Music critics around the country blasted Blind Melon for taking too long to follow up its platinum self-titled debut - you know, the one that features "No Rain."
But for bassist Brad Smith, the band took a much needed break."By the time the tour ended last year, we had all gotten burnt out and were pretty much sick of each other," Smith said during a phone interview from Portland, Ore. "Our manager wanted us to tour around that first album to the bitter end. It took me about a month to even think of writing new songs again. When we got back together, we were all very much relaxed and the tour is going great."
Smith, vocalist Shannon Hoon, drummer Glen Graham and guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn - also known as Blind Melon - will headline a concert at the Horticultural Building in the Utah State Fairpark, Monday, Oct. 16. The music begins at 7 p.m.
"When we first got together (in West Point, Miss., during the early months of 1989), we didn't really think too much where we wanted to be in the future," remembered Smith. "We didn't know what was out there. It's been a learning experience."
The wiser Blind Melon will not tour the latest release "Soup" to the ground. Instead the band will pace itself to keep things fresh.
"We will tour for a while, then stop," he quipped. "We've got a slew of new songs, some that didn't make the album and newer ones, that we'll go through for a new album coming up."
Smith said when the band went into the studio for "Soup" it had more than 26 songs completed.
"There are some songs I don't like," he said. "But we've still got quite a bit to choose from for the new album."
One major mind-set of the band is keeping itself away from pigeonholes. Since releasing its first album in 1993, the band hit the road with various artists such as the Rolling Stones, Guns 'n Roses, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne and Smashing Pumpkins, just to name a few.