With Cravin Melon, I got to watch the rise and fall of really solid, hardworking band. Under the guidance of Dick Hodgin they secured a record deal from Mercury within two years of working the club circuit.
They went to LA and recorded red Clay Harvest.Then early in 1997, Hanson hit the scene and dominated mercury's attention. Melon needed a tour to launch the CD. They had been counting on touring with their friends, Hootie and the Blowfish, whose Cracked Rear View CD broke all kinds of sales figures ( triple platinum or something amazing) making them all very wealthy young men. Sounded like a guaranteed audience for Melon except,....
in the fall of 1997, the Hootie backlash began- a pop culture phenom where the mighty do fall. Suddenly the trend of "No Hootie Zones" swept throughout the FM markets. A tour with Hootie would be poison. Hootie canceled their North American Tour and instead went to Europe. Melon hitched a ride with Sister Hazel and Edwin McCain band.
