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- Communist China
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Re: Blind Melon
Big News!!
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/g … 1003699714
from Billboard
January 22, 2008, 10:45 AM ETThe recently reborn Blind Melon will release its first studio album in 13 years this spring. "For My Friends" is due April 22 via Adrenaline and introduces new singer Travis Warren as a replacement for late frontman Shannon Hoon, who died in 1995.
Warren joins original members Rogers Stevens (guitar), Christopher Thorn (guitar), Brad Smith (bass) and Glen Graham (drums). "This record's a great rock'n'roll record," Warren tells Billboard.com "It's kind of like [1995's] 'Soup' -- the more you listen to it, the more it grows on you."
The frontman says the title track "has got a special place in my heart" since it "was the first that we worked on together." Stevens sent him the song at 9 or 10 p.m. ET, and upon first listen, Warren "heard a melody for it, threw it on ProTools and literally wrote the lyrics right there. Recorded it, and when Rogers woke up the next morning; I had sent the song back to him with vocals on it."
Without eschewing familiar Blind Melon sounds, the album ventures off on tracks like "Sometimes," according to Warren. "We definitely want to experiment and do different things with music," he says. "Hopefully with the [next] record, it'll go completely left field from where this record took off."
The album's first single will be the track "Wishing Well," and a U.S. tour in support will begin Feb. 28.
Also in the works is a book that will focus on the Hoon era of Blind Melon, tentatively titled "Caramel Cake Covered Christmas: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon." Updates about the book will be included on the group's official Web site.
The album has been pretty much done for quite a while and most of their time has been spent getting live chemistry back and getting a release plan with management and all that stuff. Good to see it's coming!
And for those of you who only are interested in Shannon's BM, that book has been talked about on Melon forums for years. Also appears that it really is coming, and is for the first time mentioned by a title.
Re: Blind Melon
Maybe fake Blind Melon and fake Alice In Chains can open for fake GNR! Call it something else and play a few Blind Melon songs. Seeing someone else singing Shannon Hoon's songs, while calling it Blind Melon, holds no interest for me. Same as seeing some perfectly healthy, never touched a hard drug in his life fellow singing "Down In A Hole" and calling it AIC. Move on already. I'll be buying that book though.
It says this pic is Shannon and Layne Staley, but I'm having a hard time telling if that's really Layne?
Re: Blind Melon
Maybe fake Blind Melon and fake Alice In Chains can open for fake GNR! Call it something else and play a few Blind Melon songs. Seeing someone else singing Shannon Hoon's songs, while calling it Blind Melon, holds no interest for me. Same as seeing some perfectly healthy, never touched a hard drug in his life fellow singing "Down In A Hole" and calling it AIC. Move on already. I'll be buying that book though.
Cantrell wrote "Down In A Hole", should he not be able to perform his own song anymore?
Honestly, I'd rather see Cantrell concentrate on his solo career, both of the albums he put out were fantastic, but AIC was Cantrell's band.
On topic for this thread though, Blind Melon is playing here in March. I'll decide whether or not I need to buy that album after seeing them live and hearing more of the new material.
Re: Blind Melon
Cantrell wrote "Down In A Hole", should he not be able to perform his own song anymore?
Talk about taking my post out of context. Where did I ever say Cantrell shouldn't perform AIC songs anymore? Trying to pass it off as AIC is what I find lame. Jerry as every right to play any AIC song he feels like. I just don't understand why he doesn't move forward and try something new, while playing a few AIC songs to pay homage to his past and please the fans. Just don't call it AIC. It's just my thoughts on it and obviously Cantrell, Axl, and the Blind Melon guys can do wtf they want to. I don't have to agree with it though.
- Communist China
- Rep: 130
Re: Blind Melon
I understand how people would be reluctant to accept a Shannon-less band. But as they stated from their very beginning, "Blind Melon is a Band". Shannon wasn't the only creative force, and those guys weren't his backing band. Shannon didn't even write all the lyrics. Tones of Home is a great example... a verse by Shannon, a verse by Rogers and a verse by Brad. Music from everyone. Shannon's mother has given the new band her blessings, and his daughter Nico sang Change with them live once.
The problem with re-naming them is that it wouldn't give them a new identity. These guys are here to play Blind Melon songs, they would just be a cover band if they picked a new name. And any article would start with " So and so, made up of past Blind Melon members..." it wouldn't make a huge difference.
