Blind Melon (from the English - “Blind Melon”) is an American rock band formed in the late 1980s in Los Angeles by two immigrants from Mississippi and one from Indiana . The team is best known for the hit single “No Rain” (1993) and his self-titled album , which was warmly received by critics for the unusual non - psychedelic approach of musicians to alternative rock .
| Blind melon | |
|---|---|
 Group picture with Shannon Hoon | |
| basic information | |
| Genres | Alternative Rock , Folk Rock , Psychedelic Rock , Roots Rock , Blues Rock , Grunge |
| Years | 1990 - 1999 • 2006 - 2008 • 2010 - present |
| A country |  USA |
| City | Los Angeles California |
| Where from | |
| Label | EMI • Capitol Records |
| Structure | Rogers Stevens Brad Smith Christopher Thorne Glen graham Travis warren |
| Former the participants | Shannon hung |
| Other projects | Unified Theory Awolnation • Abandon Jalopy |
After releasing two records on the major label Capitol Records, the group organized a large-scale tour, during which a tragedy occurred that called into question its continued existence: frontman Shannon Hung died from an overdose of cocaine . The remaining musicians took a break for four years, after which they announced the dissolution of the collective. However, in 2006 they decided to reunite by inviting a new vocalist, Travis Warren (from Rain Fur Rent), and recording a third album with him - For My Friends . Warren left the band two years later, however, after 2010 he again periodically performed with Blind Melon. Since 2018, musicians have been working on a new album [1] [2] .
Content
- 1 History
- 1.1 Formation, debut and gaining popularity (1990-1993)
- 1.2 Second album and the death of Hoon (1993-1995)
- 1.3 Further developments and disbandment (1995-1999)
- 1.4 Years of Inactivity (1999-2006)
- 1.5 Reunion, third album and recess (2006—2010)
- 1.6 Second Reunion and New Album (2010 — present)
- 2 Team members
- 2.1 Timeline
- 3 Discography
- 3.1 Studio albums
- 3.2 Compilation of unreleased material
- 3.3 Live Albums
- 3.4 Collections
- 4 notes
- 4.1 Literature
- 5 Links
History
Formation, debut and gaining popularity (1990-1993)
Blind Melon was formed in Los Angeles in March 1990 by musicians Rogers Stevens (guitar) and Brad Smith (bass) from West Point, Mississippi as well as Shannon Hoon , a native of Lafayette , Indiana. [3] Soon another guitarist joined the band - Christopher Thorne, originally from Pennsylvania; after which the musicians convinced drummer Glen Graham to move to California from Mississippi, because they could not find a suitable drummer in Los Angeles. The name of the group was inspired by the nickname Smith, which he wore among hippies [4] , it was a reference to the blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson , as well as to the character of one of the albums of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong "Blind Melon Chitlin '".
In 1991, the group debuted with a demo of The Goodfoot Workshop , which contained four songs. In the same year, the team signed a contract with the Capitol Records label, studio sessions of the collective were supervised by producer David Briggs personally invited executive director of the company - Tim Devine [5] . As a result of the work, the mini-album The Sippin 'Time Sessions was recorded, but it was never released due to the dissatisfaction of the musicians with the quality of the production, which, in their opinion, led to an overly “smooth and unnatural” result [6] . Hoon's friendship and collaboration with Guns N 'Roses frontman Axl Rose brought Blind Melon extra fame because Hoon recorded backing vocals for several tracks on Use Your Illusion I , including the hit single “ Don't Cry ”. At the end of that year, Blind Melon went on tour to support Soundgarden. [7]
At the suggestion of Capitol’s management [8], the group moved to Durham , writing their own self-titled album with producer Rick Parashar , known for his work on the Ten disc of Pearl Jam [3] . Studio sessions were held at the Seattle studio London Bridge Studios , most of the album was recorded live with a minimal amount of overlay [3] . The album was released in September 1992, initially sales were low, but in July of the following year, the song “No Rain” was in became a hit on MTV , due to which the group achieved international recognition. The musicians of Blind Melon were pioneers of the double guitar technique, when both guitarists played the same chords, but in different octaves , one distorted one and the other without. Both guitarists often used the mute technique to emphasize the space between chords. As a result, the album received four-time “ platinum ” status [9] , reaching 3rd place on the Billboard 200 [10] .
