You may remember Blind Melon from their chart topping single, "No Rain". It rocketed the otherwise unknown band into the limelight of public eye. "No Rain" was ranked #20 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both the Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. Most notably it was ranked 83rd on the VH1 "100 Greatest Videos of All Time" lists. Unfortunately, the song (No Rain) and "the Bee Girl" in the video seem to be the only memory most people have of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon.
I was only 15 in 1995 when Shannon Hoon, the front man for Blind Melon, died of what would be listed in the days that followed as a “cocaine overdose”. He was found inside the bands tour bus while they were touring for their newest album, "Soup" . He was 28 years old and had only just become a father. His daughter, Nico Blue Hoon, was only 3 months old when passed away. The band was in New Orleans when Hoon was found; oddly the album “Soup” had been recorded in New Orleans where the band had rented a house and hunkered down to enjoy all the excitement and culture that New Orleans has to offer.
Admittedly, I was not a fan of the band while they were still producing music. In fact, I was one of “those” people who had heard “No Rain” and seen the video but beyond that I was clueless as to what other material they had produced.
I believe it is more than fair to make the statement that Hoon was an incredible singer, songwriter and front man. He had a way of writing a lyric that would mean something different to the listener each and every time they heard it. Sadly, like many other people who command that level of devotion to their art Hoon was also battling an ongoing addiction. I suppose that was also why his songs tend to be multifaceted and contain metaphors for the things that haunt the human race.
I was formally introduced to Hoon and Blind Melon by a friend several years after the tragedy in New Orleans. I was literally blown away; his emotion and sincerity was unmatched by virtually any other performer during his time. Ironically, I was familiarized with the band’s music and videos during the lowest point of my life thus far. There were many days and nights when I would listen to their albums repeatedly and find within them emotions that I was experiencing every day. However, without the benefits of the internet many people knew little about the band. Remember, this was when MTV still played MUSIC videos and CD’s were a new option for music lovers.
I ran across this book, AnDevil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other - The story of Shannon Hoon andBlind Melon, was intrigued to find out more about the man who likely saved my life with merely his ideas and his raw emotion. The book is written more along the lines of a Q&A than a real book. It was written by Greg Prato who pieced together many different conversations and interviews with the people who were the closest to Hoon and the band.
The chapters and content within the book are insightful and allow you to hear different stories about the band. It details the tours they did and even the happenings of the group. Within the stories you are shown a somewhat darker side of Hoon as well as quotes of praise regarding his character. It was eye-opening to read the things that people said about Hoon. They ranged from how giving and caring he was to where even his friends thought he was out of control due to his explosive temper.
From cover to cover the book shows little tidbits of who Blind Melon really was and also it depicts the steady decline of talented man who lost the battle against his self. Within his lyrics he paints you a mental picture of his internal turmoil. His voice reeks of a man who knows what has to be done in order to survive but just can’t seem to shake the monkey of addiction from his back.
I would highly suggest this book to any Melon fan. If you want to know the in and out of how they rose insanely albeit recklessly to fame, this is the book for you. Its format is more along the lines of individual quotes and grouped together in chapters that pertain to a period of time which allows you to get the opinions of many people who were close to the band and Hoon.
This may not be a book for you if you are not terribly interested in what actually happened within the band and how they achieved such fame in such a little amount of time.
Please reference the links below for information regarding Blind Melon:
Blind Melon - allmusic.com
Bind Melon - YouTube channel
Blind Melon Biography
"Letters From a Porcupine" This collector's edition DVD features the grammy nominated documentary home video "Letters From a Porcupine."
No comments:
Post a Comment