked up with the show? Is this your first?

C.B.: No, we played last year. It’s pretty crazy that we’re actually here. We’re sharing the stage with so many amazing artists. We got invited last year and when we got invited back this year we were like, “Wow!” The show went well today and we’re going to hang around for Pearl Jam. We’re stoked to be here.

What bands have you checked out thus far?

C.B.: Actually, we’ve been going non-stop since we got here. We haven’t had the chance to check out anything yet.

RD: I’m looking forward to seeing Pearl Jam, but I don’t know if my feet can take it.

I think it’s going to be worth it.

RD: Yeah.

You guys have been touring – are you also working on a new record?

C.B.: We’re always kicking around new material. We write our own stuff and kind of share it with everybody. We’re constantly exploring new avenues for the next record. Right now we’re focused on finishing up the tour. Our last date is going to be November 17, as of now, unless we add a couple extra dates, which could happen. After that we’re going to take some time off in early 08, spend some time with our families and then we’re really going to start thinking about the next record. We’ve been talking about getting a cabin somewhere up in the mountains, somewhere kind of remote where we can bring our acoustic guitars and just jam for a month straight. Completely explore every avenue of each idea we have and see what happens.

Tell us about the experience of getting into the game SingStar.

C.B.: We’re in a video game?

Aren’t you in SingStar Pop?

RD: Yes we are.

C.B.: I was not aware of that.

RD: They sent me the mics and the first game and then they sent me the second edition of the game and it had “Hate Me” in it. I gave it to my nieces, so they sit at the house all the time singing “Hate Me.” It’s hilarious [and] really cool. Also, “Somebody” is in MLB 08.

C.B.: Yeah, the song “Somebody,” which was on [our album] History for Sale, the record before Foiled. We just found out a month ago, so that’s pretty cool.

So basically these things are happening in the background. All of a sudden you’re in a video game, “Oh cool!”

C.B.: [Laughs] Yeah! We’re really busy. Sometimes our manager forgets to tell us little things. My mother actually knows more about the band than I do. It’s really funny. She’ll call me up and say, “You’re playing here and doing this?” And I’ll say, “I don’t know mom.”

At the end of Blue October’s performance, front man Justin Furstenfeld encouraged the audience to sing along to their first big hit, “Hate Me.”

The video for “Hate Me” is in SingStar Pop. What was it like making that video?

RD: That was one wild day. Actually we had two full days of shooting. But it was a little more hectic for Justin [Furstenfeld, lead vocalist] because he had more on-camera time. He had to say the lyrics really fast so they could slow it down to do the slow-motion effect. He had one continuous shot from the bedroom with the answering machine all the way down the stairs to the front door, and he had to do it like 40 times. One continuous shot all the way!

We were up in the attic doing the band scene that we had out at the graveyard. Making a video is probably the coolest thing next to being in a band. You actually get to visualize your art instead of it just being auditory. Working with [music video director] Kevin Kerslake was a dream. He’s done Nirvana and Aerosmith and all these famous videos that you and I have seen growing up as kids watching videos. To get to work with a legend like that was insane.

C.B.: We made progress with the video for “Hate Me,” and we did a video for “Into the Ocean,” and we’re looking forward to hopefully shooting a video for a new song we’re going to put out called “Calling You.” It’s from History for Sale, but we’ve remixed it and we’re putting out a new disc called Foiled for the Last Time. It’s going to include a platinum edition for the record Foiled. With that you’re going to get a live show from a venue we recorded in Austin, Texas. There are going to be several [other] remixes.

RD: And X number of new photo, and there’s also a video attachment through the Web site that you can only get with the key from the disc. It’s for the fans to say thanks for supporting Foiled and Blue October.

I love it when artists offer bonuses, so if you could do that for the next record as well… Even when they charge a few dollars extra, if bonus songs are being offered by a band I love, I’ve got to have it.

RD: That’s not a bad idea. The premium package deal… For a few extra dollars you get three extra songs. But I think sometimes for artists it’s more fun to release another disc for even less money, and then all of it’s new.

