In the Listening Room

Guitar for the Practicing Musician January 1994

Rogers Stevens & Christopher Thorn Blind Melon

By John Stix

The surprise music revival of ’93 was the reemergence and widely accepted spirit of San Francisco rock, circa Quicksilver Messenger Service and Moby Grape. Loose, live and playing around the groove is a prominent part of bands like Spin Doctors, Col. Bruce Hampton and Phish. The newest addition to this fold is Blind Melon with their hit “No Rain.” Guitarist Thomas Rogers (he goes by just Rogers) Stevens describes the band’s recording technique as “everybody just setting up and playing.

“All the music is played live on the record,” he says. “We’re not concerned with getting everything just so perfect that you can’t get a shoehorn in any gap of music.” With their influences seemingly so obvious, a trip into the Listening Room for Rogers and fellow Melon guitarist Christopher Thorn was quite the opposite of what you might expect.

“Babe I’m Gonna Leave song goes on and on. There’s plenty “Omaha” You” of room for them all to wank off if they The Very Best of Moby Grape Sons of Mercury / Quicksilver want to. It didn’t move me in any way. – Vintage It’s obviously a late ‘60s/early ‘70s Messenger Service band and there are much better ones (Columbia/Legacy) (1969-1975) than this. (Rhino) CHRISTOPHER: It could be a theme CHRISTOPHER: The drums sounded song to a bad beach movie that you’d see on a Sunday afternoon. CHRISTOPHER: Moby Grape? This is terrible, too. It was a very thin one of those bands we’ve never heard production sound. Some of the guitar of that people tell us we sound like. playing was pretty coo but I’m not ROGERS: This is a song they sell on Am I close? doing backflips. I’m burnt out on classic late night TV. “Freedom rock.” rock. I’ve been listening to classic rock This is pure shit. ROGERS: I can tell he picked this since I was 10 and I feel like I’m done CHRISTOPHER: because it sounds like some of your with it. I know it’s part of Blind Melon When I hear bands like this, which are guitar playing. but I’m trying to move on and get into obviously from the ‘60s, I don’t know some different things. Right now I’m what drugs they were on but they were not the same ones that The Beatles CHRISTOPHER: I definitely play loose just in a phase that the thought of and he was pretty loose in there. I’m classic rock just makes me want to were on because that was definitely burnt out on classic rock right now but puke. I want to hear something new. not head-drug-induced-music. It’s this is kind of cool. This is something I nearly obnoxious. The production is haven’t heard. It almost has a Mamas ROGERS: I’ve permanently written horrible, too. It sounds like a tin can. and Papas vocal feel but the guitar off that style of music. I heard that in a work, I can’t put a finger on it. I hear a phase of my playing development [but] ROGERS: They were sloppy players little Garcia. now I’m not interested in it at all. I’m but they weren’t sloppy players in more interested in writing concise songs. a cool way – they were just shitty players. ROGERS: There’s a Pete This was a sprawling, directionless song. Townshendism at the end. I’m not We’re victims of that ourselves. But, as into the clean sound as I am that personally, I’m interested in sewing up CHRISTOPHER: And too happy-go- fuzzy thing at the end. It sounds like all the frayed pieces rather than [letting] lucky. You just want to smack them. he poked holes in his speakers. This them fly all over the place. ROGERS: Anybody that smiles that would necessarily play over a rhythm “Pull Me Under” much should be punched right in section, but how some people do Images and Words the face. play over that sort of rhythm section. Dream Theater This is all about the rhythm and the GUITAR: This time it was Moby Grape. vocals. We sometimes play “Dear (Atco/East West) Mr. Fantasy” in our set because the ROGERS: Now we know we song “Change” is the exact same CHRISTOPHER: This could be metal don’t have to buy Moby Grape or on our album. You can sing all the at any moment – I’m just warning Quicksilver Messenger Service. I words to “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” We also everybody. always knew I would never like those do [The Allman Brothers’] “Midnight bands. They never got quite up there. Rider” in the middle of “Holy Man.” It’s ROGERS: Either that or it could build You had them, and then the next rhythmically very similar. up into a power ballad. echcelon would be Jefferson Airplane. Then you moved into the upper CHRISTOPHER: To give credit to CHRISTOPHER: I feel like we might echelon of the Allman Brothers and Shannon [Hoon, vocals] – he wasn’t a have to excuse ourselves here for a The Beatles, who were the greatest Traffic fan and he wrote “Change.” It just second. We might have to leave. all-time band. happens to be the same chord structure. ROGERS: This is one of those guitar sounds that when he hits a note, about a million lights jump up on his guitar rig. “Medicated Goo” “Midnight Rider” Last Exit Culb R&R: Epic Records CHRISTOPHER: Any minute now there is going to be a squealy. Traffic Presents An Evening with The (Island) Allman Brothers ROGERS: Is this, like, Queensryche? (Epic – radio promo only) ROGERS: We went through a very CHRISTOPHER: If it is, let’s turn it off serious Traffic phase for about a ROGERS: Of the jamming bands, right away because I hate that band. month – right when we were writing The Allman Brothers Band was my some songs on our album. So there favorite. I was more of a Dickey [Betts] ROGERS: Hate it. This is the kind are some pretty direct Traffic ripoffs on fan than I was of Duane Allman. They of music you listen to right when you our album. had great songs, too, like this and start to get your pubic hairs. “Blue Sky.” “Jessica” is one of the only CHRISTOPHER: The biggest thing jam instrumental songs that I really CHRISTOPHER: I can’t even be fair about Traffic is the drumming. You press