Celebrating 25 years in the industry as well as the 20th anniversary of their legendary 'Soup' album, Californian psych-rockers Blind Melon are about to show Australia what they are made of.
And to make it extra special, the Brisbane gig will mark the 20th anniversary of former lead singer, Shannon Hoon's drug overdose death. Guitarist Christopher Thorn picks up the story.
What are you most excited about when finally going on tour in Australia?
We have always heard that we have great fans in Australia, so I am looking forward to meeting our fans and discovering the culture as well.
What can the audience expect when they rock up to a 2015 Blind Melon show?
On this tour, we will be playing songs from our four records. The audience can expect to see five guys on stage feeling stoked to be playing for our Australian fans!
How do you guys want the audience to feel when listening to your songs, going to your shows and watching your music videos?
I feel that all great art is for escaping, so I hope our audience can forget about life for a couple hours with us and just live in the moment through our songs. Our shows are also a celebration of Shannon Hoon and the music we made together. I want our audience to feel that he will be there with us in spirit.
Having been around for 25 years this year, congratulations! How much of your gig material is from the '90s era?
Most of the material we will play will be from our three records we made in the '90s.
As the first Aussie performance in Brisbane is the 20th anniversary of Shannon's tragic death, how will that affect your show?
We honour Shannon every night we play. We always will. For me, it's one of the reasons why I still want to play Blind Melon shows.
Now that Travis is back and you've started touring again, can you tell me a bit about the vibe in the band?
The band is in a great place now. Yes, we had some growing pains but we have worked them out and we all feel lucky to play music with each other.
The Blind Melon fans seem to be very loyal and supporting, even after all these years, why do you think that is?
I think we have passionate fans because we made passionate music from our hearts. Fans know when a band is authentic. I feel we made honest music and the fans relate to that.
What is the craziest tour experience you guys have had during all your years on the road?
Well, there are lots of crazy ones. But I would say the night Shannon peed on the audience in Vancouver would be one of them. I promise we will not be peeing on our audience in Australia... at least on this tour.
What is next for you guys after the tour Down Under?
We are playing New Year's Eve in Shannon's home town, so we are looking forward to that. We are also gonna start working on new material.
When is the Shannon documentary expected to be released?
We just met with Danny Clinch and he is very excited about movie. We are hoping to get a rough cut in November.
Written by Eirin Boee
Blind Melon Tour Dates
Wed 21 Oct - Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)Fri 23 Oct - Max Watts (Sydney)
Sun 25 Oct - Max Watts (Melbourne)
