Blind Melon

BEnglish017 · May 2008

anyone seen them on the new tour w. the new singer? i am going tonight. pretty pumped. i have been listening to the new cd and it sounds pretty decent. it's no soup but pretty enjoyable. i will let you know how they were tonight if anyone is interested.

HushBull · May 2008

Is Soup actually good?
I dig No Rain, but have no idea about them otherwise...

BEnglish017 · May 2008

i love soup. i think it is a lot better then the 1st album. i like the no rain version off of nico, you should check it out. a little different.

Brisk. · May 2008

HushBull wrote:

Is Soup actually good?
I dig No Rain, but have no idea about them otherwise...

oh my god

you need to listen to their self title and soup extensively!! now!!

Green Di$ea$e · May 2008

enjoy the show, have seen them twice with the new singer and both were really good shows especially the st.andrews show in detroit

12345AGNST1 · May 2008

I actually think soup is better than the first. Nico is probably my 2nd fav just because its so unique and sounds kinda hippie-ish.

BEnglish017 · May 2008

yeah soup is by far the best

brain of c · May 2008

soup.....mmm

nico rules.

LukinFan · May 2008

I saw them back in 12-07 and they rocked!

MySmallSelf17 · May 2008

I was really psyched to see BM on this tour... but was greeted by a "Band member sick, show cancelled" note taped to the front of the venue door. Brutal.

They are a great band, but from what I've heard of the new stuff I'm not going to be getting the new album... hopefully will get to a show so I can hear some of those oldies

reggie500 · May 2008

MySmallSelf17 wrote:

I was really psyched to see BM on this tour... but was greeted by a "Band member sick, show cancelled" note taped to the front of the venue door. Brutal.

They are a great band, but from what I've heard of the new stuff I'm not going to be getting the new album... hopefully will get to a show so I can hear some of those oldies

...you're missing out. Just like with 'Soup', I was surprised by this album. It didn't sound like I expected it to but after a few listens it started to make sense to me. It's great and it holds up to the old stuff. I've said it before...this band is doing something that has not been done before. To go away for that long and then come back with an album that holds up to the old ones is amazing.l

Blind Melon · May 2008

Yeah, their new album was actually not bad... I was expecting like a Pumpkins deal... but the Pumpkins were kind of getting shit, whereas Blind Melon seemed to just be going... but anyway, I was just expecting a hyped up piece of shit, but got a fairly nice record.

BEnglish017 · May 2008

the show last night was really good. i enjoyed it. it was a real small venue in lexington, ky and they sounded great. kicked it off with some soup, played a decent amount of new stuff. they seemed to equally distribute from each album. they played skinned which was cool, one of my favorite goofy kinda songs. new lead singer sounds a lot like shannon at times. i don't think he tries to but i think that is just his similar voice. they are playing cincinnati in 2 nights and i wish i had the money b/c i would go see them again.

HermanBloom · May 2008

BEnglish017 wrote:

the show last night was really good. i enjoyed it. it was a real small venue in lexington, ky and they sounded great. kicked it off with some soup, played a decent amount of new stuff. they seemed to equally distribute from each album. they played skinned which was cool, one of my favorite goofy kinda songs. new lead singer sounds a lot like shannon at times. i don't think he tries to but i think that is just his similar voice. they are playing cincinnati in 2 nights and i wish i had the money b/c i would go see them again.

Saw them a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing. Travis does a great job and it's great to see the old guys.

momofglynn · May 2008

I went to the first show they did when they came back in Rhode Island Oct 2007. It was amazing. I got to talk to the band after the event and it was just the most special night. I went again Feb 08 in Hartford, CT. Again top notch. I am hoping for a NH show this summer at the beach. Now that would be awesome! I am glad to see so many people making attempt to give the new guy a try. And to see the others in the band again was a dream come true.

HermanBloom · May 2008

momofglynn wrote:

I went to the first show they did when they came back in Rhode Island Oct 2007. It was amazing. I got to talk to the band after the event and it was just the most special night. I went again Feb 08 in Hartford, CT. Again top notch. I am hoping for a NH show this summer at the beach. Now that would be awesome! I am glad to see so many people making attempt to give the new guy a try. And to see the others in the band again was a dream come true.

