Blind Melon's ``Letters From a Porcupine'' Documentary Home Video Expands to 2 1/2 Hour Interactive DVD Experience.

Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2001

Capitol Records:

-- More Than One-Hour of Content Added to Original Grammy-Nominated Long Form
Video of 1996, Including Extensive Interviews and Band's Entire Video Clip
Works: "Dear Ol' Dad," "I Wonder," "No Rain," "Tones of Home," "Change,"
"Galaxie," "Toes Across the Floor," "Soul One"

-- VH1 "Behind the Music" Special Set for Sept. 9; DVD In-Store is Sept. 11

Capitol recording group Blind Melon's Grammy-nominated documentary retrospective, "Letters From a Porcupine," first issued in 1996 as a memorial for their sorely missed lead singer, the late Shannon Hoon, has now been expanded and nearly doubled in length.

The newly configured "Letters From a Porcupine" Collector's Edition DVD, clocking in with two and a half hours of menu-driven interactive content, will now include all 8 of the band's video clips, plus backstage and home movie footage, full-length exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews of the band talking about their multi-platinum debut album, the follow-up "Soup," and "Nico," the Enhanced CD released after Hoon's death.

The new "Letters From a Porcupine" DVD will also include the 19 live performances that were the analog highlights of the first-generation 82-minute VHS long-form home video five years ago. The new DVD program has been set to be in stores Sept. 11, two days after the world premiere of VH1's "Behind the Music" special on Blind Melon, which is scheduled for Sunday night, Sept. 9 (check local listings).

Fans of Blind Melon will now have digital access to the band's entire video output, from 1992's "Dear Ol' Dad" and "I Wonder" to 1996's "Soul One" (the latter seen in low-tech format on "Nico," the Enhanced-CD that was released in tandem with the original "Letters From a Porcupine" VHS).

Included are the clips that established Blind Melon as an MTV favorite: "No Rain," "Tones of Home" and "Change" (all in support of their self-titled debut album of summertime 1993); and "Galaxie" and "Toes Across the Floor" (from the second album, 1995's "Soup"), the latter clip previously available only as a hidden "bonus" at the end of the "Letters..." VHS.

The 19 live songs originate from a variety of sources ranging from "The Late Show with David Letterman" ("Change") and NBC's "Saturday Night Live" ("No Rain"), to Blind Melon's rave-up at the Woodstock '94 festival ("Time," "Soup") and a memorable appearance on Canada's MuchMusic ("Lemonade," "St. Andrew's Fall").

Performances extend from the band's earliest days ("Tones of Home," "Dear Ol' Dad") to their landmark final tour of 1995 ("Walk," "Dumptruck"). Venues range from the Metro in Chicago to New York's Irving Plaza and the Ritz. Every performance is either a full song or is intercut with other footage.

When Blind Melon disbanded, it left a hole in the hearts of the millions of fans who sent their debut album to 4-times RIAA platinum. The sky was the limit for the Los Angeles-based group -- lead singer Shannon Hoon, guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, bassist Brad Smith and drummer Glen Graham.

They launched a top 20 single with "No Rain" -- a rare No. 1 Album Rock and No. 1 Modern Rock "crossover" hit -- and followed it with "Tones of Home," top 20 on both the Album Rock and Modern Rock lists as well; and a third track, "Change."

As a result of their extraordinary live shows, Blind Melon shared concerts with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and others. They were MTV darlings, stole the show at Woodstock, hit the cover of Rolling Stone, earned Grammy and American Music Award nominations, and were on the fast track to success when their second Capitol album, "Soup," was released in August 1995.

"Galaxie" immediately broke on the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, hitting No. 8 and No. 25, respectively. Eight weeks later, on Oct. 21, it all came to an abrupt halt on-tour in New Orleans when Hoon died of an accidental cocaine overdose. His daughter Nico Blue was just three months old when the tragedy occurred.

Just over one year later (November 1996), as a tribute to Hoon and a gift to his daughter, Blind Melon issued "Nico" on Capitol Records, an Enhanced-CD collection of outtakes and rarities, including some of the first and last songs written by the band, every track featuring their unforgettable lead singer.

"There are a lot more chapters that should have been written as Blind Melon," Stevens said at the time, "but that's not going to be. This is it. This is all the music we have to put out with Shannon. We're moving forward because this is all we know how to do ... I wish there would've been more. I think Shannon would have gone on to write more amazing things."

In conjunction with the album came "Letters From a Porcupine," a historical look at the band's personal and musical development. While the Enhanced-CD of "Nico" contained (in addition to the 13 audio tracks) lyrics, previously unreleased photographs, interview material, concert footage and video clips -- the VHS presented a documentary experience.

It went on to earn a Grammy nomination for Best Long Form Video. The 2001 version of "Letters From a Porcupine," produced by Chris Jones (the band's manager) and Robin Bechtel (of Capitol Records), adds more than one hour of essential content and takes the results into the digital realm for the first time.

As Thorn said upon the release of "Nico," "I hope people can just listen to the record and say, `Hey, they were a band that wrote some great songs together.'"

Blind Melon's Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn are available for interviews in conjunction with the DVD release.

For a review copy or further information on Blind Melon, contact Judi Kerr, Capitol Records, Hollywood, 323/871-5375, [e-mail].