Second album and the death of Hoon (1993-1995)
The group toured extensively in support of their debut CD, performing in Europe and Mexico, also playing several concerts opening for Neil Young and Lenny Kravitz in late 1993 [7] [11] . The following year, they took part in the large-scale Woodstock '94 festival, as well as opening several opening acts for the opening act of The Rolling Stones , which toured in support of their album Voodoo Lounge . Against the backdrop of growing success, the group began to experience personal and legal problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse [4] [7] , which led to several rehabilitation courses for Hun [12] . In the same year, the musicians were nominated for a Grammy Award in the category " Best New Artist " , but lost to singer Tony Braxton [13] . In turn, the song "No Rain" received a nomination for " Best Vocal Rock Performance by a Duet or Band " [14] .
In 1994, the musicians moved to New Orleans [12] to begin work on their second album, Soup , with producer Andy Wallace. The recording was released in 1995 and featured shorter songs with less traditional content for alternative rock, including the influence of New Orleans jazz , as well as the addition of wind sections and specific instruments like mandolin and banjo . In the text of the composition “St. Andrew's Fall ”mentioned a suicide leap,“ Skinned ”narrated the life of a serial killer, and“ New Life ”- about the upcoming birth of Hun’s daughter. Backing vocals in the song "Mouthful of Cavities" was performed by Jena Kraus , which subsequently recorded solo material with Thorne and Smith. Despite the debut of the first single of the record, “Galaxies”, on the 25th line of the Billboard chart [15] , as a result, the disc did not live up to financial expectations and sold worse than its predecessor.
In the same year, Blind Melon participated in the recording of the tribute album Encomium dedicated to the band Led Zeppelin , performing the song "Out on the Tiles" in it. We also recorded a cover version of the song “Three is a Magic Number” for Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks . Although their version of “Three is a Magic Number” was not released as a single, fans of the group really liked it and subsequently featured in several films: “ Kissed ”, “ Dudes ” and “ He, Me and His Friends ” [16] . AllMusic portal reviewer Teresa Lavek praised the tune for “excellent vibrations in the style of the 1970s,” as well as for “ jam rhythms ” [17] .
Contrary to the advice of doctors from the rehabilitation center [12] , Hoon decided to go on the next tour. Initially, the group hired a consultant who was supposed to accompany the frontman and keep him from another drug breakdown, but he was soon fired because he could not cope with his task [12] . After a concert in New Orleans, Hun went on another drug spree, in the morning (October 21, 1995) he was found dead in a tour bus. According to the conclusion of doctors called to the scene of the tragedy, the musician died of a heart attack caused by an overdose of cocaine [18] .
Further events and the disbandment (1995-1999)
The remaining musicians decided to continue their creative activities and hire a new vocalist [19] , although in the end it took 10 years. In 1996, they released the Nico album , named after daughter Hong, who was only 13 weeks old when her father died. Longplay included unreleased songs recorded during the studio sessions of the previous album, as well as several songs recorded with partial instrumentation. The final track, “Letters from a Porcupine,” was recorded as a phone call left by Hun on Thorne's answering machine. The album also included cover versions of songs by SteppenWolf and John Lennon . All proceeds from the sale of the disc were directed to his daughter, as well as funds helping musicians to cope with drug addiction [19] . In 1997, the video for the song "Letters from a Porcupine" was nominated for a Grammy in the category " Best Musical Film " , but lost to the concert of Jagged Little Pill, Live singer Alanis Morissette [20] .
Discussing the death of a musician in an interview with The Guardian , Gia Desantis, a former KROQ DJ , and now head of one of the marketing departments at Capitol Records, who worked with the group, said: “Shannon had magnetism. You could not take your eyes off him. They [the band] knew that any new vocalist who would sing his [Huna] songs would lose in former magnetism ” [21] . She also emphasized that “the group realizes that its head was closed after Hoon's death because he became the face of their music thanks to the clips, especially the“ No Rain “” video, which was on the VH1 list of “100 Greatest Music Videos of All Time” [ 22] .
During the search period for a new frontman, relations between the band’s musicians worsened [23] . Finding no substitute for Hun, on March 4, 1999, they announced that the group was stopping creative activity. The remaining participants took up other musical projects, for example, Thorne and Smith devoted their free time to Unified Theory - a group that was founded a year earlier.
Years of Inactivity (1999-2006)
In 2002, Capitol Records released a twelve-song compilation of the group called Classic Masters . Due to the high interest in this release, in 2005, the musicians decided to release a collection of their best hits, The Best of Blind Melon In addition to the CD, the publication included a DVD, which contained the band's 1995 concert in Chicago. On December 15, 2006, New Zealand label Yakmusic released a tribute album dedicated to the work of Blind Melon, and bands from around the world participated in its recording. In April 2006, Capitol Records released a live album, Live at the Palace .