I believe they are playing Connecticut the night after the Hartford show.

JordyWordy · May 2008

HushBull wrote:

Is Soup actually good?
I dig No Rain, but have no idea about them otherwise...

get it, listen to

Skinned
Walk
Mouthful Of Cavities.....

and then you'll be hooked!

HermanBloom · May 2008

JordyWordy wrote:

get it, listen to

Skinned
Walk
Mouthful Of Cavities.....

and then you'll be hooked!

an absolutely brilliant and amazing album

azwyldcats · May 2008

NOT Blind Melon w/o Hoon. Maybe Blind Gourd?
NOT Alice In Chains w/o Staley. Maybe Alice in Plasticuffs?

azwyldcats · May 2008

NOT the Doors w/o Morrison. Maybe the Door-knobs.

azwyldcats · May 2008

NOT Guns N Roses w/o Slash or Duff. Maybe Gun w/o Roses?

mouthfulofsoup · May 2008

azwyldcats wrote:

NOT Blind Melon w/o Hoon. Maybe Blind Gourd?
NOT Alice In Chains w/o Staley. Maybe Alice in Plasticuffs?

lol. I prefer Faux Melon myself.

& Yes, they are playing a free show in CT one of the days PJ is off. I won't be there of course, but one of my friends told me about it. Man, to go back in time & REALLY have Blind Melon basically following me back to my hometown would be amazing...instead I am being harassed by Faux. lol.

On a serious note to the person who asked if 'Soup' is good, the answer would be no...only because it's brilliant.

As are the other 2 albums, get them immediately! Real Melon owns always.

The_Fixer · June 2008

mouthfulofsoup wrote:

On a serious note to the person who asked if 'Soup' is good, the answer would be no...only because it's brilliant.

SOUP is one of the most underrated albums of it's time.

Definitely worth a listen.

kenny olav · June 2008

i'm a massive Blind Melon fan. know all their songs, pretty much by heart.

i was very skeptical about the new singer. i heard some of their stuff online about a year ago, and i wasn't turned off, but i wasn't impressed either. but i happened to catch one of their (apparently new) videos on one of those random music channels last night, and i was diggin it. the new singer sounds honest. he's not trying to be Shannon, which is good, and he seems to fit in with the rest of the band... it was a good tune! that band has such great talent and it's good to see them back... i hope they keep at it.

melodyman22 · June 2008

The new cd is decent. Nothing special. The whole cd blends really nicely. But there is no stand out songs. Like on Soup. Or there 1st cd. Glad there back doing something. I'll sum it up like this. The new singer is decent not a great voice, not great lyrics. But all in all not a bad listen. Hoon was so underrated. His voice in lyrics are amazing.

momofglynn · November 2008

It does not look good on the Blind Melon front. Travis apparently just blogged about his voice is gone forever and that he's done. Which is a huge horrible turn. last I heard it was a 2 week break and take it easy and go from there. But it looks much much worse that that. I just hope it's just a much longer break is all that is needed. I do not want this to die again.

chime · November 2008

Travis' blog http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=48385346&blogID=446958481

Looks like it's definitely good bye to Travis :( but they are going to carry on the tour without him.

Rogers response http://blindmelons.proboards19.com/index.cgi?board=band&action=display&thread=4515

petrocs · November 2008

I was thinking of going to Maryland to see this tour...let me know if they are good!

momofglynn · November 2008

I heard wind of this last night so I posted what I knew. Thanks for posting the links. Here's what Rodgers said, well the transcript. Sorry it is really long

Friends....

I bring you some difficult news.

The revelry call went out to start the tour, and all reported to duty except for one. We, along with our entire team, have been working long hours to prepare for this upcoming US tour, which we have all been excited about. All except one. There has long been consensus with the original 4 members of the group....we agree on purpose and vision, we believe deeply in what we are doing, and we have been forged together in the kiln of tragedy which has made us unbreakable. We all share that. All except one.

We believe that it is a great privilege to do what we do. It is an honor to stand onstage before you all and play these songs, and we will endure just about anything to do so. We have unity on this...all except one.

