Post by chip on Jul 16, 2006 9:08:03 GMT -5
Over in the "All That I Need" section of the board I posted a "want" (I'm looking for a bootleg of a Blind Melon show from St. Andrew's Hall - the one where - I think - The Butthole Surfers and Alice Donut opened). Barbara commented that I was lucky to have met Shannon. I figured I'd share my story. You can read it at the following link if you'd like:
www.donewaiting.com/atomicned/archives/2003_09.php#001965
(I'll also cut and paste it here but it'll take out all the things that I have linked in the actual column)
*******************************************
September 25, 2003
Happy Birthday Shannon Hoon (RIP)
Shannon Hoon’s birthday is September 26. Had he not overdosed on drugs in October of 1995, Shannon would be celebrating his 36th birthday on Friday, most likely in the company of his daughter, Nico Blue, and other family members. Members of Shannon’s family, and Blind Melon fans from around the world, will converge in West Lafayette, Indiana this weekend for the annual Shannon Hoon Vigil, an event that celebrates the life and music of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon.
My relationship with Shannon began in 1991. I was trying to get an interview with Soundgarden, who were going to be hitting Columbus to promote their recently released Badmotorfinger album. When I called the band’s publicist I was told that the only way that the band would consider doing an interview would be if I could guarantee that they’d be featured on the front page. Anybody who has ever read The Lantern knows that it is like any regular big city newspaper which means that feature stories, especially ones about grungy, long-haired bands from Seattle, NEVER appear on the front page. When I told the publicist this, she said, “Well then, sorry, but Soundgarden is not available for interviews.”
I had promised a friend that I would get us free tickets to the show. Being turned down by Soundgarden’s publicist for an interview made it pretty clear that it probably wasn’t worth asking her for tickets so I went to Plan B. Plan B was to interview one of the opening bands on the tour. My choices were Sister Double Happiness (who I had heard of but didn’t know much about) or a band called Blind Melon (who I knew nothing about). Through a little bit of investigative journalism I was able to find out that Blind Melon was signed to Capitol Records and also discovered that the band’s lead singer, Shannon Hoon, had provided some background vocals on Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion double CD. I placed a phone call to Capitol’s New York City publicity office where I talked to Domenique Leomporra. She was surprised that I heard of Blind Melon considering the fact that the band hadn’t even begun recording songs for their debut album. But, not wanting to turn down any press for the band (who had been handpicked by Soundgarden to open a week’s worth of dates), she agreed to set up an interview and even sent me a dubbed cassette of some demos that the band had been working on.
I’ll never forget opening the package that contained the Blind Melon tape. There were 5 songs on the cassette, most of which would eventually make it onto the band’s debut. I was completely blown away by what I heard. It was around this same time that I heard Nirvana’s Nevermind for the first time and it was these two bands that opened my eyes to an entire world of new music, music that wasn’t performed by guys who wore makeup and leather pants.
Shannon and I wound up doing a phone interview a few weeks later. The band was in New Orleans, rehearsing for the upcoming Soundgarden tour, a tour that they felt very honored to be asked to be a part of. The first 15 or 20 minutes of the interview were filled with the generic questions that a cub reporter (me) is prone to ask: “Who are your influences?” “Where did you come up with the band name?” etc., etc. The last question that I had written down the sheet in front of me was “If you could put together a bill that Blind Melon would love to play on, who would be on the bill?” I didn’t know that by asking that question, I’d start a friendship that would last until Shannon passed away.
