Back in 2006, I was beside myself when I heard that one of my favorite bands had made the bold decision to carry on with a new singer. After the death of Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon called it a day only to realize that the songs they left behind had made a much larger impact on a generation of people than they expected. The music continued to live and thrive and demand for the band was there. They came back with a new singer and they did it right. They found a young singer/songwriter named Travis Warren and instead of having him fill shoes, he brought his own and managed to carry the songs of their past in a gracious and dedicated way. They released an album of new material called “For My Friends” that showed a different style of writing yet it was all Blind Melon. The album held it’s own and the band toured very successfully for two years. I’m not sure what all unfolded on the inside but it just wasn’t meant to last. The band found themselves at a rift with Warren and they parted ways.
I remember when this happened wondering what could have brought it to an end so abruptly. I tried to analyze it but like with any personal situation, you never know what really goes on behind closed doors. Either way, the fact was that Blind Melon fans were left feeling a bit sad. Happy that we got what we got but sad that once again we were not going to hear those songs live. The future of Blind Melon was unsure until a post popped up on the Blind Melon Message Board yesterday:
Hey all!!
We just want to confirm the rumors. Yes, the band has a few shows coming up. Travis will be singing. The future of the band is still up in the air. The guys are taking it very slow, this time around. However, 3 shows have been confirmed. Here are the dates:
November 27, 2010 – The Aspen Festival (Aspen, CO.)
November 28, 2010 – The Bluebird Theatre (Denver, CO.)
February 04, 2011 – The Hard Rock & Casino (Albuquerque, NM.)
Read more: http://blindmelons.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=tour&action=display&thread=5764#ixzz145DLcZi9
This has me feeling excited and optimistic. I hope that the guys have managed to figure out what it was that went wrong the first time and remedy the situation. I know there are a lot of folks that believe that without Shannon Hoon there is no Blind Melon. Well, I think that’s bullshit. Shannon was very iconic and irreplaceable but he was just 1/5 of the creative entity that gave us those amazing songs. Travis came in, did an amazing job with the old songs and awarded us with new material that was fresh and exciting to hear. They put on some amazing live shows and I completely welcome this once again. I just hope that whatever turmoil broke them up can be turned into something that will bring them together and keep them strong. The chemistry between these guys was unreal and I hope to be able to witness this once again.
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