Travis does not share this with us. Two weeks ago when we cancelled the first half of the tour, Travis was having problems with his voice and the doctor recommended that he rest. Though it hurt us to cancel the shows, we were understanding towards him and supported him because nobody wanted him to injure himself or damage his obviously amazing voice. God dropped a Stradivarius down Travis's throat, but the reality is that he treats it like a broken pawnshop fiddle. It is very difficult to maintain a rigorous touring schedule while chain smoking.

Early this week Travis was due to again visit the doctor, a specialist that we found for him who is the very best available. The doctor wanted to make sure everything was OK before we embarked on the tour. We told Travis that we would cancel the rest of the tour if his voice was still hurting, regardless of what the doctor said. Travis will tell you that we fired him because his voice was fried, but this is not true. All singers go through vocal problems from time to time, and we understand that. We did not fire Travis, he abandoned us. The plan was set, it was solid, and we were confident. Everybody was on board...all except one. Not only did he bail on the doctor, but he did not return anybody's calls, texts, emails, telegrams, or carrier pigeon messages for the last two weeks. We're talking about a LOT of attempts to communicate. This has been a pattern from the beginning of our involvement with him. The reality is that Travis did not want to go on this tour, and his reasons for this changed many times. The touring life is not for everyone. Had he told us that it was just too much for him, then that would have sucked for us but we could have dealt with it. But the dilemma was that HE WOULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH US.

We finally started calling family members to try to locate him. Members of his family were very helpful and the good news is that they had spoken to him and he was alive. We were all relieved but curious as to what was going on. One of Travis's cousins finally got him to agree to call our manager yesterday evening and they spoke for about 20 minutes (we were all waiting to figure out if we should get on airplanes today or stay home). Travis stated that if we couldn't understand that he needed this time to himself, then he didn't want to be in a band with us anymore. He complained about being underpaid and overworked (we all make the same thing and we all work as hard as he does). He said that he didn't want to play the US anymore and that he was under-appreciated. He complained about playing the same songs in the same towns. We could not make him understand that the wheels were in motion for this tour for 6 months, and that to blow it out just because he didn't want to do it was a very bad move (we think his voice is probably fine now, by the way, though we could never say for sure since he neglected his doctor's appointment and did not call us to tell us that it was not well).

There was no indication that any of this was coming at the end of the Canadian tour. We had great success up there (thank you Canada) and we were encouraged by what was ahead of us. We were all set to record a live album on this tour, we just booked Japan, and we were in the process of putting together Europe and South America. People have been working very hard on this stuff...lots of great people who we are very much lucky to be working with. Travis is unable or unwilling to care about how his actions affect everybody else, and he's been this way since day one. We have passed up or blown many opportunities because of his actions, and this has made it very difficult for us to function effectively. For the 2 weeks worth of shows that we have cancelled in the last year, there have been countless others that were on the verge of not happening. Many nights we have sat in the dressing room or on the bus wondering if Travis was going to show up and what condition he would be in if he did show up. None of us want to be in one of those bands that is held hostage by a single person's whims and demands. Travis's talent is enormous and deep, but after two gut-wrenching years and countless setbacks and heartbreaks, we can no longer work with him.

We want to make this clear that this calamity is not just about the most recent events. For many different reasons, there has been a division that slowly developed from the beginning. Travis came into a very difficult situation, and in a lot of ways he handled it very well. But for whatever reason, we could never get him to come fully into the fold. We tried to achieve unity and balance in the band and we welcomed him with open arms as a full partner. But in a band you are dealing with a bunch of highly creative and impulsive people in suspended adolescence who are also oftentimes maladjusted. It must have been very difficult for Travis to figure out our relationships and to find his place. When things got tough, Travis would fire off an email and threaten to quit the band....this happened at least a dozen times. Eventually, confidence within the band as well as with the people who worked with us became undermined. Everybody around saw what was going on and were probably taking bets on how long we would last.

