New Blind Melon - "Sometimes"
For part of the population, Blind Melon remain the band with that bumblebee video (or members of Blender's 50 Worst Artists In Music History list), but we've never been shy about our blind Melon love. The retro-grade L.A. crew continued trucking after their biggest hit, turning out plenty of good material, and would've kept going if not for vocalist Shannon Hoon's death by a drug overdose in 1995. Well, surprisingly, surviving the one-hit wonder jokes and after mourning and taking a break, the band's found themselves Travis Warren, a cocky young Texan, to front 'em and are at work on a new record.
We haven't heard much from the new crew, but "Sometimes" sounds like classic Blind Melon-- it's an ambling Dead-style rootsy groover warmed by studio chatter (and snaps), Warren's various vocal moves (high, low, whisper), analog keys, and darkened by an ominous "there's a price you pay when you're on top of the world." Ominous, because, well, the price they paid was a stalled career and a 12-year hiatus. Listen at MelonSpace.
There's also this behind-the-scenes making-of-the-album video with some sweet inner-band love as well as Warren's admittance that he literally shit himself when asked to join as an official Melon. Dude seems like the upfront sort, so we'll take his word. Come to think of it, he mentions a "shit storm" in "Sometimes," too. Fixated, Travis? Okay, we won't make any BM jokes...
The band will release that new album, their first since 1995, sometime in 2007. For now, you Melonheads can catch 'em live.
10/07 - Providence, RI @ Decibel at Club Hell
10/09 - New York, NY @ Canal Room
10/11 - Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop
10/13 - Columbus, OH @ The Basement
10/14 - Bowling Green, OH @ Howard's Club H
10/16 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/18 - Urbana, IL @ The Canopy
10/19 - Toledo, OH @ Frankie's Inner-City
10/20 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
10/22 - Allston, MA @ Harper’s Ferry
Posted at 6:06 PM in Tour Dates
Tags: Blind Melon
Ok, honestly, you guys would post a new piece of poop too, right?
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I agree, "toes across the floor" is great, and as for Shannon I know his death was tragic but can you imagine staying alive to become a Tommy Lee, dating Paris Hilton or having a VH1 reality show?
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looks like Wow is on of those hipster douchebags who knows better than all. Tell us Wow, tell us the right musical path to follow.
simpleton. music is not for you.
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Did this place become invaded by stoned Paste and Harp users, jesus christ? It's like the Macdonald's music blog.
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Give me a break. Blind Melon love? Now I am covinced there's some blogola going on here. There's a continuing depositioning of standards here....there's got to be a cooler bad band you can get behind for cred.
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wtf is this?
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in /var/www/vhosts/stereodev.com/httpdocs/index.html on line 158
can load individual posts thanks to RSS, but not the main page...
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Can I use the tix I bought back in '95 for a show in Cleveland to see them??? The show was supposed to be the week after he died. Don't think I ever got a refund for those.
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gotta say, i'm kinda excited about this.
and cas, too bad you couldn't get a refund. hey, i got an idea: just piss on the dude's grave. even stevens.
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I'm glad you posted this. I tried to email you about it yesterday but my email bounced back as undeliverable. Shannon was a friend of mine but I'm glad to see the band giving it another go.
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blogola? wtf?
oh riiiight. the label has come to its senses and are pushing a band that most wrote off as a one-hit wonder almost 20 years ago. because continued investment in aging one-hit wonder bands makes perfect financial sense.
oh wait. maybe, just maybe, blind melon has been raking in the cash all along. and has been waiting in wake to unleash their hidden wealth in a coordinated effort to pay the major indie blogs to get their readers, who incidentally have been waiting for the resurgence of a post-grunge remnant, in a fervor about a new album.
or maybe you're just a fuckin idiot.
"there's got to be a *cooler bad band* you can get behind for *cred*."
yep, you're an idiot
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It's so fucking frustrating that this is the band I see on stereogum with 3 Ohio dates. Is there anyone in Brooklyn with a couch?
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Jesus Christ, I just realized its 4 (Toledo never counts)! Thats almost 1/2 a tour!!!
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I thought it would sound a bit like Blind Melon, alas, not at all. BM really centred around Hoon so why bother?