“Hold on a second,” Shannon said when I asked the question. He put down the phone and I heard him asking the rest of the guys in the band who they’d want to be on a bill with. Honestly, I don’t even remember all the bands – I’m pretty sure they said the Beatles, the Sex Pistols, and maybe one or two more – but the thing that resonated with me was when Shannon finished it off by saying, “And Charles Manson would open with an acoustic set.” I had just finished reading Helter Skelter so it seemed rather interesting that Shannon would mention Manson. I was in the midst of a serial killer fascination and I mentioned that to Shannon who laughed. Turns out he was just as intrigued by serial killers as I was and for the next 10 minutes or so we traded stories. I told him how I had gone to one of the court dates for Jeffrey Dahmer. He told me how he had driven past the house where Charles Manson and gang killed Sharon Tate. It was a weird way to bond, but we did. (Though I was never able to confirm it with Shannon, some have given me credit for providing Shannon with the book that inspired “Skinned” off of Blind Melon’s second album, Soup.)
A week or so later Blind Melon came to Columbus. I hung out by the band’s RV, waiting to introduce myself to Shannon. I had an armful of True Crime books to give him and I was wearing a Charles Manson t-shirt, just so he’d know who I was. I think I freaked him out a bit when he got off the RV and started walking towards me. When I told him who I was, he gave me a big hug and his face lit up with a smile. That’s one of the things that I always loved about Shannon. He was such a nice and friendly guy, never one to just shake my hand. There always had to be a hug.
Over the next year and a half, I wound up seeing every Blind Melon performance in Ohio and even a few out of state. In today’s touring environment, that would mean that I’d have seen Blind Melon maybe 3 or 4 times over that time period, but in 1992/1993 things were different. Capitol was really trying to push the band and the band wanted nothing more than to be on the road. I’m pretty sure that in a year and a half I saw Blind Melon maybe 10 times (perhaps even a few more). It didn’t matter what day of the week they were performing or where in Ohio it was, if they had a show, I was there.
Watching the band grow over that time was amazing. They went from guys who hung out at my off-campus apartment while waiting for a tow truck to come pick up their van (which had broken down) to being the first rock band to play on the main stage at Woodstock ’94. And, before going any farther, I just want to state for the record that while I did see Shannon smoke pot and drink during the time that I knew him, I never saw him do anything else. While I wasn’t totally surprised to learn that he used cocaine and heroin, I was a bit shocked to hear how much of a control drugs had on Shannon’s life.
After I graduated from college I waited tables to make some money before deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Typically, after an evening shift, a few servers would go out for a few drinks before heading home. The night Shannon Hoon died was one of those typical nights. Upon returning home from the bar I went to bed. Not long after that my roommate knocked on the door. “Shannon Hoon is dead. They are saying that on the internet, do you think it’s true?” My heart dropped. I sprung out of bed and for the next 8 hours sat connected to the internet reading message boards, trying to find out more information. People on the message boards seemed to have more information than CNN.com or MTV.com, neither of which had yet reported the story. The message boards were filled with distraught people, some of whom had met Shannon, some of whom were just fans. While the situation was awful, it was comforting to know that other people felt like they had lost a friend too.
Over the next few days I got in touch with some other Melonheads that I had met along the way, attended shows with, etc. They told me that Shannon’s mom had invited them to Shannon’s wake and that they thought I should go too. I rented a car (my car was not reliable at the time) and drove to West Lafayette on the day of the wake, listening to all the Blind Melon music I had and crying as I sang along. It felt weird to be that upset over the death of someone that, in all reality, I didn’t know that well, and yet I always felt like Shannon was a good friend, even though I didn’t see him that often.
It’s been many years since Shannon was found dead on the back of the Blind Melon tour bus. There certainly still are some moments where I get choked up listening to Blind Melon music. But there are also times when I get really angry at Shannon, angry at the fact that he couldn’t beat his addictions, especially being the father of a newborn. It seems selfish to allow your addictions to control your life but, fortunately, I’ve never been in that situation. I’m sure Shannon didn’t think that the drugs would kill him and that’s too bad. A world with Shannon Hoon in it would have been a much better world than a world without Shannon Hoon.
I’ve never been able to bring myself to attend one of the vigils. Maybe someday.