The real back-story to this is very deep. If you squint your eyes and read very closely between the lines, you might pick up a hint of it. There is no way that we could accurately tell you what has transpired over the past two years without breaking some ethical codes and spewing a bunch of angry stuff that will just sound irrelevant to you. We don't want to hurt Travis or say anything more than what is necessary to tell enough of the story. We believe that to publicly air out all of the prior details of what brought us to this place would be counterproductive. We will have our side of the story and Travis will have his, and the two shall not meet. And you as the reader will be left scratching your head and wondering who is crazier. You'll probably also wonder why we can't just kiss and make up and play the goddamned songs. We can only say that we have tried everything that we could to get to that place.

We sincerely hope that Travis finds a musical situation that makes him happy. As previously stated, his talent is prodigious, and that is why we thought he should play in the big leagues, but now it is clear that he was drafted by the wrong team. He belongs onstage, and that is where we got along with him best. He is a GREAT performer and we are hopeful that he will end up in the right situation for him.

So the next question is "what are we going to do"? First of all, we plan to begin the tour in Allentown, PA on Monday. Chris Shin, who formed Unified Theory with Brad and Christopher, is coming with us and is ready and willing. We are enormously grateful to Chris for accepting this somewhat daunting challenge. After the tour, we will begin the process of finding somebody who understands, as previously stated, that it is an honor to perform for ya'll, and that it is important to pull together and work together in order to create something truly great. We intend to play all the shows that are on the schedule, including the New Year's eve show, and we will make up the shows that were cancelled earlier this month. We're going on a journey and we'll bring you back something great......thank you for everything that you've given us.

Blind Melon
November 6, 2008

petrocs · November 2008

momofglynn wrote:

I heard wind of this last night so I posted what I knew. Thanks for posting the links. Here's what Rodgers said, well the transcript. Sorry it is really long

Friends....

I bring you some difficult news.

The revelry call went out to start the tour, and all reported to duty except for one. We, along with our entire team, have been working long hours to prepare for this upcoming US tour, which we have all been excited about. All except one. There has long been consensus with the original 4 members of the group....we agree on purpose and vision, we believe deeply in what we are doing, and we have been forged together in the kiln of tragedy which has made us unbreakable. We all share that. All except one.

We believe that it is a great privilege to do what we do. It is an honor to stand onstage before you all and play these songs, and we will endure just about anything to do so. We have unity on this...all except one.

Travis does not share this with us. Two weeks ago when we cancelled the first half of the tour, Travis was having problems with his voice and the doctor recommended that he rest. Though it hurt us to cancel the shows, we were understanding towards him and supported him because nobody wanted him to injure himself or damage his obviously amazing voice. God dropped a Stradivarius down Travis's throat, but the reality is that he treats it like a broken pawnshop fiddle. It is very difficult to maintain a rigorous touring schedule while chain smoking.

Early this week Travis was due to again visit the doctor, a specialist that we found for him who is the very best available. The doctor wanted to make sure everything was OK before we embarked on the tour. We told Travis that we would cancel the rest of the tour if his voice was still hurting, regardless of what the doctor said. Travis will tell you that we fired him because his voice was fried, but this is not true. All singers go through vocal problems from time to time, and we understand that. We did not fire Travis, he abandoned us. The plan was set, it was solid, and we were confident. Everybody was on board...all except one. Not only did he bail on the doctor, but he did not return anybody's calls, texts, emails, telegrams, or carrier pigeon messages for the last two weeks. We're talking about a LOT of attempts to communicate. This has been a pattern from the beginning of our involvement with him. The reality is that Travis did not want to go on this tour, and his reasons for this changed many times. The touring life is not for everyone. Had he told us that it was just too much for him, then that would have sucked for us but we could have dealt with it. But the dilemma was that HE WOULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH US.

We finally started calling family members to try to locate him. Members of his family were very helpful and the good news is that they had spoken to him and he was alive. We were all relieved but curious as to what was going on. One of Travis's cousins finally got him to agree to call our manager yesterday evening and they spoke for about 20 minutes (we were all waiting to figure out if we should get on airplanes today or stay home). Travis stated that if we couldn't understand that he needed this time to himself, then he didn't want to be in a band with us anymore. He complained about being underpaid and overworked (we all make the same thing and we all work as hard as he does). He said that he didn't want to play the US anymore and that he was under-appreciated. He complained about playing the same songs in the same towns. We could not make him understand that the wheels were in motion for this tour for 6 months, and that to blow it out just because he didn't want to do it was a very bad move (we think his voice is probably fine now, by the way, though we could never say for sure since he neglected his doctor's appointment and did not call us to tell us that it was not well).