got off on. I was never into any of the to this music I hate it so bad. I can’t “play” and you feel it. You’ve got to other Southern bands, but I really like even sit through one song. I know I’m move. This is about rhythm. I love this. the Allmans. They had the looseness not being fair but I think it is complete and were almost jazzy lots of times. garbage. That sort of guitar playing is ROGERS: Steve Winwood had a very Their melodies don’t stick to straight- just stupid. distinctive voice, plus he was a great up blues scales. A lot of their melodies songwriter. That wasn’t one of my were in beautiful major scales or they ROGERS: If I want to hear a metal favorite Traffic songs but the rhythm will go out and do some weird things. band I really like old Black Sabbath section are serious musicians. They and Soundgarden; heavy bands with are not hackers like the first couple CHRISTOPHER: Out of all the brains. If I were listening to an angry of bands here. You can tell these jamming bands they are the best at it. metal band I would be more into Rage guys have listened to a lot of jazz and I never got that deep into the Allman Against the Machine or Sugar. I like serious groove things. Brothers Band. I probably did [through] that Sugar record a lot, I like Sonic osmosis, being around these guys Youth a lot. That’s heavy, guitar-based CHRISTOPHER: Glen [Graham, listening to it a lot. They are about music that I listen to. drums] and Brad [Smith, bass] were songs and jamming and I like bands more influenced by Traffic than me as that are really concerned with songs. CHRISTOPHER: Playing fast for the a guitar player. For me, regardless of the playing, sake of fast is hideous. I hate that every single song by The Beatles was whole mentality of sitting and playing ROGERS: I don’t think I got anything amazing. I don’t get that from this scales and cock-rock crap. guitar-wise out of Traffic. At that point band, but that was beautiful. I listen I was as developed as probably to a lot of acoustic music. That was a ROGERS: I heard some squealies. I I’m ever going to get on the guitar. cool version. I never heard it before. don’t really like that sound either. I’m Listening to these guys I heard a not into those guitar sounds. When I rhythm section that is very similar to hear that stuff I get squeamish. ours. It showed me not how I would I GUITAR: That was Dream Theater. ROGERS: This is the band that GUITAR: Joe Satriani. completely rubs me the wrong way CHRISTOPHER: We’ll remember not when I hear them. I have nothing ROGERS: I never listened to Joe to buy that record. I bet they have really against the guys personally, I just Satriani. I never really got him. I really nice hair. . . Now I’m being mean. hate the music. I’m sure both them hate the way his guitar sounds. and Steve Miller are aware this song ROGERS: This is just our opinion. sounds like a Steve Miller tune. To me CHRISTOPHER: It sounds like he is There’s a lot of people that like Dream they are like Huey Lewis with this ‘90s going through a Rockman. Theater and that’s fine. They get off on hippies vibe. it – good for them. They probably hate ROGERS: We’re bastards. us, maybe they won’t. CHRISTOPHER: Other people listening to us would pick out all the CHRITOPHER: I don’t feel it. With the CHRISTOPHER: They probably do shit we ripped off and go, “Jesus, isn’t exception of it being embarrassingly because we sound like we’re playing that obnoxious?” dramatic, it doesn’t hit me in the same sloppy. But that’s alright, it’s just a way a Beatles or Dylan song does. I’m different thing. We’re just coming from ROGERS: “Who is suing them sure a lot of people get off on this. a different space. (Blind Melon) today? If not it will be somebody else tomorrow.” ROGERS: This guy is really getting ROGERS: In no way do we condemn off on himself. That is the main point this sort of music. These people have CHRISTOPHER: In Europe we did of this music. He is really enjoying the right to exist. this same sort of thing that you are doing this, which is fine. He suckered doing right here. We had a record a bunch of people into listening to it. CHRISTOPHER: Just keep it the hell listening party where each person Boy, that was mean. away from us. could play two songs and everyone had to be quiet and listen. You had CHRISTOPHER: It’s awful. But it’s to listen to the whole song and each honest. It’s just our opinion. person would go around and critique “Little Miss Can’t Be the song. Wrong” ROGERS: I picked Rage Against the Homebelly Groove Machine and Dinosaur Jr. I’m way into Spin Doctors Dinosaur Jr. (Epic Associated) CHRISTOPHER: I picked Stevie CHRISTOPHER: You played that Wonder, who is a genius. That’s all you song and I immediately saw the video. can say about him. I picked [Shame] by That is the one bad thing about MTV. Brad, the Stone Gossard record. The Immediately I saw those happy-go- songs are really good. It’s cool that he lucky faces jumpin’ around for that can separate himself from Pearl Jam song in the video and it just makes and do different things like that. me sick. I don’t like the band and I think their songs are kind of gay. They might be great players, I don’t know. I haven’t really given them a chance. “Always with Me Always This is a good example of a band that, with You” for me, was really burned out from Time Machine MTV. Joe Satriani ROGERS: I just don’t like the music. It (Relativity) doesn’t have any salt to it. There is no grit under their fingernails. It’s one of ROGERS: It’s the theme from Bay those smiley bands again which starts Watch. It’s very dramatic in a stupid way. to bother me. CHRITOPHER: This is obnoxious. I CHRISTOPHER: I will say they have can’t listen to this. I feel embarrassed been really successful and I have no for whoever this is. problem with that because that band has toured their ass off. I respect them for ROGERS: It’s overly dramatic. that. They have been working at it for a Who is it? long time and I can appreciate that.