Reunion, third album and recess (2006—2010)
September 15, 2006 Blind Melon announced their reunion, the new vocalist was invited to Travis Warren (previously performed at Rain Fur Rent) [24] . On November 9, three new songs debuted - “Make a Difference”, “For My Friends” and “Harmful Belly”. On October 7, 2007, for the first time in twelve years, musicians played a concert in Providence , Rhode Island .
March 4, 2008 was followed by the release of "Wishing Well" - the first single from the group’s third studio album, the release of which coincided with the beginning of the American tour. For My Friends was released on April 22, 2008 via Adrenaline Records Records [25] . On September 17, 2008, a biography of the group, written by Greg Prato, "A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon" [26] , was published. Shortly afterwards, the European part of the tour took place.
On November 6, 2008, the band announced the departure of Warren, despite planned concerts. [27] The group originally planned to play the remaining shows with vocalist Chris Shinn from Unified Theory. However, later this idea was abandoned, and the tour was canceled. Despite this, Warren nevertheless returned and played with the group his last concert in Dearborn (December 31, 2008) [28] .
In April 2009, Capitol Records released the Deep Cuts four-track mini-album as a digital release [29] [30] . Despite a pause in the activities of Blind Melon, the musicians were actively engaged in other projects: Smith and Thorne performed with Codename Mike [31] while Smith was touring with the Revis band (as a guest), and Thorne played Awolnation for a while. In turn, Graham created his own group Jakeleg with his longtime friend Joe Tallos [32] .
Second Reunion and New Album (2010 — present)
On November 2, 2010, Blind Melon announced their second reunion and return of Warren. [33] Their first performance took place on November 27 - they played a free concert at the foot of Aspen Mountain in Aspen , Colorado . The musicians continued to perform periodic gigs over the next few months, including performing at the opening of Candlebox at the Hard Rock Hotel in Albuquerque , February 4, 2011. Also, on September 5, the band played the show at Rest Fest ( Frederick , Maryland ) as headliners.
In 2012, they toured South America, performing in Chile and Argentina, and then in Western Europe. At the end of the same year, Graham described the situation of the group: “Blind Melon is still a functioning collective, Travis Warren is our current vocalist, who he has been since 2007; however, we give only periodic concerts and currently do not plan to record full-length albums ” [34] .
In 2015, the band played two shows in a row (New Year's Eve and New Year's Day) in Lafayette , attended by Shannon Hoon's mother. Nico Bleu, daughter of Hoon, went on stage to sing the song “Change.”
After that, the team worked for several years on new material, which was to become the ideological heir of the album For My Friends [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] . In a July 2018 interview for Consequence of Sound, Christopher Thorne said: “I mixed a new single, or rather, more correctly, a new song for the next Blind Melon album. "We wrote a ton of material and we have a song and a video, so we just mixed a new song last night." Thorne also said that the group had prepared about eight songs for the upcoming record since last December in his studio at Silver Lake in , but added that he does not yet have the exact release date for the new album [1] [2] .
Team Members
- Current musicians
- Travis Warren - lead vocals , acoustic guitar (2006—2008, 2010 — present)
- Rogers Stevens - solo guitar (1990-1999, 2006 — present)
- Christopher Thorne - rhythm guitar (1990-1999, 2006 — present)
- Brad Smith - bass , backing vocals (1990-1999, 2006 — present)
- Glen Graham - drums (1990-1999, 2006 — present)
- Former musicians
- Shannon Hung - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1990-1995; died of an overdose)
Timeline
Discography
Studio Albums
- Blind Melon (1992)
- Soup (1995)
- For My Friends (2008)
Compilation of Unreleased Material
- Nico (1996)
Live Albums
- Live at the Palace (2006)
Collections
- Classic Masters: Blind Melon (2002)
- The Best of Blind Melon (2005)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Blind Melon Working on First Album Since 2008 , Ultimate Guitar (August 1, 2018). Date of treatment August 1, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 '90s alt-rockers Blind Melon are working on their first new album in over a decade , tonedeaf.com.au (August 1, 2018). Date of treatment August 1, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Organically Grown (link not available) . Rolling Stone (October 1, 1992). Date of treatment August 12, 2012. Archived June 10, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Shannon Hoon, the Lead Singer Of Blind Melon, Is Dead at 28 , The New York Times (October 22, 1995). Date of treatment August 12, 2012.
- ↑ Who's Responsible for Blind Melon Bearing Fruit? , The Los Angeles Times (September 5, 1993). Date of appeal April 24, 2015.
- ↑ Prato, Greg Blind Melon Biography . Billboard . Date of treatment April 23, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Knee Deep in the Hoopla unopened (link not available) . Rolling Stone (November 11, 1993). Date of treatment August 13, 2012. Archived June 10, 2016.