There was no indication that any of this was coming at the end of the Canadian tour. We had great success up there (thank you Canada) and we were encouraged by what was ahead of us. We were all set to record a live album on this tour, we just booked Japan, and we were in the process of putting together Europe and South America. People have been working very hard on this stuff...lots of great people who we are very much lucky to be working with. Travis is unable or unwilling to care about how his actions affect everybody else, and he's been this way since day one. We have passed up or blown many opportunities because of his actions, and this has made it very difficult for us to function effectively. For the 2 weeks worth of shows that we have cancelled in the last year, there have been countless others that were on the verge of not happening. Many nights we have sat in the dressing room or on the bus wondering if Travis was going to show up and what condition he would be in if he did show up. None of us want to be in one of those bands that is held hostage by a single person's whims and demands. Travis's talent is enormous and deep, but after two gut-wrenching years and countless setbacks and heartbreaks, we can no longer work with him.

We want to make this clear that this calamity is not just about the most recent events. For many different reasons, there has been a division that slowly developed from the beginning. Travis came into a very difficult situation, and in a lot of ways he handled it very well. But for whatever reason, we could never get him to come fully into the fold. We tried to achieve unity and balance in the band and we welcomed him with open arms as a full partner. But in a band you are dealing with a bunch of highly creative and impulsive people in suspended adolescence who are also oftentimes maladjusted. It must have been very difficult for Travis to figure out our relationships and to find his place. When things got tough, Travis would fire off an email and threaten to quit the band....this happened at least a dozen times. Eventually, confidence within the band as well as with the people who worked with us became undermined. Everybody around saw what was going on and were probably taking bets on how long we would last.

The real back-story to this is very deep. If you squint your eyes and read very closely between the lines, you might pick up a hint of it. There is no way that we could accurately tell you what has transpired over the past two years without breaking some ethical codes and spewing a bunch of angry stuff that will just sound irrelevant to you. We don't want to hurt Travis or say anything more than what is necessary to tell enough of the story. We believe that to publicly air out all of the prior details of what brought us to this place would be counterproductive. We will have our side of the story and Travis will have his, and the two shall not meet. And you as the reader will be left scratching your head and wondering who is crazier. You'll probably also wonder why we can't just kiss and make up and play the goddamned songs. We can only say that we have tried everything that we could to get to that place.

We sincerely hope that Travis finds a musical situation that makes him happy. As previously stated, his talent is prodigious, and that is why we thought he should play in the big leagues, but now it is clear that he was drafted by the wrong team. He belongs onstage, and that is where we got along with him best. He is a GREAT performer and we are hopeful that he will end up in the right situation for him.

So the next question is "what are we going to do"? First of all, we plan to begin the tour in Allentown, PA on Monday. Chris Shin, who formed Unified Theory with Brad and Christopher, is coming with us and is ready and willing. We are enormously grateful to Chris for accepting this somewhat daunting challenge. After the tour, we will begin the process of finding somebody who understands, as previously stated, that it is an honor to perform for ya'll, and that it is important to pull together and work together in order to create something truly great. We intend to play all the shows that are on the schedule, including the New Year's eve show, and we will make up the shows that were cancelled earlier this month. We're going on a journey and we'll bring you back something great......thank you for everything that you've given us.

Blind Melon
November 6, 2008

Man thats rough...I'm glad they are trying to piece things together and continue

joint in a tree · November 2008

wow, that's messed up. I would definitely see them with Chris Shinn though.

Travis did a good job on the old songs, but the new songs are terrible. I mean, the sound is ok, but the lyrics are awful.

Rogers is awesome. It's cool that they're giving us the info as it is, straight from band's mouth. (or keyboard)

Blind Melon

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