Shannon Hoon and his band Blind Melon put their mark on alternative rock in the ’90s, their self-titled debut going platinum four times over. Hoon’s heartrending and often morose lyrics were reflected in the desperation of his vocals in hits such as “No Rain” and “Change.” But the band was always fraught with the tragedy of Hoon’s heroin addiction, which led him to his untimely death while on tour for the band’s second and most expressive album, Soup.
Blind Melon tried to continue the band but fans were so devastated by Hoon’s death that no one really took to the band going on under the same moniker. Now, 11 years later, the surviving members – bassist Brad Smith, guitarists Christopher Thorn and Rogers Stevens, and drummer Glen Graham – have stepped up again as Blind Melon, with a new singer, 25-year-old Amarillo, Texas native Travis Warren.
Stevens and Thorn met Warren through a mutual friend and had initially planned on helping him produce his own music. But as a joke, Smith sent Stevens a fake press release saying that the band was back together. This propelled the band to actually get back together, and it went into the studio soon thereafter. Although Stevens was skeptical at first and none of them planned on trying to rehash the old Blind Melon, Warren’s talent revealed itself immediately and all of the members decided to put out a new album, slated for completion early next year, with a tour to follow.
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