Tragedy struck Blind Melon right in the middle of their 1995 tour. Hours before a concert in New Orleans, the musicians found their beloved singer dead from an overdose. The real tragedy is that the band was soaring and had the potential to climb even higher. So it was a very difficult decision for the band to consider playing together again. It had been 12 years since they had played Blind Melon music and it required the painful process of finding a new frontman. How could anyone replace Shannon Hoon? The Washington Post has the full story on the band's journey leading up to the current Blind Melon tour. What they barely mention is something that Idolator was quick to emphasize:The fella who now leads Blind Melon is Travis Warren. Apparently he walked into his audition with a 6-pack, a bag of weed and a 10-inch tall portrait of Shannon Hoon tatooed on his back. That's right, this die-hard fan not only wanted to fill Hoon's massive shoes, he wanted to be close to Hoon, always. And what was the band's response to meeting this mega-fan? According to the Idolator report:

Blind Melon bassist Brad Smith described the feeling of meeting Warren as "It's like the dog you loved when you were a kid came back from the dead and just showed up back at your door, wagging his tail like nothing had ever happened"? That tattoo has to have powers, I swear.

Powers indeed. Read the full stories on both sites:"New Blind Melon Singer Will Always Have Shannon Hoon Right Behind Him" on Idolator"Back for Seconds" on Washington PostBlind Melon "No Rain" with The Bee Girl: