After years of struggling with addiction and self-destruction, Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld overcame his demons while working on the album “Sway.” That happened thanks in large part to changes in his personal and professional life. He changed his attitude and he changed his outlook on life. If “Sway” was the start of that, the new Blue October album, “Home” is the continuation. “Home” has Justin reaping the benefits of his attitude four years from changing his life. “I was in awe of how amazing my life was getting,” said Furstenfeld on his mindset while starting the new Blue October album. “Four years ago I made the change and I started living in gratitude rather than trying to change everything. I was starting to see the fruits of my labor – I guess is what you would say – when I started this. When you respect yourself and respect the people around you, life’s good. We had put out “Sway” and that was the realization that there’s life outside of alcohol and drugs and the debauchery of rock and roll. “ Finding music and lyrics in joy and happiness – that’s not really what Blue October had been before “Sway”, but with “Home” that’s where the songs largely came from. The music came from happy interludes in Furstenfeld’s life – whether those came on a beach or on a random street while exercising in a random city while on tour. “I really had gotten to that place of self control, boundaries, passion, and spirituality and I started writing all of this music,” explained the Blue October vocalist. “We’d go to the beach and I’d carry around my phone and whenever I would hear a melody in my head I’d play it on a piano app and log it. Then when we went on tour with Sway – I kept writing all of these melodies and I kept working on them. If I got tired of them, I just deleted them. On tour I’d go walking for a few miles and listen to the melodies that I had written over the past year. Then, I started writing this whole group of songs about empowerment, loving yourself to the fullest, and all of the good things that don’t mess you up – great love, great friends, solving conflicts. The album turned into this collection of songs I wanted to do with the time that I have left on Earth. It’s about accomplishment, it’s about lighting a fire under your ass and going after what you want and appreciating what you have and what you love,” he added. The funny thing is that Justin knows how lucky he is. He’s certainly lucky to be alive because of the path he was taking, but he’s even luckier to be happy with his family and happy making music with his band. “I’m happy. I love my life and I love what I’m doing. Success isn’t money. It comes with doing what you love, having a roof over your head, you have people who love and respect you and you love and respect people and you can pay for your kids if they fall down and hurt themselves. That’s success. Anything above that, I don’t need it. Anything I have, I wake up and say thanks. I would never have gotten it without a second chance from the people that love me and the people that are interested in the music. I’m grateful because I’ve been able to make music and do what I love for twenty years. It makes me feel great to talk about these songs because there’s no regrets in them. “ aa