Texas State alumnus celebrates platinum album with Blue October

By Maria R. Gonzales
University News Service
March 6, 2007

Rock band Blue October's latest album "Foiled" went platinum and clinched the number one spot of the VH1 Top 20 countdown in February, remarkable feats accomplished by the talented quintet that includes Texas State University alumnus C.B. Hudson.

The Oklahoma City native grew up in Dallas and at the age of nine developed an affinity for the electric guitar, thanks in part to the influence of rock music icon MTV. Hudson received an electric guitar on his 10th birthday and started polishing his musical talent.

"I took four years of lessons after that. I played, played, played all the time, " Hudson said. "I remember sitting in class, waiting for the bell to ring just to go home and play guitar."

Jazz band performances and baseball practice, one summer of music study in Boston's Berklee College of Music and constant guitar playing marked Hudson's high school life. After graduation the promising musician enrolled at Texas State, where he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology and a minor in business. He returned to Texas State to pursue an MBA with a concentration in finance, a decision Hudson said led him to Blue October.

"I was at Kismet Café having lunch with some friends in October 2000 when (Blue October vocalist) Justin Furstenfeld walked in and sat on a table," he said. "That's when I presented him my demo."

Hudson auditioned twice and in December Blue October invited him to play with them at Lion's Pavilion in San Marcos, the guitarist's first live audience performance.

"The cool thing about the story is that Kismet means 'fate.' I guess it was destiny for me not to become a psychologist, come back for my MBA, go to Kismet, meet Justin and end up in the band," he said.

Hudson left the MBA program nine hours short of completing the degree to join Blue October. His tenure at Texas State left him with more than a fortunate meeting at Kismet. The MBA course work and the program's team-oriented projects prepped him for the demanding life of the music business.

"The Texas State MBA program had an emphasis on team effort, everything was team-oriented. That has prepared me to be in a band because we are all a team. Grad school taught me a good work ethic," he said. "I'm so glad that I did come to the grad program here. It was so much fun."

Blue October's rapid ascent in the music scene in both the United States and in Canada, where "Foiled" also went platinum, is only the result of the band's hard work, said Hudson. The band's music style varies with each member's individuality, giving the band a break from the inhibition of cookie-cutter music genres. An amalgamation of hard rock, jazz, blues, classical music, funk and R&B formulates "Foiled" into a distinct work of music.

"Whenever we write we don't think about genres, we don't think about radio, we don't think about writing--the word we don't like to say--a hit. We just write music from the heart," he said.

To aspiring musicians and burgeoning rock bands, Hudson said, "Just don't give up, do it from the heart and because you love it. If you love something enough and you do it from your heart, things will happen in your favor."

Blue October will tour until 2008 when they return to the studios to work on their next album.

For more Blue October information, log on to www.blueoctober.com.