A Day in the Life of…
A Day in the Life of…Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October
When he was in the first grade, Justin Furstenfeld’s teacher asked her students to write a poem about something they loved. “I came back the next day with a song written about a kite stuck in a tree,” the Blue October frontman tells me. “I sang it in front of the class and the teacher, Mrs. Sham, said I had a gift. She asked me to sing it in the cafeteria for the school at lunchtime. So, I did. And the moment I grabbed that microphone I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” Flash forward to 1996, Justin and his brother Jeremy—with multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye—form Blue October, unaware that the following decades will bring a string of seminal singles, including 2006’s “Hate Me”, consistently noted as one of alt-rock’s best. 2022 brings a much anticipated, ye...
A Day in the Life of…Poo Bear
“The first time I knew I wanted a life in music I was eight years old and discovered a Stevie Wonder cassette tape with ‘I Called to Say I Love You’ on one side,” recalls two-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur Poo Bear. “I would sneak off and listen to it whenever I could, and that made me want a life in music.” And what a life in music he’s had, including working with such superstars as Justin Bieber and Usher, amassing a catalog with over 350 million record sales worldwide, dozens of multi-platinum certifications, and 100 billion streams. Poo Bear’s new album The Book of Nabeel (out in April) promises to powerfully blend the veteran hit maker’s world music and pop influences. He notes that the writing process for the vibrant dance single “Distant Sho...
A Day in the Life of…Dusty Lee Stephensen of Wanderers
Somewhere in Australia, before they were a band called Wanderers, drummer Matt Birkin and guitarist Dusty Lee Stephensen met onstage at an open jam session in 2014. They decided to make a record, and, along with “other guys known from playing around the local scene”,they’ve been making soulful music with a retro vibe ever since. “Originally the band was called ‘Dusty Lee’s Wasted Wanderers’,” says Stephensen, who also serves as lead vocalist, adding that in an effort to “downsize his ego”, they shortened the name to Wasted Wanderers. “Which was fine for a while, but there were many assumptions that we might be a punk band or that we were alcoholics, whereas the intention behind the name was that we were genre-less, and trying to find a direction as a band, or in life, who knows,” he says. ...
A Day in the Life of…Foy Vance
“I was devoted to music long before I realized I could do it and nothing else for the rest of my life,” says Northern-Ireland born singer Foy Vance. “The second the penny dropped I focused fully on music and nothing else.” Foy’s newest album Signs of Life (released last September) was written during 2020, and while it reflects the sincerest, most raw depths of humanity, it does not go gently into the darkness. His soul-baring performances never fail to bring the light. “Sol, my youngest son, was due the next day when my wife sat in front of me bathed in morning light and she had that look in her eyes that only pregnant women seem to have, and the first lyrics of the song came out without thought and the rest of it just worked itself out pretty quick,” he says, of the title track. “’Si...
A Day in the Life of…Debbie Gibson
“I never consciously wanted it; it always just was my life!” Debbie Gibson says, of her life in music. “My parents bought a piano before they bought a couch, and I was enamored with it from day one. I always loved performing, doing theater, and talent shows but when I started writing and producing my original music, I felt like my biggest purpose in life was to put new music out into the world.” At 17, she released her eventual triple-platinum debut album, Out of the Blue. The single “Foolish Beat” gave her the record of becoming the youngest ever woman to sing, write and produce a No. 1 hit. Two years later her second album, the double-platinum Electric Youth, spawned another No. 1, “Lost in Your Eyes”. By the age of 19, having solely written all of her Top 20 hits, in 1989 ASCAP awarded ...
A Day in the Life of…Carissa Johnson
“I went to my first concert when I was in third grade, I saw Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan,” recalls synth-rock artist Carissa Johnson. “The energy of being at a live show stuck with me and I knew I wanted to play music and start writing my own songs.” The Boston native released her newest and fifth album, Blue Hour, last November, her first non-acoustic solo record since 2016’s Only Roses. “I recently learned my genre is ‘bubblegrunge’ and I laughed out loud when I heard that,” she says. “I also used to define my music as ‘trashglam.’ My influences span a wide amount of genres these days. I’d probably say something like power pop/new wave meets folk but with synths.” She also garnered inspiration from her hometown:“I’ve always been fascinated with Boston’s history, and its music history. ...