Yeah, you could have a new album, and then instead of another one two years later, maybe have an EP 8 – 12 months later.

RD: That’s not a far off shot from what we might do in 08.

Do you play other festivals? Other events?

RD: Everywhere, all over the place. We did the OC Fest in Costa Mesa. We did the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Canada. We did Big Day Out and Summerfest in Milwaukee. There are lots of festivals going on all the time and we try to zigzag across the United States to make them.

So you’re doing more festivals this year then?

RD: All summer long. It’s festival time. I guess we’re in high demand from our success with Foiled. We’re going to go where people want us to go.

What was it like the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio or saw one of your videos on TV? Did you know it was going to be on ahead of time?

RD: We knew it was there but it’s almost like when you’re driving in the car and your song comes on the radio and you don’t expect it…you should know it’s going to happen. What’s weird is when you’re in flip-flops and you’re in pajamas at your local grocery store pushing the cart and all of a sudden it comes on.

Ryan and C.B. take at a stab at SingStar Pop.

C.B.: I walked into the bowling alley – boom, it comes on. I walked into the grocery store – boom, it comes on.

You go to cooler grocery stores than I do. Mine play this horrible junk in the background.

RD: Like Muzak? [Laughs]

Yeah, essentially.

C.B.: We went through the whole thing where listening to music on the radio was cool. Then of course when we had success with “Into the Ocean” on VH1, it held the number-one spot for a week. It was really interesting to watch VH1. Not only do we hear our music but we see ourselves on TV. That was really cool. I called my friends, “Hey, check out the guy in the video! That’s me!”

Anything else you’d like to share about music or video games?

RD: I think they should make a Violin Hero.

C.B.: I would love to get together with some of the guys with Guitar Hero and do a little R&R with them. I think their game is great but I think it could be better.

Really?

C.B.: I use a pick when I play it. When I hit the thing it bounces back so I’ll get two notes for one. I think if they made it a little more solid it could be more accurate.

RD: Maybe rubber instead of plastic.

C.B.: Yeah. Just ideas! I love the game, I love the game. Just ideas.

RD: It is a lot different from playing a real guitar. But it does teach you rhythm and sight reading and hand and eye coordination which video games teach everybody. But you could make it a little bit harder. You get up to the expert level and where do you go from there? Put real notes up on the screen, color-coded like a tablature. Have it roll this way [sideways] across the screen.

C.B.: That’d be advanced Guitar Hero.

Those are awesome ideas.

RD: If you’re going to go the route of creating a simulated instrument for gaming, go all the way with it.

C.B.: I think it’s possible to do that with any instrument. I was watching this thing on the Discovery channel the other day about the digital trumpet that’s out. I think Ethernet is how they run it into the synthesizer. You basically take that, plug it into the back of a game system and you have a straight-up real instrument you can play with actual blowing pressure into the actual instrument, let alone the actual variations of the keys. You can take that to the next level with any instrument, really. That’d be really cool. It could teach and be less expensive than buying a real guitar and be a lot quieter for the parents. Kids say, “I want a new guitar,” [and parents think], “Oh, that’s going to be loud.”

RD: My fear is that that ends up replacing the real instrument. These days drummers have a hard time getting good gigs because there’s a beat machine that can do it all for them. Hopefully kids will take the instruments of the game and move into the real instrument and really experience what it feels like to play a real instrument. Hopefully it would go that route.

I suck at guitar, but when I see you guys on stage, that’s what makes me want to play real guitar. I don’t have those same feelings when I play a music game.

RD: When you’re playing a game like Tiger Woods, they [the in-game players] hit the ball 400 yards. Well, you can’t do that [in real life]. How are you gonna get to do that? You practice. So if you learn an instrument, pick it up, you can’t play it perfectly – so practice.

Thank you for your time guys. It has been awesome speaking to you.

All Photos and Story by Louis Bedigian

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