- ↑ Currin, Grayson A reunited Blind Melon reminisces about its time in Durham . Indy Week (November 28, 2007). Date of treatment May 14, 2011.
- ↑ Blind Melon Certification . RIAA . Date accessed March 29, 2019. Archived March 29, 2019.
- ↑ Blind Melon: Album Info . Billboard . Date of treatment May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Rapping with Blind Melon (inaccessible link) . Creem Magazine (October 27, 1993). Date of treatment August 13, 2012. Archived April 30, 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Shannon Hoon 1967–1995 (unreachable link) . Rolling Stone (November 30, 1995). Date of treatment August 13, 2012. Archived July 16, 2009.
- ↑ Sting Leads Grammy Nominations With Six . Reading Eagle . Reading Eagle Company (January 7, 1994). Date of treatment April 24, 2010.
- ↑ The 36th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List "Rock" . National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Date of treatment December 26, 2014.
- ↑ The Modern Age (inaccessible link) . Billboard (August 12, 1995). Date of treatment August 12, 2012. Archived July 16, 2009.
- ↑ Three Is a Magic Number . AllMusic. Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Theresa E. LaVeck. Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks - Various Artists . AllMusic (April 9, 1996). Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Tippecanoe Public Library Local Newspaper Birth, Death, Engagement and Marriage Index Genealogy Resources . Date of treatment January 4, 2008.
- ↑ 1 2 A Musical Generation Explores how to Cope with the Consequences of Drugs (Link unavailable) . The Christian Science Monitor (February 19, 1997). Date of treatment August 13, 2012. Archived July 16, 2009.
- ↑ Complete List of Academy Voter Picks (English) , Los Angeles Times , Tribune Company (January 7, 1998), P. 15. Date of access: May 6, 2011.
- ↑ Guarino, Mark . How bands survive the loss of a singer: 'It can't just be slotting someone in' ( December 5, 2015).
- ↑ Guarino, Mark . How bands survive the loss of a singer: 'It can't just be slotting someone in' ( December 5, 2015).
- ↑ Blind Melon Moves On , Daily Beacon (February 13, 1997). Archived July 16, 2009. Date of treatment August 13, 2012.
- ↑ Blind Melon Recording Album With New Singer , billboard.com , October 20, 2006, Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ↑ London, Larry . Blind Melon Releases New Album 'For My Friends' , VOA News , Voice of America (July 7, 2008). Archived December 17, 2008. Date of treatment January 3, 2009.
- ↑ A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon (9780615252391): Greg Prato: Books . Amazon.com Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ 2008 announcement regarding departure of Travis Warren Archived January 8, 2009. , news.jamradio.org , November 8, 2008, Retrieved March 16, 2009.
- ↑ State of the Melon Archived on May 1, 2009. , Blind Melon Official Blog, accessed February 14, 2009, Retrieved March 16, 2009
- ↑ Discography (Fr.) . BeeMelon.com. Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Deep Cuts: Blind Melon: MP3 Downloads . Amazon.com Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Blind Melon fan site (Fr.) . BeeMelon.com. Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Blind Melon fan site (Fr.) . BeeMelon.com. Date of treatment May 3, 2012.
- ↑ Blind Melon interview , The Chicago Tribune (September 2, 2011). Date of treatment August 13, 2012.
- ↑ I Want To Be Your Drummer (December 1, 2012). Date of treatment December 1, 2012.
- ↑ Brad Smith of Blind Melon: Songwriter Interviews , songfacts.com (April 18, 2013). Date of treatment June 20, 2018.
- ↑ Blind Melon's Travis Warren talks performance for Shannon Hoon Vigilstock , rjmattice.wordpress.com (November 21, 2013). Date of treatment June 20, 2018.
- ↑ Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon , maytherockbewithyou.com (October 9, 2015). Date of treatment June 20, 2018.
- ↑ Declarations: The Coverage Opinions Interview With Rogers Stevens , coverageopinions.info (October 11, 2017). Date of treatment June 20, 2018.
- ↑ Blind Melon Predicts No Rain in NYC , lipulse.com (April 18, 2018). Date of treatment June 20, 2018.
Literature
- Prato, Greg (2008). A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon . Createspace. ISBN 0-6152523-9-7 .
- Weitz, Brad (2012). From Your Friends - Art, Photos and Stories Inspired by Blind Melon . Lulu.
- Weitz, Brad / Mester, Csaba (2012). Sweet Meloncholy . Take On 1 or 2 / Garage Art. ISBN 9780615740294 .