A Day in the Life of…Joseph ‘Bugga’ Boudreaux Jr of Cha Wa
Once in a while, a band comes along and brings something so special you have no choice but to love it. That band is Cha Wa. Founded in 2014, they released their third album, My People, 2021, a follow-up to 2018’s Grammy-nominated Spyboy. Check out the 15-Minute Live performance they did with us in 2021 and try and tell us you’re not hooked. From brass band parades to the Mardi Gras Indian community, the sounds and culture of their native New Orleans make a vivid impression on their distinctive funk sound. Cha Wa vocalist Joseph Boudreaux Jr., a fourth-generation Mardi Gras Indian, pays tribute in traditional clothing, including stunning headdresses, one of the many elements that makes their live shows a must-see event. By blending a traditional sound with something utterly timeless, they c...
A Day in the Life of…Eric Krasno
“I started performing in musicals at a young age,” says singer, guitarist, producer and two-time Grammy Award winner Eric Krasno. “I remember seeing my brother’s band practice in my basement and thinking…‘I wanna do THAT!’” He played along with Led Zeppelin tracks to hone his craft. “I used to sit and play along with Jimmy Page for hours on end. Jimi Hendrix too, I had a mini shrine in my bedroom growing up.” He hasn’t stopped since. In addition to co-founding the bands Soulive and Lettuce, his expansive career includes three solo albums, four with Lettuce, 12 with Soulive, having produced and/or written songs for Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Pretty Lights, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone. As a performer, he’s shared stages with a few bands you may have he...
A Day in the Life of…Carol Ades
New Jersey-born, L.A.-based musician Carol Ades feels she didn’t find her voice in songwriting until her early 20s. “It took me a long time to find the confidence to say out loud ‘I am a musician, I am an artist.’ But I can’t imagine my life without it now.” A blend of wit and brutal honesty make her welcome and unexpected. “I sang in a funny accent a lot when I was younger,” she continues. “I also listened to Z100 pop radio religiously…” Now, to achieve a songwriting style she calls “alt/pop/theatrical”, she strives for the perfect way to tell the perfect story in song. “My process depends on the day. I either know exactly what I need to say and spend hours trying to find the perfect way to tell the story or it just pours out of me randomly. I think I trust my instinct a lot more now than...
A Day in the Life of…Shaun Morgan of Seether
“I describe us as a rock band above all else,” Shaun Morgan tells me. Last October, his band Seether celebrated their decades-long career with a 20-song compilation album, Vicennial: 2 Decades of Seether. And there’s a lot to celebrate: 16 of the songs achieved #1 chart positions; all 20 were Top 5, multi-format radio hits. Carefully curated by the band, the album tells their story since forming in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999, a story that includes three platinum and two gold albums, 17 #1 singles, 21 Top 5 hits, single sales topping 17 million and over 2 billion streams worldwide across all platforms. Not to mention the album includes the fan-fave cover of Wham’s “Careless Whisper.” The band is currently comprised of Shaun, Dale Stewart, John Humphrey and Corey Lowery. “Dale and I met&...
A Day in the Life of… Alyssa Coco of Roses & Revolutions
“We met when Matt had another band—a more jam-bandy type—and he reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in singing with them,” vocalist Alyssa Coco recalls of first meeting guitarist Matt Merritt, the other half of Roses & Revolutions. “I went to an audition—my dad drove me, of course, haha—and Matt and I really clicked musically, so the rest was history.” But not before taking Alyssa’s middle name—Rose—and combining it with Matt’s father’s suggestion for “Revolutions” to create the perfect band name. “And we just loved the sound of it!” she says. Together, the Rochester, New York-based duo make truly beautiful music. There’s something epic and fantastical about the songs they create, marked by Alyssa’s emotionally unguarded vocals. Alyssa describes their style as “kind of folky,...
A Day in the Life of…Liza Lentini, SPIN Features Editor
When I launched “A Day in the Life” almost exactly one year ago, I never expected to be doing one. I get so many inquiries about what this job entails, I thought it was time. I have been writing and editing professionally for over twenty years now, but music journalism is its own sweaty, savage beast. I try to make it tamer and less feral, but you can’t change something’s inherent DNA. And truly, you might not want to. Rock ‘n roll is supposed to be wild to a certain degree, don’t you think? I thought it might be enlightening for readers to see what the life of a SPIN editor is really like. First things first: Forget what you’ve seen in the movies. Also, this isn’t the ‘70s and none of us are the late, great Lester Bangs. While I’m sure there are still music journalists that adhere to that...
