Cravin' Melon

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=603778" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=125 BGCOLOR="#AAAAAA" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c467d1euxmic.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Kristi Singer</b></FONT><B>     |     </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kristi Singer"><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Catching Red"><U>Catching Red</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id218.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chicago"><U>Chicago</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Clarence Carter"><U>Clarence Carter</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Collective Soul"><U>Collective Soul</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id143.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Color"><U>Color</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cowboy Mouth"><U>Cowboy Mouth</U></A>   |   <B>Cravin' Melon</b>   |   <A HREF="id243.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crossfade"><U>Crossfade</U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Samples"><U><B>Back to Articles</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Visit Cravin' Melon at </b><A HREF="http://www.melonpatch.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.melonpatch.com"><U><B>www.melonpatch.com</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Cravin' Melon</div> <div> <B>LAST CHANCE / Wilmington says farewell to popular Cravin’ Melon</b></div> <div> Friday, February 09, 2001 </div> <div> <B>By Kristi Singer, Morning Star Correspondent</b></div> <div> <I>Wilmington Morning Star</I></div> <div> Copyright 2000 Wilmington Star-News</div> <div>     <IMG SRC="0c832930.gif" border=0 width="562" height="147" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      </div> <div> Photo Source: www.melonpatch.com</div> <bR> <div>       <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" >After eight years of rocking southern style, Cravin' Melon is calling it quits. </FONT></div> <div> The news may come as a surprise to Melonheads, but it is something Mr. Jones has been pondering for some time. Band manager, Dick Hodgen suspected that the music may be nearing the end. </div> <div>     "I knew that we were all hanging by the proverbial thread. We all wanted to keep it going, yet, we all knew it could cave in any day," Mr. Hodgen said. </div> <div>      Lead vocalist Doug Jones broke the news to his band mates - bassist Rob Clay, drummer Gary Greene, keyboardist Chad Barger and guitarist Jimbo Chapman - in January after a gig in Charleston. He made the decision to dissolve the band, and all members understood. </div> <div>      "I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know where I was coming from, because I owed that to them," Mr. Jones said. "Everyone was a little disappointed, but so was I. I wish we were in a situation where we didn't have to do this, but we are." </div> <div> Two of the main reasons for the band's dissolution were intertwined: money and a lack of radio airplay. </div> <div>      "The type of music that we do now is not necessarily what's being played on the radio, and therefore that limits the exposure we can get in markets," Mr. Jones said. "That affects our crowds when we go out to play." </div> <div>      Losing the resources of a major label - radio promotion, publicity and distribution - significantly hurt Cravin' Melon. </div> <div>      "We were having trouble getting back onto the same radio stations that loved us when we were with Mercury," Mr. Hodgen said. </div> <div>      Mr. Jones feels the hardest part is still ahead - playing at some of the cities where they have developed a history, including Wilmington, Greenville and Raleigh. </div> <div> Performing at these cities will be emotional, he said, but is something the band needs to do to thank fans for support through the years. </div> <div>      "I think now that the band is finishing up, a lot of those people who don't come see us all the time might come out and just say good-bye," Mr. Jones said. "And we'd love for them to do that." </div> <div>      So what will their final song be? It's something Mr. Jones has thought about many times, but he hasn't decided yet. </div> <div>      "Hopefully there'll be a big crowd there that night, and (after the) last song they'll want us to come out and do an encore. And then that's going to be the last song that we ever play. It's going to be really weird." </div> <div>       The band's final concert will be in Mr. Jones' hometown of Greenville, SC. </div> <div>      "All of my best friends and all of my family will be there, so there will definitely be a lot of wet eyes," he said. </div> <div>       Mr. Jones will continue to play music, but not with a traveling band. </div> <div> "If you want to see me you're going to have to come and catch me playing acoustically at a little bar here in Greenville," Mr. Jones said. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>