Blind Melon

Blind Melon formed in California in 1989, with members from Indiana, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. The band signed to Capitol Records in 1991 and recorded an unreleased demo. The band's initial popularity is partially attributed to vocalist Hoon's association with Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, and Hoon's backing vocals on several Guns N' Roses tracks on 1991's Use Your Illusion album an example being "Don't Cry". The band's self-titled debut album, produced by Rick Parashar Pearl Jam , contained thirteen songs and sold poorly until the No Rain single was released in September of 1993. The single, promoted by a music video featuring the "Bee Girl" (played by Heather DeLoach), helped launch the commercial success of the band, eventually leading the album to quadruple-platinum status, debuting in the Billboard top 40 on 10/9/93 and peaking at #11 on the Hot 100. In 1994, the band began recording their second album, Soup in New Orleans with producer Andy Wallace. The album was released in 1995, and predominantly featured shorter songs with a less conventional alternative rock approach. The lyrics to "St. Andrew's Fall" referenced a suicide jump, while "New Life" discussed the forthcoming birth of Hoon's child. "Mouthful of Cavities" featured backing vocals from Jena Kraus, who subsequently recorded a solo record with Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith. Possibly because of the more experimental sound (the album begins and ends with New Orleans style jazz and has a hodgepodge of instrumentation throughout), the album failed to meet sales expectations. In 1995, Blind Melon contributed a version of the song "Out on the Tiles" to the Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin as well as a promotional CD with a cover of the Schoolhouse Rock! song "Three Is a Magic Number". "Three Is a Magic Number" features in the film Never Been Kissed, as well as in the film Slackers several years later. Against the advice of Hoon's drug counselor, Blind Melon went on tour in supp

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