By Brian Snyder
Senior Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 11, 1997

    "He didn't know what he was doing, he just got it done. That's what made him great." Rogers Stevens, of frontman, Shannon Hoon.  Since the death of Hoon, fans haven't heard much from Blind Melon but that's about to change.   As guitarist Stevens explained, "There was a lot missing. Nothing is the same without Shannon."

    When Shannon died in October of 1995, so did Blind Melon, and Stevens wants fans to know that the band isn't cashing in on Hoon's death by releasing Nico.   "We wanted to give something back to the fans, and we wanted to give Nico something from her dad to show her how important she really was to him," Stevens said.  The new album, Nico, is named after Hoon's daughter Nico Blue. Stevens also said, "She was very important to him, and he really loved her a lot."

    With all the recently released albums from bands like Nirvana, and the Beatles, one questions whether or not there will be more Blind Melon collections coming.  "This is it, and there won't be anything else. There was some other songs we could have used, but felt they were just too dark, too personal, and too telling."

    Nico, perhaps the best collection of songs Blind Melon ever put together, catches the spirit of Hoon's voice and emotion better than any of the previous Blind Melon albums.  Stevens said this could be due to the way they were recorded. They recorded everywhere, in the dressing room, the bus, and basically anywhere else they could find while on the road.  Stevens said they tried to preserve this characteristic when it came time to remaster the songs in the studio.  "We never wanted to overthink it. The best thing about rock-n-roll is the spontaneity, and that's what makes it fun," he said.

    Stevens' pain is obvious when he speaks of his late friend, but it was apparent he didn't want to hold back.   He also doesn't try to hide any of the circumstances behind Hoon's death or drug use, even when it comes to his own.  "Shannon and I were the ring leaders, when it came to drugs. I'm not going to deny it.   He was just on a whole different level than everyone else," Stevens said.  When asked if there was anything he could have done to prevent Hoon's death, he said, "I really, don't think there was anything anyone could have done. I believe people learn from example and experience. We had him go to rehab a few times, but eventually we knew it was up to him to quit."

    Stevens also explained some of the pain he felt when Shannon died.   "At the point when he died, it was a real surprise. I mean, there were other times that I thought he was a lot worse off. It sometimes got the point where I was expecting that call.  But when he died, he was fresh out of rehab, and was really healthy."   Others would probably have been just as surprised after learning how bad things were before his time in rehab. Stevens said at times would go for days without eating or sleeping.    "There were a lot of late nights, and it got to the point where I almost got violent trying to make him eat some food, while he was going through one of his binges," Stevens said.

    Today, the future of the rest of the band is still up in the air.   "We want to move on with another singer, and make a new band. We like working  together, but whether or not we stay together remains to be seen," Stevens said.  Stevens didn't go into too much detail about the future frontman.

    "I'd really rather not say anything right now, nothing is a done deal. We've been working with a couple of guys, but we're just just trying to find something that works," Roger said. "I really don't think there's many people that can come in and crack the code to how this band works."