If you do wind up going, please let me know about it. Necro, a recent addition to the Donewaiting message boards (and creator of the poster for the Shannon Hoon Vigil posted on this page), is going to the vigil and I’ve asked him to keep a diary and report on what goes on this weekend. Maybe next week I’ll have him be a special guest to the Atomic Ned column and tell us all what went on.
www.donewaiting.com/atomicned/archives/2003_09.php#001965
(I'll also cut and paste it here but it'll take out all the things that I have linked in the actual column)
*******************************************
September 25, 2003
Happy Birthday Shannon Hoon (RIP)
Shannon Hoon’s birthday is September 26. Had he not overdosed on drugs in October of 1995, Shannon would be celebrating his 36th birthday on Friday, most likely in the company of his daughter, Nico Blue, and other family members. Members of Shannon’s family, and Blind Melon fans from around the world, will converge in West Lafayette, Indiana this weekend for the annual Shannon Hoon Vigil, an event that celebrates the life and music of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon.
My relationship with Shannon began in 1991. I was trying to get an interview with Soundgarden, who were going to be hitting Columbus to promote their recently released Badmotorfinger album. When I called the band’s publicist I was told that the only way that the band would consider doing an interview would be if I could guarantee that they’d be featured on the front page. Anybody who has ever read The Lantern knows that it is like any regular big city newspaper which means that feature stories, especially ones about grungy, long-haired bands from Seattle, NEVER appear on the front page. When I told the publicist this, she said, “Well then, sorry, but Soundgarden is not available for interviews.”
I had promised a friend that I would get us free tickets to the show. Being turned down by Soundgarden’s publicist for an interview made it pretty clear that it probably wasn’t worth asking her for tickets so I went to Plan B. Plan B was to interview one of the opening bands on the tour. My choices were Sister Double Happiness (who I had heard of but didn’t know much about) or a band called Blind Melon (who I knew nothing about). Through a little bit of investigative journalism I was able to find out that Blind Melon was signed to Capitol Records and also discovered that the band’s lead singer, Shannon Hoon, had provided some background vocals on Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion double CD. I placed a phone call to Capitol’s New York City publicity office where I talked to Domenique Leomporra. She was surprised that I heard of Blind Melon considering the fact that the band hadn’t even begun recording songs for their debut album. But, not wanting to turn down any press for the band (who had been handpicked by Soundgarden to open a week’s worth of dates), she agreed to set up an interview and even sent me a dubbed cassette of some demos that the band had been working on.
I’ll never forget opening the package that contained the Blind Melon tape. There were 5 songs on the cassette, most of which would eventually make it onto the band’s debut. I was completely blown away by what I heard. It was around this same time that I heard Nirvana’s Nevermind for the first time and it was these two bands that opened my eyes to an entire world of new music, music that wasn’t performed by guys who wore makeup and leather pants.
Shannon and I wound up doing a phone interview a few weeks later. The band was in New Orleans, rehearsing for the upcoming Soundgarden tour, a tour that they felt very honored to be asked to be a part of. The first 15 or 20 minutes of the interview were filled with the generic questions that a cub reporter (me) is prone to ask: “Who are your influences?” “Where did you come up with the band name?” etc., etc. The last question that I had written down the sheet in front of me was “If you could put together a bill that Blind Melon would love to play on, who would be on the bill?” I didn’t know that by asking that question, I’d start a friendship that would last until Shannon passed away.
“Hold on a second,” Shannon said when I asked the question. He put down the phone and I heard him asking the rest of the guys in the band who they’d want to be on a bill with. Honestly, I don’t even remember all the bands – I’m pretty sure they said the Beatles, the Sex Pistols, and maybe one or two more – but the thing that resonated with me was when Shannon finished it off by saying, “And Charles Manson would open with an acoustic set.” I had just finished reading Helter Skelter so it seemed rather interesting that Shannon would mention Manson. I was in the midst of a serial killer fascination and I mentioned that to Shannon who laughed. Turns out he was just as intrigued by serial killers as I was and for the next 10 minutes or so we traded stories. I told him how I had gone to one of the court dates for Jeffrey Dahmer. He told me how he had driven past the house where Charles Manson and gang killed Sharon Tate. It was a weird way to bond, but we did. (Though I was never able to confirm it with Shannon, some have given me credit for providing Shannon with the book that inspired “Skinned” off of Blind Melon’s second album, Soup.)
