Pages tagged “blind melon”

Blind Melon has a new album coming out, and will hit the road for a two month tour starting at the end of February.

Singer Shannon Hoon died of an drug overdose in 1995, and the four remaining band members issued an outtakes record in 1996. Although they tried to keep the band's identity relevant for a time, they officially called off the search for a new singer in 1999.

The four remaining members went their separate ways for a while, until guitarist Chris Thorn and bassist Brad Smith met singer/songwriter Travis Warren. Thorn and Smith were called in to produce songs for Warren, who, it turned out, was a huge Blind Melon fan. Inspired, Thorn and Smith called the two other former Melonites, guitarist Roger Stevens and drummer Glenn Graham. Could Warren front the band’s 21st century comeback? Yes, everyone agreed, Blind Melon finally had a singer capable of holding Hoon’s microphone.

Blind Melon’s new album, For My Friends, will be digitally released March 4, and CDs will find their way to stores April 22.

Tour dates:

February
28 - Riverdale, N.J. @ Dexter’s
29 - Hartford, Conn. @ Webster Theatre

March
1 - New York, N.Y. @ Hiro Ballroom
3 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
4 - Norfolk, Va. @ Norva
5 - Richmond, Va. @ The National
7 - Charlotte, N.C. @ Tremont Music Hall
8 - Orlando, Fla. @ Backbooth
9 - Everglades National Park, Fla. @ Langerado Festival
11 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. @ Jupiter Bar and Grill
12 - Chattanooga, Tenn. @ Rhythm and Brews
14 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Cannery Ballroom
15 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue
16 - Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrew’s Hall
18 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Rave
20 - Davenport, Iowa @ Redstone Room
21 - St. Paul, Minn. @ Station 4
22 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown
24 - Sauget, Ill. @ Pops
25 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Beaumont Club
27 - Aspen, Colo. @ Belly Up
28 - Boulder, Colo. @Fox Theatre
31 - Boise, Idaho @ The Big Easy

April
1 - Seattle, Wash. @ El Corazon
3 - Orangevale, Calif. @ The Boardwalk
4 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Independent
18 - Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues
19 - Austin, Texas @ Antones
20 - Houston, Texas @ Meridian
22 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Varsity Theatre
23 - Mobile, Ala. @ Soul Kitchen
29 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Club Red
30 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Jillian’s

May
2 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre
3 - San Juan Capistrano, Calif. @ The Coach House
4 - San Diego, Calif. @ Canes Bar & Grill
24 - Chillicothe, Ill. @ Summer Camp 2008

August
30 - Milwaukee, Wis. @ Summerfest Grounds

Related links:
BlindMelonForum.com
Blind Melon on MySpace
YouTube: “No Rain” music video (remember the bee girl?)

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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.