Shannon and Nico Blue Hoon

I've discovered a new appreciation for Blind Melon.

Just the other night, I read about the events leading to Shannon Hoon's drug-related death, and I just felt so sad for him and his family, especially for his daughter Nico Blue.

Here are excerpts from Blind Melon's band bio on MySpace:

"Once the album was completed in the spring of 1995, Hoon checked himself into another rehab facility at the insistence of his bandmates, which pushed the release date of the album, titled Soup, to late summer. A month before the album appeared in August, Hoon's girlfriend gave birth to the couple's first child, which Hoon said in interviews had given him a new lease on life and a reason to straighten out once and for all.

Concerned but anxious to get back on tour, the band hit the road once again. Drug counselors at the facility that Hoon had been admitted to warned the band's management that Hoon wasn't ready for the temptations of the road just yet. But Hoon convinced everyone that he was and a drug counselor/caretaker was hired to accompany him. After a month and a half of dates, the counselor was sent packing and Hoon returned back to his dangerous ways. Just a few days later, on October 21, Hoon was found dead on Blind Melon's tour bus from an apparent drug overdose, at the age of 28."

His daughter, Nico Blue, after whom the next album was named, was just 3 months old back then.


Here she is, 12 years later, singing "Change" with the rest of Blind Melon.


"Change" is the first song Shannon Hoon ever wrote. Part of its lyrics are written on Shannon's grave in his hometown Indiana.

"I know we all can't stay here forever,
So I want to write my words on the face of today."





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Blind Melon now has a new vocalist, Travis Warren. Listen to their new stuff on MySpace:

"Much to everyone's surprise, the four surviving Blind Melon members reunited in the summer of 2006, with Amarillo, TX native Travis Warren taking Hoon's spot behind the mic. The group plans on recording a new album for release in 2007, which will also be supported by a tour (the group's first since 1995)."