www.thelocalvoice.net/LocalVoice-PDFs/TLV-53-web.pdf Published in The Local Voice (Oxford, MS) Issue 53 May 1, 2008, pages 8-10
Another Slice of (Blind) Melon
Mississippi's Homegrown Blind Melon Blossoms with First CD Release of New Music in 12 Years
By Tommy Boyles
WEST POINT, MISS. (TLV) - Blind Melon's story sounds like
something from a movie: A band records behind-the-scenes
video from their earliest days, hits it big, the singer overdoses
at the height of fame and then fifteen years later their
biggest fan becomes the lead singer. Most of
the time it is a train wreck of a comeback story
done only for money, but this time the ending
is different and script's main character isn't
some wannabe rock star type trying to be
someone else. He's the real deal. Not only is
he filling some big shoes, he's adding his own
touch. To all those skeptics and Melonheads
who either thought the music died with
Shannon or that the band would never be the
same with a new singer, do yourself two
favors. First go by the new CD (For My
Friends) and second, go catch a live show. On
the day after the release of their new CD, I had
the opportunity to sit and talk with the guys over a few
pounds of crawfish at Mobile, Alabama's Soul Kitchen about
how the band accidentally reformed, the new singer (Travis
Warren), the tour, and the new CD.
In 1989, bassist Brad Smith and guitarist Rogers
Stevens moved from West Point, Mississippi, to Hollywood,
California to follow their dreams of forming a rock band.
Once there, they met singer Shannon Hoon from Lafayette,
Indiana, whose unique vocal range and penchant for songwriting
impressed them so much that they called back to
Columbus, Mississippi, and had drummer Glen Graham
come out to LA. Some of you here in Oxford may have seen
Glen pre-Melon never even knew it. He played in a band out
of Starkville called Cafe Des Moines, which played around
the Jackson, Starkville, and Oxford music scenes. After
adding Christopher Thorn, who brought in a unique guitar
style of his own that grew from his folk background, the seed
for Blind Melon was planted in 1990.
Blind Melon signed with Capitol Records in 1991 based
off a short five-song demo that had begun circulating around
the music scene. During that time, Shannon hooked up
another singer from Lafayette, Indiana, Axl Rose, who invited
him into the studio to witness Guns N' Roses recording
the CD Use Your Illusion I and II. Shannon contributed some
background vocals and even appeared in the video for "Don't
Cry." The buzz about Blind Melon grew and their first CD,
the self-titled Blind Melon, was finally released in 1992. The
band hit the road touring almost non-stop…and then it happened.
The quirky tune "No Rain" started getting radio play
and became song that fans identified them with, even though
the majority of the album contained a rawer rock/jam sound.
After successful touring, which included a May 3rd stop
in 1993 at Oxford's own Lafayette's Bar & Grill (most of you
know it now as The Library), appearances on The Late Show
(on the day Kurt Cobain was found dead),
Saturday Night Live, and a stunning performance
at 1994's Woodstock, the band went
back into the studio in New Orleans to
record their second album, 1995's Soup.
Just as the band was about to grab the
brass ring, tragedy struck. On
October 21, 1995, Shannon
Hoon was found dead from a
drug overdose in his tour bus
bunk in the parking lot of
Tipitina's, where they were to play
that night. Devastated by the loss,
the band left the road. There were several
unfinished tracks they had recorded
with Shannon and in 1996 they released
them on the CD Nico, named after Shannon's
daughter who was only 10 months old at the time of
his death, and donating the proceeds to her educational
fund. They also released the documentary video Letters From
A Porcupine that year, which included personal
and behind-the-scenes footage
recorded mostly by Shannon and the
band, and concert footage. The band officially
broke up in March of
1999. Other than the release
of Nico, no one has heard
new music from Blind
Melon in almost thirteen
years…until now.
Before Travis walked into
the picture, Rogers had
formed the band Extra
Virgin, while Brad had
released a solo project named
Abandon Jalopy. Brad later
joined Christopher and created
the band Unified
Theory. "I didn't do much," Glen said. "I
lived in New Orleans for a while and got
married and built a house in North
Carolina. As a drummer, there aren't many
gigs. There were always guitar players and
people who wanted to start a band, but
they weren't any good." Good things
come to those who wait. It was in
2006 that longtime Melon fan Travis
Warren came into Wishbone
Studios, owned by Christopher and
Brad, to record a demo and things took a turn no one expected.
"We never had any intentions of reforming Blind Melon,
weren't looking for someone to replace Shannon.Who
could?" Brad said. "Chris and I were producing music in our
studio and I thought that is what I would be doing for the
rest of my life. I never thought I would be in a band again,
but there was something about Travis that you could just see
was the real deal. He had so many things in common with
us. He, like the rest of us, was from a small town [originally
growing up in Amarillo, Texas, moving to central California], is
all about the music and he had that same energy Shannon
had. It's probably best Travis and Shannon never met because
they would have been real trouble if they were together," he
laughed. "You have to see it to understand."
Brad and Christopher called up guitarist
Rogers Stevens, who was living in
New York, and drummer Glen
Graham who was in North
Carolina, and they all,
for the first
time in years were again in the
same room with musical instruments
in their hands. They ran
through a few Melon songs and
magic happened.
