This Friday night get together with friends and meet at Illusions Dance Club as WCU welcomes back Cravin’ Melon, a popular Southern alternative rock band. Last Minute Productions sponsors the event and invites everyone to come and enjoy the live performance.
Cravin’ Melon’s concert will be held in the Illusions Dance Club located on the third floor of the A.K. Hinds University Center. The show begins at 9:30pm, Friday, December 8. Advance tickets are $3.00 for Western students with a valid identification card. All other tickets are $5.00.
Students should appreciate the opportunity for live music and fun to help unwind before they begin struggling with final exams.
Cravin’ Melon consists of four members. The lead singer is Doug Jones, guitarist is Jimbo Chapman, bassist is Rob Clay, and drummer is Gary Greene. Their website describes the band as energetic and “at their best” when performing live.
Cravin’ Melon received the South Carolina Musical Group of the Year Award in 1998. Previous well-known recipients of this award include James Brown and Hootie and the Blowfish.
Guitarist Jimbo Chapman said, “The fact that our music is being recognized now is due to the fact that we’ve been touring and playing to more and more people and making friends.”
Founded at South Carolina’s Clemson University, the band was originally formed when remnant members of two different bands combined into Cravin’ Melon on New Year’s Day 1994. They then signed on with the Carolina M-80 Management company and became involved with a tour across the Southeast that lasted two years. News of the band’s lively performances spread, and in 1997 they signed a deal with Mercury Records for their debut album, Red Clay Harvest. Their popular tunes, “Come Undone” and “Sweet Tea” helped them step into the music scene and exposed the group to a broader audience.
While “Come Undone” is found on the Red Clay Harvest record, “Sweet Tea” can be found on their album entitled Where I Wanna Be, released in 1995. Mercury then released Squeeze Me in 1998. This album includes live versions of songs recorded at the House of Blues. But trouble with merging corporations and the loss of their original drummer, caused Cravin’ Melon to leave Mercury.
In December 1999, the band went to a small studio in Colombia, SC, to begin recording for their new album, The Great Procrastinator. Students will recognize the song “Silk Sunflowers” as one of the tracks from this album. The twelve-song CD was released in June 2000.
For the month of December, Cravin’ Melon is scheduled to perform in the cities of Knoxville, Asheville, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Philadelphia.