Rogers, Brad, Chris and Glen have too much chemistry to waste, and it would be a shame to see Blind Melon drift away with the past. If this album and tour makes just a few kids pick up Soup, then imo it was worth doing.
Also, Travis has some fucking pipes. The guy can sing, and he can write music. Many of these new songs, including the first single 'Wishing Well', were songs Travis brought with him into the band. I won't say his lyrics are fantastic, and certainly compared to Shannon's they are disappointing, but the new music is very good.
Finally, to end my rant, althoguh I don't expect to change your minds, if you had watched this thing progress since November of 06, and had listened to all the guys' interviews and blogs... I think you can say they were very mature in how the handled it.
RIP Shannon and Layne.
Re: Blind Melon
jorge76 wrote:Cantrell wrote "Down In A Hole", should he not be able to perform his own song anymore?
Talk about taking my post out of context. Where did I ever say Cantrell shouldn't perform AIC songs anymore? Trying to pass it off as AIC is what I find lame. Jerry as every right to play any AIC song he feels like. I just don't understand why he doesn't move forward and try something new, while playing a few AIC songs to pay homage to his past and please the fans. Just don't call it AIC. It's just my thoughts on it and obviously Cantrell, Axl, and the Blind Melon guys can do wtf they want to. I don't have to agree with it though.
The point I was trying to make was that you referenced not wanting to hear someone other than Layne sing "Down In A Hole" because they haven't experienced what Layne did. Cantrell wrote the lyrics and gave them to someone else to sing by giving them to Layne, and is doing the same thing with the new guy.
I suppose I left the thought a little open ended though.
That said I feel largely the same way you do about the whole thing, while they are touring as AIC Cantrell isn't making any new solo music, and, as I said I love both of his solo disks.
The arguement works here for both of these bands because both singers have very distinctive voices. So by re-forming you walk that line of getting a singer who sounds good, but doesn't sound like they're trying to immitate the guy they're replacing. I enjoy the Unified Theory album, but the singer on it sounds so much like he's trying to be Hoon it kinda weirds me out to listen to it. I haven't gotten that as much from this Travis dude, but I haven't heard a ton yet either. As I already said, I have to see him live to decide for sure.
Re: Blind Melon
The point I was trying to make was that you referenced not wanting to hear someone other than Layne sing "Down In A Hole" because they haven't experienced what Layne did. Cantrell wrote the lyrics and gave them to someone else to sing by giving them to Layne, and is doing the same thing with the new guy.
Again, read my original post. My point was that I think it's lame for these bands to carry on as AIC & Bling Melon when it's a drastically different band. It's right there in my post. I don't know why you continue to tke things out of context.
"Same as seeing some perfectly healthy, never touched a hard drug in his life fellow singing "Down In A Hole" and calling it AIC."
See, that's what I wrote. It's calling it AIC that makes me lose interest in it. That's it.
Re: Blind Melon
jorge76 wrote:The point I was trying to make was that you referenced not wanting to hear someone other than Layne sing "Down In A Hole" because they haven't experienced what Layne did. Cantrell wrote the lyrics and gave them to someone else to sing by giving them to Layne, and is doing the same thing with the new guy.
Again, read my original post. My point was that I think it's lame for these bands to carry on as AIC & Bling Melon when it's a drastically different band. It's right there in my post. I don't know why you continue to tke things out of context.
"Same as seeing some perfectly healthy, never touched a hard drug in his life fellow singing "Down In A Hole" and calling it AIC."
See, that's what I wrote. It's calling it AIC that makes me lose interest in it. That's it.
No, I get what you're saying. I did take it as you were saying it's someone singing Layne's personal lyrics though, and I think Cantrell's role in AIC has been horribly undervalued over the years, especially since Layne died. I probably jumped on pointing out that that's a Cantrell song (as are most AIC songs) too much because of that.
Frankly, part of me very much agrees with you and doesn't want to see "legacies tarnished" or whatever, but another part likes Van Halen better with Hagar and Motley Crue better with Corabi. I also know a ton of people who won't give that Motley album a chance just because they didn't want a Motley different than the one they were familiar with.
That said, to the best of my knowledge AIC's just touring and not making new music, that I completely disagree with. It becomes just using the name to get more people to your shows. Blind Melon is at least trying to continue as a band.