Still don't understand why they don't get love. Significantly better than most of their peers, unfairly remembered as a a "one hit" (since when was Blender even remotely credible), and easily better then 90% of the tepid shit we're throwing on the blogs these days.
I'd write more but i lost my train of thought while staring into the neo-hippie glaze of my tie dyed chachis.
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Interesting, but not as Blind Melon. They should use a different name. That lead singer also has "issues" written all over him, and I mean "lead singer issues".
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I used to like them a lot.
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wow, bruce, you are a fucking dolt. really, pace brought up everything i was about to, but honestly i never would have figured such a backwards, narrow minded and completely off base comment from someone who djs at a station friends tell me isn't half bad. now i definitely don't believe them. but i do believe you should stay off the internet.
as for blind melon, probably few really care what they're doing now but it was nice to get a little flash back. that woodstock performance was legend. ugh, the wxpn "dj"'s attack on band and site got to me again. i have to go throw up. back soon.
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That song is actually pretty good, and I hated the old Blind Melon.
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Galaxie is one of my favorite the singles of the 90's & Tones of Home and No Rain were also great.
I'm psyched to see these guys in NY.
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hey! i remember that song change. i dont think the suns coming out today, its stayin in gonna find a better day or somesuch.
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Is it weird that he is wearing a Layne Staley shirt?
Is the guy fixated on dead rock stars?
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I don't know how I happened upon this website or why I continued reading, but for those of you who think Blind Melon is a one hit wonder, obviously you have not taken the time to listen to anything other than "No Rain". If you did, you would see how amazing the rest of their music is.....and actually sounds nothing like the song that put them on the map. It is my opinion that before you speak about something, you should be educated enough on the subject to know what you are talking about. I have yet to meet a single person that actually listened to an album or more than that one song and did not agree that they are extremely underrated. You would be surprised if you just gave them a listen.
RIP Shannon Hoon.......you will not be forgotten!!!
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Their new singer has the most ridiculous Shannon Hoone tattoo on his back that you could possibly imagine. I only post this in the hopes that someone gets a shot of it and puts it up online. He's had it for years. It's huge and kinda looks like a Picasso of Cher or something. Bet good money you never see him shirtless onstage.
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Kudos to Blind Melon. I'm loving their new tunes and hoping to catch them on tour. Great musicains - with a damn good new vocalist. Travis is doing a great job with the band, and Shannon will always be remembered.
"My own philosophy has been good to me"
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Good luck to this amazing band...
Sad to see all the hate on this site, you haters should get a life, BM made some of the best music of the 90s. Their recent concerts have been selling out, go and see em.
They deserve respect.
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Oh and dont go posting about being "fixated" about dead rock stars if you post under the name Kurt C.
Even if that is your name, you could have used Kurt..!
Im guessing you love to seek attention with the name Kurt C. You didnt have to put "C" but you did so people would go "oh wow Kurt Cobain" what a cool name that guy has.
No one thinks you're cool, in fact you make me laugh..... Pathetic, go back to your mtv, butthole.
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HERE HERE TRICIA!!!! hope u enjoyed the OH show :)
Great that Nel Hoon Made it, eh?
I too am surprised of the hate here. Try the Blind Melon debut, and Soup albums with head phones, then come back and tell me that the musicianship isn't legendary!!! Allman Bros-esque even.
I just thank God that 4/5 of the original BM are around and making music together! I love Travis for having the balls to get up on stage and DOOOOOOOOOOOO the old songs more than justice, and rip out on the new as well!
SPEND the 10-15 bones to see them! Come back, and write about something REAL! NOT computer GENerated music.
and douches! the 2nd wave of the tour should be heading up the end of Nov.!
Blind Melon love forever
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Yes! And that is just the beginning of Nel's tour :) And which Kevin is this.....did I see you at the show last night?
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Soup is one of the greatest albums ever written! It is a shame most people stop and only know of the one song (NO... need to mention) and nothing else. I too am guilty of having had this disease, but am glad I took the time to have explored my interest in this band further. Let the haters hate. It will be their loss and I am sure their "POSITIVE" outlook on the bands potential and current status won't be missed by any.
