Nico - Blind Melon's Tribute to the Late Shannon Hoon was Released OTD in 1996
A beautiful album honoring a complicated man, how Shannon's daughter wound up in my book, and the affirmation that music is the great connector
“That one is a tearjerker”, said Nico Hoon, daughter of the late Shannon Hoon, lead singer for the extremely popular 90s alternative band, Blind Melon.
Nico and I were discussing the song “New Life” off the band’s 1995 album, Soup for my book, SLACKER - 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, 2024) because I mentioned I needed that song so badly at a very vulnerable time in my life…more on that later.
Nico continued to say, “It also shows how strong my mom is. It’s weird to hear a song about you before you were born. It means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to my mom because when you have a loved one pass away, it’s super hard. That song is something for her to look back on and how she shared that special connection with my dad.”
Before I continue, and I hate that I always have to say this when discussing Blind Melon, they were SO much more than “No Rain.” This is not an attempt to diminish the song, nor its popularity, but it’s somewhat polarizing as people incorrectly believe it describes the band’s sound and/or style. It doesn’t.
“No Rain”, was written soley by Brad Smith, (Blind Melon’s bass player and founding member) before the band even existed. In an interview with Ultimate - Guitar, Smith discussed the song’s origin:
“No Rain” came from when I first moved to California, and I was playing songs on Venice Beach for change…I'd play on the Venice Beach boardwalk for change, for enough money to pay for parking and chicken teriyaki.
And it was inspired by just how tough it was in LA. I had bouts of depression and the whole, 'What am I doing out here? Am I going to go back to Mississippi? I'm never going back to Mississippi.' I would just fight it and stick to my guns. Like, 'I want to be a musician, I want to be out here in California. I don't want to go back home.' I had nobody out here. There was no family; I didn't know a soul out here at first.
Shannon Hoon died of a drug overdose on Blind Melon’s tour bus in New Orleans on October 21, 1995. He was only 28 years old. In addition to his girlfriend Lisa Crouse, bandmates, friends, and family members, Hoon left behind his new born daughter, Nico Blue, who was born just three months earlier on July 11th. His death effectively signaled the end of the band.
A little over a year after Shannon’s untimely passing, the surviving members of Blind Melon released Nico on November 12, 1996, an album of outtakes, demos, and alternate versions of previously released songs from the band’s catalog.
This was done mainly to setup a college fund for Nico, and to give fans a bit more of the fallen singer. His music, voice, and lyrics had already struck a lasting chord with music fans around the world and this release offered some closure for them.
Tracks such as “Soup”, “The Pusher”, a slowed down, almost unrecognizable version of “No Rain”, and the absolutely gorgeous, “Soul One” are highlights worthy of any Blind Melon playlist.
I’ve been a fan of Blind Melon ever since the owner of Ciro’s Cd Cellar, a hole in the wall record store on Flatlands Ave. in Brooklyn, NY that I shoud’ve paid rent for considering how many hours I spent there during the 90s, turned me onto the band.
Ciro knew I was a fan of Pearl Jam (this was late 91 or early 92) and he said that if I liked Pearl Jam, I’d love this new band called Blind Melon. I remember him playing a “not for re-sale” (that’s what it said on the jewel case of the CD) copy of Blind Melon’s self-titled debut album in the store before it was released, and he was right, I loved it. I’m also pretty sure he sold that copy despite its warning.
When I came up with the idea to write SLACKER, I knew that Blind Melon’s “New Life” (mentioned at the start of this piece) would play a role. Four plus years later, and on the cusp of being released, here’s a taste of how some of it came together in the book:
During my conversation with Nico…it was quite surreal for me to be telling the young woman who the song was written about before she was even born, and who tragically lost her dad to addiction, that Shannon’s words had pushed me to change in ways I knew I needed to so I could be a great dad to my unborn daughter.
Would my lifelong battle with depression slither its destructive way into my baby and infect her with the heaviness and overwhelming debris attached to it? What would happen if the two occasions when I thought it would be better to leave the planet than stick around and figure it all out found its way to my child’s thoughts and did the same thing to that innocent soul? - Excerpt from SLACKER - 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created (Inspired By You Books, 2024)
I cannot begin to explain what it felt like to share this story (there’s much more of it in the book) with Nico. This is the bond that music creates. These are the emotions that strangers can share due to notes, chords, melodies, and the like. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you have examples of the magic that music creates in your life. If you don’t, I hope it finds you soon. It’s an amazingly inspirational experience.
The lyrics to “New Life”, and the desperation in Shannon’s vocals, should gut anyone listening:
Suddenly everything is fainting
Falling from a broken ladder's rung
There's a jolt exhilarating from the phone I'm holding
I hear the words of what I'll become
How eager the hands that reach for love
'Cause now there's a new life to behold
And its the biggest part of my life to unfold
'Cause now she's telling me she'll have my baby
And a faithful father I am to be
When I'm looking into the eyes of our own baby
Will it bring new life into me?
Deep inside must defy arrangement
I've been a stumblin' from the startin' blocks 'til now
And I'll always try to justify the way I've been behaving
Should I teach one not to know how?
How to live in a world we live in now
'Cause there's a beautiful life to behold
And its the biggest part of my life to unfold
'Cause now she's telling me she'll have my baby
And a father figure I am to be
When I'm looking into the eyes of our own baby
Will it bring new life into me?
Oh please
Oh please
Oh please
Bring new life
Bring new life
Bring new life into me
Great stuff, Rob! I also loved Blind Melon the moment I heard them. Such a tragic and premature end to a very promising band.