A week or so later Blind Melon came to Columbus. I hung out by the band’s RV, waiting to introduce myself to Shannon. I had an armful of True Crime books to give him and I was wearing a Charles Manson t-shirt, just so he’d know who I was. I think I freaked him out a bit when he got off the RV and started walking towards me. When I told him who I was, he gave me a big hug and his face lit up with a smile. That’s one of the things that I always loved about Shannon. He was such a nice and friendly guy, never one to just shake my hand. There always had to be a hug.
Over the next year and a half, I wound up seeing every Blind Melon performance in Ohio and even a few out of state. In today’s touring environment, that would mean that I’d have seen Blind Melon maybe 3 or 4 times over that time period, but in 1992/1993 things were different. Capitol was really trying to push the band and the band wanted nothing more than to be on the road. I’m pretty sure that in a year and a half I saw Blind Melon maybe 10 times (perhaps even a few more). It didn’t matter what day of the week they were performing or where in Ohio it was, if they had a show, I was there.
Watching the band grow over that time was amazing. They went from guys who hung out at my off-campus apartment while waiting for a tow truck to come pick up their van (which had broken down) to being the first rock band to play on the main stage at Woodstock ’94. And, before going any farther, I just want to state for the record that while I did see Shannon smoke pot and drink during the time that I knew him, I never saw him do anything else. While I wasn’t totally surprised to learn that he used cocaine and heroin, I was a bit shocked to hear how much of a control drugs had on Shannon’s life.
After I graduated from college I waited tables to make some money before deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Typically, after an evening shift, a few servers would go out for a few drinks before heading home. The night Shannon Hoon died was one of those typical nights. Upon returning home from the bar I went to bed. Not long after that my roommate knocked on the door. “Shannon Hoon is dead. They are saying that on the internet, do you think it’s true?” My heart dropped. I sprung out of bed and for the next 8 hours sat connected to the internet reading message boards, trying to find out more information. People on the message boards seemed to have more information than CNN.com or MTV.com, neither of which had yet reported the story. The message boards were filled with distraught people, some of whom had met Shannon, some of whom were just fans. While the situation was awful, it was comforting to know that other people felt like they had lost a friend too.
Over the next few days I got in touch with some other Melonheads that I had met along the way, attended shows with, etc. They told me that Shannon’s mom had invited them to Shannon’s wake and that they thought I should go too. I rented a car (my car was not reliable at the time) and drove to West Lafayette on the day of the wake, listening to all the Blind Melon music I had and crying as I sang along. It felt weird to be that upset over the death of someone that, in all reality, I didn’t know that well, and yet I always felt like Shannon was a good friend, even though I didn’t see him that often.
It’s been many years since Shannon was found dead on the back of the Blind Melon tour bus. There certainly still are some moments where I get choked up listening to Blind Melon music. But there are also times when I get really angry at Shannon, angry at the fact that he couldn’t beat his addictions, especially being the father of a newborn. It seems selfish to allow your addictions to control your life but, fortunately, I’ve never been in that situation. I’m sure Shannon didn’t think that the drugs would kill him and that’s too bad. A world with Shannon Hoon in it would have been a much better world than a world without Shannon Hoon.
I’ve never been able to bring myself to attend one of the vigils. Maybe someday.
If you do wind up going, please let me know about it. Necro, a recent addition to the Donewaiting message boards (and creator of the poster for the Shannon Hoon Vigil posted on this page), is going to the vigil and I’ve asked him to keep a diary and report on what goes on this weekend. Maybe next week I’ll have him be a special guest to the Atomic Ned column and tell us all what went on.