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i never got a chance to see the real bm, i was only 13 when shannon died. didn't really discover the band until college when i realized there was a hell of a lot more to the band than "no rain." that's the obstacle all people who don't like the band have to overcome, and many people just don't get it.
that said, if i lived in a city where the band was playing (chicago), and didn't have to drive two hours each way for the show, i would spend the $10. I've wasted $10 on worse things than three (or) four surviving members of a promising band that tragically ended. their live shows were incredible, and the band is tremendous. It would be worth it just to see what it's like.
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Whether or not you like the new stuff.. the old stuff was amazing... I'm kind of partial to the new stuff still because for me, a big part of Blind Melon was the Lyrics and the emotion that Shannon conveyed.
I would recommend checking out the song 'Compared to What' by Travis's old band -Rain Fur Rent as it is wicked in my opinion and it gives an idea of what may be to come.. I think that there's alot of work ahead for Blind Melon but I completely trust the bands judgement with Travis..
http://www.myspace.com/rainfurrent - click on 'compared to what'
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Why oh WHY do these assholes come out and bust on a band they know NOTHING about other than No Rain? Tricia, HELL YEAH SISTAH! Well said! Travis is an amazing singer and anyone who loves Mr. Shannon Hoon will tell you he and the band itself was underrated! I'm tired of reading negativity at a time when Melons far and wide are rejoicing. You know what? What-fucking-ever douches. I'm wasting precious TIME on haters when I could be checking out the new songs again. Much love to my brethren...see ya at the show!
PS-to the fuckface that suggested pissing on Shannon's grave as a way to even up for the ticket money...come find me in Lafayette and I'll show you what "the back 40" is all about you piece of shit!
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I just want to say that it's absolutley ridiculous the way that people are hating on BlindMelon on this page. Right on Brian and to all you other Melon Heads. All you haters go ahead and keep talkin shit. BlindMelon's music speaks for itself. I'm a huge Shannon Hoon fan but he wasnt the only member of BlindMelon and I say rock on to the other members and to the new lead singer. Whey should they have to stop making music?! I just seen them play with Travis and it was amazing! All you pathetic, negative assholes need to grow up! If you don't like BlindMelon so what~ alot of people do~theres so much more to them then "No Rain" so educate yourself before you talk shit. I'm gonna keep smiling and jammin out to BM...and you jerks can keep talkn shit becasue I'm sure thats all you have to do in your pathetic little internet lives! ~PEACE~ MELONHEAD FOREVER!
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When you read reviews of music, you can usually tell who plays an instrument and has been in a band and who hasn't. Obviously the guy who compiled the 50 worst bands list can't do more than play a few open chords on guitar...it's a real tragedy that people think Blind Melon is a one-hit wonder band from the 90s, somewhere between the Gin Blossoms and The Goo-Goo Dolls. In truth, they had more musical talent and versatility than Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and just about every other band of the era. (I'll tip my hat to the Smashing Pumpkins and RHCP--can't knock them). Like Blues Traveler, they got swept under the rug for a pop ballad, but their other material, the stuff you never hear on the radio, was quite musically impressive. Not virtuoso impressive, but good solid creative rock and roll that hits home every time. Shannon Hoon was one of the great frontmen of all time--a brilliant songwriter whose only trite moment was "No Rain" with a killer voice (he sounds to me like the illegitimate son of Robert Plant and the singer from YES with a little Ozzy Osbourne thrown in), a kickass rhythm section and a creative two-guitar combo to back him up. Blind Melon had five original members, and only one of them is dead. The band actually reformed BECAUSE they found Travis Warren and knew he was the right fit. New Blind Melon sounds a little different, but tunes like "Wishing Well" do sound like classic Melon. Hearing Travis sing old Melon classics like "Toes Across the Floor" and "Sleepyhouse" is too good to be true. As for replacing a singer, it's not all that uncommon. AC/DC, Genesis, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen have all done it. For those of you who want to be critical of someone's talent, try having a better argument than "I don't like it." Blind Melon stood for everything grunge was about, and they did it with more than angst and power chords, unlike most of what was going on at the time. If it wasn't for Led Zep getting back together, this would be the great comeback story of the year. Fans wil finally get to see them live. They're the Lazarus band.
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i loe blind melon and i cant wait to her there new stuff!!... the soundtrack to my life has for many years been this band and i hope/ know tat their return to the bizz. willl only prolong thta... p.s would love to see some canadian tour dates sometime guys!!!
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i really hope that blind melon comes back to omaha here in 2009!
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