The original lineup convened
and all agreed that if there ever
was an opportunity to create
music again as Blind Melon,
Travis was the opportunity so
they started working on a few
songs. "After those first three
songs, Christopher and I were
driving home after leaving the
studio I said, 'This guy can
f**kin' sing Blind Melon songs
in his sleep.' I was getting
pumped and getting a crazy feeling
about that," Brad says. A few
weeks after that, Blind Melon
offered Travis the job.
"That guy has the biggest
balls I have ever seen," Brad says
of Travis stepping into the lead
singer spot. "Shannon is a hard
act to follow, but Travis has all the
energy Shannon had and is doing
his own thing and doing a great
job."
Blind Melon released For My Friends on April 22nd. While
the first self-titled Blind Melon had a very raw and rocky jam
feel, the type of energy that is usually felt with a debut band,
the second album, Soup, had a more structured, dark feel that
showcased the true, yet restrained talent of the band's musical
abilities with a glimpse into the demons Shannon was
experiencing as related in his lyrics. I listened to For My
Friends all the way to Mobile to do this interview. It gave me
a feeling like the last time you walk out of a house you have
lived in for a long time. You do that last walk through,
remembering all the great things that happened there, knowing
you'll never see this place again, but as you close the door
and leave that behind you get excited about the new place
where you are going. I told this to Brad as
we sat outside the back door of Soul
Kitchen smoking and discussing the
new CD.
"I know what you are saying, but
to us it's really not like that," Brad
said. "It's more like we are just
adding on a wing to the house we
have always lived in. We're not
moving and Shannon will always
have a room there but the family
is growing and we're adding on
to our house and making it bigger."
I know what he's saying. When
you listen to For My Friends, you
hear the planned structure of Soup in
songs like "Harmful Belly,"
"Hypnotized," and "Last Laugh,"
while there are refreshing hints of the
jamming heard in Blind Melon songs like
the raunchy "Down on the Pharmacy," as
well as "With the Right Set of Eyes," and
"Does it Make a Difference." What you will also
hear is a few new refreshing and optimistic sounds
like "Father Time," "So High," and "Wishing Well,"
which is the first single. (Call the radio station and request
it.) There is even a hint of some country influence, such as
the closing song "Cheatum Street," which is an obvious
contribution from new singer Travis and one that I could
definitely see getting some airplay. Like all of the other Blind
Melon CDs, this one ripens (pun intended) and gets sweeter
once you dig into it and hear those little extra guitar and bass
riffs and drum chops that are often overlooked in Melon's
music when listening to the songs as a whole.
"Christopher and I produced this CD ourselves in our studio
in California," Brad said. "We wanted to create a sound
that wasn't over-produced, something that we could play live
and would sound like the recorded music. We probably
recorded forty new songs, but it was just natural the way these
songs were selected for the new CD."
While this is the first time Blind Melon has performed as a
band in years, the crowds are showing up and it's quite a
mixed group. Back in November and December, Melon did a
mini tour and I was able to attend shows at the Gibson
Lounge in Memphis and Rick's in Starkville, in addition to
Tuscaloosa and Mobile this year. In each venue I have met
some old-school dedicated fans who talk about seeing Melon
back in '94 and an eager and rabid younger group who
thought they would never get the opportunity…and both
groups are right there in front. The band has been playing
almost non-stop since the beginning of the year. "We played
in Baton Rouge last night," Rogers said. "It was the release of
the new CD and was a great show."
"I love touring and being on the road. I would love to
come back to Oxford and play at The Library," Brad said.
(Yes, he does know Oxford and did say he would love to play
The Library. Desler, make the phone call.) "We're playing a lot
of dates, but it doesn't feel like we're starting over building a
fan base and twelve years have passed. It feels like we were in
a time warp and just picked up right where we left off."
While not on their web site schedule, Brad did confirm
that as of now, Blind Melon is still scheduled to play at
Jackson's Jubilee Jam. Most of the gigs so far have been small
venues about the size of the New Daisy and The Library and
are more interactive and intimate than large venues where the
bands seem so far away. He also said that once this leg of the
tour ends they plan to tour Europe.
I asked what their favorite song to play was. "I like all of
the new stuff," Brad said. "But, it also great to play some of
the old stuff from the catalogue with the original lineup. You
gotta play 'No Rain' and it's great to hear the crowds sing
along, but people are also wanting to hear things like
'Mouthfull of Cavaties' just as bad and it was never a single
release or a hit. If there is one song I love playing best it is
'Change,' because it's just such a great song and has such a
great message."
For all those who never got to see Blind Melon play live,
don't miss out twice. But before you go, get the CD and listen
to it on the way there. As Hunter S. Thompson said,
"Buy the ticket, take the ride."
Tommy Boyles is a local writer living in Oxford, Mississippi.
Local Voice Magazine Coordinator Newt Rayburn spent an awful
lot of time in West Point, Mississippi in the mid to late '80s, hanging
out, camping, drinking beer, and learning to play rocknroll
with Blind Melon bassist Brad Smith. The Local Voice is happy to
see Blind Melon making music once again.